Backstage with The Young Hookers

Monday, 05 December 2011 00:00

Rock, blues and punk band The Young Hookers have been rocking the Gainesville music scene for some time now.

Fresh off their May 2011 release of the EP Happy Birthday, band members George (Jorge) Sanchez (rhythm guitar and vocals), Alex Cordova (bass), David Bell (drums) and Ross Papitto (lead guitar) are currently working on a new full-length album. We caught up with the band to talk about The Young Hookers’ past, present and future.

By Greg Allard

What are the origins of the band?
Jorge: We're all from South Florida. We grew up in Plantation and all went to school together. We've played in bands together dating back to about middle school. Even without the music, I'm sure we would still be hanging around each other all the time due to our general friendship. Gainesville always seemed like a cool place to move our operations, so here we are.

What were some of the names of the bands?
Jorge: The Sig Figs, Nukes, The Heart Attack Machine, Eremite, 1987, The Slitherers...No, we made that last one up actually. 

RELATED—Backstage with Ancient River

Haha. I like the sound of “The Slitherers.” Tell us a little about your songwriting process.
Jorge: The process varies from time to time. But usually I will write what sounds like a folk song. We will then use it as a type of blueprint on which to layer guitars, drums, bass, and so on. The song is structurally and conceptually complete when I bring it to the table, but doesn't take its sonic form until the rest of us get jiggy with it. There's also a lot of stuff just born from impromptu jam sessions.

Alex: I think a good analogy would be the old Larry King Show. Jorge is Larry and the band is the panel. As long as he keeps the questions interesting...he gets good answers.

Haha. But Larry King once asked Paul McCartney if he played the guitar. When Paul said yes, Larry asked him if he was any good.
Jorge: My favorite Larry King moment is the now notorious Seinfeld interview. That’s what its like when we disagree on songs.

I remember that. That was crazy. What do you guys do when you have disagreements when you’re working on a song?
Jorge: There have actually been songs that have taken weeks to write because we can't quite agree on how to approach it. In those cases we usually just move on to another song or take a break and have some coffee. We like to break the ice and loosen up with a quick freestyle session (R.I.P. my man Big L).

What are your musical influences?
Jorge: Sade, Big L, Jimi Hendrix, Muse, 50 Tyson, Black Sabbath, Beatles, Ramones.

Cool. That’s quite a wide array of influences. What are you working on these days?
Jorge: We're currently working on a full-length, some heavy-duty merch, and a tour within the next year. We do also have a couple of side projects that we work on from time to time spanning different genres. Ross is finishing school right now so that gives us a little extra time to work on stuff we might not otherwise. We're trying to move our sound forward and stretch the boundaries of what we're capable of as a four-piece. 

Where is Ross going to school and for what?
Dave: Ross is going to the University of Miami and studying Psychology and Theatre. He will graduate in the spring. 

How about the rest of you guys? What else do you all do?
Dave: We work fake-ass jobs. Alex is a milkman. George is a pre-order peddler. I am a dishwasher. Ross is a server. When we're not making pathetic amounts of income, we're mostly working on music. Mostly. 

RELATED—Backstage with Ricky Kendall

Any idea about the tour's itinerary or where you guys may go?
Alex: Stay on the east coast, probably. Florida to Canada has been discussed with the big cities in between. 

When do you expect the full-length album to be released?
Jorge: Early 2012.

• Add New
• Search

Comments (2)

• |2012-02-13 09:41:20 bonita bajamalabam jr.
  The Young Hookers are the last of a dying breed. A real rock n' roll band. It's a pleasure to have you in Gainesville gentlemen.

• |2012-02-13 09:40:55 Frank  - I remember these guys
  Can't believe they forgot about the Concrete termites...lol hate I keep missing the gigs, I'll be back soon!

Write comment

Your Contact Details:

Name:

Email: do not notifynotify

Website:

Comment:

Title:

Message:

Security

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 4.0 beta1

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."