Young the Giant
Encyclopedia
Young the Giant is an American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band that formed in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...

, in 2004. The band's line-up is Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

), Jacob Tilley (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Eric Cannata (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

), and François Comtois (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

). Formerly known as The Jakes, Young the Giant was signed by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...

 in 2009 and released its eponymous debut album
Young the Giant (album)
Young the Giant is the eponymous debut album by American indie rock band Young the Giant. It was released digitally by the Roadrunner record label on October 26, 2010, and was followed by a physical CD and vinyl release in the United States on January 25, 2011...

 in 2010.

Formation (2004-2009)

The Jakes formed in 2004 in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...

. After several personnel changes, the group's lineup by 2008 consisted of Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Ehson Hashemian, Eric Cannata, François Comtois, and Jason Burger. While two members were still in high school and the rest were attending different colleges, the band recorded the EP, "Shake My Hand," with producer Ian Kirkpatrick, and shortly thereafter decided to put their schooling on hold to focus on music. Jason Burger left the band to pursue a career as a freelance musician in New York City, and François Comtois took over as the drummer. Shortly after, longtime friend and collaborator, Payam Doostzadeh, joined as bassist.
In 2009 the band played four shows at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 music festival in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

. The band's song "Texas Tea" was played during an episode of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's The Real World: Brooklyn
The Real World: Brooklyn
The Real World: Brooklyn is the twenty-first season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras document their lives and interpersonal relationships...

, and "Paid the Piper" was featured on A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...

's The Beast
The Beast (2009 TV series)
The Beast is an American crime drama series starring Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel. It debuted on the A&E Network on Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10 PM EST. On June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight announced that the show was canceled due to Swayze's pancreatic cancer...

. Another song, "Cough Syrup
Cough Syrup (song)
"Cough Syrup" is a song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album. It was composed when the band was named The Jakes, and first appeared on their 2008 EP Shake My Hand...

", received airplay on the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 radio station KROQ
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...

.
Shortly before signing to Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...

 in August, keyboardist Ehson Hashemian departed the band.
In December, the band announced they had changed their name to Young the Giant.

Young the Giant (2010-present)

Young the Giant spent 2010 touring with Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2001, the group features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving...

 and Steel Train
Steel Train
Steel Train is an indie rock band from New Jersey. They have toured with Tegan and Sara, Girl in a Coma, Ben Folds, The Fray, Silversun Pickups, Hanson, The Format, Gomez, O.A.R., Barenaked Ladies, Fun and others...

 while working on its debut album with producer Joe Chicarelli
Joe Chicarelli
Joe Chiccarelli is an American music producer, mixer and engineer who has been active since early '80's. He has produced albums by Stan Ridgway, Oingo Boingo, Sandra Bernhard, My Morning Jacket, Counting Crows, The Shins, Augie March, Manchester Orchestra, Minus the Bear, Kurt Elling, Big Talk...

.
After the band finished recording in early June, they played additional shows with Marina and the Diamonds, The Futureheads
The Futureheads
The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland. consisting of Ross Millard , Barry Hyde and David "Jaff" Craig...

, Neon Trees
Neon Trees
Neon Trees is an American alternative rock band from Provo, Utah, with origins in Murrieta, California. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the rock band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records and...

 and New Politics
New Politics (band)
New Politics is a rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. It is made up of David Boyd, Søren Hansen, and Louis Vecchio. They are probably most famous for their debut single, "Yeah Yeah Yeah" which was featured in the 2010 video game Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit....

. Several songs—including "My Body", "I Got", and "Strings"—were leaked online in advance of the album's release. On October 26, Roadrunner Records digitally released the eponymous Young the Giant
Young the Giant (album)
Young the Giant is the eponymous debut album by American indie rock band Young the Giant. It was released digitally by the Roadrunner record label on October 26, 2010, and was followed by a physical CD and vinyl release in the United States on January 25, 2011...

album, which Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

 hailed the third best rock album of 2010. The album received a physical U.S. release on January 25, 2011. The album was released in the UK on May 2.

The band's first single "My Body
My Body (Young the Giant song)
"My Body" is a 2010 song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album. Written by the band and released as a single in 2011, it peaked at number five on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and number 65 on the singles charts in both the US and Canada...

" was released to U.S. radio in January and went on to peak at number five on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Alternative Songs chart. The song was offered as a free download on iTunes for the week beginning January 9, and was featured on an episode of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

. The band performed the song that month on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Fuel TV
Fuel TV
Fuel TV is a U.S. cable and satellite specialty channel that launched on July 1, 2003. It focuses on the cultures of such extreme sports as skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motocross, surfing, BMX and FMX. It is a unit of Fox Cable Networks and is currently available to 26-million...

's The Daily Habit. The official video for the single, which features actor Bryan James, was directed by Justin Francis
Justin Francis
Justin Francis is a New York-based director/photographer. He has directed music videos for Alicia Keys,Nickelback, Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Nicole Scherzinger, Modest Mouse, Amos Lee, Weezer, Jaguar Wright, Timbaland, Obie Trice, Cashis, Stat Quo, Kill Hannah, Young the Giant, Dropping...

.

In March, Young the Giant headlined the Billboard Showcase at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

. In May, the band played the Sasquatch! Music Festival
Sasquatch! Music Festival
Sasquatch! Music Festival is a music festival held annually at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. It is presented by the House of Blues. There is an emphasis on indie rock bands and singer-songwriters, although there are also alternative rock, hip hop and comedy acts...

, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Later... with Jools Holland and The Great Escape Festival
The Great Escape Festival
The Great Escape Festival is a major music festival that covers all genres of music and is held in the city of Brighton every year over 3 days in May. The dates for 2012 are May 10th to 12th. It kick starts the festival season, introducing 15,000 music lovers to the key artists and sounds of the...

 in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

. English singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...

, on the fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...

 True to You, declared Young The Giant as one of his favourite new bands. The music video for the group's second single, "Cough Syrup", premiered in June. The band was named MTV's PUSH Artist of the Week on July 4.

An extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 (EP) featuring remixes by such artists as Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club are an indie rock band from Bangor and Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed in 2007, the band is composed of band members: Sam Halliday , Alex Trimble and Kevin Baird...

, Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It consists of vocalist and bassist David Monks , keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook , and drummer Greg Alsop ....

 and Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band from Syracuse, New York, consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, cellist Alexandra Lawn , violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Kenny Bernard.-History:...

 was made available in September for free through Young the Giant's Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 page. Fans were invited to create their own remixes with the opportunity for their entry to be featured on the EP. In August, the band played on the main stage at Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...

.

Young the Giant performed during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced...

 on August 28. The band began a tour with Incubus
Incubus (band)
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...

 two days later.
The exposure from the VMA performance propelled Young the Giant onto the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 albums chart, where it eventually peaked at number 42.
Sales for "My Body" climbed 220 percent on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, helping the single reach number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart. Young the Giant played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...

 in September, and a month later performed songs from their debut album for an episode of MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...

which will debut online in November.

Band members

Current members
  • Sameer Gadhia – lead vocals
    Lead vocalist
    The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

     (since 2004)
  • Jacob Tilley – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (since 2004)
  • Eric Cannata – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

     (since 2007)
  • Payam Doostzadeh – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (since 2008)
  • François Comtois – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , percussion, vocals (since 2007)


Former members (The Jakes)
  • Ehson Hashemian - keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

    , piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

    , synthesizer
    Synthesizer
    A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

    s (2004–2009)
  • Jason Burger - drums (2008)
  • Sean Fischer - drums (2004–2007)

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...


US
Heat
NLD
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...


UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

Young the Giant
Young the Giant (album)
Young the Giant is the eponymous debut album by American indie rock band Young the Giant. It was released digitally by the Roadrunner record label on October 26, 2010, and was followed by a physical CD and vinyl release in the United States on January 25, 2011...

  • Released: October 26, 2010 (digital), January 25, 2011 (US),
    May 2, 2011 (UK)
  • Label: Roadrunner
    Roadrunner Records
    Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...

  • Format: Digital download
    Music download
    A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

    , CD
    Compact Disc
    The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

    , LP
    LP record
    The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

42 2 29 83

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...


US
Alt
US
Rock
Rock Songs
Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...


CAN
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...


CAN
Alt
Canadian rock/alternative chart
The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie...


CAN
Rock
Canadian rock/alternative chart
The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie...


NLD
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...


"My Body
My Body (Young the Giant song)
"My Body" is a 2010 song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album. Written by the band and released as a single in 2011, it peaked at number five on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and number 65 on the singles charts in both the US and Canada...

"
2011 65 5 16 54 2 3 56 Young the Giant
Young the Giant (album)
Young the Giant is the eponymous debut album by American indie rock band Young the Giant. It was released digitally by the Roadrunner record label on October 26, 2010, and was followed by a physical CD and vinyl release in the United States on January 25, 2011...

"Apartment"
"Cough Syrup
Cough Syrup (song)
"Cough Syrup" is a song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album. It was composed when the band was named The Jakes, and first appeared on their 2008 EP Shake My Hand...

"
3 11 5 33
"—" denotes release that has not charted.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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