Ace Sims of RockRevolt Magazine recently spoke with Gus Wood of Young Guns about their spot on the Vans Warped Tour, sharing a tour bus and his thoughts on playing pranks on other bands while out on tour.
Hey, Gus. How are you doing today, Sir?
I’m good, thank you very much. I’m enjoying a rare day of British sunshine. I’m on my way home after a weekend chilling with the family, and we’re just getting ready for a busy summer; things are good.
Yeah. You guys are kicking off Warped Tour and coming back over to the States. Are you guys ready for that?
Yeah, it’s going to be our first time doing that tour. It’s a tour that we grew up wanting to be a part of. I remember back when I was fifteen or sixteen, and I had my first girlfriend. She’d just seen the Warped Tour over the summer, and I was extremely jealous. She had a page that she’d torn out of one of the programs, and it was just this punk rock tour, and I remember it always had this kind of intrigue to me. And ever since then, I’d wanted to know more about it and be a part of it. So, to be playing it so many years later with my band is pretty cool. You’re first ever since then, I’d wanted to know more about it and be a part of it. So, to be playing it so many years later with my band is pretty cool.
You’re first U.S. show was in Kansas City with Seether, correct?
It was.
I was at that show. I remember it very well. I jumped at the chance to interview you because I was at your very first US show!
That’s cool, man. Thank you very much. I remember it clearly; in fact, I was thinking about it yesterday. I was thinking about how different and interesting everything was. And we’ve been fortunate enough to tour the States a number of times. It still feels like the first time to me; I think back to that first show and the energy… it was a very fun time. And I look forward to coming back over and doing a whole bunch more.
Absolutely. It was great. It was the first time I’d seen you guys, obviously, and King. And you guys killed it. It was my twelfth time seeing Seether, but it’s always good to get out there and see bands like you guys and King because that’s how you find new music.
It is, and it’s a great way to find new music. I love sitting down and putting my headphones on, but it’s a different experience to be in the venue with everyone else and having a beer, sweating away, and having a really great human experience. That’s what I love about playing live and going to shows, and opening the stage for shows is always great, whether there are fifty people there or a couple thousand, like most of the shows we played for the Seether tour. It doesn’t get old; it’s just great.
And speaking of new music, you guys have a new single out and are working on a new album, am I correct?
Yeah, that’s right. We put out a new song maybe a week or two ago. It’s “Bulletproof”. And we did it in February with David Bendeth in New Jersey. And the record is going to be out sometime before the end of the summer. It’s all planned out, and it’s coming, but we’re not allowed to say. And I always say too much and get into a bit of trouble. (laughs) I’ve sort of learned my lesson, but yes, we have a new song out and a new record out soon. We’re really excited about it. Our lineup changed toward the end of last year. We got a new drummer. And we went right into the studio to write and record the new album really quickly, so it worked out well. It’s a bright, energetic, and exciting record, and I am really proud of it. I can’t wait to get back out and play some of the new stuff on tour.
How can you get in trouble promoting your new album? They can’t bust your balls too much for that, can they?
I ask myself that question all the time. And some people are paid to plan and strategize, while I am kind of a binary person. I want to put stuff out there and get on the road. I’m probably going to get in trouble for this, but they do their job. I like to just put my stuff out there and get on the road and get playing, and I have to not say too much. I think it’s cool to sit back and let the chips fall as they may and get out and do it. But, these people are smarter than me, so I am going to let them do their jobs and stick to the plan. And do things the right way. (laughs)
Yeah (laughs) sometimes we need those hands that guide us along the way, even if we don’t want them to.
Oh, we do, we do. And you know, I am very, very bad at taking care of myself – it’s just about all I can do to manage to be a guy in a band and stuff and living a life pretty much void of most adult responsibilities. So, I don’t put myself out there before those smarter people who know more than me.
You’ve said you have played some other festivals, but this will be the first time you have played Vans Warped Tour. A lot of the time when people play a festival, it’s a stop on their regular tour. So, they stop in and play and head out on the rest of the tour. This is actually a full-on tour festival where you will be out on the road with the same bands and people every single city. What do you think is going to be different with that besides those stop in festivals where you get to hang out and then go onto your next gig?
It’s really unique! I’ve been thinking about it a lot, as it gets closer and closer. And there’s definitely an element, I imagine, of Groundhog’s Day kind of thing going on (laugh). But, I think at the same time, that kind of fosters a sense of community, which I am really fond of… these slightly more punk rock ideas that forge a sense of collectivism. It’s this counterculture thing where everyone is together, sharing similar taste of music and that kind of stuff. And I just love the idea of being a part of the collection of bands, some of which I have grown up listening to while some of which are new to me, playing shows every day in a different country and a different part of the world… I think that’s exciting, and I just can’t wait to get out there and be a part of it. And I think it keeps it kind of fresh because we don’t know what time we are playing until we wake up each day, which is slightly terrifying since we are not morning people, but I anticipate it being a lot of fun and a real adventure. And that’s what being in a band is supposed to be – it’s supposed to be an adventure – and I can’t wait. I know we’re all very excited for this. And we know a bunch of bands on the tour, and I’d like to think we’ll know a bunch more by the end of it. These things are good opportunities to get out to new audiences. We have traditionally played to the more radio-rock crowds in the States, like the tour with Seether, and I’ve loved every minute of doing that. But this is a new thing, and we have always looked as ourselves as a band that can play to all sorts of different crowds. And I think this is a real opportunity for us, and we’re ready for it.
Being with all of the same bands on this tour, there will surely be some shenanigans. What are some of the worst pranks played on you guys on tour, and what do you expect from others?
I’m anticipating a few shenanigans. I think it’s probably inevitable, but I’m looking forward to that. When it comes to tour pranks, we’ve always kind of been afraid within the band, we don’t always pull pranks on each other because we already know what we’re like, so we know that if we start it, it would simply never stop. We have an uneasy truce when it comes to that sort of thing. No one is willing to be the first one to fire the shot, and so within the band, we’re relatively tame on that front. However, we’re sharing a tour bus this summer with a band named Cain Hill. And they’re relatively new, but they’re really, really good. They’re different to us in that they’re really heavy in their sound with a Slipknot/Korn-esque mix. They’re very heavy. But we share the same management company as them, and there’s a little more pressure on them as far as being newer and touring. I’ve hung out with them a bunch of times because they’re in the UK for the moment, and they know how to have a good time, shall we say. It’s going to be the place to be on our tour bus, but I am also a little scared that we won’t be making it through the whole tour on the tour bus. (laughs) So, we shall see about that, but I’m a little scared about that. We haven’t had a lot of bad things happen to us. When we were on tour with Bullet for my Valentine in the States, maybe a year and a half ago, we got out on the stage and the first note that rang out across the crowd was a sort of ring-out note. And our drummer at the time hit the drum as hard as he could, and we realized that Bullet for my Valentine had covered it in flour, which went into his nose, mouth, and eyes. He was breathing it in, so we were basically a man down for the entire show since he couldn’t breathe, let alone play. As the dust blew around and got the sweat mixed with it, it got into all of our eyes, and it was pretty disgusting. But, there’s never been anything too serious going on with our own performances as far as falling off the stage or anything – we are clumsy, so we are used to doing stuff like that on our own. But there’s never been anything too dastardly happen to us.
That’s hilarious! That’s a pretty good prank there, man. Putting flour on the drum kit – that’s good.
Yeah, except you can’t see a fucking thing, so… (laughs)
Young Guns – Bulletproof [Lyric Video]
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(laughs) That’s fantastic! I bet you guys go out before every set now and brush the drum kit just to see what’s up, huh?
Yeah, we always go out and check the kit to make sure it’s fine. It’s definitely always on the last night of the tour. That’s the problem, though, because the other bands have to run what they want to do past our crew, and that’s kind of annoying. But, we steer clear of anything too dangerous.
You just don’t want their repercussions… (laughs)
That’s precisely it. In terms of survival skills, we don’t go too far and hope others won’t go too far on us.
That’s about it! Well thank you so much for your time. Anything you want to say to the fans before we part ways?
Yeah, thank you so much for your support so far, enjoy the new songs, and please come out and see us on tour. If you can’t make it to Warped, plans are in place for more shows after that run is through. So, please come out and see us, and always say hello if you see us out soaking in the places we play. Sometimes we have some downtime before or after, so please say hello.
All right, man. Enjoy your day, and we’ll see you on the road.
Thanks, man. You, too. Thanks again for your time.
