| Band Members | ||
| Sameer Gadhia | – | percussion, lead vocals |
| Jacob Tilley | – | guitars |
| Eric Cannata | – | guitar, backing vocals |
| Payam Doostzadeh | – | bass guitar |
| François Comtois | – | drums, percussion, backing vocals |
Formation (2004–2009)
The Jakes formed in 2004 in Irvine, California. Consisting of Jacob Tilley, Addam Farmer, Kevin Massoudi, Ehson Hashemian, and Sameer Gadhia, the band’s name was an acronym of the members’ first names. After several personnel changes, the group’s lineup by 2008 consisted of Gadhia, Tilley, Hashemian, Eric Cannata, François Comtois, and Jason Burger. With two members still in high school and the others each attending different colleges, the Jakes recorded an EP, Shake My Hand, with producer Ian Kirkpatrick and decided to put their schooling on hold to focus on music. Burger left the band to pursue an education at Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and Comtois took over as the drummer. Shortly thereafter, longtime friend and collaborator, Payam Doostzadeh, joined as bassist. In 2009 the band played four shows at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. The band’s song “Texas Tea” was played during an episode of MTV’s The Real World: Brooklyn, and “Paid the Piper” was featured on A&E’s The Beast. Another song, “Cough Syrup”, received airplay on the Los Angeles radio station KROQ. Shortly before signing to Roadrunner Records in August, keyboardist Ehson Hashemian departed the band. In December of 2009, the band announced they had changed their name to Young the Giant.
Young the Giant (2010–present
Young the Giant spent 2010 touring with Minus the Bear and Steel Train while working on its debut album with producer Joe Chiccarelli. After the band finished recording in early June, they played additional shows with Marina and the Diamonds, The Futureheads, Neon Trees and New Politics. Several songs—including “My Body”, “I Got”, and “Strings”—were leaked online in advance of the album’s release. On October 26, Roadrunner Records digitally released the eponymous Young the Giant album, which Amazon.com hailed the third best rock album of 2010. The album received a physical U.S. release on January 25, 2011. The album was released in the UK on May 2.
The band’s first single “My Body” was released to U.S. radio in January and went on to peak at number five on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. The song was offered as a free download on iTunes for the week beginning January 9, and was featured on an episode of American Idol. The band performed the song that month on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Fuel TV’s The Daily Habit. The official video for the single, which features actor Bryan James, was directed by Justin Francis.
In March, Young the Giant headlined the Billboard Showcase at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. In May, the band played the Sasquatch! Music Festival, the BBC’s Later… with Jools Holland and The Great Escape Festival in Brighton. English singer Morrissey, on the fansite True to You, declared Young The Giant as one of his favourite new bands. The music video for the group’s second single, “Cough Syrup”, premiered in June. The band was named MTV’s PUSH Artist of the Week on July 4.
An extended play (EP) featuring remixes by such artists as Two Door Cinema Club, Tokyo Police Club and Ra Ra Riot was made available in September for free through Young the Giant’s Facebook page. Fans were invited to create their own remixes with the opportunity for their entry to be featured on the EP. In August, the band played on the main stage at Lollapalooza.
Young the Giant performed during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28. The band began a tour with Incubus two days later. The exposure from the VMA performance propelled Young the Giant onto the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it eventually peaked at number 42. Sales for “My Body” climbed 220 percent on iTunes, helping the single reach number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Young the Giant played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in September, and a month later they performed songs from their debut album for an episode of MTV Unplugged which debuted online in November.
The band released a music video for non-album track “West Virginia” in January 2012, and started their first major headlining tour in February. They also headlined mtvU’s first-ever Woodies Tour which began later that month. Darren Criss’ character Blaine Anderson covered “Cough Syrup” on the season three episode of Glee titled “On My Way”. The song featured during the attempted suicide scene with Max Adler’s character Dave Karofsky.
“Apartment”, the band’s third single, was released in February and peaked at number 26 on the US Alternative Songs chart. The music video for the song premiered in April 2012. The group performed “Apartment” and “Cough Syrup” on a May episode of NBC’s Today, and CNN Newsroom profiled the band a month later.
On May 3, 2013, Sameer Gadhia announced on the band’s website that they will be going into the studio to work on their second album, which will be produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen.
Mind over Matter (2013–present)
On October 28, 2013, Young the Giant released their single “It’s About Time.”
Their sophomore album, Mind over Matter, is set to be released on January 21, 2014 via Fueled by Ramen. The band enlisted Grammy-nominated producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen to produce the album for the Southern California group.