Interviews: Youth Illusion

In this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Punk Rock band Youth Illusion from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

The band name comes from a bit of a joke; we are a little older than most bands in our scene so the name Youth Illusion kind of fits perfectly – Zach suggested the band name and Rory responded with how he feels 21 and has done so for 14 years and it just kind of stuck. Some people have suggested changing it to Youth Delusion but that’s still a few years away hahaha

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

It’s the type of music that we are most into. We all have different favorites and influences but we all merge in the same place. We all bring something different to our sound and we love the way it all comes together.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

No, Zach and Rory met first in May 2018 when they formed the band – Matt and Tim joined in April 2019 and none of us knew each other before the band. It's amazing how that all comes together because we all consider each other brothers already

4. Each band member favorite band?

I am not sure any of us actually has a number 1 because we listen to so much. Zach loves the post-punk stuff like Alexisonfire and Thrice; Matt is into classic rock bands like Guns n Roses and ACDC; Rory is into anything punk rock or related like Four Year Strong, Trash Boat, State Champs, and Tim loves his heavy stuff like Dream Theatre and Slayer

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Anything relevant at the time – most of our songs at the moment are about toxic relationships but it wasn’t planned that way; the music usually comes first and once Zach has come up with the melody, he will go away and write lyrics and they are usually about whatever is on his mind at the time

6. Where was your last gig?

We did a 3 date run from Manchester, through Birmingham to London and finished up at The Hope and Anchor in Islington

7. Where would you like to play?

We want to play as many festivals as possible but obviously, the big ones like Download and Reading/Leeds would be amazing. But we like to play anywhere and everywhere; we are still a relatively young band so will hopefully tick off all the bucket list festivals and venues over the next few years

8. Who would you like to support?

We would love to play with bands like Alexisonfire, Four Year Strong, Rise Against as the dream goes but there are a lot of other bands playing at a good level that we would love to tour with; bands like Trash Boat, Roam, Max Raptor, Wstr, and the like

9. Who not?

It's hard to answer that because we love most bands but can we be safe and say something like Kanye West?

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

Rory suffers with anxiety and the best way to fight it is to drink beer! Nah, just getting more experience and being confident in what you are playing goes a long way – know your songs as well as you can and you will find yourself being able to concentrate more on enjoying yourself. Remember that everyone messes up once in a while and 1 mistake on stage shouldn’t ruin the rest of your experience. 

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Alexisonfire, Rise Against, Thrice, Chevelle

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Is this magazine PG? We haven’t really had any weird non-sexual requests but let's just say they were easy to turn down based on where/who they were coming from!

13. What do you think of your fans?

We have got amazing fans. We have our core that turn up to every show and we are so grateful for them; they don’t just take up space either, they really give it all and create a vibe for us to feed off. We would love to grow our fan base just like any other band would and our current crop have definitely set a great standard

14. What do you think of our site?

It is a really cool site and we are super proud and thankful to be featured on it. 

15. Something to add?

Our debut EP, ‘Terms of Submission’ is out on 15 November and will be available for pre-order really soon! Huge shout out to anyone who has supported us so far and we can't wait to share this release with you.