Immigrant Song

Sameer Gadhia, vocalist of indie rock band Young the Giant on his musical journey as a first generation Indian-American.

Sameer Gadhia, Young the giant band, rock, music

Sameer Gadhia of indie music outfit Young the Giant.

With his father in the IT business, and his mother a successful psychologist, Sameer Gadhia’s family was one of the many who moved from pre-liberalisation India to the United States for a better life. Unlike most first generation Indian-Americans, the vocalist of the indie band, Young the Giant, grew up in a musical environment not just restricted to Bollywood or Indian classical music. “We didn’t listen to only Indian music while growing up. My mother would practise Indian classical songs while running errands for home, and my father was a big fan of the Beatles and Queen, so I grew up listening to everything,” says Gadhia, whose band will play in India for the first time at Sula Fest this weekend.

Young the Giant have two Gold certified records, and they’ve managed it without Gadhia pandering to the diaspora. The band has a sound that has come to be recognised as indie rock, so much so that it has often been criticised for being formulaic. From the angsty self-titled debut album in 2011 that featured hits Cough syrup and My body, to the more pop-leaning, Billboard top 10 charting Mind over matter in 2014 — Young the Giant’s records seem to fly off the shelves.

[related-post]

The band has been playing together since they were in high school but it wasn’t until Gadhia was pursuing a degree in human biology at Stanford that he had to make the tough choice (more for his parents) to either pursue music or try for medical school. “My parents would joke and tell me that I should become a doctor. I always knew that their intent was hidden in the laughter. Now my dad comes for many of my shows,” says the frontman who picked up the guitar when he was 11. Gadhia talks about a battle of the bands they played in their early years in Irvine, California, which his father accompanied him to. “Years later, he reminded me of the gig and told me he was truly afraid after that performance. He realised that night that we were actually good, and might end up doing this for life,” he says.

From singing at family functions — where his mother spotted his talent — to transfixing over 10,000 people at Lollapalooza last year, Gadhia has come a long way. The singer recommends that Young the Giant should be watched live to truly experience their music. Social media has been abuzz talking about the band’s performance at the festival, but Gadhia finds it surreal. “It’s surprising to get all these messages on Facebook from fans in India. I can’t believe we are headlining the festival,” he says.

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.