Key Percussion

Youngblood Hawke is a very down-to-earth group of people. We caught up to Tasso and Alice when the band was hanging out by the merch table chatting with eager fans. We stopped them and asked them if they'd answer a few quick questions. Once we told them more about our site and what we're trying to do, they happily agreed. On stage, they're energetic and focused musicians with a desire to do more than make music, they have a desire to make changes in the world. For their music video for the song, "We Come Running," the band dropped themselves into shark infested waters to prove to the world that sharks aren't blood-thirsty monsters like Hollywood portrays (nor can they survive in a shark-wielding tornado, right SyFy?) Sharks are just subject to curiosity that is misconstrued as aggression and as a result, are rapidly experiencing the destruction of their species. Ultimately, they're genuinely kind people that put on a kick-ass show! The audio for the interview is above and the transcript for the interview is below!

 

 

You guys are a pretty big band, what's the biggest difficulty about having so many members?

Alice: I don't know, I don't think we've had any issues with that.

Me: Sharing the stage?

Tasso: Logistically, it becomes more complicated, but we travel really well together and so, it's made it pretty easy. And we're self contained,  we pack light, but ya' know, there are definitely some times with the shower, there's an hour and a half [long] line.

Alice: It's funny because if we're on a tiny stage or something, each of us has such a big set up, it can be be pretty tight. But we actually love that, ya know, getting really sweaty and close to each other. There's the vibe we get from each other, it's really great.

 

Cool, so, I feel like I'm always asking bands this questions, but it tells a lot about the members and it's usually a good story; where did you guys come up with the name "Youngblood Hawke?"

Tasso: Actually, Sam, the lead singer, that's his story, but I can tell it pretty good, I think. He was asking his dad for a book to read-

Alice: Uncle!

Tasso: Well, he was asking his dad..

Alice: Oh, shit. I should've kept my mouth shut.

Tasso: and he said, 'Well, have you ever read Youngblood Hawke? It was your uncle's favorite book.' And his uncle had since passed, he was his favorite uncle and so he was like, 'that sounds great, I'll read my uncle's favorite book.' and it was Youngblood Hawke. He read it, it hit home with him, and he was inspired to name the project in the early stages. A book by Herman Wouk and it was written in, like, the 50s. Really great book though.

 

You guys formed in 2012, but are playing in major venues, what do you credit your rapidly growing popularity to?

Alice: I don't know, it's hard to say, but we're really grateful for whatever's happening.

Tasso: We've just worked so hard. The band formed in 2012, but this is something every one of us has been working towards for our whole lives.

 

Your song We Come Running is undoubtedly a huge success and the music video is meant to show people that sharks aren't bloodthirsty monsters, how do feel the success of your song really boosted the popularity of your message?

Tasso: That's a good question.

Alice: That is a good question.

Tasso: Well, you know, that's really what you wanna do whenever you wanna say anything. Whether that's through music or through writing - you wanna spread a message and you want people to hear your voice. And I think Simon and Sam, in the beginning of the project, that was an extremely important thing and when we got to this music video, we thought, "How are we gonna get this to mean something?" And the song, people loved it, so they watched the video. So, now sharks are a little bit less endangered, that was the goal.

Me: That's actually what you guy have been saying in your videos, it's a big problem. People have been killing sharks and the population's decreased.

Tasso: And it's not just sharks, it's the oceans, you gotta be careful with it.

 

What other causes do you guys support?

Tasso: Actively and publically, that's probably it at the moment.

Alice: We feed homeless shelters during the holidays and we try to get involved where we can and reach out when we can.