In case your Halloween weekend was not enough fun for you, grab a ticket for Young Man and Cold War Kids' show at the Majestic Nov. 1.
Young Man's Colin Caulfield records and produces all of his own music. He is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter. In other words, he can basically do anything. He is excited to bring his music to the stage and work alongside a band of talented musicians.
Caulfield majored in English, and he attributes a lot of the characteristics of his music to his academic background. He writes songs in a structural way, as if presenting an argument. "I didn't nail all of my papers, but I feel like I tried something different every time," Caulfield said. "The same applies to my music."
Young Man rode the wave of Internet fame. He gained recognition through YouTube covers of famous bands including Bon Iver, Beach House and Ariel Pink. When Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox heard Caulfield's cover of their song "Rainwater Cassette Exchange," he said it was better than the original and began promoting Young Man to their active online community, immediately accumulating hoards of fans.
Despite his lack of formal training, Caulfield shies away from calling himself self-taught. "The idea of being ‘self-taught' is increasingly vague with the Internet," Caulfield said. "I can get in-depth vocal lessons for free on YouTube, so to say I learned everything on my own is kind of inauthentic." Self-taught or not, he holds himself to high standards and draws inspiration from musicians such as John Lennon and The Beatles, Wolfgang Voigt, and Rufus Wainwright.
The production of Young Man's music is meticulous and time consuming. He layers the vocal harmonies with guitar, keyboard and percussions for the eight tracks of his latest album. When he performs live, he works with a band, and he is excited to expand his musical abilities.
Young Man released an EP in 2010 entitled Boy, and his first full-length album Ideas of a Distance was released this September. Caulfield put a lot of effort into this album. "Trying to pick a favorite track is like trying to pick a favorite child," Caulfield said. "I'm just so proud of all of them."
Fresh from a tour with Grouplove, Young Man is excited to kick off their tour with Cold War Kids in Madison. Caulfield's musical history with Madison consists of playing a house party a couple years ago, so playing alongside the well-known Cold War Kids is a major step up. "It's just a totally different vibe," Caulfield said. "It's really professional. It's much more of a production. I've heard great things about the guys from Cold War Kids, so it will be a good experience."
