Young the Giant, formerly known as The Jakes, have launched themselves from a dinky garage band in Irvine to a nationwide indie band with their first album, Young the Giant. Their breezy rock album was released in October of 2010 and has since then drawn thousands of fans eager for a second installment.
In 2004, a small group of close friends named Jacob Tilley, Adam Farmer, Kevin Massoudi, Ehson Hashemian, and Sameer Gadhia formed a “joke band” called The Jakes (an acronym for all the names of the band members) as a way to get away from high school worries and have a good time playing around with different sounds. Lead singer Gadhia said that “when we finish the final song, I actually look at the words I was just making up and most of the time. The lyrics I write are based loosely upon the gibberish that I wrote.” Their unique spin on soft rock and Caribbean melodies soon swept the stage at local Battle of the Bands contests and won Best High School Band at the 2007 OC Music Awards setting themselves up as a local favorite. Realizing what opportunities may be ahead of them, they later entered and won an online contest to open for Kings of Leon at the House of Blues in Chicago in 2009.
Unfortunately, the original lineup rotated frequently as drummer Jason Burger left the band to be replaced by Comtois with additional members of Cannata and Doostzadeh. College also provided a major obstacle for the band as every member was spread across the California coast.
The band reunited every few weeks to work on new songs and eventually got two songs: “Cough Syrup” and “Shake My Hand” on KROQ-FM in 2008 and soon reached the top five of the US alternative chart. Band members soon chose to pursue music as a full time career and sealed a contract with Roadrunner Records right after Ehson Hashemiam jumped ship because of the direction the band was taking. Roadrunner Records launched them on tours all over the nation while they worked on their first debut album with producer Joe Chicarelli.
When their album was first released, critics were quick to dismiss Young the Giant as an indistinct mimic of other popular indie bands without any spirit. Not too long afterwards, the band was featured in the 2011 MTV Music Video Awards and was finally recognized as popularity spiked and albums flew off the shelves by the thousands.
They are currently working on their second album on the road of their latest tour. Gadhia says, “It’s just so early in the process right now it’s kind of hard to, I think, explain where we’re going with it.”
In 2004, a small group of close friends named Jacob Tilley, Adam Farmer, Kevin Massoudi, Ehson Hashemian, and Sameer Gadhia formed a “joke band” called The Jakes (an acronym for all the names of the band members) as a way to get away from high school worries and have a good time playing around with different sounds. Lead singer Gadhia said that “when we finish the final song, I actually look at the words I was just making up and most of the time. The lyrics I write are based loosely upon the gibberish that I wrote.” Their unique spin on soft rock and Caribbean melodies soon swept the stage at local Battle of the Bands contests and won Best High School Band at the 2007 OC Music Awards setting themselves up as a local favorite. Realizing what opportunities may be ahead of them, they later entered and won an online contest to open for Kings of Leon at the House of Blues in Chicago in 2009.
Unfortunately, the original lineup rotated frequently as drummer Jason Burger left the band to be replaced by Comtois with additional members of Cannata and Doostzadeh. College also provided a major obstacle for the band as every member was spread across the California coast.
The band reunited every few weeks to work on new songs and eventually got two songs: “Cough Syrup” and “Shake My Hand” on KROQ-FM in 2008 and soon reached the top five of the US alternative chart. Band members soon chose to pursue music as a full time career and sealed a contract with Roadrunner Records right after Ehson Hashemiam jumped ship because of the direction the band was taking. Roadrunner Records launched them on tours all over the nation while they worked on their first debut album with producer Joe Chicarelli.
When their album was first released, critics were quick to dismiss Young the Giant as an indistinct mimic of other popular indie bands without any spirit. Not too long afterwards, the band was featured in the 2011 MTV Music Video Awards and was finally recognized as popularity spiked and albums flew off the shelves by the thousands.
They are currently working on their second album on the road of their latest tour. Gadhia says, “It’s just so early in the process right now it’s kind of hard to, I think, explain where we’re going with it.”
