Meet Jeff Young

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeff Young. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jeff, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

So much in the sphere of being an entrepreneur/independent artist in the music industry is a reliance on other people. You work with others for booking gigs, recording albums, finding cover art, planning tours, band mates and rehearsing, the list goes on. One thing that a lot of younger and newer artists get hung up on is they are waiting for things to happen to them.

Oh, if only the ‘right’ person would hear my song, I would get a record deal.

If the ‘right’ agent saw me live, I could book a tour.

After years of grinding away booking events, planning tours and making albums I’ve found that this industry rewards self-actualization. You cannot wait for ‘the right’ thing to happen, you have to make it happen for yourself. Book your own shows, learn to record yourself, get out into the scene and network with people in your community. When people see that you’re willing to work hard for yourself (often with little profit or immediate benefit) they are more inclined to want to help someone who is already willing to do the work.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Weald and Woe is a medieval-themed heavy metal band that tours the United States and Canada when not working on new albums. We strive to combine intricate and thoughtful composition with a high energy live show that has come to be a staple of the genre. One of the key identifying features of what we do is that it is a rather rare combination, with us being one of the few bands to fly the banner of “Castle Metal,” alongside other bands like Obsequiae from Boston and Morke from Minnesota. Our music is a vehicle to combine the beauty of the music from the Middle Ages, aggressive heavy metal and contemplative philosophical lyrics into one highly emotive experience.

Right now we are hard at work on our forthcoming 3rd album, the title of which is currently not announced, as well as preparing for our appearance at this year’s Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle in May, as well as our Southwestern US tour later this summer.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think success an artist, at least coming from the ‘underground’ and not becoming an overnight sensation of sorts requires three key skills: introspection, networking and perseverance.

Introspection as it pertains to the ability to examine yourself and your work and analyze your weaknesses, improve on them, and then continue the process. The work is never done, something can always be better, and the better your ability to internalize this process and carry it forth independently means you are always improving. 1% better every day is a 365% improvement per year, which is incredible growth. And this is true in all aspects: songwriting, tour booking, technical proficiency on your instrument. It spans all areas.

Networking is incredibly important because as they say in show-biz: “your network is your net-worth.” So often, opportunities in the arts come directly from people in your contacts list. It pays to know people. If you are someone who can make acquaintances, remember names and nurture relationships, even if they’re only business, will go farther than someone of immense skill but who is too shy. It’s very important to stay in touch with people, help others when you can, and often that kindness is repaid back on you. You’ve got to be a member of your community if you want your community to be there for you.

Perseverance is crucial because often times you are going to hear far more of ‘no’ than you are of ‘yes.’ There’s more artists than opportunities, and that’s just how it goes sometimes. But your ability to keep going, and sometimes even make your own opportunities, will show others that you are driven, hard working and dependable. It’s not always tough sledding, but they say that you’ve either got the heart for music or you don’t, and those that don’t will weed themselves out. Keep going, never give up, make your own opportunities.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents ever did for me (besides buying my first guitars) was pull me out of football for guitar lessons. My dad was insistent that even though I wanted to play football, I would leave practice early on Mondays to take guitar lessons. And much to his joy, I dropped out of football my sophomore year, joined my first band and I’ve been playing music ever since! I think a lot about what would have happened if he had not been so insistent, but I am very thankful that he was. Both my mom and my dad encouraged my music at every turn.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

John Malley; Weald & Woe

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