How Yungblud became punk’s next guitar hero, bringing high-volume rock to Gen Z

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Yungblud is momentarily lost for words. It doesn’t happen often. The punk rock superstar is known for speaking up about everything that excites or motivates him. But when he joins a Zoom call with Total Guitar, he is at the Gibson Garage in Nashville, holding his first-ever signature model, the Epiphone Yungblud SG Junior in Classic White, and at first, all he can bring himself to say is: “Just, wow…”

Seated on a turquoise sofa, and wearing leather-look dungarees, he shakes his head and takes a long pause for thought before finally saying with a smile: “It’s so cool, man. This day in particular, releasing it officially from the Gibson Garage, has been wild. Honestly, it’s been mental. When you’re a kid, you always dream of having a signature guitar made by Gibson and Epiphone, so now it’s happened, I’m like, ‘What the actual fuck?’”

The new release is inspired by what he calls his “dream guitar” – an original 1964 Gibson SG Junior. A slice of history from the very tail-end of Gibson’s golden age, it’s certainly one of the more striking guitars of its kind, given how the black scratchplate contrasts with its creamy aged Polaris White finish and the inclusion of a single P-90 pickup by the bridge – a defining quality of the Junior models when compared to the dual humbucker-loaded standard SG designs.

“It’s so iconic,” he says, “a rare ’64 SG Junior in white. It has just the one pickup, which suits me because I’m a fucking scrappy player, man! I wanted an instrument that had character, something which could replicate my energy. I can also hit this guitar really hard and she can fucking take it, you know what I mean? It’s such a sick instrument!”

It was a choice inspired by two of his greatest influences – Angus Young of AC/DC, one of the most famous exponents of the SG, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, a fan of single-pickup Les Pauls…

“When I was younger, two massive characters who were very important to me were Angus and Billie Joe,” he says. “I was obsessed with them from a young age. Even before I picked up the guitar, I looked at those guys as heroes. They were like cartoon characters to me, people who made me think, ‘I wanna be like that!’

“When I found this guitar, it was exactly in the middle of what Billie Joe or Angus might use, and yet it hadn’t really been used by anyone. It felt like it would be completely my own. I was buzzing when I found it. I still am whenever I pick it up. It’s been around the world with me. It’s survived headstock breaks, getting smashed up and dropped about… everything! It’s a legendary guitar with its own identity, but I still can’t believe we’ve recreated it as a signature.”

Yungblud is one of the great success stories of recent years, and it’s a story which begins, as they so often do for us guitar players, in a music shop.

He was born Dominic Harrison on August 5, 1997 in Doncaster, where his father Justin Harrison and grandfather Rick Harrison owned and ran a guitar store named Music Ground. “That shop was where I was brought up,” Yungblud says. “There’s a picture of me on the counter only six hours old with a Beatles ukulele on me.”

An Aladdin’s Cave of curious wonders and rare vintage specimens, as well as entry-level instruments for the uninitiated, Music Ground would serve as a significant landmark within the city’s thriving music scene. The Harrisons’ customers would include top-draw legends Noel Gallagher, Johnny Marr and Bryan Adams.

In 2012, the family business was embroiled in controversy. Rick and Justin Harrison were charged with handling stolen goods and given suspended sentences following a police investigation into the theft of 157 vintage guitars – including Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters, Gibsons and Rickenbackers – from the Guitar Ranch museum in the Italian city of Verona in 2006.

But as Yungblud says now, Music Ground was a huge part of his early life. “I worked there from as early as three years old,” he recalls. “Just tuning or dusting or whatever to help out.” And this was pivotal to the life he leads now, as a bona fide rock star.

His music has been embraced by fans across the world, leading to sold-out arenas, labyrinthine meet-and-greet queues, and collaborations with some of the biggest names in the music business. With the right combination of hooks, powerchords and overdrive, he’s become the quintessential voice of Gen Z – an artist who has built and nurtured a community around his music to give fans a place to feel welcome.

It’s a close-knit family that prides itself on accepting individuals of every kind, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation. It doesn’t matter how weird or different you might think you are, this is a musical movement where everyone can belong and feel accepted.

After the series of singles that ended up on his self-titled EP, his 2018 major label-released debut 21st Century Liability came loaded with anthems for the modern age, capturing the zeitgeist for a misunderstood youth struggling to fit into the broken world around them.

Two years later, his second full-length Weird! ended up topping the UK album charts thanks to his growing talents as a songwriter, with Machine Gun Kelly, blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds lending a helping hand on the album’s standout tracks.

The following album, self-titled and released in 2022, reached pole position in seven countries, the rising star teaming up with Willow for second single Memories and getting Robert Smith’s permission to sample The Cure’s ’80s classic Close To Me on the song Tissues.

On top of all this, Yungblud has also collaborated twice with UK metalcore heavyweights Bring Me The Horizon and recorded with Avril Lavigne, Halsey and Demi Lovato. And throughout it all, he’s had lead guitarist Adam Warrington at his side.

“I met Adam when I was 15,” he says. “If you can capture that relationship through music, it’s real and human. People can’t argue with that.” Their onstage roles are simply described: “I’m playing for the people and I leave all the licks to Adam!” he laughs. But as he talks of this partnership, it leads him to a broader point.

My advice is play with your f**king spirit. It might not always be perfect, but that’s always how you stand out. If they don’t like it, f**k them!

“Your individuality is the best thing you’ve got,” he says. “It will be the biggest thing you question, because, in music, people like to make all the rules about how you should sound or play.

“My advice is play with your fucking spirit. It might not always be perfect, but that’s always how you stand out. If they don’t like it, fuck them! Get in the room with your mates and your friends. That’s how we ended up being so lucky. We love each other and we’re all mates.”

He cites AC/DC and Green Day as a reference points for his own music because they’re arguably the biggest and best of their kind, purveyors of hard-hitting rock music served in its purest and rawest form. There’s no mistaking things with either one – you know what they’re gunning for. Simple cowboy chords and 5th diads can take you a long way.

“Both of those bands represent simplicity,” he says. “They write stuff anyone can play or sing back. They can write a riff and 70-thousand people will sing it back, no matter what language they speak. That’s what I’ve realised. With Angus, it’s all very chord-based until he gets to the solo sections. I love songs like Thunderstruck and For Those About To Rock (We Salute You). AC/DC make animalistic human music.

“It’s very simple – just listen to the drums. But the guitar playing is the sound of thunder. You can just tell just from the name of the song! Highway To Hell sounds like hell. The same goes for Back In Black or Shoot To Thrill. They’re so badass and radical. They purposefully make it simple so thousands of people can sing it with them and they can have a good time on stage, playing really fucking loud.”

He continues: “With Billie Joe, it’s all about the downstrokes. I had to strengthen my wrists and build stamina, because that’s what real rhythm guitar is about. I’m a rhythm player and singer, that’s what excites me. Musicians like Billie Joe and Dave Grohl are the masters of that. They play hard and simple, and it’s always stuff the audience can sing back.

Jesus of Suburbia was huge for me. It was like the Bohemian Rhapsody for my generation, with all these twists and turns that go everywhere

“That’s what I learned most from them. Longview by Green Day is incredible. I love that opening bassline, it’s almost like a guitar riff. And Jesus of Suburbia was huge for me. It was like the Bohemian Rhapsody for my generation, with all these twists and turns that go everywhere.”

Given his history, it’s no surprise that Yungblud knows what to look for in a guitar. Beyond the obvious connection to one of his biggest idols, there’s something about the demonic cut of an SG that works like a magnetic pull and draws him in every time.

The early ’60s design is particularly mischievous and playful, perhaps even a little bit bratty and juvenile, but these are all things Yungblud chooses to run with and embrace, the same very words he often uses to describe his personality…

“I found the 1964 online,” he continues. “I knew a lot about guitars by the time I found it. I had a good idea about what I wanted and what would be right for me. And I always loved SGs. The horns remind me of a fucking devil child! They used to call me ‘Damian’ in the shop when I was a kid, because I’d be running around throwing the horns at everyone with my tongue out, wearing goth pants and New Rock boots.

“I had a good idea of what to look for because I spent countless hours reading Total Guitar, learning about this stuff! I knew my guitar had to be iconic. I’ve always loved white guitars, especially as I always wear black. I need a guitar that can contrast with that. To find a ’60s model just felt fucking cool.”

I had a good idea of what to look for because I spent countless hours reading Total Guitar, learning about this stuff!

If there was one thing he asked of Gibson when the topic of a signature model was originally floated, it was that it had to be affordable. Much like the network of music lovers he’s built around the world, a community also known as the Yungblud Army, it had to be inclusive – which is precisely where Epiphone came into the picture.

“I also had to make sure this replica was affordable,” he says, looking more serious all of a sudden. “I’m an approachable guitar player, that’s what I am, that’s what I do. I’m not Slash or Jimi Hendrix. I write songs and play with energy as a frontman. This guitar had to be accessible to everyone. That’s why I’m so happy it’s come out through Epiphone.”

This is especially important given the core demographic of his fanbase: younger individuals typically of the age where they’re starting their first bands. In Yungblud’s eyes, it’s all in service to a greater cause, the rock ’n’ roll movement that changed his life infinitely for the better, ultimately helping him find his place in this world.

It’s not been an easy ride, either – plenty of hours and miles have been dedicated to the mission so far, and that doesn’t look like it will be changing anytime soon. And there, perhaps, lies the big secret behind all the success.

He’s a lifer and everything he creates comes with a palpable sense of sweat and authenticity. Playing his part in the resurgence of rock music in wider popular culture is, in his own words, literally why he exists.

“I have a deep love for rock music,” he shrugs, almost as if to say it shouldn’t be too hard to figure what he’s all about. “That’s what I grew up on. It’s what I listen to in the shower, it’s what I listen to at parties and it’s what I listen to backstage. My goal is to bring guitar music to a new generation but re-skin it to make it different.

“Right now it’s exciting because rock ’n’ roll feels different, it feels new. Whether people like it or not, it’s happening again! We want to be a part of that. It’s been a crazy five years for us. We started in small venues and now we’re playing stadiums, but we’re all under 30. So rock is definitely coming back. Young people are loving it.”

So far he’s been mainly operating out of the punk and indie circles within the rock universe, though there are some big changes afoot with the next full-length, currently a work in progress. After all this talk about his love for AC/DC, it very much sounds like his love for Angus and Malcolm will be brought to the forefront on album four, slated for release next year.

“We’ve really gone classic rock on this new record we’ve been making,” he grins. “Or at least how we believed classic rock should be played. It’s like new-old stock, all guitar-based with four-minute breakdowns. The first song is nine minutes long with two guitar solos in it. We’re just gonna fucking do it, just because we can do it. Why not?

“We were asking ourselves how we can twist the genre. How do we make it sound new and how do we make rock guitar more interesting? We’ve got to this point where it’s like ‘Alright, sick, we’ve done all that, now let’s make a classic rock album!’ It will still feel fresh, though. It will be a classic rock album for 2025.”

Beyond his prized SG Junior, there are some other rare Gibsons to be found in his private collection. His latest edition is a ’60s ES-330 – a dream machine for just about any kind of guitar player, whether they’re into rock, metal, blues or jazz. And though he chooses to ditch the six-string during certain points of his live show – a fundamental aspect of his larger-than-life stage presence and primary role as a frontman – he’s a guitar addict just like the rest of us.

“I just love guitars,” he smiles. “Especially my Gibson B-25 acoustics… I’ve got seven of them! I will literally buy any one of those ’60s models. Every time I see one, it comes home with me. Because those guitars are real songwriter’s instruments. I write with them, so they come all over the world with me. I’m just obsessed with those things.

“I just bought a ’60s ES-330 which came from Florida and it’s an unbelievable guitar. Some guy drew a ghost on the scratchplate; we call it ‘The Demon’, and apparently it’s cursed. If I’m dead next year, it’s because of that guitar!

I just bought a ’60s ES-330... apparently it’s cursed. If I’m dead next year, it’s because of that guitar!

“Really it just comes down to which ones have survived me and my playing,” he laughs. “Some are in bits, lying around somewhere. I had a couple of Fenders a few years ago, but, for me, Gibsons sound heavier and can take a fucking beating. Adam occasionally plays a Fender, but we’re Gibson lovers. It’s like the company kidnapped us, locked us in their basement with all the goody bags and now we’re fully down!”

It should come as little surprise that Yungblud’s approach to tone is one that echoes his attitude towards songwriting. He places his trust in Hiwatt and Marshall amps for a hard-hitting crunch that can ring true and move air at high volume.

You won’t find anything in between because – at least to his ears – less really is more. All the clever effects and pedalboard headaches are left to fellow six-stringer Adam, who brings more eclectic influences into their collective sonic palette.

“My approach is very simple,” he admits. “Adam’s rig is way more intricate, running two amps in stereo. His pedalboard is pretty mind-blowing, because he’s really inspired by people like The Edge from U2 and Ed O’Brien from Radiohead. I like a one-pickup guitar going into an amp with a basic distortion or overdrive that kicks.

People have been trying to get us to switch to Kemper for years and we keep telling them to f**k off

“I’m after a certain sound. I want it to be young, bratty and naive. Adam can do all the clever shit. I want my parts to be accessible, so any kid can learn them quickly. I’m more of a songwriter, that’s just how I play. I’ll do something simple, then Adam will shred some mental shit all over it.”

And while there are plenty of great digital rig options striking that perfect balance between consistency and portability, there’s nothing quite like plugging a guitar straight into a cranked amp. Technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the last two decades, but for players like Yungblud, the more things change, the more things stay the same…

“I don’t even use pedals, I stick with the gain from the amp. We might use a couple of Boxes of Doom [isolated cabinets] backstage, but it all comes from plugging straight in. That’s just what I like.

“People have been trying to get us to switch to Kemper for years and we keep telling them to fuck off. All of our mates come on the side of the stage and I want that area to be a party. Sometimes I take my in-ears out and it’s blaring at me. I just want my amp all the way up and I’m ready to go… the only thing I need is for it to be fucking loud up there!”

• For more info on the Yungblud SG Junior, head to Epiphone.