Yungblud talks about the inspiration behind his new signature guitar and his mission to save rock 'n' roll
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Every guitar player daydreams of one day getting their very own signature guitar – and for Dominic Richard Harrison, AKA Yungblud, that dream is now a reality. The English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has teamed up with Epiphone to launch an affordable take on the beloved 1964 Gibson SG Junior he’s often seen enthusiastically throwing around stages all over the world.
The SG Junior has had many famous admirers over the years. Tom Petty famously used one to break hearts throughout his career and Noddy holder of Slade was often seen with one draped over one of his garish tartan suits – but there haven’t been many modern artists reach for this devil-horned, single pickup beauty.
Now, while the SG Junior may seem like an oddball choice of signature axe for such a current musician, as Yungblud tells us when we caught up with him over video call before his signing event at Guitar Center L.A., the SG Junior perfectly combines his two biggest guitar inspirations.
“For me, I’ve had two massive characters in my life since I was little,” Yungblud explains. “I think when you're six or seven, you kind of have a dream and you base your dream off the caricatures in rock ‘n’ roll – and for me, it was Angus Young and Billie Joe Armstrong. That's who I loved at six and seven – and School Of Rock as well really – I was just obsessed. When I was young, like eight and nine, I used to go to Download [festival] and I used to look like I crawled out of Satan's arsehole – and I loved it,” laughs Yungblud.
It's been all over the world, and f**king survived a lot of bullsh*t, so it's done pretty well
While the Doncaster-born singer states that the aesthetics of the SG first attracted him to his now beloved guitar, saying, “I always loved [the look of the SG]. It looked like horns. I just f**cking loved it,” he continues to explain that he was looking for more than just a great guitar, but an instrument that could become synonymous with him as an artist and that he could make entirely his own.
“When I found this guitar, the white ‘64 SG Junior, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ an enthusiastic Yungblud recalls. “I was looking for something I could play as Yungblud, and this was almost like a homage to what I loved, but then it's completely my own. It's never been made iconic, and I think that's really hard, isn't it? When a lot of guitars have been seen so much on [other] players. I needed to find something and make it mine.”
Continuing the praise for his number one stage companion, Yungblud tells us how he acquired the guitar and why he chose white over the more commonly seen cherry red variety. “I literally found it on the internet, I think I found it on either Reverb or eBay, it was somewhere on the internet,” explains Yungblud. “I just knew I wanted a Junior, and I loved an SG, and then I kind of put them together. I'd seen it in red, but I wasn't really into red – It's not really my colour – but then I saw it in white. I was like, ‘F**k, that's sick!’
"It's been all over the world, and f**king survived a lot of bullsh*t, so it's done pretty well!”
Very early on in our conversation with the singer, it became apparent that he was incredibly excited and proud to finally have a signature guitar – and so he should be. It’s a massive achievement for any musician to get an instrument emblazoned with your name, and judging by the reaction online, it’s set to be a very popular model indeed.
I am not a savant guitar player – I am an accessible songwriter who literally plays with no pedals
When quizzed about the specifications of the new Epiphone version, Yungblud let it be known that he embraces the limitations of a single pickup guitar, and in fact, it works better for his no-nonsense approach to playing. “I loved that it's got one pickup because I think with me, I am not a savant guitar player,” confidently states Yungblud, “I am an accessible songwriter who literally plays with no pedals. I literally use my f**king amp distortion. I want one sound. I want to be scrappy, I want it to be real and I want it to be full of energy and naivety.”
Now, with many artists getting high-end clones of their stage-worn guitars courtesy of the Gibson Custom Shop, that never really seemed like an option for Yungblud. The singer is well known to be pretty outspoken when it comes to affordability and the accessibility of instruments – especially for young players just starting out. So it should come as no surprise that he was very passionate about making his first signature model with Gibson’s more inexpensive arm, Epiphone.
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“What we wanted to do is replicate the whole ethos of Yungblud [in a guitar]. It’s self-expression and individuality and that's why we [chose to do] it with Epiphone, so it could be affordable and young people can revive guitar music by playing and starting bands. It's been really cool to see the response to it.
“That's everything we're kind of battling towards at the minute with our festival and everything [else],” says Yungblud. “I feel like rock music is such a sacred genre. The way we protect this f**king genre and keep it alive is not by shielding it and not by making it closed off. It's by being excited to see where it can go with a new spirit and a young spirit because I genuinely love rock music – that's what we love.”
I didn't want to put a signature on it. You can make it yours, you can scratch it, you can f**king dip it in paint, you can piss on it, you can do what you want!
An excited Yungblud explains, “Our mission was, let's make it young. I mean, it became a genre for the old person and f**k that because it represents freedom! Guitar is anger. It's sex. It's f**king euphoria. It's f**king life, man. We just wanted to make it young and a staple of youth. Rock ‘n’ roll became a f**king exclusive club and that's when it got sh*t. F**k that. I just think all it takes is enough people to play it and enough people to pull it to pieces to make it f**king exciting again – and that's what we're trying to do.”
Speaking of freedom, the alt-rock star, wanted to ensure his signature model was enough of a blank canvas that fans could put their own stamp on the instrument – or dowse it in their own urine, if you take Yungblud's unorthodox suggestion. While it comes with a black and electric pink hardshell case and a Yungblud sticker, there is no signature or decal on the guitar tying it directly to the artist – something that was very much by design.
“I really didn't want it to be completely tied to Yungblud. It’s such a beautiful f**king instrument within itself,” Yungblud tells us. “We kind of made it famous, if you want, but it can be yours as well. I didn't want to put a signature on it. You can make it yours, you can scratch it, you can f**king dip it in paint, you can piss on it, you can do what you want!” laughs Yungblud.
Looking to the future, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to inquire about what’s next – and if it’s likely we’ll see a Gibson variant at some point. Now, there may not be any plans as of right now, well certainly not any concrete plans that Yungblud was willing to divulge. That said, the singer did say that if the fans want it, he’ll make it happen, as they are his number one priority.
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“The options are open at the minute. Since the start of our f**king career, we've just been kind of riding it – like, whatever door gets opened. The reaction to Bloodfest, our festival, and then this guitar has been really amazing and I think we never want to forget about our f**king fan base. Because f**k everyone else. It’s literally me and them. That's it.
“I think in the past we've almost compromised too much,” reflects Yungblud. “I think when you're young, you're like, ‘Oh, we need to please this person and that person to kind of stay here.’ But really, I think all that f**king matters is the relationship between the people who come to our shows and us – and f**k everyone else.
“[We made] a conscious decision that Epiphone would be the best way to go at the first stage because we want to make it affordable. We want to put guitars in the hands of everybody. We want people to be able to not be frightened to play because they might get ripped apart on the internet or to feel like they'll never be able to afford it so they won't bother anyway."
Speaking of a Gibson variant, Yungblud said, “I think if people want it, I think we'll definitely do a Gibson version. I keep buying more guitars and people keep loving them. I’ve just bought a black Les Paul Junior that's sick – so we might do that.” Continuing through his recent acquisitions, Yungblud reveals his latest stage guitar could be a strong contender for the next batch of signature models. “I’ve also just bought a ‘60s [Gibson] ES-330 with a demon painted on the scratch plate. Like, it was painted in the ‘60s but it looks f**king iconic, so we might do that." A demon-clad, affordable, blacked-out ES-330? Count us in!
I feel like everyone gets really f**king greedy
Closing out our chat with Yungblud and the conversation moves away from his recent Epiphone guitar and to his new festival, Bludfest. In keeping with the theme of affordability, the tickets for the event, which takes place on the 11th of August at Milton Keynes Bowl, were as little as ￡50. This low price certainly raised a few eyebrows and left a lot of people wondering how he managed to keep the tickets so reasonably priced.
So, with that in mind, we took the opportunity to ask Yungblud how he managed to make his festival so affordable and what he thought the rest of the industry could learn from his approach to an event like this.
“I'm sick of being told this is the way it is,” says Yungblud. “I want to start an infrastructure that I own, I understand that I'm not going to make any money from the music side of it. So the ticket can cover my bands, my music, my stage and I could put a show on. To be able to make the business viable in the future, we have to earn [a profit] from the merch and earn it from the food,” continues Yungblud.
“I feel like everyone gets really f**king greedy. But with our festival, we're not a corporate f**king company with an artist and a band, we're gonna do it [our] way. I look at the bigger picture. I look at it like this is our world. Obviously, we've got to live and eat as Yungblud and be able to tour and be able to pay for the album, but I think as long as everyone's happy that's my plan. I just can't justify asking my fan base for ￡400 a ticket – it makes you feel sick!"
Of course, as of writing this, the event is yet to happen, but if successful Yungblud would like to take it out of the UK and go global with Bludfest, but he does admit that he still hasn’t quite worked out all the details just yet. “The plan is to take it to Paris, Italy, Australia, Japan, America, and Latin America, but we don’t know [yet]. I think we're either going to do it again in the UK or we're going to take it somewhere like Italy or Paris if we want to do an arena tour in the UK or whatever. So, we're kind of figuring it out and we're just keeping it organic. I think that's the way we want it to stay.”
The Epiphone Yungblud SG Junior is available to order now, but if you want one, you'd better act fast, as Epiphone is only making 600 of them. You can also catch Yungblud at Bludfest on the 11th of August at Milton Keynes Bowl. For more details head over to yungbludofficial.com.
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