Younger Me

“It Was Destiny That We Play Together:” Younger Me On Their Creative Process, Humble Beginnings, And New Music

You may have seen them at the Chameleon Club or Tellus360, Philadelphia’s Boot & Saddle, Kung Fu Knecktie, or Milkboy, or any number of other local venues. But Younger Me has more humble beginnings: a dirt road, where two of its members grew up together. “It was destiny that we’d play music together,” Brandt Imhoff explains. After he and Brent Gregory started writing together in high school, they joined forces with Ian Hermanns, and the band was born in an attic in Loganville, Pa.

Fans of the band know that they technically play rock n’ roll, but Brandt explains that they’re influenced by many different genres. “All music is great and we try not to box ourselves in,” he said. “The one thing that truly defines our sound is that Brent plays the Fender Rhodes with a loop pedal. It's a very dimensional instrument with a looping pedal and I think Brent has mastered the combination in his own way. The result is a raw big sound, often times confused for two guitars. I also think Brent's ability to craft melodies defines us. It's never boring and almost always beautiful.”

As for their creative process, Brandt explains that it’s completely collaborative, and that they work together seamlessly. “Everyone has a voice and no one’s ego gets in the way,” he says. “Everyone is contributing to lyric writing and songwriting. A lot times we'll just start jamming for 15 minutes and then we'll pull out the good parts to start a song. It can start with a Fender Rhodes riff, or a bass riff, or a beat from Ian. It's a very freeform creative process and the easiest I've ever been apart of.”

As for the future, Younger Me is looking forward to releasing new music that they’ve been working on for the last few years. “We have nearly a dozen demos, some finished and some that still need work,” they explained. “Life gets busy and we just need to set aside some time to finish what we started.”

Speaking of being busy, Brandt also said that their biggest learning curve was learning to balance life and music. “Our careers have picked up outside of music and personal lives are just as busy. Brent and his wife recently had a child, I'm now married since 2016 hoping to start a family, and Ian recently finished up his degree,” he said. “Writing and performing has never been an issue for us, it's been a breeze and so much fun. Three best friends playing music together, doesn't get much better.”

https://soundcloud.com/youngerme
https://youngerme.bandcamp.com/ (can order CDs, Vinyl, and digital downloads here)

By: Brianna Wiest