Creativity Quote by James Young

There is a whole industry of politics packed into that casual "So" and that cautious "really". James Young isn’t just answering a geography question; he’s managing identity in real time. "Really L.A. based" signals the gravitational pull of the entertainment capital: where meetings happen, where labels are, where visibility is manufactured. It’s a claim to legitimacy in the modern music ecosystem, where being in Los Angeles can function like a credential, a shorthand for access and momentum.

But the sentence refuses to be single-rooted. "With a secondary base in Chicago" reads like a strategic hedge, and it’s doing multiple jobs at once. It nods to Chicago’s deep musical infrastructure and working-musician credibility, the kind of city that implies rehearsal spaces, clubs, and a sturdier relationship to audience than to industry. Calling it "secondary" keeps the hierarchy clear - L.A. is the flagship - yet the very inclusion broadens the band’s narrative: we’re not just chasing the spotlight; we still have a home in a place that feels earned.

The subtext is brand positioning for a touring era where "local" is both impossible and oddly valuable. Fans like the romance of roots; gatekeepers like the efficiency of hubs. Young’s phrasing threads that needle, sounding conversational while quietly mapping out a two-city operating system: one base for opportunity, one for continuity. It’s logistics disguised as personality, the modern musician’s soft-spoken way of saying: we’re established, we’re mobile, and we’re built to last.