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" As long as I had something to be involved in musically I could always justify keeping at it."

When Bryan B. William, Gareth Moore and Brandon Zedaker started playing together at college in San Diego, they weren't sure where it would lead. However, the uncertainty didn't stop them from continuing on to eventually take their act on the road after school and eventually get to the sound that The Young Wild is today. Combining layers of synth-pop, '80s rock and some soul thrown in for good measure, The Young Wild released their single "Not a One" and are working on their full-length album. William spoke with MySpace about the journey The Young Wild took in order to get to the point they were a band, touring with ZZ Ward and the upcoming LP.

You guys met while in college in San Diego. What were you guys studying at the time?

Our bands degrees include film studies, chemistry, and jazz studies.

And when you actually started playing together?

Gareth and I spent a lot of time playing music while still in school. It wasn’t until after we left that we really got to know Brandon better and decided to work on what would become The Young Wild songbook.

Did you foresee a future in what you were doing at the time?

Sure. As long as I had something to be involved in musically I could always justify keeping at it. As long as there was a next step in the process, a next step that takes you a bit deeper than the last. Maybe we should jam some time. Let's make a MySpace page. Let's do a gig at this venue. Let's learn Photoshop and design a logo. Now let's do a gig in San Francisco. Maybe if we bought a van we could do shows Fri-Sun up the coast. Maybe if we save up some money we could buy a van and do shows Fri-Sun up the coast. Maybe if we write a good song we could better justify the need to buy a van and do shows Fri-Sun up the coast. Yes this process makes us sound like boneheads, but each step in this type of process provides an aspiring musician with a new skill you need to be Arcade Fire.

What is the story behind The Young Wild?

I’ve been saying and feeling like it’s a band I’m a part of that represents most of what I’ve learned about being in a band. So hopefully what we present every day is us at our best to date. It’s not perfect but we enjoy the refinement process a great deal.

The Young Wild toured before you guys even dropped your first EP. How did you feel that approach helped honed your sound and the overall band's dynamic? True. We were promoting our material on the road, but only one of the songs is currently available. Playing for new crowds in parts of the country we’d never been to as a band was a great learning curve. The tour got us in live-shape, we worked out show dynamics, and really looked at the tour as an opportunity to take risks.

What is "Not a One" about?

I think it’s about being loyal to someone you love when they are put under scrutiny or shamed for some reason. You’re not perfect and that’s ok, but sometimes everyones got an opinion about how you royally messed up. How do you help someone cope with something like this? What do you offer up? Can you take them away from that feeling?   

   

You recently finished your tour with ZZ Ward. What was it like touring with her? Any interesting road stories?

We played for lots of great people in a bunch of towns we’d never been to as a band. ZZ Ward is a total pro and was very good to us, as well as her crew. Nothing too interesting or out of the ordinary happened on the road. We ate some great food, got to see a lot of friends and family, and nobody got hurt.

You're now working on the debut album. Where are you at with that? What can we expect?

It’s being worked on as I’m writing this. We are just taking in day by day and after getting a good amount of it done over the summer, it’s feeling close. There are expectations internally for this release but all we can really do is take it day by day and spend time crafting something that feels real to us. Whatever it becomes we just need to be able to say ‘ This is our best effort and this is honest.’

What are your plans for the rest of 2015 and possibly the top of 2016?

Hopefully a few more shows and finishing the record. Nothing on the books right now but we have lots that will be coming out in 2016. We really can’t wait for it.

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