Young Rising Sons' Andy Tongren on '(Un)Happy Hour,' silver linings and singles

After a session spent writing songs in Los Angeles, the members of Young Rising Sons decided to go to a bar and grab some drinks. Their arrival, just one minute after happy hour ended, ultimately led to a song — “(Un)Happy Hour,” their latest single — with the concepts and meaning scribbled on bar napkins that night.

“I think it kind of sums up what our band is sort of all about,” singer/guitarist Andy Tongren said in a recent Zoom call, “making the most out of the not-so-great parts of life and finding silver linings.”

It’s a theme that pops up often with Young Rising Sons, an indie pop/rock band that will visit the Pittsburgh area on May 14, for a show at Crafthouse Stage & Grill with support from 44Blonde, Lemon Drop and Trenton Antill.

Young Rising Sons started in 2010 in New Jersey and shot to fame with their debut single, “High,” in 2014. That song, featured in commercials (Pepsi and Hulu) and movie trailers (“Green Eggs and Ham”), led to a major-label deal with Interscope. They changed guitarists in 2016 and departed Interscope the label in 2017, just to name a few of the roadblocks they’ve faced in their career. So facing challenges is nothing new.

“It’s just the ups and downs of life and the industry, and having the resilience to get back up and dust yourself off and keep going,” Tongren said. “The four of us are best friends at the end of the day, and that’s been really beneficial, to have a support system kind of built into what we do.”

Tongren — joined by Steve Patrick on drums, Julian Dimagiba on bass and Max Iantorno on guitars — believes the band hasn’t changed its core values over the years, crediting the blue-collar mentality to the New Jersey upbringing. Not that it’s always been easy.

”I mean, we all have our moments. And it’s important to recognize that you’re going to have those moments where everything feels like, it sucks and the world is against you,” Tongren said. “But I don’t know, like I said, the four of us are best, best buddies. And I think to be able to have those friendships and the connection there, where we can kind of pick each other back up, is really important.”

After releasing several EPs between 2014 and 2021, Young Rising Sons put out their first full album, “Still Point in a Turning World,” in 2022. They’ve been pumping out singles in the meantime, with the intention of repackaging the tracks as an album down the line.

“It’s funny. It’s like a constant internal struggle that we have,” he said. “We grew up on records and listening to vinyl, and the way we digest music is by album. There’s something cathartic about putting on a record and listening front and back. So at the end of the day, we always prefer to look at our music and music in general as bodies of work.”

Related

• The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis discuss jazz/punk band ahead of Pittsburgh concert
• They Might Be Giants, Sleep Token, Noah Kahan highlight top Pittsburgh concerts in May
• 2024 Pittsburgh area concert calendar

On this current tour, they’re even playing unreleased songs, like “Scissors,” which has been teased on their TikTok account.

”I always love playing a couple new songs,” he said. “It’s a great litmus test to see what reacts or what doesn’t react so much. Sometimes it is a little surprising to us to see what fans are vibing with more. That’s been really exciting to see so far.”

So far, this time on the road has been smooth sailing, unlike a 2014 stint opening for English rockers The 1975, when they were robbed of their passports and computers at the beginning of the tour.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Tongren said. “So we were pretty fortunate in that sense, but it was a minor headache to say the least, to start a tour being robbed when you’re in a foreign country and don’t have passports.

“But we made do and, funny enough, we went to the embassy in Toronto, and the man who helped us there, his daughter, was at the show the night before, so he kind of expedited us through a little bit, which was helpful.”

The theme of “Still Point in a Turning World” was living in the moment, and the band still takes it to heart to this day, despite the overnight drives, cramped quarters and lack of sleep on the road.

“We have learned to really seize the opportunity to take in our surroundings. Who knows when we’re going to be driving from North Carolina to Columbia, South Carolina? It’s fun to take it in and appreciate the surroundings when you’re in them. I think that’s been a big piece that carried over to what we are currently doing, but also I think at the end of the day, the YRS trope that really remains true, mostly finding silver linings in the dull, mundane parts of life.”