Youth of Today is an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "

Youth Crew Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original yout ...

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies of the straight edge and

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

lifestyles. After the band's dissolution, vocalist Ray Cappo became involved in the Hare Krishna movement and formed the bands Shelter and Better Than a Thousand. Youth of Today is currently composed of Cappo and guitarist John Porcelly, both founding members, as well as bassist Walter Schreifels and drummer Sammy Siegler.

History

Youth of Today was formed in Danbury, Connecticut in 1985 by two members of the hardcore band Violent Children, Ray Cappo (vocals) and John Porcelly (Porcell) (guitar) were aiming to start a straight 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.

''Can't Close My Eyes''

In 1985, Youth of Today recorded their debut EP ''Can't Close My Eyes'' for

Kevin Seconds Kevin Seconds (born Kevin Marvelli; March 24, 1961) is an American singer/songwriter/musician, born in Sacramento, California. As a teenager, he moved with his family to Reno, Nevada where he lived until 1988 when he relocated back to Sacrame ...

' (singer of the popular hardcore band 7 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 of ''Can'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 } Craig Setari (sometimes known by the stage name Craig Ahead) is an American musician who is currently active as the bass player in Sick of It All. He has also worked with many other hardcore punk bands, including Youth of Today, Straight Ahead ...

(bass) and Tommy Carroll (drums). Tommy left during their second tour, and Drew Thomas, drummer of brother band Crippled Youth (who later changed their name to

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), was asked to finish the rest of the tour.

''Break Down the Walls''

A short while later, Underdog vocalist Richie Birkenhead joined the band on second guitar. With this line-up, the first Youth of Today album was recorded, entitled ''Break Down the Walls'', and released by Wishingwell Records, the label of California straight edge bands Unity and Uniform Choice. Soon after recording the album Drew was replaced by Mike "Judge" (later to be the singer, along with John Porcelly on guitar, in the band

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

). Craig left to reform Straight Ahead (and later played in

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980–19 ...

and

Sick of It All Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sick ...

), and

Walter Schreifels Walter Schreifels (born March 10, 1969) is an American rock musician and producer from New York City. Career In the late 1980s, he played in many New York hardcore bands, most notably Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, where he was also th ...

of Gorilla 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-up Youth of Today appeared with two songs on the

Revelation Records Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side, Chain of Strength, Sh ...

compilation "New York Hardcore - The Way It Is", alongside New York bands like

, Gorilla Biscuits, Side By Side and Sick of It All.

''We're Not in This Alone''

At the end of 1987, Mike left the band, and

Sammy Siegler Sammy Siegler (born March 21, 1973) is an American rock drummer, notable for his many contributions to the New York hardcore scene. He is currently living in Venice, California with his wife, model Siew Longhorn. Discography With Project X * ...

became the new drummer. In 1988, Youth of Today recorded their classic second LP '' We're Not in This Alone'', which was released in America by Caroline 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" 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 like Uniform Choice, Gorilla Biscuits, No For An Answer, and Chain 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.

Post-breakup

Ray Cappo of Youth of Today started the Hare Krishna band Shelter, 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 started Quicksand, and later on,

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and

Walking Concert Walking Concert is an indie rock band from New York City, featuring Walter Schreifels on vocals and guitar; Jeffery E. Johnson on guitar; Ryan Stratton on bass guitar; and Drew Thomas on drums. The band takes its name from the line "Boy, you'r ...

. Sammy later played drums in CIV (which featured members of Gorilla Biscuits) and multiple other bands.

Reunion

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 from

Battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

and Better Than a Thousand filled in on bass. In fall 2010, they again started for a small reunion tour through Europe starting on September 16 in

Lyss Lyss () is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2011, the former municipality of Busswil bei Büren was merged with Lyss.Washington, D.C. on June 3, 2011; opening bands were Mouthpiece and Give. They played a show at the Glasshouse in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyt ...

, and another show at the Chaos in Tejas festival in June 2011. They played at the Getaway Rock Festival in

Gävle Gävle () is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Swed ...

, Sweden, on July 7–9, 2011. Youth of Today played at New Direction Fest #2 in

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...

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, on July 10, 2011. They also played This Is Hardcore on August 12; the show sold out. The group played

Riot Fest Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival based in Chicago, Illinois, at Douglass Park. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest remains one of the largest independently owned m ...

in Chicago opening for Danzig and

Doyle Doyle is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a back-formation from O'Doyle, which is an Anglicisation of the Irish (), meaning "descendant of ''Dubhghall''". There is another possible etymology: the Anglo-Norman surname ''D'Oyley'' with agglu ...

playing Misfits songs on October 7, 2011. The band played at the Within These Walls fest in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communit ...

, on September 21, 2012. On April 28, 2016, Youth of Today played in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, Germany, and the next day in Meerhout, Belgium. The show included Sammy Siegler on drums and Walter Schreifels on bass.

Band members

;Current * Ray Cappo – vocals (1985–1990, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2010–present) * John Porcelly – guitar (1985–1990, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2010–present) *

– bass (1987–1990, 1994, 2016–present) *

– drums (1987–1990, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2016–present) ;Former * Richie Birkenhead – guitar (1986–1987) *Graham Phillips – bass (1985–1986) *

– bass (1986–1987) *Lukey Luke – bass (1987) *Tim Brooks- bass (1999) *Ken Olden – bass (2004, 2010–2016) *Darren Pesce – drums (1985–1986) *

– drums (1986) * Tommy Carroll – drums (1986) *Drew Thomas – drums (1986–1987) *Mike "Judge" Ferraro – drums (1987) *Vinny Panza – drums (2010–2016) *Steve Reddy – vocals (For one show in 1987. Ray played bass, Walter broke his ankle before the show)

Discography

Albums

Singles

*Can't Close My Eyes 7" (1985, Positive Force Records No. 4; has since been re-issued in LP or CD format on four different labels: Schism Records, Caroline Records, We Bite Records, and Revelation Records) *Disengage 7"/CD (Revelation Records, 1990)

Live albums/singles

*Yesterday 7" (1991) (Unofficial Release) *Take a Stand 12"/ LP/ CD (Lost and Found Records, 1992) *Anarchy in Vienna LP (1989) (Unofficial) *Live at Van Hall 1989, Amsterdam 7" (Commitment Records, 1989) *Live at CBGB's 7" (Reality Records, 1998)

Music videos

* "No More" (1988)

Compilations

*''Make It Work'' 7" *''Connecticut Fun'' LP (1985) *''New York City Hardcore: Together'' 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)

References

External links

Youth of Today fan site

Revelation Records

Listing of Youth of Today releases, shows and flyers during Walter Schreifels stint on bass
{{Authority control Hardcore punk groups from Connecticut Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Straight edge groups Revelation Records artists 1985 establishments in Connecticut