For the past four weeks, the worst-kept secret in Phoenix music circles is that Amy Young has joined us to run the paper’s loudest section. And we couldn’t be more stoked to have her aboard.
I first met Amy only after she’d submitted her application for the job. Her resume offered the sort of dossier everyone looks for in a music editor: past Phoenix New Times freelance clips, a tour of duty publishing online at the Republic, newsroom management experience, actual writing chops, actual drumming chops, a stint running an art gallery — and volunteer work at a skateboarding nonprofit, because everyone’s got to have hobbies.
One business day after her resume arrived, I bumped into her IRL. She happened to be out at a show at Walter Studios on a Monday, never a bad sign for someone we want to see embrace local artists and venues. I introduced myself and we talked shop for about 20 minutes. Then the Linda Lindas took the stage and blew the roof off the place.
Lucky for you, friend, you don’t have to leave your Amy Young meetings to chance. I hit her up for this get-to-know-ya chat armed with questions by the New Times staff. They were curious to ask advice about live shows, to get a glimpse into youthful rebellions, and to preview the end of the world.
Questions and answers have been condensed from a series of cross-country Greyhound rides and translated from their original Esperanto.
When you ran an art gallery in downtown Phoenix some 20 years ago, Roosevelt Row and Grand Avenue were buzzing with live music venues. These days, the only place making any noise is MySpace. Could RoRo or Grand ever become music hubs again? Or are those days over for good?
Over on Roosevelt, the Lost Leaf closing was a fucking bummer. Thank goodness for places like MySpace picking up a torch and anyone else who can. Yes, I think it can be done if someone is dedicated to doing it. The Walter folks are between both’ hoods and have created a solid space. And no one knows yet where the latest iteration of Trunk Space will land.
What’s your favorite thing about Phoenix’s music scene? What, if anything, is it missing?
I love that there are amazing bands in all genres in this town, that the scene is a blend of creative, interesting people who like to make things happen, and that it’s often multigenerational. As a person who plays music, I’ve been on bills where a kid is in one band, and their parent(s) are in another, playing the same night. Sometimes the whole fam is in a band together.
Missing: more places to play. And I’d love to see it not be a struggle for a bigger rotation of bands to get matched with touring artists so they can get in front of bigger crowds. And I don’t just mean my bands 🙂
Yeah, so you’re both a musician and a music writer. How does your status as one inform the other and vice versa?
As a musician, I know what I’d like someone to take away from the music I am part of making — for instance, if they’re writing about it. Now, I have no control over what they think or end up saying, but it makes me more aware when I am watching a band and writing about a band. I’m listening to the music, of course, but I’m also looking at their physical motions, their emotions, how they work with their bandmates — how the whole situation swirls together.
When I’m playing music, I think, all that information I absorb writing and reading about music and seeing bands endlessly lives in my subconscious and makes me want to play with sincerity, however that translates.
To what extent were your early music tastes tied to a sense of rebellion? Were there ever albums or artists your parents tried to steer you away from?
I first heard the Ramones and Cheap Trick in junior high. They both made me want to crank up the volume in a way that matched my internal fire, be it angsty or excited. It felt like motivation to DO something. From there, I got full-on into punk and hardcore and really everything else that had an edge, be it hip-hop, krautrock, industrial … just things that were profound to me, that riled me up, that had something to say about the world. Change a couple of names, and hardcore records from back in the day are still unfortunately socially relevant and still feel just as incredible on high on the car stereo.
Parents? No. If it says anything about my family, my grandmother gave me her personal copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook” for my 13th birthday. My mom once did cry, though, over shaved (yes, fully shaved) eyebrows. You know, she liked her punk kid, but you gotta get those jobs.
Where would you take your favorite artist (anyone, hypothetically) to eat in Phoenix? Before and after a show, let’s say.
A couple places among the many we have to choose from, like Otro for a great brunch, Myke’s Pizza for the obvious, Tacos Chiwas, Green for the absolute best no-meat experience. Mifan is a fave. Oh, and if it’s about decent food with a great experience attached, I have a sweet spot for Organ Stop Pizza. One of the rare pipe organ eateries in the country. Cool as shit.
Two of the younger members of the staff sent in explicit calls for some war stories, so I’m gonna mash them together. What’s the absolute weirdest music story or event you’ve covered? And of the interviews you’ve done over the years, who was the most fascinating character you encountered?
Back when I started writing regularly about goings-on — I was living in NYC at the time — I had three interviews in a couple of weeks that swirled together like a below-the-belt tornado. I met with a guy at his facility where he met satanic-themed adult toys, a business that may have been the first legit operation to sell pre-owned panties online and a painter whose style is known as “rectal realism” — he paints with his butt. Not like pressing painted cheeks on a canvas, but actually inserts the brush handle. I loved every minute of it.
As far as fascinating, actor Crispin Glover is up there. I’ve interviewed him a couple of times. It’s not necessarily what he says or how he says it, and it’s not a matter of whether or not it’s interesting or what I think about him, but that it really becomes a puzzle trying to figure out where it’s all going. It is a conversation that feels like a clinical study.
What do you wish folks in the industry (local musicians, promoters, venue bookers) knew about your job now, as music editor?
That it takes two to tango, and keeping open lines of communication benefits everyone. Obviously, we can’t cover every single thing that happens, but I want it to be broad and robust, and that involves being and staying in touch. And mutual respect.
Last question. Aliens have landed. Big, shaggy ones, with “Mars Attacks”-style lasers. They propose a challenge: One karaoke song for the fate of the world. Everyone on the planet draws straws and it turns out, you’re our champion. What song do you sing, with all life on earth riding on your performance?
Prince: “Let’s Go Crazy”!
