We recently connected with David Young and have shared our conversation below.
David, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Creativity is a multifarious thing. It’s like a muscle, and must be exercised regularly. I work in continuous fits and bursts, in iPhone notes and scraps of paper piled on my desk. I keep a guitar always within reach. Sometimes the guitar calls to me and I try my best to listen, pick it up, dive in. There’s little I won’t put aside if I feel a song burning.
Creativity needs connection. Sometimes it dams up and that’s when I search for that catalyst to set it free again. A walk deep in the woods. A conversation with a stranger. Picking up a different instrument, watching another band perform. Connection brings new perspective, renewed purpose, and inspiration.
Finally, creativity is fickle. It’s powerful and passionate, yet delicate and sensitive. It requires long hours of nothing. It asks abandonment of judgement, and loyalty to curiosity. It’s graceful discipline and disciplined grace. I see creativity like a garden: it must be nurtured, loved, pruned. It can produce rich bounties, yet if you turn away it will wither or grow out of control. How do I keep it alive? I do what I can to honor it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I play guitar and sing for my band The Interstate Kings, alongside my brothers Deven Young (drums, percussion, vocals) and Seth Martin (bass, vocals). We began playing together in high school in Maine, and never put it down. After building a following in our home state, we decided to move our group to Nashville to pursue new opportunities together. Our music is soaked in American Roots: we work blues, old-time country, and rock n’ roll into our own unique blend. Our music tells stories through dynamic instrumental jams and lyrics about the road, love, passion, and historical figures and events.
In 2024, we’re excited to be sharing brand new music from our upcoming full-length album. Last year, we hunkered down in a Nashville recording studio and self-funded an album. In ten days we wrote and recorded ten new songs in one of the most prolific moments in our history together. The music flowed, and it was all we could do to get out of its way. The record we came up with falls somewhere between Tom Petty and Brandi Carlile, between “back porch summer evening” and “windows down highway driving”. The first four songs are out now on all streaming platforms and our website, www.theinterstatekings.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Outside of the music we create together, each one of us brings somethings special to the table in our band that’s helped us grow and support each other. Seth’s our engineer. He has a degree in electrical engineering, and he’s got a mind that works like the machines he builds. He’s been the leader for growing our sound system, improving our equipment, troubleshooting, and bringing the quality of our live show to a new level as we’ve grown and played more venues across the country.
Though Deven’s only 23 at the time of this interview, he’s spent extensive time as a business owner, operating his own chimney sweeping company in Maine while writing, recording, and performing with our band. He has an ability to stay focused on a goal no matter how challenging, and to keep a calm head in churning waters. There’s nothing easy about getting your own business off the ground, and Dev’s experience and steady nature has been a great boon to our band as we’ve made strides together.
As for me, I have a passion for creativity that has always been my guide. Artistry has called to me since I was a child, and the power I feel in lyricism, expression, and connection has been a rock for me time and again. That sense of purpose is the wind that fills my sails and without it, I don’t know if I’d have ever had the conviction to move across the country in pursuit of a career like music.
To those just starting their journey, the best thing you can do is to be present with yourself. Figure out your strengths, and then surround yourself with people who compliment you. And once you find those people, work on building communication, trust, and teamwork. Nobody can do it alone, and why would you want to anyway?
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
One of the best parts of today’s music landscape is that artists have more freedom of expression than ever before. Our music is for people who love the mountains. It’s for old souls. It’s for those who can’t turn their thoughts off at night. For the hard working blue collar poets. For the children of the 70s and for those born too late. Our music is for late nights sipping whiskey with old friends, for road trippers, for doers and thinkers. We’re for history nerds, for misfits and future movie stars. For chasers of passion, and chasers of sunsets. We’re for the dreamers, adventurers, the boy who just picked up a guitar, the girl who wants to be president. For tree climbers and old-timers. Life is a canvas, and it’s up to us to color it. That’s why we make music, and that’s what you’ll feel when you hit play.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theinterstatekings.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidyoungtunes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidyoungtunes/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIjGAL6zm22uj9uyGdFcPPA
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NiwnZWHDn6ZquJJ6Ru5Kr?si=iFHDSobSSJagGR3DzNQ88w
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/david-young-the-interstate-kings/1481931854
Image Credits
Austin Dellamano Seth Martin
