- Youth of Today
Infobox musical artist |
Name = Youth of Today
Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin =New York ,USA
Genre =Hardcore punk Youth crew Positive hardcore
Years_active = 1985 – 1990
Label =Revelation Records
URL =
Current_members =Ray Cappo John Porcelly Walter Schreifels Sammy Siegler Youth of Today was astraight edge hardcore punk band whose vocalist was fromDanbury ,Connecticut , and whose remaining members were from various parts of New York, but are commonly referred to as aNew York Hardcore band. The band played an important role in establishing theYouth Crew sub-genre of hardcore.Jello Biafra once claimed that the band had the most generic name ever given to a punk rock band. [Biafra, Jello. "Names for Bands". "No More Cocoons ". San Francisco:Alternative Tentacles . 1987.]History
Youth Of Today was formed in Danbury Connecticut in1985 by two members of the hardcore bandViolent Children ,Ray Cappo (vocals) andJohn Porcelly (guitar), aiming to start aStraight Edge band at a time when mostold school Straight Edge bands had disbanded. Having difficulty finding a bassist and drummer, Ray and Porcell found help from two high school friends,Graham Philips andDarren Pesce , who had played with Porcell in a band calledThe Young Republicans in the past.In
1985 ,Youth Of Today recorded their debut EP "Can't Close My Eyes " forKevin Seconds ' (singer of the popular hardcore band7 Seconds ) label-Positive Force Records . At the same time the band contributed four songs to the Connecticut Fun compilation album; these tracks would later be combined with the aforementioned release to make the album version of "Can't Close My Eyes " that is commonly reccognized today.After touring for a while both Graham and Darren left the band, and two members of
New York band Straight Ahead joinedRay and John,Craig Setari (bass) andTommy Carroll (drums).Tommy left during their second tour, and
Drew Thomas , drummer of brotherbandCrippled Youth (who later changed their name to Bold), was asked to finish the rest of the tour.A short while later,Underdog vocalist
Richie Birkenhead joined the band on second guitar. With this line-up, the firstYouth Of Today albumwas recorded, entitled "Break Down The Walls ", and released byWishingwell Records , the label of CaliforniaStraight Edge bands Unity andUniform Choice .Soon after recording the album Drew was replaced by
Mike "Judge" of Death Before Dishonor. (Later to be the singer, along withJohn Porcelly on guitar, in the band Judge). 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 the "
Break 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-upYouth Of Today appeared with two songs on theRevelation Records sampler "New York Hardcore - The Way It Is ", alongsideNew York bands like Bold,Gorilla Biscuits , Side By Side andSick of it All .At the end of
1987 Mike left the band, andSammy Siegler (ex-Side by Side) became the new drummer. In1988 Youth Of Today recorded their classic second LP "We're Not In This Alone ", which was released in America by Caroline Records and inEurope byFunhouse Records .The beginning of the next year,
Youth Of Today , whose line-up was steady at last, did aEurope an tour- playing shows in:Sweden ,Norway ,Denmark ,Germany ,Switzerland ,Austria ,Yugoslavia ,Italy ,France ,Belgium , theNetherlands andEngland .In
1990 Youth Of Today decided to quit and recorded 4 songs for a farewell 7" onRevelation Records . Three of those songs appeared on the single "Disengage".When
Youth Of Today split, it seemed the beginning of the end for the secondStraight Edge wave, which had begun in1985 , and which was at its height in 1988-1990. Together with bands likeUniform Choice ,Insted ,No For An Answer ,Chain of Strength , andGorilla Biscuits ,Youth Of Today were an inspiration for hundreds of bands all over the world, who combined the message ofPositive Thinking andStraight Edge with energetic and fast hardcore.Post-breakup
*Ray of Today started the
Hare Krishna band Shelter, and was later joined byPorcell .*Walter was playing guitar in
Gorilla Biscuits from 1986 on, and was joined on the European tour ofGorilla Biscuits in 1990 by Porcell and Sammy on guitar and drums. After the split ofGorilla Biscuits , Walter started Quicksand, and later on, Rival Schools .*Sammy later played drums in
CIV (which featured members ofGorilla Biscuits ), and ironically,Limp Bizkit and multiple other bands.Aside from several one-off reunion shows,
Youth of Today did a European reunion tour in 2004 with original members Ray, Porcell and Sammy. Ray's friendKen Olden from Battery andBetter Than A Thousand filled in on bass.Discography
Albums
*
Can't Close My Eyes LP/ CD (1985)
*Break Down The Walls LP/ CD (1987)
*We're Not In This Alone LP/ CD (1988)
*Youth Of Today EP/ CD (1990)ingles
*Can't Close My Eyes 7", 1985, Positive Force Records #4 (has since been reissued in LP or CD format on four different labels: Schism Records, Caroline Records, We Bite Records, and Revelation Records)
*Disengage 7"/ CDLive Albums/Singles
*Yesterday 7"
*Take A Stand 12"/ LP/ CD
*Anarchy In Vienna LP
*Live At Van Hall 1989, Amsterdam 7"
*Live At CBGB's 7"
*Inside Out and Youth of Today-Benefit split 7" (live bootleg)Compilations
*"
Make It Work " 7"
*"Connecticut Fun " LP (1985)
*"" 7" (1987,Revelation Records )
*"New York City Hardcore - The Way It Is " LP (1988, Revelation Records)
*"Hold Your Ground " CD
*"Sunday Matinee " LP/ CD
*"In-Flight Program " CD
*"Voice Of The Voiceless " LP/ CD
*"Another Shot For Bracken " LP
*"A Time We'll Remember " LP
*"We Bite " 7"
*"We Bite " 100 2xLP
*"The Sound Of The Streets " 4xCD
*"Revelation 100 " 2xLP/CD (Revelation Records)ee also
*
Straight edge
*Youth crew References
External links
* [http://members.fortunecity.com/youthoftoday Youth of Today fan site]
* [http://www.revelationrecords.com/ Revelation Records]
* [http://punkcity.propagande.org/html/public/groupe_5.html Biographie en francais]
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