The Young Vines

"These young and talented musicians from Tulsa definitely have a fire lit under their tail, and it shows in their energy, their excitement and their own music...With a new EP released this weekend and more shows on the horizon, these guys have exciting potential." - Tulsa World

As the local music scene is growing exponentially at a rapid rate, one band stands out to us for the quality of their sound, lyrics, and performances. The Young Vines are not new to this game, however, with the majority of their members owning previous band experience. This band has been working undeniably hard to throw themselves to the top tier of the music scene, including the works of a brand new full-length album. We met up with Caleb (singer and guitarist), Aaron (guitarist), Nick (bassist), and Jordan (drummer) to see what they had to say about this new project and where they are headed with it.

Can you us tell what it’s like to be a band in the Tulsa local music scene?

Aaron: It’s really cool to be a part of Tulsa’s local scene because everyone is starting to feel it growing fast, and the music is getting really good. There are so many good bands coming out of here. We’re getting a lot of attention from places like Nashville and Austin on how well our music scene is turning out, which I think is a surprise to everyone. It’s cool to be part of it.
Caleb: It feels very familial, if you will. Every time you play with a new band it’s someone else you are rooting for and they’re rooting for you. There’s no drama amongst bands, everyone is really chill. I don’t think I know of any band I hate playing with. They all have really good things to say about other bands too.
Jordan: I think the Tulsa scene is also getting more competitive in a friendly way. I think there’re some better bands playing now than what there used to be. Everyone is getting better and developing as musicians, which is cool because we’re doing that as a family.
Aaron: And it’s all happening stupid fast.

Tell me about the process you had for writing this album.
Caleb: I think a lot of this album came from just having a day or two off of work, locking myself in the back room and playing until something came out of it. Sometimes it was stuff I thought was good, and then the next day I listened to it and wondered what the heck I was thinking and then threw it away. Any time I found a gem, I would bring it to the band, even if it was only half a gem, and we developed it from there. Sometimes we would meet for practice and someone would have one idea and we’d all pile on and write a song in ten minutes. Lots of times of isolation as well as spurts of inspiration, with everyone on the same page, is the key.
Aaron: With this album, we wanted to take a different approach to how we wrote it than how we did with the EP. We are writing it with a lot more love and care than anything we’ve done in the past.
Jordan: I think we found our sound as a band. Everything is sounding more cohesive now. I think that’s what makes it different than our previous EP.

Is there an overall theme you had for this album? And if so, what can you tell us about it?
Caleb: Most of the stuff I’ve been writing about has a lot to do with “songwriting constipation” for four or five years. But I’ve finally been able to figure a lot of it out because I have the ability and people to help me out. It has a lot to do with the transition of being a kid in high school with a lot of friends and then going into college with no friends, rediscovering your identity, and not feeling like you know what the heck you’re doing. It’s a mixture of immature high school problems and retrospect. It has a lot to do with growing up.
Aaron: In a musical aspect, we started to have this washed out, desert sound on this album, which contrasted everything that Caleb was writing lyrically. I think the sound really compliments the lyrics well.

What sorts of things did you take for inspiration when writing this album?
Caleb: Sometimes what inspires me lyrically is the music. I write in a very moody sense. I start writing a song and whatever is going on in the music helps me out for what I should write next. I’ll start singing random words to decide what the melody is going to be, and then I find a theme, and the rest eventually comes out. Doing it that way helps me find lyrics to match the mood of the song.
Jordan: As far as music goes, a lot of our sound comes from simply being an Oklahoman. Our good friend and musician Nate Binion said it best when he said, “You can’t [be a musician and] live in Oklahoma and not have themes of what it means to a southern American and have country elements in your music.” A lot of our inspiration comes from an older country sound with a newer twist to it.
Nick: I handle the bass department and I try to bring in a lot of different sounds. I ask myself what fits the band from a wide variety of genres, including metal, jazz, blues, etc. I end up listening to country because I carpool with my wife, so I listen to everything. It really comes down to what supports the band, and what I can do to make the rest of the members shine.
Aaron: Ironically, sometimes Nick will write a bass line that totally makes the song.

When are you planning to release the album, and is it in the works to have a release show?
Jordan: We’re working on pre-production currently, which includes making demos of our own. We’re going to get into the studio with Kendall (The Closet Studios) in mid-January, and record some drums. Then we’re going to get with our friend Josiah and record vocals and everything else. We’re planning to release the album in March before the festival season begins, which we hope to be a part of. We already have about four or five festivals lined up, and we have the potential to add several more to get in front of as many people as possible. As far as a release show, we’re going to try and set something up with The Vanguard in March.
Aaron: We’re excited to work with some awesome producers, including Beau Tyler, Matt McHan, and Bradley Jones from We The Ghost and Josh Roach from Stars Go Dim.

If you’d like to stay connected with these guys, be sure to give them a like on Facebook, and a follow on Twitter & Instagram. You can also find their EP right here on Spotify! - OKHUSTLE

"It's not often I tell you people that you NEED to know people. @theyoungvines are those people. Incredible talent...@theyoungvines will be famous someday." - Jerry Wofford: Tulsa World

Trust us when we say that you'll end up listening to them on repeat. - Honey Punch Mag

These four young rockers are consistently one of my favorite bands to see live.... Their indie rock is full of energy and excitement, passion and perfection. - The Tulsa World

The album ends with "String Me Along", the strongest track. The delivery on this song is amazing. This is the one I would reccomend to new listeners of this band. It showcases what this band is truly capable of. Every single instrument is on point. The cohesiveness of this song is what bands dream of achieving. - Stencil Mag UK

The Young Vines have a strong slick performance style, and an even slicker social media presence. - medleyjones.com