 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Youth of Today" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Youth of Today | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Youth of Today performing in Germany in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Danbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Genres | Hardcore punk |
| Years active | 1985–1990, 1994, 1999, 2003–2004, 2010–present |
| Labels | Revelation Records |
| Spinoffs | Shelter,Better Than a Thousand |
| Members | Ray Cappo John Porcelly Walter Schreifels Sammy Siegler |
Youth of Today is an Americanhardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "Youth Crew"subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies of thestraight edge andvegetarian lifestyles.[1]
After the band's dissolution, vocalistRay Cappo became involved in theHare Krishna movement and formed the bandsShelter andBetter Than a Thousand. Youth of Today is currently composed of Cappo and guitaristJohn Porcelly, both founding members, as well as bassist Walter Schreifels and drummer Sammy Siegler.
Youth of Today was formed in Danbury, Connecticut, in 1985 by two members of thehardcore band Violent Children,Ray Cappo (vocals) andJohn Porcelly (Porcell) (guitar) were aiming to start astraight edge band at a time when most old school straight edge bands had disbanded. Having difficulty finding a bassist and drummer, Ray and Porcell found help from two high school friends, Graham Phillips and Darren Pesce, who had played with Porcell in a band called The Young Republicans in the past. Youth of Today played their first show at The Anthrax on July 2, 1985.[2]
In 1985, Youth of Today recorded their debut EPCan't Close My Eyes forKevin Seconds' (singer of the popular hardcore band7 Seconds) label Positive Force Records with additional lyrics by John L Hancock III (a.k.a. Ratboy). At the same time the band contributed five songs to the Connecticut Fun compilation album; these tracks would later be combined with the aforementioned release to make the album version ofCan't Close My Eyes that is commonly recognized today.
After touring for a while both Graham and Darren left the band, and two members of New York band Straight Ahead joined Ray and John,Craig Setari (bass) and Tommy Carroll (drums). Tommy left during their second tour, andDrew Thomas, drummer of brother bandCrippled Youth (who later changed their name toBold), was asked to finish the rest of the tour.
A short while later, Underdog vocalistRichie Birkenhead joined the band on second guitar. With this line-up, the first Youth of Today album was recorded, entitledBreak Down the Walls, and released by Wishingwell Records, the label of California straight edge bands Unity andUniform Choice.[3] Soon after recording the album Drew was replaced by Mike "Judge" (later to be the singer, along with John Porcelly on guitar, in the bandJudge).
Craig left to reform Straight Ahead (and later played inAgnostic Front andSick of It All), andWalter Schreifels ofGorilla Biscuits joined on as the new bassist. At the end of theBreak Down the Walls tour that followed the release of the LP, second guitarist Richie left the band to concentrate on singing in Underdog, and with that line-up Youth of Today appeared with two songs on theRevelation Records compilation "New York Hardcore - The Way It Is", alongside New York bands likeBold, Gorilla Biscuits, Side By Side and Sick of It All.[4]
At the end of 1987, Mike left the band, andSammy Siegler became the new drummer. In 1988, Youth of Today recorded their classic second LPWe're Not in This Alone, which was released in America byCaroline Records and in Europe by both We Bite Records and Funhouse Records. The beginning of the next year, Youth of Today, whose line-up was steady at last, did a European tour- playing shows in: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Yugoslavia, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and England. In 1990, Youth of Today decided to quit and recorded 4 songs for a farewell 7-inch on Revelation Records. Three of those songs appeared on the single "Disengage".
When Youth of Today split, it seemed the beginning of the end for the second straight edge wave, which had begun in 1985, and which was at its height in 1988–1990. Together with bands likeUniform Choice,Gorilla Biscuits, No For An Answer, andChain of Strength, Youth of Today were an inspiration for hundreds of bands all over the world, who combined the message of positive thinking and straight edge with energetic and fast hardcore, as well as an inspiration for hundreds of thousands of kids to live and lead a positive drug-free life.[citation needed]
Ray Cappo of Youth of Today started theHare Krishna bandShelter, and was later joined by Porcell. Walter was playing guitar in Gorilla Biscuits from 1986 until their end, and was joined on the European tour of Gorilla Biscuits in 1990 by Porcell and Sammy on guitar and drums. After the split of Gorilla Biscuits, Walter startedQuicksand, and later on,Rival Schools andWalking Concert. Sammy later played drums inCIV (which featured members of Gorilla Biscuits) and multiple other bands.
Aside from several one-off reunion shows, Youth of Today did a European reunion tour in 2003 with original members Ray, Porcell and Sammy. Ray's friend Ken Olden fromBattery andBetter Than a Thousand filled in on bass. In fall 2010, they again started for a small reunion tour through Europe starting on September 16 inLyss, Switzerland. A first-ever South American tour was scheduled for the first week of December 2010, taking Youth of Today to countries like Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. They played two shows in Russia and two in Oslo, Norway, during the third week in March 2011. Youth of Today played the U Street Music Hall inWashington, D.C., on June 3, 2011; opening bands wereMouthpiece and Give. They played a show at the Glasshouse inPomona, California, and another show at the Chaos in Tejas festival in June 2011. They played at the Getaway Rock Festival inGävle, Sweden, on July 7–9, 2011.[5] Youth of Today played at New Direction Fest No. 2 inOlbia,Sardinia, on July 10, 2011. They also played This Is Hardcore on August 12; the show sold out. The group playedRiot Fest in Chicago opening forDanzig andDoyle playingMisfits songs on October 7, 2011. The band played at the Within These Walls fest inMesa, Arizona, on September 21, 2012.[6] On April 28, 2016, Youth of Today played inBerlin, Germany, and the next day inMeerhout, Belgium. The show included Sammy Siegler on drums and Walter Schreifels on bass.
|
|
| Year | Album name | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Can't Close My Eyes | Positive Force Records (Revelation Records 1997)[7] |
| 1986 | Break Down the Walls | Wishing Well Records (Revelation Records 1988)[8] |
| 1988 | We're Not in This Alone | Caroline Records (Revelation Records 1990)[9] |
| 1990 | Youth of Today EP | Revelation Records |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
