The Young Sinclairs are a band that belongs to no particular time. Despite obvious influences and notable quirks that could establish any number of comparisons, the sounds and directions that define them are uniquely theirs. This could be attributed to their position at the forefront of a strong musical scene in Roanoke. That city’s fabled Magic Twig Community, which has given the world such bands as Eternal Summers, Sad Cobra, and many more, could herald The Young Sinclairs as one of their crowning achievements. From the moment of his arrival on the Roanoke scene, frontman Samuel Jones Lunsford established himself as a talent to watch. It’s no surprise that, even after significant time off, the return of The Young Sinclairs has inspired waves of excitement around town.
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The brainchild of Lunsford, The Young Sinclairs’ early releases came about entirely due to his efforts. By not only writing all of the songs but playing all of the instruments himself, Lunsford displayed an ambitious streak that set the tone for the band’s progress. Recording engineer and eventual bandmate John Thompson helped Lunsford achieve a cohesive Young Sinclairs sound. The two engaged each other creatively, switching instrumental roles throughout the recording process. Lunsford commends Thompson’s prowess on multiple instruments. “Up until this recent incarnation of the band, John would help record with me while also playing drums. The thing is that he is an incredible guitarist, [and it’s] just recently we are able to showcase that more.”
To fill out the remainder of the line-up, Lunsford and Thompson were able to search through their bloodlines and musical connections for perfect fits. Along with being Sam’s older brother, drummer Joe Lunsford has long been an incredible presence in the both the Richmond and Roanoke musical communities. As an engineer at Roanoke’s Mystic Fortress studio, he has helped to masterfully capture many great Virginia releases of recent years, including White Laces’ Moves and Eternal Summers’ Correct Behavior. With Joe behind the kit, it’s certainly a family affair; the two brothers have long had a close musical relationship. “We’ve been playing tunes together for god knows how long. To put it simply, he’s always been a Young Sinclair,” Sam comments.
Since Joe Lunsford took over on drums, Thompson has been able to step out from behind the kit to display his prowess on guitar, the instrument at which he is most skilled. This change has added further dynamics to the group’s sound, as has the addition of Eternal Summers’ Daniel Cundiff as a co-songwriter. Performing with The Young Sinclairs shows a different musical identity for Cundiff, a musician primarily known as a drummer. Stationed front and center, usually armed with an acoustic guitar, he is a compatible and resilient counter to Sam Lunsford. Both display a stoic nature that helps keep their live sets full of variety.
The last member to be added to the group was The Diamond Center’s Kyle Harris on bass. When Harris was living in Athens, Georgia, the two bands played a show together. “I remember immediately digging The Young Sinclairs and insisting that we try to stay in touch,” Harris says. The two groups continued to find opportunities to share bills until The Diamond Center moved to Texas. Only upon The Diamond Center’s further relocation to Richmond was the connection re-established. At the time, The Young Sinclairs were taking a break from live performances. “I knew Joe had been playing with Kyle in Peace Beast,” Sam Lunsford says. “It got me to thinking about [whether] we could have Kyle be a part of the restructuring of The Young Sinclairs.” The fit turned out to be majestic and helped to energize this new incarnation of the long-standing Roanoke outfit. In the wake of the new lineup’s first appearances around Richmond, many have complimented the level of enthusiasm and energy that Harris’s presence in the band has contributed. After years of preparation, The Young Sinclairs have gained the stability to stretch their wings again.
Looking back at the origins of The Young Sinclairs, Sam Lunsford contemplates the way their old records compare to what they have been working on of late. “I think when people talk about our band, it’s always twelve-strings, The Beatles, sixties, Byrds, The Kinks, and so on. If you look at those early releases, there is a lot of crazy shit going on that seems to go unnoticed. I’ll admit that we have songs that sound like those things and we do love those things, but I think the songs we’ve been working on since 2009 are really showing a new direction for us.” One major factor in the new direction is Sam’s shift in songwriting focus towards composing on piano and acoustic guitar, which works in tandem with a reignited love for The Band. “There is an album that we have been trying to make for a while now. I don’t want to call it country rock, but there are elements in there. Acoustic, Appalachian and country music is kind of in our blood,” he says.
Since returning to full-scale activity, The Young Sinclairs have released two 7-inch singles on French label Requiem Pour Un Twister--but the records are not truly new material. “There were these songs that we had worked on in 2010 or 2011 that got the attention of this label from across the Atlantic. I was just surprised they even had a clue as to who we were. I couldn’t say no to them wanting to release our music,” Sam Lunsford explains. When asked about using these releases as an opportunity to tour in new countries, they were excited by the possibility. “We would all love to do it, but the reality is just figuring out if we can all make time to go over there. It can be hard enough to even tour around the country. We get offers to do stuff like Austin Psych Fest and as much as we’d love to do it, it’s always an issue of scheduling and making sure we could do it right,” Sam Lunsford says. Despite these few hurdles, the group has been able to find time to play out with this new lineup, and even had “Hurt My Pride,” the A side of one of the French singles, played on popular radio program Little Steven’s Underground Garage, the syndicated radio show hosted by Steven Van Zandt of E Street Band (and The Sopranos) fame.
The reconstituted Young Sinclairs have made an effort to cultivate a healthy relationship with Richmond's music scene. Not only do two of the band's current members live here in RVA, the band has quite a few old Roanoke friends who have since moved here--including members of popular local metal band Inter Arma. The Young Sinclairs are hoping to eventually do a split release with Inter Arma, on which each band will cover each other’s songs as well as a Neil Young song. “[Inter Arma guitarist] Trey Dalton has been one of our closest friends, and the idea of doing a split with his band seems so crazy that we might as well try it,” Sam Lunsford explains. “It’s probably going to be a lot easier for them to cover us as opposed to us doing the opposite, but why not do music with the people that we love?”
Despite The Young Sinclairs' time away from performing live, they want to clarify that they never broke up or went on hiatus. “We never stopped making music. We have gone through so many changes but the core has always remained the same,” Sam Lunsford declares. “We are more excited than ever to be a part of what we love the most again.” It’s all a matter of continuing the excellence that The Young Sinclairs have long displayed. So far, between the new singles and the renewed live performances, it’s easy to say that they have succeeded.