off. When I was in Boston, I wanted to get something to always help me remember to be quiet. [Then] I got this skull after I recorded ‘Wondrous Bughouse’. There’s a lot of strong imagery with skulls, and the ideas behind ‘Wondrous Bughouse’, the mortality, and all that kind of stuff. I wanted something really psychedelic, and the colours fade into each other. This was marking the end of ‘Wondrous Bughouse’, so as soon as I got home I got this tattoo. So that one’s from Boise? Yeah, this [octopus] is from Boise too. I had done some
They all mean something different. This one is in memory of my uncle, he passed away from a drug overdose. We were super, super tight, my mom’s brother. It’s a mini journal just to get things on your body. When did you get your first one? My first one actually is this one, it says, “The Lord Is My Shelter.” I got this during my last year in high school. I went through this really bad depression, super-bad depression, thinking of all kinds of weird shit. So I wanted something to really ground me. Do you think you did get a little peace from the first one as a reminder? Oh yeah, completely. We’re in Boise, and you’ve got a big show tonight. I imagine a bunch of family is coming out. How many times do you think they’ve seen you perform? Well, my wife has seen me perform for a really long time. We got married in September, and we dated for six years before that. So in high school I was in different garage bands, and jamming with friends, so there were always shows she was going to. It’s crazy to fast forward years and think about loved ones like that, and think about how many shows they’ve actually seen. My parents are really supportive too. They come to shows all the time, probably most local shows my parents have been there. That’s awesome. Does your wife ever come on tour? She goes on like one-off dates. ATP fest outside of London, the one curated by The National, she came to that one. It was beautiful. Is that where you first met those guys? Yeah they watched the set and we hung out. That was cool. She goes to different festivals, she went to Treasure Island fest, because that was like four days. She could get off work for that long. Anything that’s like short periods of time, she goes. But for the weeks in the van... No way. The way she puts it is, I don’t go to work with her, she doesn’t come to work with me.
I lov e t h i s pl ac e . ” research and the reason sailors used to get octopus tattoos, is because they represent the unknown. So this was from the first time I went overseas. I got this last year right before I went to Australia. Australia was the first international show? Yeah, and after Australia, we went right to Tokyo. Then right to the UK and the rest of Europe. Australia was the very first time I’ve ever been overseas, so I got the octopus.
Any places you’d like to play that you haven’t had the chance yet? I’d like to play in China. Like rural China or Hong Kong? Everywhere in China. I’ve always wanted to go to China and explore. I’ve always found it fascinating. Eventually it will happen, but it takes a while to go to China. I think eventually it will happen. Maybe. Youth Lagoon’s new album ‘Wondrous Bughouse’ is out now via Fat Possum.
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