Juno Rylee Schultz“I think I lost my brain, I think I lost my soul, but I found it again in rock and roll”
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Words, research, and edits: Juno Rylee Schultz (she/her)
Research and edits: Kylie Tuinier (she/her)
Edits: Bex Stump (she/her) and Nathan Miller (he/him)
Yin Waster is a Chicago-based music project featuring Griffin Mang and Gabe Huff. Together, the two have put together a dizzying amount of music from a genre they call ‘Gas Station Folk.’
The genre combines psychedelic riffs and emotionally gripping lyricism that vibrate with the same intensity as the warm glow of lights outside a 24-hour gas station.
Griffin carved out some time from his busy life to talk to me about the music of Yin Waster, how art has changed his life, and what’s coming next from the gas station folk punk duo.
Griffin and I spoke about the art that gave him permission to create music, and how “rock and roll escapades” drew him to the guitar at an early age.
The first band that made me want to make music was AC/DC. Hearing songs that were about the devil and various rock and roll escapades made me want to pick up a guitar as soon as possible.
I will say that one of the most important songs I have ever heard that changed the trajectory of what I wanted to write about, both in and outside of my music, was “Teenage World” by The Mountain Goats.
That lo-fi scuzzy and buzzy production mixed with the yearning and surreal lyric set made me immediately jump to writing songs of more substance.
Griffin and I spoke about how he’s always played guitar, and how freeing it was to realize he could add to the great pantheon of music that came before him.
I started playing guitar when I was ten years old. I was obsessed with hard rock and heavy metal and wanted to get a guitar of my own and play like Jimmy Page.
I have always loved music and any song/album/art that makes me take a step back and consider it. The art message, the place the creator(s) were when it was made. Realizing I could write and play and craft my own world of songs either alone or with friends who I enjoyed playing with was revelatory.
That excitement of discovery and being in the moment or creating a new song/album/etc is the greatest feeling on planet earth.
Griffin and I spoke about the importance of art in our lives, and how much he is inspired from the world around him.
“Art is everything to me, there are few other things in my life that spark as much joy as art. I typically am drawn to things that feel like they are coming from a place of excitement.
For example, I am obsessed with Twisted Teens right now. Everything they do feels so immediate and like it’s being beamed from rock and roll heaven. A few other recent inspirations are POND. I recently saw them with a few friends and they solidified themselves as one of my all time favorite bands. I can’t think of another band with zero misses in their discography.
I have been reading a lot lately, right now I am knee deep in a Leondard Cohen biography which has been great. I recently read a book called “Linden Hills” by Gloria Naylor. That was super inspiring and dark. A must read.
In visual art I look for the same thing that I do in music. Anything that seems immediate and urgent. I love slower and more meditative art but in visuals I often go for the bright and the flashy.”
Griffin says a lot of the band’s early stuff was done when he was in high school, but he’s still “super proud of it.”
“It’s rough around the edges but I will always have a certain fondness for it since it was such a fun and creative time for me as a 16/17 year old.”
“Staying Awake Out on the Rocks” was the first song Griffin did while in college. He says it was a turning point for his process because it marked when he started figuring out “more nuance with recording techniques.”
He remembers and frames thede moments not as a masterpiece, but “as a personal moment of realization.”
We talk about Yin Waster’s upcoming album, ‘Born to Boogie’, and the band’s future touring plans.
“We have an album coming out later this year, it’s called “Born to Boogie” there will be more info on it soon but all I can say is that Gabe and I are very proud of it and are excited to get it out!
I will say that we are already writing/ jamming on new songs for the next releases so keep your ear to the ground! I think the album after “Born to Boogie” is gonna be a chill one. But who really knows?”
“We are planning on coming up to Michigan next year. Being from Livonia and loving the metro Detroit area, I always try to get a show up there and spend some time in the area. We want to hit the west side of the state since I have mostly played the central and east parts of the state.”
At the end of our talk, Griffin talks to me about the art that has saved his life, given him a light for his path, and what he’s currently listening to.
“One band that has had a huge influence on me as of late is Scott and Charlene’s Wedding. Another great Aussie band.
Patrick from Midwestern Dirt (another band I am in) showed me their stuff and I have been head over heels. Just before this interview I was listening to their album “Any Port in a Storm” which is a masterpiece. They have a song off of their first album called “Footscray Station” which Patrick showed me and I was blown away by it. It’s hopeful and optimistic but also very real. The lyric “I think I lost my brain, I think I lost my soul, but I found it again in rock and roll” will forever be etched into my DNA.
I remember being in an emotional and creative rut at that time and hearing this bright and just absolutely genius tune in the dead of Chicago winter made me do a 180. I am forever indebted to that song and the great band Scott and Charlene’s Wedding.