Take a Vacation!

Take a Vacation! is the only studio album by American rock band the Young Veins, and the first musical project by Ryan Ross and Jon Walker after their departure from Panic! at the Disco. It is the only album released during the tenure of members Andy Soukal, Nick Murray, and Nick White, though the album was recorded prior to their recruitment.

Critics have compared the album's sound to the music of 1960s groups such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, the Hollies, the Searchers, and the Zombies,  and have noted its similarities to the earlier Panic! album Pretty. Odd.

Despite the lack of commercial success, Jon Walker has continuously promoted the album through the years, releasing a deluxe edition in 2019, and a remastered edition in 2023.

Background and production
While on tour with Panic! at the Disco in 2008, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker began writing songs intended for the band's third album, but after showing the other members the songs they were working on, it became apparent that a split was occurring over the direction that the band wanted to go in.

On July 6, 2009, Ross and Walker departed from Panic! at the Disco. They soon gathered in Los Angeles and began recording the songs they had originally prepared for the next Panic! album. They were aided by the help of Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet, who ended up producing seven tracks out of eleven, and Rob Mathes who produced four songs out of the album. He had also produced Pretty. Odd. with Panic! at the Disco.

Release
On July 28, 2009, Ross and Walker announced their new band was entitled The Young Veins and premiered a new song, "Change", on their Myspace profile. On October 20, 2009, "The Other Girl" was made available for streaming.

"Change" was released as a single on April 6, 2010. "Take a Vacation!" was released on May 18 as the next single. "Everyone But You" was released as the third single on May 25. Take a Vacation! was released on June 8 through One Haven Music. Several editions of the album featured a variety of bonus tracks: a cover of the Everly Brothers song "Nothing Matters But You" (iTunes edition), a cover of the Wanda Jackson song "Funnel of Love" (Amazon.com edition), a cover of the Brenda Lee song "Is It True?" (Amie Street edition), and a cover of the Otis Redding song "Security" and a cover of the Searchers song "When You Walk in the Room" (UK edition).

Personnel
The album was recorded before Ross and Walker recruited the other three members of the band. They played all of the parts listed below and were aided with assistance from friends.


 * The Young Veins
 * Ryan Ross – vocals, guitars, percussion
 * Jon Walker – vocals, guitars, bass guitars, percussion


 * Additional musicians
 * Alex Greenwald – backing vocals, lead guitars, bass guitars, wurlitzer, harmonium, stylophone, percussion
 * Eric Ronick – backing vocals and keyboards
 * Than Luu – backing vocals, drums, percussion
 * Jason Boesel – drums and percussion (on "Lie to the Truth")
 * Z Berg – guest vocals (on "Heart of Mine" and "Nothing Matters But You")
 * Michael Runion – guest vocals (on "Heart of Mine")
 * Danny Fujikawa – guest vocals (on "Heart of Mine")
 * Michael Fujikawa – guest vocals (on "Heart of Mine")


 * Production
 * Rob Mathes – producer at Castle Oak Studios
 * Alex Greenwald – producer at Sunset Sound Studios
 * Kevin Harp – engineer and mixing
 * Joshua Blanchard – assistant engineer at Castle Oak Studios
 * Morgan Stratton – assistant engineer at Sunset Sound Studios
 * Fred Kevorkian – mastering