I saw and heard Young Hearts for the first time at this year˙s Punk Rock Holiday when they played Beach Stage on Friday and was immediately blown away by their awesome and energetic show. So, it was natural to talk a little with the guys for this zine. Read on!

PLEASE INTRODUCE YOUNG HEARTS TO THE READERS OF THIS ZINE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF YOU?

-We are Young Hearts, a band from Antwerp in Belgium. We play fast punkrock/melodic hardcore. We have been doing this for about 4 years now, since 2014. We released an EP, Now’s Your Time, in 2015, and an album called In The Middle You’ll Find Balance in 2017. Both records were released by the Belgian record label Thanks But No Thanks Records.

WE JUST RETURNED FROM PUNK ROCK HOLIDAY. WE SAW YOUR AWESOME SET THERE AT THE BEACH STAGE. HOW WAS IT FOR YOU PLAYING THIS FINE FESTIVAL? WAS YOUR GIG A PART OF THE TOUR OR ONLY ONE OFF GIG AT PRH? YOUR SINGER TALKED BETWEEN THE SONGS. HOW MUCH IS INTERACTION WITH THE AUDIENCE IMPORTANT FOR YOU AS A BAND?

-Punkrock Holiday was amazing! We have never been at PRH before but heard so much great stuff about the festival that we were planning on going this year. When we were later asked to play the Beach Stage, we were very excited to be a part of this crazy line-up. There were so many great bands performing the Beach Stage (like Almeida, Adrenalized, This Is A Standoff and our friends from Charlie Bit My Finger) that it was an honor to be listed between these bands. We did not play a lot of shows this summer, so it was a lot fun to drive all the way to Slovenia to play a 30 minute set. As we were not really looking for other shows to play, we wanted to keep it an exclusive show.

We were really looking forward on going and we have put a lot of time in preparing the show. But when we got there it was even better than expected. We had a great time just hanging around, making new friends, and we were able to play a good set at the Beach Stage. Although it was day 4 of a very warm festival edition we could still feel the energy from the audience, which was amazing!

Our singer always talks between songs… We try to keep him down a bit because we prefer playing instead of talking on stage, but he always takes time to say a few things between songs. We believe interaction with the audience is really important to include everybody in a show. Especially when you’re playing this kind of music, we believe it is great to get everybody involved and have a party on – and off – stage during our set. A band with a singer that has no interaction with his audience is pretty boring to look … Unless you’re Maynard Keenan from (Tool, A Perfect Circle), then it is allowed to hide in the back and say no more than three words during a show.

HOW MUCH ARE THE LYRICS IMPORTANT FOR YOU IN THE WHOLE PICTURE? DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELVES TO BE A POLITICAL BAND?

-We’re not a political band at all. We believe there is a whole lot wrong with the world today, but we don’t want to write songs about that. We believe that getting together with a lot of like-minded people and playing some music is already a good start to make a difference.

Tom, our singer, usually writes the lyrics by himself and then brings his ideas to the rehearsals. He usually writes about every day life, things that are going through his head, fun word plays to start writing with… So no, the lyrics are not the most important part for us I believe.

SINGING IN ENGLISH VS YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE? WHAT ARE THE PROS AND WHAT ARE THE CONS?

-We sing in English, although our native language is Dutch. There are many pro’s of singing in your own language… You know the language by heart, so it is way easier to find the exact words to express your idea. You know all tiny little language tricks to twist and turn the words, the intonation, rhythm… to get exactly what you want. But Belgians are a little weird in that way I believe. There are not many Belgian punkrock or metal bands that sing in Dutch. There are a few, but for some reason they are more comedy related bands. So mostly people sing in English.

The big con of course is that it is harder to write in another language. Besides that, you also really need to check your vocabulary and grammar, or you’ll make a complete ass of yourself.

CAN YOU STILL REMEMBER YOUR FIRST GIG YOU ATTENDED AS A FAN THAT SOMEHOW DEFINED YOU AS A PERSON AND MADE YOU START A BAND AND BE ACTIVE IN THE SCENE?

-Yes, I do. Although it is difficult to define what got me in „the scene“. We are very different in what we listen to, and we listen to a lot of different styles. The first shows I saw were at Pukkelpop in ’98, a festival in Belgium. I remember seeing Rancid and Lagwagon that year, but also remember The Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, Squarepusher and a lot of weird electronic music that blew me away at that moment. My first indoor show was a Deftones show, and that is one I will always remember. And the first time I saw Biohazard and Slipknot at a festival…I was really blown away with the energy those bands were showing on stage. ! I think those were the shows that pushed me into playing loud music. I have always listened to grunge and rock, but the energy at these shows made me love heavy music even more.

HAS EUROPEAN UNION FAILED? DID THE MEMBER STATES SHOW THEIR TRUE FACES CONSIDERING THE REFUGEES, HAS BARBED WIRE ON THE BORDERS MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE EU? THE RIGHT WING IS ON THE RISE IN EUROPE, HOW ARE THINGS IN BELGIUM? HOW IS LIFE IN BELGIUM IN GENERAL?

-Life in Belgium is great… Not for everyone I suppose, just like in other countries, but life is generally good in Belgium. I don’t believe the EU has failed. I believe that we have failed as people to find better solutions for all issues we are facing today. Not only right wing parties and refugees, but also the environmental issues, the plastic waste in the oceans, the extinction of species, global warming… It is a shame that we put so many time in arguing whose fault instead of working out a durable solution. I personally believe that, as a species, we have to hit our head against the wall one more time to see the light, to see how we can get along with each other and our planet.

LAST YEAR YOU RELEASED YOUR FULL LENGTH ALBUM. DID IT COME OUT ON SOME LABEL? HOW ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE FEEDBACK? DO YOU GUYS TOUR A LOT? HOW DOES TOURING REFLECT ON YOUR PERSONAL LIVES AND DAYTIME JOBS?

-We released our album – In The Middle You’ll Find Balance – at Thanks But No Thanks Records in Belgium. It’s a small independent label that focuses on punkrock and other more alternative. They have some great bands on their roster, you should check them out at their website (www.thanksbutnothanksrecords.com).

It was a trip to release a first full album. We have always put a lot of effort in writing songs, but when you finally set a date to record, master and release an album, it all suddenly gets real. It was an intense period, but we are happy with the result. We had a lot of great feedback from around Europe (and beyond, thank god for internet!), so we were happy with what we achieved… But on the other hand we’re very critical for ourselves, so we want to do better with our next album that we will be recording next year.

We all have “real” jobs and families, so it is not always easy to combine your daytime job and family life with playing shows. We often have to discuss what and when we can do something to get things planned, but that is part of the whole thing I suppose. It would be great to be able to put your time and efforts completely in your music and what you do as a band, but at this point we have a good balance between both work and music. It would be nice though to play more shows next year and do some more shows abroad. It’s always good fun to be away with the boys and play some shows!

 

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED WITH OR HEARD OF SOME CROATIAN HARDCORE PUNK BAND? WE HAVE A GREAT SCENE OVER HERE.

-To be honest… and a bit ashamed, not really… We have never yet had the chance to play with a Croatian band. But if you can hook us up some shows in Croatia, we would be happy to change that!

HAVE YOU EVER USED VIOLENCE IF ATTACKED? HOW MUCH VIOLENCE CAN YOU USE IN SELF DEFENCE? IS THERE SUCH THING AS OVERUSE OF VIOLENCE? DO YOU BELIEVE IN PACIFISM?

-I have never fought before. Not because I believe in pacifism, but I have always been able to talk my way out of a tricky situation. But when needed, I think I am able to defend myself. How much violence? Bit of a weird question, but I think just enough to make sure your adversary decides to back off.

IS THERE SUCH THING AS UNITY? WAS THERE EVER SUCH THING? IS THAT WORD ONLY A PART OF THE HARDCORE PUNK ARCADIA MYTH?

-I think there is unity as long as everybody gets what he or she needs. Like at a festival, where everybody is having a good time, listening to music they like and drink some beers with their friends But as soon as shit hits the fan, I believe anarchy and chaos are not always that far away.

THAT´S IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. FOR THE END, TYPICAL FANZINE QUESTION, WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR YOUNG HEARTS IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE? THANKS FOR THE ´VIEW!

-We’re currently writing new songs for our next album. We plan on recording early next year, but there is still a lot to do. And then of course we want to release the best album that we are able to make and hope that people enjoy our music so we can play some cool shows in different interesting new places. We’re good friends and we have a lot of fun when on the road, so we’ll plan on doing just that as much as possible next year!

Thanks for the interview, and the feedback on our PRH show!