Painted Young Talks Upcoming Single “The Madhouse” In Exclusive Interview! (@PaintedYoung)
We recently had the chance to chat with Painted Young about starting a band, their upcoming single “The Madhouse”, upcoming projects, and more!
- How did you form as a band?
Painted Young first started back in 2013 when I was a senior in high school. There was a charity event that needed musicians and bands to perform at my school so I got a few of my friends together and we started this pop-punk cover band. After that show, people in my school started to recognize me as “that Painted Young guy” and that motivated me to perform wherever we could. It was more of a hobby at that time, but around 2014 was when we started taking songwriting seriously and in 2015 we released our first EP. One thing I’d like to point out is that throughout Painted Young’s history, we were never really able to keep a solid lineup with constant member changes, fill-in players, etc. Late 2017 was when it was decided I should be the sole member, songwriter, and frontman of Painted Young.
- How would you describe your sound?
Painted Young’s sound has a lot of pop-punk and alternative rock influences. I try to make my melodies as catchy and as memorable as possible. Sometimes I refer to myself as the “poppier side of pop-punk.”
- Who are your musical influences?
There are different artists that influenced different aspects of my musicianship. Green Day is one of my biggest influences as they taught me a lot about songwriting and being a performer. My Chemical Romance is another band that taught me how to perform onstage, while also teaching me how to tell stories through music. Another band that shaped me was Linkin Park. They really taught me how to step out of my comfort zone and to just create music without worrying about other people’s thoughts.
- If you could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be and why?
There are a lot of artists that I’d love to collaborate with, but I think the one that I’d like to work with the most is Brendon Urie from Panic! at the Disco. A lot of my friends have compared me to him now that I’m the sole member of Painted Young and I write every part of a song and record every instrument on my own. I would love to see what we could come up with and what he could teach me in the process.
- How did you choose “The Madhouse” to be your single? What was that process like?
Initially I wanted another song to be the single from my upcoming EP, but after listening to the songs repeatedly, I was feeling more and more excited about “The Madhouse.” It was basically the most energetic and strongest out of all the songs on the EP. As much as every song on the EP is different from one another, this one really stands out the most and I guess you can also call it the outlier of the record.
- What is the song about?
I was inspired by horror movies that took place in insane asylums and mental hospitals, so I just wanted to write a song simply about being in a facility like that. But I wanted to deepen the meaning of it by adding a personal touch to it. I suffer from some minor mental health issues myself and as easy as it’s become for me to handle them, there are moments where I am frustrated and angry with it. A lot of the lyrics are just metaphors for the anger and frustration I occasionally feel about my mental health and how there are times where I feel like I can’t do anything to save myself. The song can be seen as a rather aggressive call for help or also just a big metaphor. Either way, I know this song is going to be really fun to play live.
- What was the writing and recording process like?
The intro guitar riff was originally supposed to be for another Painted Young song, but it just worked really well for the vibe I was aiming for so I kept it. Writing the lyrics came pretty easy, as was the rest of the song. When I created the finalized demo version of it, I knew that this was unlike anything I’ve done before with Painted Young, so I was really excited. I had never written a song as aggressive as this one, let alone one with screams in it. When I took it to the studio, I knew exactly what I wanted, so recording the song took fairly quickly. Listening to the song, I was pretty happy, but I still felt like something was missing. I went back into the vocal booth and recording some cackling, extra screams, and just random vocal noises that would add to the chaotic nature of the song. I had so much fun recording “The Madhouse” and I feel like it comes across.
- Do you have an EP that will be released following the single?
Yes I do have an EP called “I’m Not Gonna Wait” coming in April! Keep an eye out for more details!
- Are you currently working on any other projects you’d like to share with us?
As of right now, I am writing and recording demos for a potential full-length album. I’m always writing and recording whenever I have the free time. Also, this year marks the 15th anniversary of Green Day’s “American Idiot,” which is my personal favorite album of all time so I really want to do something special to commemorate that. Again, Green Day is one of my biggest influences so I’m thinking of ways I can honor them and that album.
- What are your social media handles?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaintedYoung
Instagram: https://instagram.com/paintedyoungband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaintedYoung/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNcLcZUcLbjeqOMcq42AY9Q
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/02Lccw0gQcnbF0QdQwxJkA?si=fvsxk1wgT2ePF7IsMNrsAQ
Subscribe to see more of Painted Young on our channel!