The Savage Young

On February 25th people from all ages forked over $5 and piled into The Eclipse with anticipation for Fiawna Forté. But it was one of the opening bands that really made an impression. They shook up the stage with might and vigor. They are The Savage Young. One of Tulsa's hottest new bands comes roaring in like savages from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. They're here to shake things up, but have just started to tremor. The Savage Young have yet to be photographed or interviewed as a band but their faces are more than recognizable. The band is made up of Damion Shade, Jordan McLeod, Spencer Sharpe and Isaiah Sheese. All of them have a rich history in the Tulsa music scene, but our belief is that they will really change things up now that they're working in amazing unison. Shade's profound voice, in combination with McLeod's impressive guitar rifts, Sharpe's powerful bass and Sheese's SAVAGE drums culminate to form a near perfect rock band. Their heart is in Rock&Roll and their future is looking bright.

The following is Transcend Tulsa's exclusive interview with the band:

Damion = D

Jordan = J

Spencer = S

I = Isaiah

When exactly did The Savage Young form?

J: "I think it was around 1965."

I: "In a garage."

D:"I guess we started last year, yeah? 2010?"

J: "Last summer."

When Exactly last summer?

D:"July? …"

S: "I joined the band in July."

D: "Im gonna say when you joined the band we started" (To Spencer)

S: "Wait no… No, no because I started dating my girlfriend in July and I was in the band long before then. It was one of early practices… so maybe May or June."

D:"Let's say May."

I:"But you guys started before I was born."

D:" Yeah I won't count any of that"

So did you two start together? (talking to Jordan and Damion)

D: "Yeah."

What brought the band about? Was it the friendship? Or did you see something else in each others talents?

D: "Well, I've been writing songs for a long time now. I guess 8 years or so. And I had another project called Ithica. We have a record out and all of that. And then I had I counted one day, I don't know now but I had about 150 something songs that weren't Ithica songs… And I was like this is [dumb], I need to do something. And start actually doing something that aren't actually Ithica songs. I need another project."

Did they just have more amp? What made them different?

D:"Just different. Just an entirely different sound, some of them are really bluesy, some of them a little rocky, some of them folky. The main thing is a lot of them were just way way too organic for Ithica. It's like a ambient electronic rock music. So songs like Robert Zimerman wouldn't work for Ithica."

When was the last time you guys played solo? Not as The Savage Young?

J: "Damion and I used to play solo all the time. We used to play little bars and stuff and do like a half covers and half artists songs kinda thing but me, Damion and Spencer have all had solo stuff since we've all known each other."

When was the last time all of you have played by yourself?

J: (To Damion) You've played more recently?

D: "Yeah I've played a bunch of shows by myself, umm I played…. what's the last show I played (he pondered to himself)… I played at Blue City by myself like 3 weeks ago. Just like a pick up night. And I played at the Eclipse and somewhere else. I think I have a show by myself with Ben[jamin] Lyman later this month."

When was the last time you played a solo show? (To Spencer)

S: "I don't play solo shows."

D: "What???"

S: "I used to…"

Damion- Don't you have a show coming up?

S: "Yeah, I do."

(everyone erupts in laughter)

S: "It was like last fall."

D: "But you have one coming up right?"

S: "Yeah, the 30th of March."

Did you ever play anything before this band? (To Isaiah)

I: "I played with [Damion] before in a band called the Credits … and I played with Ithica in the beginning."

At the show on the 25th you guys started out the show with a bang and it got quieter as it progressed with a few exceptions. Is this an approach you guys wanted to try out or did it just happen that way?

J: "We do put a lot of thought into our set list."

D: "I feel like all of my favorite shows have a really purposeful narrative. There's something happening that is deliberate and it's not just being loud and its not just being fast, its constantly changing dynamics in a way that keeps an audience interested. We're not there yet. We haven't reached a set list where I want to be, but I always want to try and find a way to keep us as dynamic as possible. Ideally for me, I want an audience to be like 'oh wow I didn't see that coming. That's cool!" And constantly interested as well."

I: "He likes the dynamics to surprise people, I like the savageness to surprise people."

You guys have a mascot by the way.

I: "7 foot Beerwolf."

D: "You saw it at the show didn't you?"

Yeah, but I thought tha - Transcend Tulsa

On February 25th people from all ages forked over $5 and piled into The Eclipse with anticipation for Fiawna Forté. But it was one of the opening bands that really made an impression. They shook up the stage with might and vigor. They are The Savage Young. One of Tulsa's hottest new bands comes roaring in like savages from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. They're here to shake things up, but have just started to tremor. The Savage Young have yet to be photographed or interviewed as a band but their faces are more than recognizable. The band is made up of Damion Shade, Jordan McLeod, Spencer Sharpe and Isaiah Sheese. All of them have a rich history in the Tulsa music scene, but our belief is that they will really change things up now that they're working in amazing unison. Shade's profound voice, in combination with McLeod's impressive guitar rifts, Sharpe's powerful bass and Sheese's SAVAGE drums culminate to form a near perfect rock band. Their heart is in Rock&Roll and their future is looking bright.

The following is Transcend Tulsa's exclusive interview with the band:

Damion = D

Jordan = J

Spencer = S

I = Isaiah

When exactly did The Savage Young form?

J: "I think it was around 1965."

I: "In a garage."

D:"I guess we started last year, yeah? 2010?"

J: "Last summer."

When Exactly last summer?

D:"July? …"

S: "I joined the band in July."

D: "Im gonna say when you joined the band we started" (To Spencer)

S: "Wait no… No, no because I started dating my girlfriend in July and I was in the band long before then. It was one of early practices… so maybe May or June."

D:"Let's say May."

I:"But you guys started before I was born."

D:" Yeah I won't count any of that"

So did you two start together? (talking to Jordan and Damion)

D: "Yeah."

What brought the band about? Was it the friendship? Or did you see something else in each others talents?

D: "Well, I've been writing songs for a long time now. I guess 8 years or so. And I had another project called Ithica. We have a record out and all of that. And then I had I counted one day, I don't know now but I had about 150 something songs that weren't Ithica songs… And I was like this is [dumb], I need to do something. And start actually doing something that aren't actually Ithica songs. I need another project."

Did they just have more amp? What made them different?

D:"Just different. Just an entirely different sound, some of them are really bluesy, some of them a little rocky, some of them folky. The main thing is a lot of them were just way way too organic for Ithica. It's like a ambient electronic rock music. So songs like Robert Zimerman wouldn't work for Ithica."

When was the last time you guys played solo? Not as The Savage Young?

J: "Damion and I used to play solo all the time. We used to play little bars and stuff and do like a half covers and half artists songs kinda thing but me, Damion and Spencer have all had solo stuff since we've all known each other."

When was the last time all of you have played by yourself?

J: (To Damion) You've played more recently?

D: "Yeah I've played a bunch of shows by myself, umm I played…. what's the last show I played (he pondered to himself)… I played at Blue City by myself like 3 weeks ago. Just like a pick up night. And I played at the Eclipse and somewhere else. I think I have a show by myself with Ben[jamin] Lyman later this month."

When was the last time you played a solo show? (To Spencer)

S: "I don't play solo shows."

D: "What???"

S: "I used to…"

Damion- Don't you have a show coming up?

S: "Yeah, I do."

(everyone erupts in laughter)

S: "It was like last fall."

D: "But you have one coming up right?"

S: "Yeah, the 30th of March."

Did you ever play anything before this band? (To Isaiah)

I: "I played with [Damion] before in a band called the Credits … and I played with Ithica in the beginning."

At the show on the 25th you guys started out the show with a bang and it got quieter as it progressed with a few exceptions. Is this an approach you guys wanted to try out or did it just happen that way?

J: "We do put a lot of thought into our set list."

D: "I feel like all of my favorite shows have a really purposeful narrative. There's something happening that is deliberate and it's not just being loud and its not just being fast, its constantly changing dynamics in a way that keeps an audience interested. We're not there yet. We haven't reached a set list where I want to be, but I always want to try and find a way to keep us as dynamic as possible. Ideally for me, I want an audience to be like 'oh wow I didn't see that coming. That's cool!" And constantly interested as well."

I: "He likes the dynamics to surprise people, I like the savageness to surprise people."

You guys have a mascot by the way.

I: "7 foot Beerwolf."

D: "You saw it at the show didn't you?"

Yeah, but I thought tha - Transcend Tulsa