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Your Vegas
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 05-Jun-08 @ 04:37 PM
HQ: New York, NY/Leeds, United KingdomNOW PLAYING: A Town And Two Cities (UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC) WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: Not many bands can make sacrifices as big as their songs. Good thing Your Vegas aren't like many bands. YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE?: Coldplay / Augustana / the Killers STORY: Andrew Kelham PHOTO: Ralf Strathmann Many British bands try to break North America, but few succeed. Not that the lads in Your Vegas particularly care--they're having far too much fun with American females susceptible to their dulcet Yorkshire tones. "Being English in America is really good," admits vocalist Coyle Girelli. "The girls here absolutely love how we talk. Who would ever have thought my Leeds accent would have so much magnetism?" With a sound that combines the ambition of Augustana with the heart of Jack's Mannequin, the quintet--Girelli, guitarist Mat Steel, guitarist/keyboardist Mark Heaton, bassist Jon Langford and drummer Mal Taylo--were built to play American stadiums, not the English clubs in which they learned their craft. Formed on the outskirts of Leeds in 2004, the band bonded over their love of Nirvana but slowly evolved into a broader-sounding group who didn't fit into the U.K. scene. Too bombastic to be considered indie but far too melodic to ever be comfortably alternative, the five-piece found themselves playing their multi-layered modern rock anthems (like "Troubled Times" and "In My Head") through decrepit sound systems to mostly oblivious crowds in tiny venues across their native land. The situation was far from ideal. "We were touring the U.K. and getting good reviews everywhere, but we did not have the backing to lift us up to the next level," remembers Girelli. "We were stuck and getting frustrated because we believed what we were doing was better than a lot of what was becoming popular around us. We were desperate to get an album recorded, get on the road and promote our band how we felt it should be promoted." So they rolled the dice; Girelli moved to New York City first and soon was followed by the rest of the group, who gambled on U.S. audiences being more receptive of their brand of transcending transatlantic rock. The risk paid off. Your Vegas arrived, played shows, attracted a buzz and signed a major-label deal--at the second attempt, mind you, because Steel signed the original contract in the wrong place. Soon thereafter, the band went straight into the studio with producer David Bendeth (Paramore, Hawthorne Heights) and the rest is captured on their debut A Town And Two Cities. Two Cities is an album that Your Vegas are getting back in the van to promote, and with label support in place, they will be there for as long as it takes to get some stateside attention. "We are back to where we were in the U.K.," Girelli concedes with a laugh. "We're driving ourselves 'round on tour and doing it all ourselves, but we're used to operating this way already so it doesn't seem hard. We want to do things right over here and get our music heard; if that means a few 20-hour drives, then so be it." ALT |
