Just heard them and i love there music.

http://www.myspace.com/youthgroupmusic

awesome band

they are supporting coldplay in oz btw. :D

they're brilliant

Just seeing the O.C. soundtrack cover turns me off. And now hearing the voice, turns me off even more. AHHHHHHHHH

Just seeing the O.C. soundtrack cover turns me off. And now hearing the voice' date=' turns me off even more. AHHHHHHHHH[/quote']

 

whats wrong with the OC?

whats wrong with the OC?

 

I find it cheesey. I notice your a big OC fan so I won't say too much negative about them.

I bought their most recent C.D, cos I will be seeing them support Coldplay in OZ and I have to say, I love Shadowlands.:)

youth group are the best

i'm biased towards them

major crush on the bassist from the vines

who is in youth group

mhmm

patrick

is a hotttieeeeeeeee

^haha you crack me up.

^he he ditto

 

i really like the new single catching and killing and the vid too.

 

i prefer the lead singer myself ;) love his Willy Wonka hairdo (lol)

I only know their cover of forever young..I shall check some more of their stuff out :)

^ :) catching and killing video

wooo cheers :nice:

^ :) catching and killing video

 

Thanks for the link.

 

youth group is starting to get popular, im happy.

Theyve been popular for a while now here in Australia

Going to see them next month! I'm really looking forward to it, I saw them when they supported Coldplay in Melbourne and they were great

The follies of Youth Group

 

 

You could have been spared the torment of Forever Young, but Youth Group had to stay together. Sacha Molitorisz meets that band that almost didn't.

 

Youth Group frontman Toby Martin's career turnaround would be hard to top.

 

In 2003, the Sydney band nearly disintegrated while recording their second album, Skeleton Jar.

 

Three years on, Martin is touring with the biggest band in the world, he's signed to the coolest record label in the US and he's drowning in obscenely positive reviews. He's also friendly with the makers of TV show The O.C., who convinced Youth Group to record a cover version of a cheesy 1984 hit from a bunch of German one-hit wonders.

 

"Actually, talk to anyone in Europe and they say Alphaville were huge," Martin says. "They're still touring."

 

Now there's a scary thought. Synthesised? Cheesy? Alphaville's Forever Young made Axel F sound orchestral.

 

Youth Group are on such a roll they've even made that Alphaville song sound good. So much so, it has become a No. 1 hit and is now included on Youth Group's third album, Casino Twilight Dogs.

 

"The music producer at The O.C. is a really big music fan," Martin says. "She takes a curatorial approach to the show, so they often ask bands to cover songs. They asked us to do this and we thought it would be fun and interesting. At the time of recording it, we thought it would just be for the show and the soundtrack, but one thing led to another and ..."

 

And suddenly Youth Group are playing Forever Young to Coldplay's audience at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

 

"That's been really fun," Martin says. "This is the biggest audience and stage we've played on. I reckon it's about half-full by the time we start and three-quarters full by the time we finish."

 

Playing at a venue that can cram in 12,000 punters must be terrifying.

 

"Not really. We walked onstage the first time and the audience cheered. I was expecting a bagging. But maybe the Coldplay audience are very discerning. Or charitable.

 

"And it's quite a show Coldplay put on. A stadium rock extravaganza. If you do want to take your music to that level, that's what you've got to aim for, that level of showmanship and craftsmanship onstage. Everything is very tight."

 

If trends continue, Youth Group - who have played shows with Elliott Smith, the Strokes and Death Cab For Cutie - could wind up with Ent Cent shows of their own. That's a remarkable change from two years ago, when Skeleton Jar was first released after a tumultuous recording process that lasted from December 2002 until January 2004.

 

"It was a long and intense period," Martin says. "When we started we were a four-piece. During the sessions, Andy, our bass player, left, and Johnno joined, and Paul, our old guitarist, left and we didn't replace him, so we became a three-piece. The only constants were me and Danny [Allen, drummer] and Wayne [Connolly, producer]. The band was just holding on. You couldn't even really call it a band at that stage."

 

It's remarkable how impressive Skeleton Jar is. Indeed, the reversal of Youth Group's fortunes is down to the album's strength. Boasting poetic lyrics, unforgettable melodies and a ravishing sense of yearning, Skeleton Jar led to opportunities with The O.C. and Epitaph, the US label to which they've signed.

 

"It's a long story of CDs changing hands,'' Martin says. "It's like an ancient fable. A guy we know went to England and said, 'I love Skeleton Jar and I'm going to give it to everyone I know and try to get you a deal there.'

 

"So he gave it to a friend and she gave it to Epitaph Europe and they loved it and they were going to sign us, but then the American Epitaph heard it and they wanted to sign us, too.

 

"I got this message on the phone direct from the president of Epitaph, who said: 'Toby, hi, this is Brett [Gurewitz, Bad Religion guitarist], I've fallen in love with Skeleton Jar.' It was crazy."

 

While Epitaph was courting Youth Group, Chris Walla from the band Death Cab For Cutie was championing Skeleton Jar, too.

 

"I got this email out of the blue from Chris, and I was a big Death Cab For Cutie fan, and he said, 'If there's anything I can do to help you release the record overseas ...'

 

"They've been on The O.C. a lot, so they handed our CD on to them and The O.C. played our song Shadowland. It was in a scene where Marissa rediscovered her heterosexual love for Ryan after she'd had a lesbian dalliance."

 

After The O.C. and Epitaph discovered Skeleton Jar, it was released in the US and Britain. Soon the critics' prose turned purple. Esquire wrote: "Storytelling, poise and intimacy rarely align so gracefully. Frontman Toby Martin plays the gloomy-lover and subtle-anger cards better than anyone since, well, that Coldplay guy. Martin is that good and this record's that warm."

 

By this stage, the band's line-up had solidified, too. In March 2004, one of Martin's oldest friends, Cameron Emerson-Elliott from the John Reed Club joined on guitar. A few months later, Patrick Matthews, who had walked out on the Vines, joined on bass.

 

To coincide with its release overseas, Skeleton Jar was re-released locally in May last year. A new track called Someone Else's Dream was added and the running order was rejigged.

 

"If there is a story of Skeleton Jar, it's that it's had different acts. We release it for the first time in Australia in 2004, then we release it for a second time in 2005 and redo it, and then because of Forever Young a new audience gets into it. For the last month it's sold better than ever before in Australia."

 

Now comes the new album, Casino Twilight Dogs, which is considerably much less melancholy than Skeleton Jar. The highlights are the slower tracks, including the Nick Drake-like Start Today Tomorrow and the wistful Destruction of Laurel Canyon. Also impressive are Catching & Killing, the upbeat opener and, of course, Forever Young.

 

Youth Group, August 18, 8pm, Metro Theatre, city, 9550 3666, $25.80.

 

http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/follies-of-youth-group/2006/08/02/1154198208004.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

 

AUSTRALIAN indie band Youth Group's career so far can be easily divided into two distinct eras -- before and after Forever Young.

 

Before its hit cover version of the '80s Alphaville song went through the roof, the Sydney quartet had two albums under their belt, a support slot lined up with mega-band Coldplay and a solid, if not spectacular, live following.

 

But when the band was commissioned to record the song for use in Channel 10's teen drama The O.C., doors started to open.

 

As Forever Young topped the singles charts, the band members found themselves with an international profile, a whole new set of (younger) fans and a busy schedule at radio stations.

 

The song, says bass player Patrick Matthews, is something of a mixed blessing.

 

Forever Young is the last track on the band's third album Casino Twilight Dogs, released last month, giving the impression they knew the song couldn't be left out, but also didn't want to make too big a deal of it.

 

"Someone said it was 'quarantined' and I quite like that phrase. I think there is a gap between song 11 and 12 that is longer as well -- it's on there, but it's meant to be a little bit separate as well.''

 

Youth Group had a top 10 debut with Casino Twilight Dogs, but last week's release of the single Catching and Killing is shaping up a true test for the band.

 

Triple J and Nova have embraced the original song, a rocker with lyrics written by frontman Toby Martin, but whether it appeals to the Forever Young crowd remains to be seen.

 

"It would be nice if it went crazy -- but it was a bit of a 'why not' decision to release Catching and Killing. It was a case of putting out the most different song on the album to Forever Young.

 

"We thought it sounded quite cool as a radio song, but I guess we will see how Toby's shouting goes over on Mix FM.''

 

Shows in Youth Group's national tour, which begins this week, are the first since the recent Splendour in the Grass festival, where they shared the bill with Matthews' former band The Vines.

 

Matthews walked out on The Vines in 2004 during a Sydney gig at which volatile frontman Craig Nichols, who was later diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, infamously assaulted a photographer.

 

"There is a bit more communication going on in Youth Group,'' Matthews said.

 

"I felt very much part of The Vines, but it's a slightly better fit me being in Youth Group. Me and Craig worked well together musically, he was sort of the intuitive human as opposed to the more rational me, but it was just not good fun.''

 

He says he buried the hatchet with Nichols and the band backstage at the Byron Bay gig.

 

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20044954-5006024,00.html

Oooh they rock!! We are tossing up between seeing them again or The Dresden Dolls.

Thanks for the posts Ian.

 

no prob Mrcool.

if they continue the way they are heading then no doubt they'll get really popular. In Aus Skeleton Jar IMO is what brought them to the limelight.

 

Edit: For any Aus fans : just heard on the radio Youth Group live at the wirless- live concert played on radio- next week on triple J radio (not sure bout the time)

youth group is an awesome band. i love the remake of Forever Young

ah you guys needa get casino twilight dogs. tis the shit. especially the track, the destruction of laurel canyon

Thanks for the posts Ian.

 

no prob Mrcool.

if they continue the way they are heading then no doubt they'll get really popular. In Aus Skeleton Jar IMO is what brought them to the limelight.

 

Edit: For any Aus fans : just heard on the radio Youth Group live at the wirless- live concert played on radio- next week on triple J radio (not sure bout the time)

 

 

what is bringing them fame in america i think is the forever young. it was on the OC i think. great remake, i love that song.