Feature by Andrew - March, 2002
The Young And The Useless released their debut full-length on Thorp Records in early-2002. "A Smile Is No Good For Me" is loaded with a searing cross between aggressive, oldschool hardcore and the personal undertakings of modern, melodic metalcore. Their sound is energetic and heartfelt, something like that of Stretch Arm Strong, but with lyrics of personal struggles and failed relationships. I, Andrew, conducted an e-mail interview with Jacob and CJ of The Young And The Useless in order to learn more about the formation about the band, their views on their newly released albums, future plans, their recent tour in Puerto Rico, and plenty more.
Andrew: First and foremost, how did The Young And The Useless form into a band? Were you guys childhood friends at all, or did you get together later in life?
CJ: We have all been friends for a while - growing up in the same area, going to shows and what not. Freddie, Jordan, and myself (CJ) have been friends since I can remember and were a three piece. Then we made the great decision to add Jacob and Dean to the lineup to enhance our overall performance and sound. That is how the young has reached its current lineup and we are happy this way.
Andrew: Was there any aspect among the band members that brought you guys together?
CJ: The love for playing a fresh new style of music not tied down by any genre is what brought us together.
Andrew: With many complaints that hardcore is dead, or in the process of dying, how do you feel as a band that is a big part of the scene on this subject? I personally think it is alive and well, but I live in Wisconsin. Has it changed at all since The Young And The Useless began?
CJ: As for our local scene there isnt really anyother hardcore band that we know of. Further south/north hardcore is more popular. The scene as a whole definitely has room for improvement, but it always will. There are too many clicks and crews to where going to a show is almost a popularity contest, or who looks the coolest, or who has the coolest band shirt on, and it makes me sick. I guess it has always been like this though and even i often get caught up trying to look cool sometimes - i make myself sick. But shows are for the most part consistently fun places to be. As for the "hardcore" genre i feel there is a lot of bad hardcore out there but that goes for every style of music. With bands like Thursday, Stretch Arm Strong, Hatebreed, Poison the Well, etc. getting so much attention i believe hardcore is as alive as ever.
Andrew: As many know, you recently finished a short tour in the tropics of Puerto Rico, with hardcore fiends Stretch Armstrong. How was the tour experience? How were the crowd sizes and local bands? Did the fans seem to enjoy your music?
CJ: It was awesome! i was amazed that there was actually a scene in puerto rico. the kids were all nice and welcoming, it was a great place to visit, stretch arm strong are some of the coolest guys to be in a van with, and the shows went well. We played 4 shows and there we all pretty packed. I guess we have stretch arm strong to thank for that. those guys are hardcore giants. Check out www.prhc.org. Every show there were local puerto rican bands that rocked pretty hard. i dont remember all of their names cause they are in Spanish, but check out that website above for more.
They [the fans] were unfamiliar with our music but for the most part they seemed to be getting into our stuff. we sold some cds so hopefully next time they will be singing along. Pedro who booked the shows said we got an excellent response considering we had never been heard and kids from there have been signing our guestbook.
Andrew: How was it to hang out with the boys of Stretch Arm Strong?
CJ: It was awesome. At first i couldn't believe it. they are one of my favorite bands and i never thought i would be hanging out playing shows with stretch arm strong. i am kind of a dork. Getting to know those guys has been great they are genuinely nice guys 24/7 and their merch guy shawn is crazy.
Andrew: Now that you have finished this mini tour, and after a couple of upcoming shows, what are your tour plans. Personally, I think you should hit Wisconsin.
CJ: We would love to tour full time and we're in the process of securing some transportation. hopefully we can get to your town/area. We just went to get our music to the masses.
Andrew: While you are off of tour and not recording, what do the members of the band find themselves doing most often?
CJ: we all have jobs except for Jordan who is a full time student at stetson university. Jacob and i attend local community college. freddie and dean work without school.
Andrew: How do you feel about your new full-length record, "A Smile Is No Good For Me?" Is it what you had originally hoped it would be?
CJ: As a band there is a couple of songs we wish weren't on there, but we are excited to actually be done with our first release. It just took so long to get it out that the material is rather dated for us. Some of the songs don't even reflect our current musical direction.
Andrew: How was the recording experience, where was the album recorded, and who produced the album with you?
CJ: We are pleased with how it sounds and satisfied with the outcome. With the resources and time we had when producing it we couldn't really hope for much more. recording was fun and i cant wait to do it again. The studio is a great place to goof off.
A studio in Port St. Lucie, Florida called Avalon. the engineer is named Joe. He is an awesome guy, with an awesome ear, a whole lot of patience, and he did a great job.
Andrew: Speaking of the new album, I really loved the cover art and liner notes. Who came up with the layout, and who created the awesome art? I must say, it really catches the eye.
CJ: The cover art was done by none other than Derek Hess. He has done converge covers, the new Nora, FewLeftStanding, the new Captain America series, and other amazing pieces. Jake Bannon, from Converge, did the liner notes and we are very pleased with his work as well.
Andrew: Many of your songs seem to deal with distress toward females. Have the members of the band had experiences that have brought this subject forward in some of your songs?
CJ: Of course i mean we are young men, im sure you can relate. The concept of girl does boy wrong-boy writes song is not new ground being covered but a lot of our material refers to things of this sort.
Andrew: What, if any, bands have influenced your current sound? Any bands that you grew up listening to that you can feel in your music?
CJ: We all listen to different stuff. I basically write the foundations for every song and what i listen to the most are bands like: Stretch arm strong, Saves the Day, Grade, etc. A lot of different styles are finding their way into our newer material.
Andrew: Are you enjoying your stay on Thorp Records? What brought about the contract with the label? Any plans of moving to another label in the future, or is it too early to see those changes?
CJ: Andy [of Thorp Records] has been taking really good care of us and he is an outstanding person to work with, a very hard worker. Basically, Chad from takehold records referred us to his friend Andy and he was into us and drew up the contract. We've been talking to a couple (dare i say bigger?) labels recently- i wont mention any names in fear of putting a jinx on us.
Andrew: Well, I think that about covers what we need to know for now. Any last additions or comments? Feel free to say anything.
CJ: Thank you for your interest in the young it means a lot to us. Also we are anticipating going into the studio to record some new material(no time soon) the new stuff shows obvious progression/maturity and we are excited. We will be on the road soon. Thank you.
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