Perhaps one of Jersey's most high profile local bands, Joe Young and the Bandits played the Moment of Madness Festival with their bluesy rock last Friday night but to my surprise, none of them are actually called Joe Young;
Martin: My middle name’s Joe. Joe Young’s a normal guy who walks down the road; the average Joe. The music sort of represents the average joe and how he lives life. And Young means he’ll forever be young. The Bandit is always a rebel bandit. It’s in everyone’s nature to rebel against something in their life, they’re always going to be young in the heart.
You’ve played many events from Reasons to Jersey Live to Groove de Lecq. So which one has been your favourite to play?
Greg: Groove de Lecq’s always a good one.
Eddie: Groove de Lecq is awesome then there’s Halkett Hoedown. You know taking these songs from the garage to quite a large audience has been amazing because we never expected even to get as far to play Jersey Live. The band just started as a hobby, still is in a way.
M: My personal favourite was Halkett Hoedown, watching people dance in the street brought a tear to my eye, I was so proud.
E: It was awesome just to take those songs that we worked hard on by ourselves and play them to other people and to see other people enjoy it. That’s the thing.
How did you meet each other and what made you form your band?
E: Myself Greg and Chris all went to school together so we all met around about 11. Martin came a bit later.
G: Yeah we were down at Rock in the Park 2012, Martin comes along with 4 litres of Strongbow. We met Martin through good ol’ alcohol.
M: Met Greg down at the Vic, which is now the Green Rooster, I was made to sing a song because the singer didn’t want to, and then Greg approached me about being the singer of the band he was starting up. That was the Saturday, and then the next week we ripped through a song in Eddie’s garage and still to this day, The Devil Inside Me, the four of us went, ‘we’ve got something here.’
Would you ever want to take Joe Young to a more international audience and if so where would you like to end up in this career?
M: As far as we can go.
E: Everything’s a highlight, to play Hospitality at Jersey Live, Halkett Hoedown and Groove de Lecq, we’ve gone further than any of us expected. Once you’ve tasted a little bit you want to go further. I’d love for us to go and play a few dates in the UK, Brighton, possibly even London.
Chris: Obviously Europe as well, like France and Germany, they’d be up for it definitely.
M: I’ve just envisioned us playing in a stadium ‘cause I think we’ve got that stadium sound. We could fill a stadium with just the four of us.
In a world of pop music, how did you guys come to be such fans of bands like Sabbath and Zeppelin?
E: Through our friends, Greg was always listening to it as well as our parents. Greg and I have older parents so we were introduced to music from the 50’s and 60’s like Elvis, Jim Reeves on my side. For Greg, his mum had a cassette of Alice in Chains’ Dirt album that was always in the car and we thought that was so cool. I suppose we take inspiration from everything, some of the stuff coming out now is just as good as what was happening 30-40 years ago, Tame Impala, Mac Demarco, Thee Oh Seas, just to name a few are some of my favourite current bands. But I suppose bands like Sabbath, they just had the pure heart and the magic together. The music really pulled them together and they spoke the truth, they spoke what was on their mind regardless of anyone else’s opinion.
Greg: Pop music back then was what was popular so the Beatles would’ve been pop music at the time, but nowadays what’s popular is a different thing.
E: Yeah and music usually goes full circle, trends always comeback at times. You just stay truthful to what you like and enjoy.
M: I was a late bloomer to rock music, I didn’t listen to Sabbath until 3 years ago. First time I heard Sabbath was through Eddie, ‘you’ve got to listen to this track!’ But I thought they were too heavy, then I listened to it and I was like ‘holy sh*t!’ That was it for me. Even before I’d heard any of their music I’d watched some documentaries and we write in a similar way to what they do. The way we write a song is emotional from all of us, that’s the input and we stick to that formula. The emotion is what drives a song from each of us individually but it comes together.
E: I think that’s why people love those bands ‘cause they write truly from the heart, they write with passion, they write with meaning and thought; not just to see how much money they can make. They write about reality.
M: When I grew up, my older brother liked Metallica and that put me off heavy metal. I was more into the trance scene at the time and through that I found Ocean Colour [Scene] and Oasis and that era of stuff. After that the guitar music kicked in, I was mad on the old blues stuff and that’s what got me more than anything else.
You’re constantly on the pub circuit; do you have any favourite venues to play in?
E: There is quite a limitation on that point.
M: That’s the sad thing. I think the Blue Note is more intimate but because of it’s intimacy you can’t really let go 100%, so the Troubadour is good. We played St James’ [Wine Bar] a few months back before Christmas and that was nuts.
E: The Green Rooster can be pretty good. Pav’s an awesome guy as a manager. We just like a good audience, if the music connects with the audience then that’s the ultimate goal.
M: Even Chambers can be a bit off, even if it was for just one day a month, let locals bands play their own music because there’s loads of musicians in Jersey so it’s a shame that it’s all just cover music.
E: There’s so much talent and it would be nice to see a few more venues but also for the venues themselves to understand the sound as well. A lot of the venues have very cheap PA systems and it’d be nice if they actually put some investment into the overall sound.
M: When we played The Fair Maiden couple of weeks ago everything was catered for. The sound was fantastic, the lights were fantastic, the crew that ran both the lights and the sound –
E: It’s almost unheard of in Jersey to have sound and lighting at a gig, ‘what’s lighting?’ you know? ‘What’s a mixing desk?’ People don’t understand the effort that goes into making the music production.
C: There used to be The Live Longue that was THE place for alternative music. The Live Longue was the best place for alternative or originals, now that’s gone we haven’t really got anything.
M: We were one of the last bands to play the Live Longue as well.
E: I will never ever forget that gig, 2K14.
Apart from yourselves, who are your favourite local musicians?
E: Ah so many! I love Semu Ca, Electric Brick –
M: Howl. I think Howl are the best of them all man I just, them boys have got something really cool. I think they are really really good lads as well you know?
G: Custard.
M: What do you mean Custard?! (Laughter) Yeah there’s a few, Pirate’s [Party Brigade] as well are good boys.
E: Yeah I don’t want to go through too many names ‘cause we’ll end up missing people out. There’s a lot of fantastic musicians and bands on the island and everyone has a chance to showcase themselves.
M: The more you think about it the more you go ‘oh my God,’ these guys are my style and aren’t my style. I wouldn’t listen to him too often but I like Tadhg Daly, he seems pretty cool.
E: Even if we don’t connect to it personally, we appreciate the fact that people are doing what they’re doing. Each to their own you know?
Have you ever thought about releasing a full length album?
C: Well we did an EP, and we did an EP launch –
M: Which was rushed.
C: It was sort of within a time limit and then we’ve recorded an album but we’re just waiting to sort the other bits out.
E: We’ve recorded it.
C: We’re taking our time with it so we can get it spot on perfectly.
M: There’s not estimate on it, it’s ours so we don’t have any restrictions on it, so when we feel it’s ready that’ll be when we release it.
C: When we’re happy with it we’ll then be able to do it.
What’s your writing process like? Do you all get involved or is it just one person who will come up with ideas?
E: A lot of the first songs were written together as a collective you know, it would start out either myself or Greg coming out with a riff and then it would develop together. Some of the new ones are maybe a tiny little bit more individuality but still collectively we write our songs.
M: The Devil Inside Me was the first –
C: - idea you know Greg’s coming up with a new riff, then he’ll say right Eddie play these chords and I’ll put a beat to it and then Martin will come in with the lyrics.
E: And vice versa.
C: Yeah and then it can be the other way round.
M: Eddie, the first ever song we’d written was The Devil Inside Me, he just goes ‘da da da, da da,’ that was all I heard on the bass and I was like, ‘develop that!’ Parts of that song were actually taken from other different songs and then we pulled it together and pieced it because it fitted better and made the sound of the song. It was great.
Who are your individual musical inspirations?
E: Ouch, where do we start?!
M: Depends on the moment doesn’t it?
E: Past or present? Alive or dead?
C: I’ve only got one live one, the other two are dead!
M: For me I’ve got to say Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘cause those guys taught me how to sing. Kings of Leon as well, I love Kings of Leon. As well as older stuff like Ocean Colour Scene, I think they’re just one of them bands that are so underrated and they were on the verge of creating so much more, but I think they didn’t want it. That’s from me personally. These guys are completely different veins you know?
E: I can’t select one, it’s too much. Top three would be, currently, Kevin Parker [Tame Impala,] he writes, records, everything you know so I think that’s a huge talent that he has, very inspirational. Jim Morrison from The Doors; his tone, his lyrics, everything about him. And probably Tony Iommi –
C: [Pink] Floyd?
E: Yeah Floyd! I can’t forget Floyd, there are just too many people.
C: Mine are Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Ginger Baker and Bill Ward.
G: I don’t know what mine are.
M: Clappy?
G: Yeah good old Clappy. Mine’s similar to Eddie really, Pink Floyd, anything pre 1970’s really.
Follow FREAK on socials;
Facebook 💀@FreakMag666
Instagram 💀@FreakJaz666 / @PurpleZebraPant
Twitter 💀@FreakMag666 / @PurpleZebraPant
YouTube 💀@Freak Magazine
TikTok 💀@Metallijaz
Follow JOE YOUNG and the BANDITS on socials;
Facebook 💀 @Bandits.Young
Instagram 💀 @JoeYoungAndTheBandits
YouTube 💀