Youth of Today were returning to London for the first time in quite a while, ending a short European tour at the Electric Ballroom. It had been over 25 years since I last saw them at the SOAS in 1989, so I definitely wanted to catch them again and also try to set-up an interview. But as they aren’t currently ‘signed’ to a record label, this proved to be a little difficult with no obvious ways to make arrangements. Fortunately, my old friend and fellow Youth of Today fan, Mark Bannister, came to the rescue. His brother, Matthew, had lived in New York during the mid-to-late Eighties and had seen the band many times, eventually becoming a friend. Mark asked if he could pass on my request and so he contacted Walter to see if anything could be set-up. He in turn had replied to say that although the band weren’t doing ‘press’ as such, but he’d be happy to do an interview if the others weren’t available. So, fingers crossed, it was going to come together…
The next bonus of knowing the Bannister Brothers was that they told me that, as well as the gig at the Electric Ballroom in the evening, the band would be making an appearance at the Vans Shop in Newman Street. As it was a rather limited space, admission would be by ticket only (freebies, I believe, if you were quick enough to get one) and had already ‘sold-out’, but again, Mark seemed to think that Matthew would be able to sort it out. Either way, it was something I had to at least try to attend, which is why I ended up heading towards Tottenham Court Road early on a Saturday morning.
Newman Street is a rather nondescript road leading off on the north side of Oxford Street, the sort of place you only walk along if you have a specific place to go to. Although I must have walked past it hundreds of times, I don’t think I’ve ever walked up there before now. In fact, I start to think I might be at the wrong location until I spot an equipment van parked outside a shop that, at this point, looks more like a gallery than a shoe shop. Inside, a small group of people, including Youth of Today themselves, are setting up a PA and their gear. If this is where they’re playing, it’s going to be amazing ! But at this point, here I am on my own, without a ticket. As is my nature I start to get stressed, especially now that I’ve seen what a small space it is, although at the same time contemplating that at the very least, I’ll be able to watch proceedings through the large front windows…
Phone call to Mark. No result. Text to Mark. No reply. Wait a while. Bump in to someone I remember from hardcore gigs years ago. Good to see him and he’s also waiting for people to turn up with his ticket, so we’re in the same boat. Or on the same street.
The next bonus of knowing the Bannister Brothers was that they told me that, as well as the gig at the Electric Ballroom in the evening, the band would be making an appearance at the Vans Shop in Newman Street. As it was a rather limited space, admission would be by ticket only (freebies, I believe, if you were quick enough to get one) and had already ‘sold-out’, but again, Mark seemed to think that Matthew would be able to sort it out. Either way, it was something I had to at least try to attend, which is why I ended up heading towards Tottenham Court Road early on a Saturday morning.
Newman Street is a rather nondescript road leading off on the north side of Oxford Street, the sort of place you only walk along if you have a specific place to go to. Although I must have walked past it hundreds of times, I don’t think I’ve ever walked up there before now. In fact, I start to think I might be at the wrong location until I spot an equipment van parked outside a shop that, at this point, looks more like a gallery than a shoe shop. Inside, a small group of people, including Youth of Today themselves, are setting up a PA and their gear. If this is where they’re playing, it’s going to be amazing ! But at this point, here I am on my own, without a ticket. As is my nature I start to get stressed, especially now that I’ve seen what a small space it is, although at the same time contemplating that at the very least, I’ll be able to watch proceedings through the large front windows…
Phone call to Mark. No result. Text to Mark. No reply. Wait a while. Bump in to someone I remember from hardcore gigs years ago. Good to see him and he’s also waiting for people to turn up with his ticket, so we’re in the same boat. Or on the same street.
Of course, I really shouldn’t be worrying. After a reasonable wait, Mark gives me a call to say that he and his son, Johnny, are on their way and will be there in a few minutes. Which they manage with a casual, relaxed stroll that I wish I had been able to replicate. Now we’ve just got to wait for Matthew, who has coincided a visit to London with these two Youth of Today shows. He’s a canny chap.
Although I see Mark pretty often, it’s been a long time since I last saw Matthew. I’m pretty sure it was at a gig in Dingwalls, although I’m not entirely sure which one it was. Quite possibly The Damned, as we’re all fans. But it’s good to see him again and we soon fall into the usual kind of music-related chatter that made us all friends in the first place. Johnny puts-up with all of this trivia in a steadfast manner. He’s a fan of Youth of Today but has come to it from the opposite direction, having been a fan a Walter Schreifels’ more recent band Rival Schools and then working his way back via Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits, so this is going to be a good day for all of us.
Quite a large crowd has now gathered outside the shop, all the lucky ones who managed to snap-up the tickets. A few familiar faces, in particular the legendary Bod, who I would have laid money on being here. As the gig is almost ready to open its’ doors, Porcell walks past us and greets Matthew, confirming that we’re all on the list. Great, I can stop stressing !
The doors open and everyone begins to file-in. As it turns out, there’s more room inside than had been evident from the other side of the windows. It opens up into a wider space towards the back and there is also a basement room. There’s no real stage, as such, so the band are going to be playing right in front of the audience, but with a large PA set-up in front of all of their equipment, this certainly looks as if they’re intending to play a full set rather than just a few songs.
We have to wait for 30 or 40 minutes before anything happens, but we have former-straight edger / current Death Punker, Tony Sylvester, DJ-ing a suitable selection of music, so it isn’t dull. There’s a good atmosphere, everyone seems to be excited about seeing the band and there’s a real buzz of anticipation.
Although I see Mark pretty often, it’s been a long time since I last saw Matthew. I’m pretty sure it was at a gig in Dingwalls, although I’m not entirely sure which one it was. Quite possibly The Damned, as we’re all fans. But it’s good to see him again and we soon fall into the usual kind of music-related chatter that made us all friends in the first place. Johnny puts-up with all of this trivia in a steadfast manner. He’s a fan of Youth of Today but has come to it from the opposite direction, having been a fan a Walter Schreifels’ more recent band Rival Schools and then working his way back via Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits, so this is going to be a good day for all of us.
Quite a large crowd has now gathered outside the shop, all the lucky ones who managed to snap-up the tickets. A few familiar faces, in particular the legendary Bod, who I would have laid money on being here. As the gig is almost ready to open its’ doors, Porcell walks past us and greets Matthew, confirming that we’re all on the list. Great, I can stop stressing !
The doors open and everyone begins to file-in. As it turns out, there’s more room inside than had been evident from the other side of the windows. It opens up into a wider space towards the back and there is also a basement room. There’s no real stage, as such, so the band are going to be playing right in front of the audience, but with a large PA set-up in front of all of their equipment, this certainly looks as if they’re intending to play a full set rather than just a few songs.
We have to wait for 30 or 40 minutes before anything happens, but we have former-straight edger / current Death Punker, Tony Sylvester, DJ-ing a suitable selection of music, so it isn’t dull. There’s a good atmosphere, everyone seems to be excited about seeing the band and there’s a real buzz of anticipation.
Finally, the band members gather on stage and everything is ready to go. Ray Cappo makes the introductions and they launch in to ‘Positive Outlook’. Not that I expected anything less, but it’s immediately clear that they’re certainly not holding anything back. The band all throw themselves in to the performance with as much energy as they’ve always given. This may not be a regular show but they treat it with all the intent that it deserves. At first, although the audience sings along and cheers, people seem wary about dancing - after all, we’re in a shop and it’s broad daylight outside. But after a while, the urge becomes too much and good-natured slamming breaks out in front of the band. There’s also a really mixed audience, older and younger fans, male and female, so there’s no room for macho antics or any other stupidity. The energy is all positive.
The set continues at full pace. ‘Take A Stand’, ‘Can’t Close My Eyes’, ‘Disengage’, ‘Youth Crew’, ‘Break Down The Walls’… the songs sound as great as ever and the band play them with real power and precision. Walter really looks as if he’s enjoying himself, throwing his bass around with gleeful abandonment whilst holding down the rhythm and Sammy maintains the tempo with his own unique style. Porcell plays the riffs and prowls the stage in a fashion copied by so many others over the years, while Ray leads the proceedings, bouncing across the stage, stretching out to the audiences, climbing up on to the PA and generally expanding more energy than most of us will ever have. He also takes the opportunity to explain why Youth of Today had agreed to play an event for Vans, saying that he had first been impressed by their shoes when he had seen Ed Colver’s classic photograph of a mid-air stage-diver on the back of the (LA's) Wasted Youth album. While everyone else was gasping at the high-altitude backflip, Ray was checking out the footwear ! Well, however you feel about this kind of event, the point was that we were seeing a blistering gig with no obligation to purchase and that can’t be so bad.
The set contains all old material, with only one surprise, a cover of the SS Decontrol classic ‘Glue’, but I doubt if anyone could honestly complain. It’s easy to be drawn in to this performance and disregard whatever is going on outside, but at one point, it suddenly crosses my mind that just a minutes’ walk away, thousands of people are mindlessly-shopping up and down Oxford Street, totally unaware of what is going on just a couple of blocks away. It’s amazing what you can discover if you keep your eyes and ears open…
The set continues at full pace. ‘Take A Stand’, ‘Can’t Close My Eyes’, ‘Disengage’, ‘Youth Crew’, ‘Break Down The Walls’… the songs sound as great as ever and the band play them with real power and precision. Walter really looks as if he’s enjoying himself, throwing his bass around with gleeful abandonment whilst holding down the rhythm and Sammy maintains the tempo with his own unique style. Porcell plays the riffs and prowls the stage in a fashion copied by so many others over the years, while Ray leads the proceedings, bouncing across the stage, stretching out to the audiences, climbing up on to the PA and generally expanding more energy than most of us will ever have. He also takes the opportunity to explain why Youth of Today had agreed to play an event for Vans, saying that he had first been impressed by their shoes when he had seen Ed Colver’s classic photograph of a mid-air stage-diver on the back of the (LA's) Wasted Youth album. While everyone else was gasping at the high-altitude backflip, Ray was checking out the footwear ! Well, however you feel about this kind of event, the point was that we were seeing a blistering gig with no obligation to purchase and that can’t be so bad.
The set contains all old material, with only one surprise, a cover of the SS Decontrol classic ‘Glue’, but I doubt if anyone could honestly complain. It’s easy to be drawn in to this performance and disregard whatever is going on outside, but at one point, it suddenly crosses my mind that just a minutes’ walk away, thousands of people are mindlessly-shopping up and down Oxford Street, totally unaware of what is going on just a couple of blocks away. It’s amazing what you can discover if you keep your eyes and ears open…
At the end of the set, the band all hang around to chat with the audience. Everyone seems to have big grins on their faces, this has been such a great afternoon and there’s no barriers between the band and audience. Even as they start to pack their equipment away, the band members take time to chat and sign autographs. Taking my chance, I ask Ray if there would be any chance of doing a short interview later on. He’s happy to do so, although they're are on a pretty tight schedule for the rest of the day. They have to pack up their gear, relocate to the Electric Ballroom, soundcheck for the second time in the same afternoon and then get ready for the gig itself (which is starting ridiculously early.) On top of this, he also wants to squeeze-in a yoga session… No-one can accuse Ray of taking an easy ride. So he directs me to their tour manager, we arrange to meet-up again in Camden and I then rejoin the Bannister Crew to make our way towards the next gig.
It’s only a short tube-journey up to Camden, where Mark has planned to meet his daughter, Holiday, who is on her way to an entirely different gig. Waiting just along from the tube station, a black cab pulls up just in front of us and, lo and behold, Youth of Today emerge, en route from the last gig and on to the next. There’s a few waves of acknowledgement as they head along to the venue.
Holly arrives and with only a short time before our respective gigs, we head over to The Good Mixer for a quick drink and a chance to sit-down before the show. I would like to point-out that only myself and Johnny ‘broke-edge’, but a responsible pint of IPA was much appreciated after a busy afternoon.
With five bands on the bill and an early-curfew, the venue had already opened at 5.00, so we unfortunately miss the first band, Wolf Down, but make sure that we go over in time to catch Walters’ latest project, Vanishing Life, onstage at 6.00. While the Bannister Crew go straight into the venue, I have to go around to the stage door, as arranged, to try to catch up with Ray. There’s a large gate at the rear of the venue these days, but fortunately the security are pretty helpful. I give them the name I’m supposed to contact and they go inside to find the tour manager. After a few minutes, they return with no result, explaining that with the gig underway and so many different bands backstage, it’s difficult to track anyone down. But just in the nick of time, the door opens again and Ray emerges. He confirms that I’m supposed to be there, but then explains that he’s now going for his yoga session, and suggests we try to do the interview after the show. That’s fine with me, after all, he’s doing me the favour. So, we depart in opposite directions and I end-up on the side of the stage just as Vanishing Life are about to begin their set.
It’s only a short tube-journey up to Camden, where Mark has planned to meet his daughter, Holiday, who is on her way to an entirely different gig. Waiting just along from the tube station, a black cab pulls up just in front of us and, lo and behold, Youth of Today emerge, en route from the last gig and on to the next. There’s a few waves of acknowledgement as they head along to the venue.
Holly arrives and with only a short time before our respective gigs, we head over to The Good Mixer for a quick drink and a chance to sit-down before the show. I would like to point-out that only myself and Johnny ‘broke-edge’, but a responsible pint of IPA was much appreciated after a busy afternoon.
With five bands on the bill and an early-curfew, the venue had already opened at 5.00, so we unfortunately miss the first band, Wolf Down, but make sure that we go over in time to catch Walters’ latest project, Vanishing Life, onstage at 6.00. While the Bannister Crew go straight into the venue, I have to go around to the stage door, as arranged, to try to catch up with Ray. There’s a large gate at the rear of the venue these days, but fortunately the security are pretty helpful. I give them the name I’m supposed to contact and they go inside to find the tour manager. After a few minutes, they return with no result, explaining that with the gig underway and so many different bands backstage, it’s difficult to track anyone down. But just in the nick of time, the door opens again and Ray emerges. He confirms that I’m supposed to be there, but then explains that he’s now going for his yoga session, and suggests we try to do the interview after the show. That’s fine with me, after all, he’s doing me the favour. So, we depart in opposite directions and I end-up on the side of the stage just as Vanishing Life are about to begin their set.
I somehow managed to miss-out on Rival Schools. I liked what I heard but didn’t get to see them live or properly hear their albums, so I’m not really sure what to expect from Vanishing Life. After all, Gorilla Biscuits had been very different to the music that Walter had played in Youth of Today, and Quicksand had been completely different once again. So all I can really do is stand back and pay attention. It is strange to see Walter on stage solely as the vocalist, but with the talents of Zach (Rise Against), Autry and Jamie (both from And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead) behind him, the band is as solid as it is intriguing. Their sound comes from a hardcore / hard rock background, but their approach seems a lot more thoughtful and less obvious than you might expect. On first hearing, it’s something that’s difficult to really pin-down, but that’s all good in my book. I will be checking them out again soon.
Trash Talk are onstage next. I’ve seen them before when they played with Off! and I wasn’t really impressed one way or the other. Watching them again, especially with such a clear view, I can see why they are a popular live band. They know how to get an audience on their side and they know enough moves to keep it that way. Unfortunately, they just don’t strike me as being particularly original. A lot of what they do seems strangely familiar, both visually and musically, so it’s difficult to appreciate their own merits. As I said, they’re a good live band and certainly fun to watch, but unless they try to add something of their own to the mix, they’re always going to be in the shadow of others.
Regardless, one thing I do like about this evenings’ line-up is that, although there’s an obviously shared-spirit to the proceedings, none of the bands sound particularly similar. Next onstage are American Nightmare, a Boston band who were originally together between 1998-2004, during which time they also played under the name Give Up The Ghost. They reformed in 2011 and have continued to play sporadically, while front man Wesley is also busy with his ongoing (and entirely different) project Cold Cave. This, I believe, was part of AN’s first European tour, although I may be wrong on that. Feel free to write your comments on a postcard and send it to someone else. Boston has a strong hardcore history and AN are certainly an important part of it, although they never really fit in to any particular scene. Musically, they maintain an aggressive edge while also allowing space for a more personal style of lyrics. Certainly not ‘emo’ but perhaps a precursor, and all the better for it. I’m glad I had the chance to see them.
Trash Talk are onstage next. I’ve seen them before when they played with Off! and I wasn’t really impressed one way or the other. Watching them again, especially with such a clear view, I can see why they are a popular live band. They know how to get an audience on their side and they know enough moves to keep it that way. Unfortunately, they just don’t strike me as being particularly original. A lot of what they do seems strangely familiar, both visually and musically, so it’s difficult to appreciate their own merits. As I said, they’re a good live band and certainly fun to watch, but unless they try to add something of their own to the mix, they’re always going to be in the shadow of others.
Regardless, one thing I do like about this evenings’ line-up is that, although there’s an obviously shared-spirit to the proceedings, none of the bands sound particularly similar. Next onstage are American Nightmare, a Boston band who were originally together between 1998-2004, during which time they also played under the name Give Up The Ghost. They reformed in 2011 and have continued to play sporadically, while front man Wesley is also busy with his ongoing (and entirely different) project Cold Cave. This, I believe, was part of AN’s first European tour, although I may be wrong on that. Feel free to write your comments on a postcard and send it to someone else. Boston has a strong hardcore history and AN are certainly an important part of it, although they never really fit in to any particular scene. Musically, they maintain an aggressive edge while also allowing space for a more personal style of lyrics. Certainly not ‘emo’ but perhaps a precursor, and all the better for it. I’m glad I had the chance to see them.
Finally, Youth of Today, back onstage after such a short space of time that this feels more like a very late encore rather than a completely different gig. The surroundings are different, but everything else just seems like a continuation. The energy, the atmosphere, the songs… It’s pretty much the same set all over again, but played like this, I have no problem in hearing it twice. The security at the front of stage are being pretty considerate with the audience and generally allowing stage-divers to do their thing as long as no-one outstays their time or messes around with the band. So the set is frantic and chaotic but the fans look out for one another and nothing gets out of hand. Onstage, Sammy holds everything down while Walter and Porcell push themselves ever further and Ray directs proceedings, encouraging both his bandmates and the audience to take it as far as they can. The results are breathtaking, both to watch and hear. It seems all too soon when the show finally comes to an end, but I think that fans both old and new would agree that Youth of Today had done nothing but enhance their reputation as one of the best live hardcore bands you’re ever likely to see.
Afterwards, we all head backstage to say farewell to the band and I get the chance to tell Porcell (who has been wearing a Morrissey t-shirt during the gig) that it was at this very same venue that I once saw The Smiths – supporting The Fall ! He seems suitably impressed with that. Anyway, Mark, Matthew and Johnny head-off to catch an early train while I track down Ray to finally do our interview.
Now, this isn’t meant as a criticism at all as I’ve seen how busy the band have been all today, but I had originally hoped that this interview would be a lot longer and more in depth, but time was limited and, even as we sit down to talk, old friends are still coming up to speak with Ray. He’s also pretty exhausted after the second gig in less than eight hours, so I really appreciate that he did this at all. But as a result, we tended to rush through some of these questions and had to miss a bunch of other things that I wanted to talk about. I still think it came out worthwhile. One further note, at one point Ray brought one of his old friends, Andy, into the conversation. I’ve identified his comments, but the rest of the answers are all from Ray…
Afterwards, we all head backstage to say farewell to the band and I get the chance to tell Porcell (who has been wearing a Morrissey t-shirt during the gig) that it was at this very same venue that I once saw The Smiths – supporting The Fall ! He seems suitably impressed with that. Anyway, Mark, Matthew and Johnny head-off to catch an early train while I track down Ray to finally do our interview.
Now, this isn’t meant as a criticism at all as I’ve seen how busy the band have been all today, but I had originally hoped that this interview would be a lot longer and more in depth, but time was limited and, even as we sit down to talk, old friends are still coming up to speak with Ray. He’s also pretty exhausted after the second gig in less than eight hours, so I really appreciate that he did this at all. But as a result, we tended to rush through some of these questions and had to miss a bunch of other things that I wanted to talk about. I still think it came out worthwhile. One further note, at one point Ray brought one of his old friends, Andy, into the conversation. I’ve identified his comments, but the rest of the answers are all from Ray…
The first thing I wanted to ask was what had originally attracted him to the kind of music that Youth of Today played ? Was it the hardcore style in itself, or was it more to do with the straight edge philosophy ?
‘I think clean-living was always part of our philosophy, even before we ever heard of Minor Threat. They pretty-much coined the phrase ‘straight edge’, but it was already something that we inherently believed-in. Me and Porcell thought it was an important message so we decided to form a band rallying around it. Being involved in the New York scene at that time, it felt very important because there were so many kids who had run away from home and were now on the streets. Some of them were only, like, 14 or 15, but they were suddenly homeless, hungry and desperate, and being confronted with some very heavy street drugs. So we thought that the message would be timely and important. Of course, at first, everyone was looking at us, listening to what we were saying and thinking, Who do these guys think they are ? A lot of people thought that we were stupid and that we should just shut up. But we believed in it and had done from a young age, so our crew began to grow. That meant we all knew each other so there was a sense of accountability and, at the same time, a community to support one another.’
Musically, what inspired you to create the style that you developed ?
‘We were listening to Punk even before we heard bands like Minor Threat. A lot of the English bands like Sham 69 and the Cockney Rejects, but also everything from Devo and the Sex Pistols through to the Ramones. When we started getting into hardcore, we loved bands like Black Flag, Flipper and the Circle Jerks, but it wasn’t until we started to find out about the DC hardcore scene that we also started to really take notice of what was going on in our local scene. And at the same time, we began checking out all the bands from Michigan and Boston.’
I think the first band you played in, as a drummer, were called Violent Children…
‘Yeah, that was a kinda kid-band and I was also in another band called Reflex From Pain. Porcell was also involved in Violent Children… They were both based in Connecticut and they weren’t very serious, I guess, but it got us to a certain point where me and Porcell said, we want to do this. This is what we want to do with our lives.’
‘I think clean-living was always part of our philosophy, even before we ever heard of Minor Threat. They pretty-much coined the phrase ‘straight edge’, but it was already something that we inherently believed-in. Me and Porcell thought it was an important message so we decided to form a band rallying around it. Being involved in the New York scene at that time, it felt very important because there were so many kids who had run away from home and were now on the streets. Some of them were only, like, 14 or 15, but they were suddenly homeless, hungry and desperate, and being confronted with some very heavy street drugs. So we thought that the message would be timely and important. Of course, at first, everyone was looking at us, listening to what we were saying and thinking, Who do these guys think they are ? A lot of people thought that we were stupid and that we should just shut up. But we believed in it and had done from a young age, so our crew began to grow. That meant we all knew each other so there was a sense of accountability and, at the same time, a community to support one another.’
Musically, what inspired you to create the style that you developed ?
‘We were listening to Punk even before we heard bands like Minor Threat. A lot of the English bands like Sham 69 and the Cockney Rejects, but also everything from Devo and the Sex Pistols through to the Ramones. When we started getting into hardcore, we loved bands like Black Flag, Flipper and the Circle Jerks, but it wasn’t until we started to find out about the DC hardcore scene that we also started to really take notice of what was going on in our local scene. And at the same time, we began checking out all the bands from Michigan and Boston.’
I think the first band you played in, as a drummer, were called Violent Children…
‘Yeah, that was a kinda kid-band and I was also in another band called Reflex From Pain. Porcell was also involved in Violent Children… They were both based in Connecticut and they weren’t very serious, I guess, but it got us to a certain point where me and Porcell said, we want to do this. This is what we want to do with our lives.’
You said that you were already involved with ‘straight edge’ ideals before you got involved with music. I think it’s true to say that most teenagers are usually interested in the opposite to that, so how did you end up embracing that kind of philosophy ?
‘Good luck and good parents… Good sense ! I don’t know if there was anything in particular that made me think that way, it was just the conclusion that I came to’
Youth of Today formed in Conneticutt but moved to New York quite early on. I expect, to begin with, your approach must have really set you apart from most if not all of the hardcore bands that were already established there ?
‘At first, yes, but that didn’t last for long. When we came on to the New York scene we were able to play with Agnostic Front, because they were already our friends. But when we started preaching straight edge in front of bigger crowds, we got some very mixed reactions. Around the same time we got the chance to go and tour out in California with 7 Seconds, so we went away to do that for a few weeks and by the time we got back, it seemed that the entire scene in New York had got into straight edge. So whatever it was that people didn’t like about us at first, it didn’t last for very long. I don’t think that the initial reaction was a shock for us because we were expecting it and we were okay with that. The thing is, we believed what we were saying and we still believe it. Later on, we became vegetarians and we expected people wouldn’t like us because of that, but people were willing to listen to our songs like ‘No More’ and think about what we were saying. Then I became a devoted Krishna and I expected that people would stop liking us because of that... It’s just one of those things, if you always worry about what people are going to think of you then you’re never going to follow your heart.’
The straight edge movement certainly started to build-up very rapidly in the late Eighties. What do you think made it so appealing at that particular time ?
‘Well, I think the idea of clean-living resonates with most people. It’s an integrity-driven lifestyle and I certainly don’t think that we should take any credit for it. I mean, people have been talking about clean-living for thousands of years. Living a sober, thoughtful and introspective life is a thing that resonates with the soul. It’s certainly not something that we came up with and we would never claim ownership to it.’
‘Good luck and good parents… Good sense ! I don’t know if there was anything in particular that made me think that way, it was just the conclusion that I came to’
Youth of Today formed in Conneticutt but moved to New York quite early on. I expect, to begin with, your approach must have really set you apart from most if not all of the hardcore bands that were already established there ?
‘At first, yes, but that didn’t last for long. When we came on to the New York scene we were able to play with Agnostic Front, because they were already our friends. But when we started preaching straight edge in front of bigger crowds, we got some very mixed reactions. Around the same time we got the chance to go and tour out in California with 7 Seconds, so we went away to do that for a few weeks and by the time we got back, it seemed that the entire scene in New York had got into straight edge. So whatever it was that people didn’t like about us at first, it didn’t last for very long. I don’t think that the initial reaction was a shock for us because we were expecting it and we were okay with that. The thing is, we believed what we were saying and we still believe it. Later on, we became vegetarians and we expected people wouldn’t like us because of that, but people were willing to listen to our songs like ‘No More’ and think about what we were saying. Then I became a devoted Krishna and I expected that people would stop liking us because of that... It’s just one of those things, if you always worry about what people are going to think of you then you’re never going to follow your heart.’
The straight edge movement certainly started to build-up very rapidly in the late Eighties. What do you think made it so appealing at that particular time ?
‘Well, I think the idea of clean-living resonates with most people. It’s an integrity-driven lifestyle and I certainly don’t think that we should take any credit for it. I mean, people have been talking about clean-living for thousands of years. Living a sober, thoughtful and introspective life is a thing that resonates with the soul. It’s certainly not something that we came up with and we would never claim ownership to it.’
The first Youth of Today EP, ‘Can’t Close My Eyes’, was released on 7 Seconds’ Positive Force label. How did you get involved with them ?
‘They were one of our favourite bands at the time and whenever they came to New York we would play with them. They decided to start their own label and said that they wanted to release something by us as their first record. We were more than happy to do that with them. In fact, that’s probably still my favourite one of our records.’
You also followed their example of setting-up their own record label by starting Revelation Records alongside your friend, Jordan Cooper…
‘It was something that came about between me and Jordan, who was one of my old friends from High School . The thing was that Warzone had decided to break-up and I felt that, before they did that, those guys really needed to release something. I thought that no-one was going to remember them if they broke up and didn’t leave a record behind, so I asked Ray from Warzone if we could release their demo’s. He said, sure, so we started Revelation Records just to put that out. Of course, as it turned out, Warzone got back together again pretty soon after the record came out, so it sold pretty well and we realized that, as there were also so many other great bands happening around that time, we should try to document what was going on.’
Revelation soon became a very prominent label in its’ own right, releasing debut records from many of the most important New York hardcore bands…
‘Yeah, but I stepped away from being so involved with it after about the twentieth release. Up until then, I had been the person responsible for signing all the bands, but I started to lose interest in it. I ended-up going to India and relinquished anything to do with the label. It wasn’t because anything bad happened or anything like that, but I just felt like that chapter in my life was closing.’
‘They were one of our favourite bands at the time and whenever they came to New York we would play with them. They decided to start their own label and said that they wanted to release something by us as their first record. We were more than happy to do that with them. In fact, that’s probably still my favourite one of our records.’
You also followed their example of setting-up their own record label by starting Revelation Records alongside your friend, Jordan Cooper…
‘It was something that came about between me and Jordan, who was one of my old friends from High School . The thing was that Warzone had decided to break-up and I felt that, before they did that, those guys really needed to release something. I thought that no-one was going to remember them if they broke up and didn’t leave a record behind, so I asked Ray from Warzone if we could release their demo’s. He said, sure, so we started Revelation Records just to put that out. Of course, as it turned out, Warzone got back together again pretty soon after the record came out, so it sold pretty well and we realized that, as there were also so many other great bands happening around that time, we should try to document what was going on.’
Revelation soon became a very prominent label in its’ own right, releasing debut records from many of the most important New York hardcore bands…
‘Yeah, but I stepped away from being so involved with it after about the twentieth release. Up until then, I had been the person responsible for signing all the bands, but I started to lose interest in it. I ended-up going to India and relinquished anything to do with the label. It wasn’t because anything bad happened or anything like that, but I just felt like that chapter in my life was closing.’
Youth of Today did play one last tour across Europe before breaking up. I remember that a lot of people seemed to have preconceptions about the band. At the time, particularly before the internet, rumours about bands could spread pretty rapidly and a lot of people told stories about Youth of Today being very preachy, confrontational and taking themselves too seriously. But when you actually played in London, that wasn’t the way the band came across at all and, I think, most of the audience came away having been very impressed…
‘It’s hard for me to say, because all we did was go out and play as well as we could. In fact, this guy, Andy, is an old friend of ours who was with us on that tour, so maybe he picked that up better than I could…’
Andy ; Looking back, I think Ray was a lot more reserved than people expected him to be, from the things they had read in magazines or the stories they had heard. By then, he was getting more into the Krishna consciousness and was staying more in the background, so he wasn’t as in your face as some people had thought he would be. Except on stage, where the whole band just exploded !
‘Yeah, I think that’s a pretty good summing-up of what it was like. By then, I had already decided to turn my life over to my spiritual path. I had already gone to India, but then they called me and said, please come back so we can do this tour. We had always wanted to go to Europe, so I agreed to do it. But for me, it was also a sort of struggle, because I was already in my ‘monk-mode’ and that made things difficult. So I think I became a lot more introverted on that tour.’
But, as Andy was saying, you were certainly not holding-back when you went onstage, and I think those few gigs you played in the UK left a lasting impression…
Andy ; Well, the hardcore scene was pretty big in the UK at the time, but the straightedge scene was still only a very small part of that. Certainly a lot smaller than it is today.
‘Oh yeah, the whole thing got bigger everywhere after we broke up. But I think we helped to set the way for what was to come later on. Especially on that tour, we were really going into uncharted territory. Most of the shows we played across Europe, we were playing in squats where people were whipping beer bottles at us and only a very few people seemed to get what we were doing. I think England was the exception to that, but a lot of the tour was a real mess. We would go onstage, say our piece and then take all the shit for it. But I also think it was one of those things where we paved the way ahead, to make it easier for Gorilla Biscuits and other bands to play over here later on. We put it out there and that’s an important part of any type of creation. I mean, look at Greenday… I think they’re a great band, but where would they be had the Buzzcocks not done their thing first ? I don’t think Buzzcocks have ever been given the credit they deserve for paving the way for all these bands that are massive now. But I guess it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. In the same way, I think that Youth of Today paved the way for a lot of bands to go on and tour in Europe, so that’s great. In some ways, I’m surprised that people even still give a shit about us now and I’m fascinated that people still care, but audiences do seem to be more open to what we have to say. There’s a community now that’s open to it and not just a load of people who want to shout ‘Fuck You’ and get drunk. There’s a whole different consciousness and there’s been so many positive, clean-living bands since we first came here that the whole scene has changed so much.’
‘It’s hard for me to say, because all we did was go out and play as well as we could. In fact, this guy, Andy, is an old friend of ours who was with us on that tour, so maybe he picked that up better than I could…’
Andy ; Looking back, I think Ray was a lot more reserved than people expected him to be, from the things they had read in magazines or the stories they had heard. By then, he was getting more into the Krishna consciousness and was staying more in the background, so he wasn’t as in your face as some people had thought he would be. Except on stage, where the whole band just exploded !
‘Yeah, I think that’s a pretty good summing-up of what it was like. By then, I had already decided to turn my life over to my spiritual path. I had already gone to India, but then they called me and said, please come back so we can do this tour. We had always wanted to go to Europe, so I agreed to do it. But for me, it was also a sort of struggle, because I was already in my ‘monk-mode’ and that made things difficult. So I think I became a lot more introverted on that tour.’
But, as Andy was saying, you were certainly not holding-back when you went onstage, and I think those few gigs you played in the UK left a lasting impression…
Andy ; Well, the hardcore scene was pretty big in the UK at the time, but the straightedge scene was still only a very small part of that. Certainly a lot smaller than it is today.
‘Oh yeah, the whole thing got bigger everywhere after we broke up. But I think we helped to set the way for what was to come later on. Especially on that tour, we were really going into uncharted territory. Most of the shows we played across Europe, we were playing in squats where people were whipping beer bottles at us and only a very few people seemed to get what we were doing. I think England was the exception to that, but a lot of the tour was a real mess. We would go onstage, say our piece and then take all the shit for it. But I also think it was one of those things where we paved the way ahead, to make it easier for Gorilla Biscuits and other bands to play over here later on. We put it out there and that’s an important part of any type of creation. I mean, look at Greenday… I think they’re a great band, but where would they be had the Buzzcocks not done their thing first ? I don’t think Buzzcocks have ever been given the credit they deserve for paving the way for all these bands that are massive now. But I guess it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. In the same way, I think that Youth of Today paved the way for a lot of bands to go on and tour in Europe, so that’s great. In some ways, I’m surprised that people even still give a shit about us now and I’m fascinated that people still care, but audiences do seem to be more open to what we have to say. There’s a community now that’s open to it and not just a load of people who want to shout ‘Fuck You’ and get drunk. There’s a whole different consciousness and there’s been so many positive, clean-living bands since we first came here that the whole scene has changed so much.’
So, finally, are there any further plans for Youth of Today after this tour ?
‘We have no plans. I mean, I hadn’t even planned on doing this tour and I’m not sure if we’ll be playing again after this. That’s why it’s been so great to end the tour with a show like this one. We’re all busy with our own things. I travel a lot as a Yoga teacher and I go to India fairly regularly, so I can’t really plan too many other things. But some times it happens and that’s good. I’m really glad it happened for this tour !’
As I said before, time was limited and so we had to end the conversation there. Which was a pity because Ray was friendly, unassuming and easy to talk to. I would have liked to discuss a lot more but in the circumstances, I was happy that I’d been able to see the band again and get at least a short interview recorded, which will hopefully serve as a good introduction for anyone wanting to find out a bit more about the band. Of course, the best way to really find out about them is to see them live. They’re still an amazing live band and, much that I enjoy their records, they never managed to really capture the energy and intensity of their live performance on vinyl. So we’re lucky that they do still play and tour, even if it is on a much more sporadic level. As regards straight edge, the philosophy they helped to promote ? Well, everyone has their own take on it and some opinions are less-convincing than others, but at the end of the day, you can listen to what it says and make-up your own mind. At its’ core, it certainly has a positive ideal so there will surely be something you can take from it, even if you don’t embrace it entirely. As with many things, listen to the ideas and see what you can take from it, because once you stop thinking, you stop moving forward.
www.facebook.com/youthoftodayofficial
‘We have no plans. I mean, I hadn’t even planned on doing this tour and I’m not sure if we’ll be playing again after this. That’s why it’s been so great to end the tour with a show like this one. We’re all busy with our own things. I travel a lot as a Yoga teacher and I go to India fairly regularly, so I can’t really plan too many other things. But some times it happens and that’s good. I’m really glad it happened for this tour !’
As I said before, time was limited and so we had to end the conversation there. Which was a pity because Ray was friendly, unassuming and easy to talk to. I would have liked to discuss a lot more but in the circumstances, I was happy that I’d been able to see the band again and get at least a short interview recorded, which will hopefully serve as a good introduction for anyone wanting to find out a bit more about the band. Of course, the best way to really find out about them is to see them live. They’re still an amazing live band and, much that I enjoy their records, they never managed to really capture the energy and intensity of their live performance on vinyl. So we’re lucky that they do still play and tour, even if it is on a much more sporadic level. As regards straight edge, the philosophy they helped to promote ? Well, everyone has their own take on it and some opinions are less-convincing than others, but at the end of the day, you can listen to what it says and make-up your own mind. At its’ core, it certainly has a positive ideal so there will surely be something you can take from it, even if you don’t embrace it entirely. As with many things, listen to the ideas and see what you can take from it, because once you stop thinking, you stop moving forward.
www.facebook.com/youthoftodayofficial