About.

DJ18
Photo courtesy of The Queer Look.

Known colloquially as “DJY” among friends, David James Young is an experienced music and arts writer based in Wollongong, New South Wales. David has nearly 15 years of experience in journalism, covering the country’s biggest festivals as well as Australia’s hottest new artists and internationally-renown superstars.

Just a few of the bigger names in music David has interviewed over the years include Alice Cooper, At the Drive-In, blink-182, Bring Me the Horizon, CHVRCHES, Cold Chisel, Courtney Barnett, Cypress HillDeath Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy, Foo FightersGang of YouthsHalsey, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Macklemore, Maynard James Keenan, Mick Fleetwood, Missy Higgins, Mumford and Sons, Muse, The National, Noel Gallagher,
Peter Hook, Refused, Sleater-Kinney and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

David with actor and singer Rob Mills.

David’s current bylines include work for Junkee, NMEMusic FeedsBeat MagazineThe Australian, Hysteria MagazineBlunt Magazine and Mixdown Magazine. He also spends time as a Super Reviewer on triple j Unearthed, which he has done since 2016.

Previous bylines include The Brag, LNWY.co, Red Bull AustraliaAustralian Guitar MagazineThe Big IssueTone DeafThe AU Review and TheVine.

An avid gig-goer, David normally averages around 200 shows a year, ranging from DIY house shows to huge-scale stadium and arena performances.

This was brought to national attention in November of 2017, when triple j‘s Drive presenters Gen Fricker and Lewis Hobba interviewed David live on air.

David with IDLES vocalist Joe Talbot.
Photo: Bree Wilkinson.

David also makes music and performs live as the frontperson of Australian band Nothing Rhymes with David, who released their third studio album sky lonely in December 2020.

Outside of music, David is passionate about stand-up comedy, film, theatre, podcasts and pro-wrestling. He has written about each extensively in his professional career, both interviewing subjects involved and reviewing works from these fields.

David is also the host of two popular Australian podcasts, All My Friends Are in Bar Bands and Hottest 100s and 1000s. You can find out more about those here.

David is on the Autism spectrum, which has also lead him to be an outspoken advocate for those that live on it. He is also proudly bisexual.

If you’ve read this far, he’s thankful for your time.