Interview Over Yonder
Yet another new band emerges from Leeds. So who are Yonderboy?
Interview: Over Yonder
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Just as we were thinking that Leeds had quite enough bands and no more were needed, thank you very much, along came Yonderboy to prove us entirely wrong. With a heady blend of barely contained indignance, vocal acrobatics and spikey guitars, catching them live is a treat as the crowd revel in the bald emotion and passion that they so unabashedly deliver. They’re possessed with a self-awareness that eludes most of their contemporaries with lead singer Zand saying: “We’re only a young band. We were thrown in the deep end in terms of gigging because one of our first gigs was supporting Frightened Rabbit at the Brudenell. That was decided as a last minute thing so we didn’t have a chance to get nervous about it. I just want to get better at playing and take the band as far as it will go, and enjoy myself along the way. We can be quite inconsistent live.”
Yonderboy’s recorded output doesn’t quite do them justice, failing to chart their progression from a group of tentative boys to a tight machine spewing out wired, tightly orchestrated angst-pop. As drummer Sammy says, “I think we come across better live than we do on our current recordings.” At which point lead singer Zand comes in with: “actually, our best gig was at the Burley Liberal Club, it was a mixture of young students and old men who were regulars, we got steadily more pissed throughout it all, the band before us had books that they handed out to the audience so they could sing along - like hymns. It was good because there wasn’t any pressure because it was so bizarre.”
Once future plans are touched upon their straight-talking approach becomes clear “There’s the 10 year rule,” says Zand. The rest of the band solemnly nod. This is the length of time a band should keep going with no significant success before they throw in the towel. “Elbow took 10 years to make it. If we’re all 60 and no one likes us we might start to question carrying on with it,” which leaves them a fair amount of time to win over the hearts and ears of the nation.
Dispelling the myth surrounding the Leeds’ music scene’s cliquey reputation Zand says: “You can get good gigs, if you’re a good enough band. The Brudenell is our favourite venue in Leeds and it’s not just the bands it’s the venues, the promoters, everything’s there if you want to meet those people. It’s a really friendly scene. A lot of people have been good to us and given us gigs we wouldn’t usually get in other cities. The ¡Forward, Russia! guys have been really good with us, if people think you’re good they’ll help you out, it’s not cliquey.”
“We’ve been welcomed into the bosom. There’s no pretence, no one’s got an agenda.” An apt assessment that could very easily be applied to the band themselves. A more genuinely passionate group you’re unlikely to meet.
To hear Yonderboy, visit http://www.myspace.com/yonderboymusic
Posted on Wednesday 29th April 2009
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