Yungblud talks influences, how rock music "is on life support"
Yungblud talks how rock’n’roll isn’t in a good place and why he likes hanging out with rappers.
Read more: Remember when ‘13 Reasons Why’ star Dylan Minnette played Warped Tour?
“Why do I want to do the same shit everyone is doing?” Yungblud asks during an interview with NME. “I’m excited when I take something out of my comfort zone and influence from something I never thought I would take influence from.”
The 19-year-old musician, real name Dominic Harrison, just released his debut album 21st Century Liability. Although he’s currently playing a few select dates on the final run of the Vans Warped Tour, Yungblud isn’t really excited about what’s going on in rock music right now.
“It’s just the same as it always have been for 30 years, and not reinventing itself,’ he says. “There’s always some 70-year-old in a Def Leppard t-shirt telling me it’s not rock’n’roll because it’s not what they want.”
For him, rock “about that fundamental and undeniable lack of fear to be yourself and say what you think.”
So, who’s doing that right now? Young rappers. “At least they’re saying something. I might not agree with what they’re saying—a lot of the time it can be quite misogynistic or racist, but they’re saying something and giving me the same fire in my belly as The Clash did,” he tells NME.
“That’s why I think rock’n’roll is on life support,” Yungblud continues. “It’s four idiots in leather jackets singing about fuck all, and it’s not connecting because it’s not real.”
You can catch Yungblud on the Warped Tour on the Owly.fm state from July 26 to July 31. Check out the list of cities below:
07/26 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
07/27 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
07/28 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Amphitheatre
07/29 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/30 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
07/31 – Atlanta, GA @ Cellairis Amphitheatre
You can check out the full Vans Warped Tour lineup and remaining dates here.
