Jaymes Young takes pride in being a songwriter first than being considered a singer and performer. Early on, Young spent countless hours holed up in his bedroom piecing together compositions, penning lyrics, and exploring various sounds. In 2013, Young independently released the critically acclaimed mixtape, Dark Star, leading to much praise and an eventual signing to Atlantic Records. The EP, Habits of My Heart, spawned viral hits such as the title track and “I’ll Be Good,” which both surpassed 20 million Spotify streams. Young topped that in 2015 with his collaboration with Phoebe Ryan on “We Won’t”, which amassed over 30 million Spotify streams and 4 million Soundcloud plays and garnered praise from Billboard, Earmilk, IndieShuffle and more. With recognition and momentum in play, Young released his much-anticipated, full-length debut, Feel Something, in June 2017. Currently supporting Oh Wonder on their North American tour, B-Sides had the opportunity to chat with Jaymes during their Boston, Massachusetts stop to talk about the tour, writing process and what fans should look out for in the future.
Have you been to this venue before/how are you enjoying Boston so far?
No, I don’t think I have, I could be wrong. I have played in Boston a couple times. I like it here though, I have had some good seafood.
You have a lot of shows on this tour, are there any particular cities you are looking forward to?
Well I have never been to Europe and I am going with Oh Wonder in October so I am excited for all of that. I’ve heard that there is a really positive music vibe out there.
Even though the tour is just getting started, what has been the most memorable moment so far?
In Toronto we did three nights at the same venue. It was fantastic and really awesome. Montreal last night (September 21) we played Metropolis which is one of my favorite venues in North America.
On your Instagram you posted a photo with a young fan, do you feel like your music reaches a broad range of people?
I hope it does. I guess it’s hard to know just by going to a show sometimes. But I think we get a response from a pretty wide range and meeting her was awesome. She was just a sweetheart.
Was it a meet and greet or did you just run into to her?
One of the guys in our crew spoke with her and her parents. He just brought them backstage to say hi, it was cool and honestly a humbling experience. This very very young person that you’re having an impression on.
Should fans be expecting any music soon or do you plan on taking it easy for a bit when the tour ends?
I think I am probably going to head into some more writing. I mean I have kind of been writing non-stop since my album actually came out. So they should expect music, I can’t promise when…
Overall, are you consistently trying to create music, or do you let the process flow naturally as things inspire you?
I try to keep writing all the time. On the road, even if it’s just jotting stuff down. Ya know it’s not always easy depending on the hotel situation, the travel situation or just the schedule. But I try to keep constantly writing but there is some inspiration there, however I don’t force it.
If you could choose to make you solo career, a duet, and choose any artist dead or alive to join, who would it be?
I don’t know… I mean we are sitting next to a big painting of Jimi Hendrix and he is from Seattle also. Although if I were to mirror his career I would live longer obviously.
