Today we’d like to introduce you to Quinn Briceño.
Hi Quinn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Young Animals started out in 2015. former band, The Neighborhood Watch, had broken up and I (Quinn, guitarist) was on my way to art school in San Francisco. Even though it hadn’t been very long since the band had broken up, I missed writing music, jamming with my friends, and performing live. I contacted my friend Nathan (guitarist) who I had been in high school metal bands with previously, and Joey (now former drummer, ex. Neighborhood Watch) to form a band. I began writing music in my dorm room, and during summer and winter breaks, I would fly back to home to St. Louis, and we would get together, jam, and add to the songs I had written.
Finding other members to complete the band was a difficult process that took a few years. Many try outs fell through for both bassists and vocalists. Eventually, through a Craigslist post, we found Olive (Vocals) and then from a post we made on Craigslist, we found Tommy (Bass). In 2020 during the pandemic, our original drummer, Joey, left the band. With no shows going on during that time, we were able to integrate Joe, our new drummer, into the band.
Through the years, we’ve gotten to where we have through playing countless shows, making friends and connections through the local scenes here and elsewhere on tour, and continuously jamming and creating new music.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. COVID was really tough as we weren’t able to play live for awhile, and it took a minute to regain momentum after we were able to play shows again. The writing process after COVID also took a bit of a hit. I was getting my MFA at Wash U so time was limited, and it took a while to get a collection of songs that we were proud of and enjoyed. Some logistics can be tough with planning tours, making merch, maintaining and upgrading equipment, so monetarily it can be difficult sometimes. However, we all love what we do so making money isn’t the end all be all. We’re just happy to continue being able to make music and doing what we love with some of our closest friends.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We’re Young Animals, a Midwest Twinkly Emo band from St. Louis, Missouri. We’re known for energetic performances, dueling guitar riffs, bombastic bass, groovy beats and rad tunes that make you dance while singing about the sad stuff.
We’ve been a band for a while now, so I think what stands us apart from other is our tenacity in continuing on this crazy road of being musicians in a time when it’s difficult to be in the arts, and our how close we are as a band. We wouldn’t be able to be a band this long if we didn’t love each other, believe in what we’re doing, and genuinely enjoy the music that comes out of the process.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I think a lot of us had similar experiences, music wise, when growing up. Some of us had music lessons, others were self taught. We were all in high school bands in the St. Louis area, listening to similar music, playing in garages and basements, and having an interest in making original music.
Nathan and I (Quinn) were in metal bands in high school; Joe was in punk bands, played music with his family, and had a band with his brothers; Tommy played in bands that floated between metal, punk, pop and grunge; Olive was in an emo metal alternative band, influenced by Paramore and My Chemical Romance.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @younganimalsband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/younganimals/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtQ-7V3ea-a_GMa30InOWA
- Other: https://young-animals.bandcamp.com/music
