from the Bradenton Herald, Friday, Feb. 18, 1994

Unlike musicians today, Young had a chance to grow

by Eydie Cubarrubia, Herald Staff Writer
With plans of "rocking harder" and increasing his listenership, James Young is pleased to play tonight at Bumpers, 1927 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.
"In terms of a solo act, it's my first time (in the Tampa Bay area), but I've been here before with Styx," the guitarist said in a phone interview from his Chicago base. "I feel I have a following and can get an even bigger audience."
Being far away from home does not faze Young's confidence; in fact, the situation is just the opposite. "We do mostly Chicago and regional areas," he said of his year-old band, The James Young Group. "I find the farther away I get from this (center), the more open-minded people are."
Despite this open-mindedness, Young is honest about the tendency of the music industry to tout trends and ignore mainstays and innovators alike.
"Video had promise at the beginning. But what MTV has become is a monopolizing station that dictates taste so companies won't sign what MTV won't play," Young said. He is especially sympathetic to young musicians who don't have the prominence he does.
"It's a negative impact artistically, because groups can't develop as a live act." Rather than seeing a group slowly grow over years on the road, Young said, music fans want to see polish immediately - from the tube to live onstage.
Though the so-called grunge movement has had tremendous growth over the past few years, Young sees it as a trend he doesn't need to follow.
"It's like punk in England in the '70s. It's more an attitude than a piece of music - though there are bands who (are musical as well). Everything goes in cycles. We've gone from Kiss and monster stage productions to (the attitude of) 'to hell with all that' and the bare bones, with only four or five breathing human beings on stage.
"It's also a reaction to the economy, just like in the '70s," Young said, launching into a killer Johnny Rotten cover of No Future to make his point.
With such an objective view of the scene and the industry, Young has the confidence to play his untrendy-yet-polished material.
Being true to the music on Young's latest recording, Out On A Day Pass, may be a challenge. The album contains performances by many seasoned musicians - Colin Hodgkinson (bassist on Mick Jagger's solo records), Styx drummer John Panozzo and Jan Hammer, among others - and many tunes have Young playing both guitar and keyboard tracks.
"This band is great live," Young said, adding, "A lot of these guys have day jobs to support themselves.
"A difficulty in live music is that there are a lot of great singers and musicians who haven't been real successful finding a band to play with."