A Conversation with Yunger
It was yet another hot Monday in August. I’d been in the lab all day and I was tired. I’d bought a ticket for a show that Friday and saw several names on the lineup I was unfamiliar with, but there was one I recognized. Yunger.
I’d been listening to them since I discovered the Don't Want To Lose EP in May, and had listened to them enough to have a line or two stuck in my head every once in a while (mostly from Never Found because it’s incredible). That day I mustered the courage to ask for an interview. I knew the venue had a nice space for it, and although I’d only interviewed family before, I know I love asking questions and having conversations, why not tape it?
Days passed and my nervousness rose. Driving east through Sacramento at rush hour on a Friday was way worse than I thought it’d be, but by some miracle, I made it at the perfect time and without a single close call on the road. I gathered what would become my standard concert gear: my voice recorder, my canon point-and-shoot, my earplugs, keys, $10 in cash, my phone, and confidence. I will mention that gathering my confidence took a good 10 minutes. I walked in (with my ticket of course, even though it was almost 2 hours ‘till official doors), introduced myself, we sat down and thus it began…
Dylan: Guitar
Jon: Bass
Jay: Singer
Jeremy: Guitar
Ryan: Drums
How did this project start?
Dylan: A band I was in called Articles needed a drummer at the time and one of my good friends (that I was in a band with prior to Articles) gave me Ryan's number. We lived in the same area and he suggested we should meet up to practice some songs. We met up at your [Ryan] mom's place at the time. I remember practicing there. And the rest is kind of history. He executed everything and things worked out well chemistry-wise, writing and jamming. Since then we went through a whole bunch of different kind of changes, but it's been, I don't know? Like how long do you think?
Ryan: Six or seven years now.
Dylan: We just kind of like decided to put that behind us and then we decided we were just going to make something fresh on our own.
Ryan: Derek, our mutual friend, just like he said, hit me up and then linked us up. And then we had a few fall-out members since. This is not the original lineup of this, so it's taken a while to get to where we're at. We've gone through different vocalists, bass players, It's just been a work in progress.
What was it like working on an EP during the pandemic? You released some stuff right before it got really bad, and shows weren’t an option.
Jay: So we met before [COVID] but like February is kind of when things started. So I just him [Dylan] and I had talked in the past about working together. A couple of years had passed and randomly something just came to my mind I was like “I wonder what Dylan’s up to?” So I reached out and they just had recently partnered with one of their previous vocalists. I was like, “Oh what convenient timing.” They had four tracks they had done with Beau Bruchell from Saosin, which is crazy, so they sent me the instrumentals. We didn’t meet up in person for about a month or so, waiting for things to open up, I tracked my vocals at home, sent them to Beau. We got together very rarely, because we still had no idea when everything would open up. We didn’t really know what we were preparing for. We trying to get the songs finished, and as things opened up, we got our videos going, we were able to build a little bit of momentum for a show after covid. I can imagine, like the days before the internet, we would’ve never been able to do this.
Ryan: It’s cool that things happened the way they did because now it’s kinda built in to how we do things. We can track something, send it back and forth to work on demos and stuff like it.
While I listened to their newest EP, I noticed a difference in their sound. It didn’t have the elements I associate with “West Coast Core” or the Sacramento scene. It reminded me more of the British alternative rock and post-hardcore sound. Loathe, Static Dress, Don Bronco a little bit, Holding Absence, etc. I could hear influences from shoegaze, RnB, pop, metalcore, and more, so naturally, I was curious to see if I was right.
What are some influences for your sound?
Jon: I'm into super progressive/technical metal stuff but also poppy rock stuff too. Anything from really commercial bad omen stuff to just heavy, gnarly djent and stuff like that. I'm all over the place. I like playing with these guys a lot because all of our stuff kind of melds together. Especially the newer stuff we've been writing. There's a little bit of everything. Jay's style is so different from a lot of the vocalists that do this kind of music. And you got guys here who like really old-school alt-rock and pop-punk influences in their stuff, and then I kind of have a different sound. It's cool to kind of explore the melodic side a little bit more because I really like technical stuff.
Jay: We're all over the board for sure. I love Frank Sinatra. I was very inspired by Justin Bieber for a long time, I'm not ashamed to say it. Boyz II Men, I love their harmonies. But currently was like the rock stuff, probably like Nothing But Thieves, his vocals are crazy. Sleep Token.
I love people who have like a lot of soul in their voice and just like actually have like saying something and you can feel it in what they’re saying. That's people that I'm inspired by.
I mean, there's a long list of them that I would be leaving out if I tried to name them all. So like, you know, that's mostly my side of it, just yeah, soulful people with like an R&B like essence, I guess.
Ryan: My influence is kind of like everybody here, all over the board, but I love Underoath. I love bands like Citizen, Balance & Composure, I get a lot of influence from them. And like, Blink-182 is one of my favorite bands growing up so I know all those sh*t. It's kind of influenced a lot of my playing style too. So yeah, I listen to a lot of things though. Anagram, Radiohead, all over the place.
Dylan: I think that's going to be like the common thing here in this band. We're kind of all over the place. Like for me too, it's like my favorite band is Incubus and then I still listen to things like Emmure. Even heavier metal stuff, you know? I kind of I love it all. But the things that influenced me the most are, like, '98 to 2003. That was the era for me. That really inspired me to want to be in a band. Anything from like Incubus to Deftones to and Beyond the Coast to Glassjaw.
Jeremy: As far as musically, some of my biggest influence, just to name a few. A band called Explosions in the Sky, super ambient, like, just only music layers, like, I take a lot of influence on that, just the way I write music and songs. But then again, like, I'm over here, like, I'll go and find influence from, like, Knocked Loose, like, when I'm feeling, like, a little bit more energetic. I even go down the realm of jazz. Alan Holdsworth, for example. As far as being a musician and a guitar player I try to find anything that's new, that I can learn something from. To me anything like that is an influence.
One thing that surprised me when I was listening to their EP was Veil of Maya’s vocalist, Lukas Magyar, featuring on a track. His voice fit in really well, and it was really cool hearing a deathcore vocalist displaying skill in non-harsh vocals. I was also very curious on how the Chicago - Sacramento connection could have happened.
Dylan: I got the sweetest opportunity from a really good friend of mine that I was in Articles with who is involved with managing bands. He so happened to tour manage Veil of Maya and they needed a sound guy and a guitar tech and asked me do it. So, I flew out there with not even knowing who they were. I knew the name, and I think I seen them open for Dance [Gavin Dance] a couple times at Ace [of Spades], but that was about it. I got put on a 45-day tour with them and Periphery, and I flew to Chicago. I got to spend some time with those guys and over those days I grew close with a couple of the band members and Lukas was one of them. And I got to show him the song before Jay sang on it, before it was even recorded with Beau. So after the tour was over and I went home, I sent him those four tracks and he was like “Hey, I'd be interested in guest vocaling with this.” And it kind of just worked out kind of easily, honestly. I just kind of sent him the four songs, and I was like, pick the best one that you want to sing on, or whatever you think is the best one, and he picked that song. He recorded his vocals, and then kind of the same process Jay had to do with Beau, land then sent it to us, and then we sent it to Beau. But yeah, that's just kind of how it was. I guitar teched and just kind of helped him with their everyday setup with that tour. So coming home, I was like, “Hey, this might help my band. And also I love his voice. So these two things might kind of help each other out.” It was easy.
Jay: It worked out super well. I'm super happy with what he came up with. It was so fun to work with him on that. Like, we FaceTimed and, like, went back and forth on, like, writing for a couple pieces of that. Like, I would not have thought to have done the things he did. He takes it way further than what I would have thought of doing, which I guess is why he’s doing what he’s doing.
Jeremy: I'm still kind of in shock that somebody at that level wanted to work with us, you know? Especially after I took some time to listen to their stuff and learn who they are. So we're super thankful.
Jon: It’s crazy to me because I’ve been a fan of Veil of Maya since day one. I went to one of their shows back in the day in Fresno. It was just me and two other dudes and we were up at the front headbanging as hard we could. It’s so cool to see it come full circle. It’s cool from where I started as a fan of them for the vocalist to help us on one of our songs.
What are some things you're interested in exploring more in your music? Thematic or otherwise.
Jay: I would like to explore some more R&B influence. I'd love to dive into real things that people experience. Things that everybody experiences, because I feel like there's so much negativity going on in the world. A lot of people need someone to talk to, or listen to. I felt like talking to, the musicians that had written stuff that helped me through really dark times. and getting to tell them that they helped me. They've never met me, but it felt like I knew them, it felt like they knew me. I guess whatever those themes are, I want to find those and be able to be like a voice for anybody who feels like they don't have somebody to talk to.
Jon: Stuff that's vulnerable, stuff that's real, stuff that's inspiring, anything that can make you feel something. I know that's all the things I love about music, whether it's live or recorded. I always connect to the things that make me feel like I'm transported to a place or a feeling or a memory or an experience. I think we'll just explore whatever we feel that's natural right now.
What's your favorite part about creating music?
Jeremy: For me it's pure just release, you know? All the emotions and tensions build up throughout you know my daily life and stuff and music is what I go to to release it all, to keep balance. That's the main thing for me here.
Dylan: I think for me it's just like about the kid I saw in the mirror. The kid rocking out with a guitar that he probably can't even play chords with. There were bands that got me through my childhood and things I was going through and to reciprocate that is really important to me. If i can do a fraction of what those bands did for me… I think music is a powerful thing. I think anything that can kind of alter the way that you feel, give you hope or inspiration to do more. I think it's really, I think it's really powerful and interesting.
If we can help somebody else get through something they're struggling with or make them feel okay for the three minutes of a song, that’s what matters to me.
Ryan: Everything. Everything about playing my instrument is my favorite thing ever. I love hitting things and making things sound cool.
Jay: I agree with what everyone else is saying, it’s a release, it’s certainly a form of therapy. My favorite artists were there when I felt like no one else was there. From creation to the point of getting to be in a room full of people where everyone can set aside like their, just whatever thoughts they have, whatever outside forces that are going on, and just be able to be in a room full of love and just enjoy all the same things.
Jon: I think it's cool for me just to be a part of something that's bigger than myself in a lot of ways. I know i have x amount of time on this Earth to create something that will outlive me, create something that down the road someone might connect to down the road if they happen to stumble across it… then the flip side of that the best part of creating music is I love performing live I love getting on stage and I try to be the person that I always looked up to when I was a kid going to shows, like “that was incredible” like I whether it sounds good, whether it sounds bad you will remember me.
Jon: I was a fan of the band before I was a part of it. Me being in it was from going to see this current lineup live. So to be a part of it, I feel like I’m playing with house money.
Everyone sounded really excited about their new material as a group. With everyone being involved instead of handing over completed tracks and learning them.
Dylan: On newer things you're gonna you're gonna be able to hear like more of Jay's like inspiration and Jon's and Ryan's and mine's and Jeremy's. I feel like it's a little bit more wholesome in a way that’s a bit more true to who we are now, and I think I think that's why we enjoy playing the new stuff so much more you know what I mean because we're able everybody has their own inspiration that they could put into the newer stuff.
Jeremy: It's cool to see this new stuff we've been writing because of our different influences. So what we bring to the table, what all of that combines and what it creates collectively is like a really cool sound, which to me is like really unique and I think what kind of helps us stand out a little bit like, you know I feel like this collective actually is bringing something fresh to the table and I think it's because of that like all of our different influences. I think you said something earlier too like we didn't really sound like a lot of the bands in this area right or something like that and that's kind of something I think we all wear on our sleeve in this band maybe not necessarily so openly but we're pretty proud of that I think.
Jon: I'm pretty proud of that as well. And it's not a diss on anybody in our in our area. We love everybody that we play live with and they're all talented. Everybody that we're we affiliate ourselves with are great, but we do have like this small sense of pride that like, "Yeah, we kind of are kind of maybe marching to our own drum". I think it's neat, it opens us up to be able to play with a lot of different kinds of bands too. Like we've played with some heavier bands, we've played with some really classic big bands, and gotten to play with anything and everything in between, which is a cool position for us to be in. We get to share the stage with so many different people.
I asked about any news they’d be willing to share, perhaps give me the early scoop on some songs… but they couldn’t, so. I’m looking forward to listening to what they create and getting to talk with them again.