The Hisstory Book: Chapter 1: The Young Americans

I was inspired by Bradford Cox's blog, so I went through some old recordings on my hard drive and stumbled into the world of The Young Americans. In 1998 we went to Rob McGregor's legendary Goldentone Studios and he pressed record and drank Kool-Aid while we went crazy. Equal parts Gun Club, T Rex, Cramps, & Chuck Berry, T.Y.A. started as a joke; we were simply way into mesh shirts and the word young. We soon became notorious for guerrilla gigs at house shows. If you had a keg and an unknown Athens Indierock band that was foolish enough to leave their gear unattended, you probably paid witness to one of our "performances." I must say this was one of the easiest, most fun bands I've ever been a part of. I got to do a lot of cool stuff with that band in a short amount of time, like playing at the last Hardback show ever. It still influences my music today and is a direct inspiration for my current band, The Hiss. It would not have been possible without Nathan Birk (pictured, vocals), Todd Galpin (drums), or Young Mark (rhythm guitar.) Thats me on guitar, age 19, in the mesh football shirt and weird Bowie-esque pants. (Note: That shirt wasn't totally mesh; it had normal sleeves. I just recently found it... although it would probably break if i tried to put it on now.) On its 10th anniversary, I proudly present, in its entirety, The Young Americans: How We Did it in '98.

Click here to Download: The Young Americans: How we did it in '98