MOLESTED YOUTH are a new local hardcore band influenced heavily by CAREER SUICIDE. This interview was conducted back on September 7th, 2008. Since then the singer Sean has left the band and Warren’s brother is now doing the vocals. The interview was done by Stephen Perry and transcribed by D’arcy Rix-Hayes.
Introduce yourselves and tell us what you play?Nick: I play drums.
Sean: I do vocals.
Warren: Guitar.
Rich: Bass.
How long has MOLESTED YOUTH been together?Warren: The better part of a year.
Nick: We used to be called URETHRA FRANKLIN.
Warren: But we were just assholes making noise in a garage back then.
Is this your first band are have you guys been in other bands before?
Warren: Technically URETHRA FRANKLIN sort of merged into MOLESTED YOUTH, so I guess it’s still one band.Rich: I’ve been in six or seven.
Right, you were talking about being in FULL CLIP ORCHESTRA earlier.
Rich: Yeah, that’s the big one.
How did MOLESTED YOUTH come together?Sean: We’re actually all part of a private school and Rich is just ‘the old guy’.
What was the idea of the band when you guys started?Nick: Basically we were just bored with everything and decided to start playing music.
Was there some stuff you were listening to or...Warren: Well, we were all into hardcore for a little while and we decided to jam some songs out in that direction.
Was there a main influence for your sound when you started?Sean: Pretty much just unnerving anger for everything.
Nick: I’m in it for the babes and money.
Warren: And fast cars.
Sean: And bicycles.
Nick: And guns...
So where did the name MOLESTED YOUTH come from?Warren: We were all sitting in class trying to come up with a name for the new band...
Sean: I suggested it and we all liked it immediately.
Rich: I was six years old and in church.
Ain’t that the truth. Who do you consider influences on the band?Sean: For me I’d say SLAPSHOT.
Warren: A good mix of BLACK FLAG, NEGATIVE APPROACH, some modern stuff, too
Sean: SPAZZ, BAD BRAINS, stuff like that too.
SPAZZ is one of my all-time favorite bands. Cool! So if you had to limit your record collection to five punk releases, what would they be?Nick: I don’t know if I can think of that many
Rich: “Like a Motherfucker” by JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, “Vicious Cycle” by ZERO BOYS, CLASH self titled, anything by the NEW YORK DOLLS.
Sean: “Feast of Shame” by BRUTAL KNIGHTS. I cannot stop listening to that “Epics in Minutes” by FUCKED UP. “Damaged” by BLACK FLAG.
Warren: “Shattered” by the EXPLODING HEARTS, the “SARS” EP by CAREER SUICIDE, “Tied Down” by NEGATIVE APPROACH, “The Kids Will Have Their Say” by SS DECONTROL.
Nick: LIMP WRIST complete discography, “Violence, Violence” by CEREMONY. That’s gotta be fifteen records by now.
I think that’s more than enough. Sean, what are some of the things you’re singing about?Sean: It’s a mix of ‘fighting against the man’ and ‘rising above’ and all that cool stuff...persevereing, and going on and on when you can’t go on.
What is your favorite MOLESTED YOUTH song from a lyricial standpoint?Sean: “Shining Light” because it’s about organized religion.
Anyone else?Rich: I don’t know any of the lyrics.
Warren: I’d have to agree with Sean for the same reasons. A few lines really stand out as badass. That or “Watch Me Rise”, it’s pretty self-explanatory.
It’s about bread?Warren: Yeah.
Sean: Bread has to constantly rise against oppression...the breadmaker.
So tell me about the demo and recording it.Warren: July sixteenth, we did the whole thing in about four hours and then made all the tapes that night.
Nick: We actually rented rehearsal space and did it all “properly”, then decided that sucked and did it all over again in a living room. It actually sounds better.
Sean: It’s got that garage sound, which is crucial.
Nick: We released it on cassette tape and we sold out pretty quick.
What’s the response been to the demo?Rich: People fucking hate it.
Nick: We sold them pretty quick.
Sean: Surprisingly, we sold them really fast.
Warren: I dunno...someone told us we were bringing hardcore backs to its roots...ahahhaa.
Sean: Yeah, that’s a little much. I don’t think its that good. But people have been saying its just cool that we’re young kids playing hardcore and we’re sort of a minority in that sense. There’s another Toronto band that’s this young, BORED STIFF, which you should all check out. Us and BORED STIFF are basically the two youngest bands. Warren plays for them too by the way.
What are your thoughts on the Toronto scene at the moment?Warren: I think it’s better than it’s ever been. Greg Benedetto (Stuck in the City) has been putting on some great shows and definitely giving it a sense of community.
Rich: In the past year its all gone uphill very fast, it’s been pretty awesome.
Sean: Especially, we’d like to thank Stuck in the City. They’ve been great.
Who have you been playing with?Warren: We played with SHIPWRECK for our demo release.
Nick: Great local bands EATING GLASS, RAH, THE OMEGAS (from Montreal).
Sean: BAD SKIN, REPROBATES, TEEN ANGER. Yeah, uh, we played with Led Zeppelin once. That was pretty cool. They were O.K.
Warren: It seems like there’s been a boom.
Rich: It feels like there was a gap that needed to be filled. There wasn’t this many kids around or bands around. I used to be part of a different scene with different kids...
Kids notice the vacuum and take it upon themselves to fill it.Sean: Stuck in the City has been doing a lot to fill that vacuum. Stuck in the City is a hardcore promotion deal...
Warren: A few guys who like what they do and do it well.
So what is the bands plans for the next little while? Recording? Touring?
Warren: Jonah Falco (CAREER SUICIDE/FUCKED UP) might be doing our next release actually. Hopefully we’ll get a 7” out.
Any thoughts on a label?Warren: It might be a DIY release, we might send it out to a few labels and see what the response is. The demo plus three new songs.
Any idea when that will be?Warren: Last I talked to him he said the next couple months, but there’s pressing and all that...a few other steps along the way before the final product.
What’s the best way for someone to get a hold of you?Sean: www.myspace.com/molestedyouthhc. We love friend requests.
