www.myspace.com/dieyoungtxhc
How did you guys come up with the name Die Young?
It was really my brainstorm long before the band had ever gotten together.Sorry kids, it's not a reference to Black Sabbath, Circle Jerks, or American Nightmare. It's just a phrase that I felt represented my attitude toward living when I was 18 or 19. I didn't care about graduating from school, getting a job, starting a family, owning things...and I still don't, pretty much. I just wanted to 'throw caution to the wind' and not give a fuck about my future; to live in such a way that if I died today, tomorrow, or really soon, I could be content with the life I attempted to embark upon. I also wanted a name for the band that could offend or scare old people--something confrontational (like I wanted the band to be--both musically and lyrically)...something that signified rebellion. So yeh, "Die Young"haha.
How did you start out?
The early days could be a very detailed story, because we switched members up quite a bit back then. Basically though, Die Young began as my brainstorm. I had some songs already written in Summer/Fall of 2002,and naturally I asked some close friends of mine to get the band going with me. I had been itching to start a band that I could sing in so that I could vehemently attack organized religion in a public setting.Initially the lineup was James Nealy (Burning Inside/Your Mistake) on bass, Eric Gibson (Offset Proof, Finer Truth, Will To Live) on guitar,Rayhaan Traboulay (Gameover) on guitar, Gomer of Burning Inside/Your Mistake on drums, and me. Gomer quit one week before we were to record our first demo and play our first show, so RJ of Finer Truth (my best friend since 3rd grade) picked up drum duties quickly. I remember Houston kids used to joke and call us the "all-star" Houston hardcore band when we started up, because we had all been in prominent Houston bands during the late 90s. I guess all that status kind of helped us pick up where all our old bands left off, both locally and on the tour circuit. That lineup only lasted one tour haha, and then from there things got ALL FUCKED UP haha.
What is your favorite album you have released and why?
I'm definitely most satisfied with our newest full-length, Graven Images. I think it exhibits us at our best and most diverse songwriting to date,and it is easily the best quality recording we have done thus far. It's also our first cohesive full length album, whereas The Message was a full-length comprised of different recording sessions, some of which were almost a year apart. With Graven Images, I was able to focus a lot more on the music, artwork, and lyrics as one big statement, and I was able to concentrate on making the experience of the album a lot more engaging in all aspects than our previous releases. It's hard to really drive certain points and themes across to the listener when you've got songs that were written and recorded a year apart from each other.
What is the best experience you've have had while on tour?
We've done a lot of touring over the last 5 years, and along the way we've accomplished some things as a band that I never imagined I would do in a hardcore band as a younger kid starting a band. My family says I need to write a book about all the crazy stories I tell them, but I really don't want to be any more of a little Henry Rollins rip-off than I perhaps already am. It's hard to pick one experience above all others because we've been lucky to have so many amazing experiences, abroad especially, whether we were playing a show, seeing sights, or eating some great meals! Climbing waterfalls or snorkeling in exotic places like Mexico or Puerto Rico, running around with wild monkeys in Thailand, surfing in Costa Rica, or standing on top of a volcano in Costa Rica looking down on the clouds and the rainforest...yeh, those things are at the top of my list. You know, sometimes we've just stopped and looked at each other when on this exploration or that exploration, and been like "What the fuck! This is our life? This is incredible! How the fuck did we pull this off?!" And I know there's still so much more to come. It's way too hard to pick, man.
What is the worst experience you've had while on tour?
We actually have a saying in this band that came from our old bassist,Chris "Hasp", that goes: "Misery is funny!" We generally think that if something bad happens, it will only be something to laugh about later...like when the van breaks down, or when a shit ton of shows get cancelled, and we're fucking broke, and we have no place to sleep, or when we have some extremely cramped and sketchy drive in a foreign country. You name it. I know we'll only be able to look back and laugh if we survive haha. However, I'd say that just being on tour in general in the US these days is a pretty disenchanting experience, because there's so much drama and violence happening all over that it really makes you reconsider your involvement in the current scene. I mean, I know why I was drawn into hardcore and punk as a kid, but what I see going on these days is nothing like what I saw when I was just becoming acquainted with this underground. And overall, it's that kind of stuff(which has never even happened directly to our band) that I can't just shake off and laugh about it later. That's definitely the worst stuff that happens on tour.
Do you or any one else in the band play have any side projects?
Our current bassist and guitarist--Kayhan and Jeff--are from Alabama, and at home they have a great band called Legion, that is somewhere along the lines of Infest. It's definitely more on the powerviolence tip than anything Die Young has ever come close to doing. Definitely worth checking out. James, our drummer, was also doing LMF, but they recently broke up.
What city or cities do you enjoy playing the most and why?
At this point, after 5 years of constant touring, we're happy to play anywhere outside of the United States, simply because it is not in the United States. The attitudes people have at shows in this country ought to certainly get shoved right back up their asses most of the time. And I know that sounds like I may have a bad attitude in return, but anyone who thinks that about me saying what I am saying ought to put themselves in my shoes for a year or two, and I challenge you to try and not get jaded on what's going on in American hardcore right now when you have to endure it 200 days a year. I'm not saying things are perfect elsewhere, but we see less fighting and inter-scene violence elsewhere, and for us, kids seem to be more welcoming and open to the idea of a hardcore band getting on stage and actually speaking their mind about this or that. They seem, to me, to care more about consciousness, and about the message as much as the music. But I am sorry, I can't pick a specific place or places. Things change too much all the time. A few years ago, I would have said certain places--even Houston!--but being from Houston yourself, perhaps you catch my drift...
What would you like to say to kids who are new to hardcore?
I am glad you are here. Together, we are part of something that can be truly life-transforming. Please do your best to see the full scope of what this music and lifestyle can be. It has a rich history, and now you are part of that. Your involvement here will be part of furthering that history and leaving a legacy for the next generation of kids who are going to identify with the rage that we feel right now. Let's do what we can to keep this alive and meaningful in a positive way, but let's never neglect all the negativity we feel. Let's always be honest about those feelings, and do our best to make something incredible and cathartic of them. There are a lot of people (perhaps even me haha) who may say this or that about what hardcore is, or what it means, but in the end, all that matters is what you make it to mean on an individual level. If it was anything different, it would be completely useless.
How do you feel about violence at shows?
Unless it is against some white-power/racist asshole, or against some guy who did something inexcusable to a girl or child (I'll even dare say to an animal also), I think violence at shows is the stupidest shit ever.Dudes acting macho=stupid. Crew violence=stupid. The list goes on. I understand kids coming to hardcore shows with violent tendencies,because this music is built on agression, but more often than not that agression is badly misplaced. We ought to take those violent inclinations, rally ourselves together, and go burn down police stations or shopping malls. You know what I mean?
What bands influence you the most?
Easily: Catharsis, Integrity, Trial, Indecision, Tragedy, Ringworm.
If you had the chance to give a kid 5 albums from your personal collection to influence them, what would they be?
Catharsis:Passion. Catharsis: Samsara. Trial: Are These Our Lives. Indecision:Release the Cure. Earth Crisis: Destroy the Machines. Integrity:Humanity is the Devil. Bad Religion: No Control. Sickofitall: Built toLast (that's maybe not their best, but it was my first album from them). Hot Water Music: Fuel for the Hate Game. Okay, so that's more than five. So shoot me, haha.
What is the best part about playing in a band?
Just being able to express yourself in a constructive way, and let all that negative energy out. And in this band specifically, I'd say the travel opportunities are a definite perk, too.
When you are playing a show and you look out and see the faces of these people whoyou can tell are really into it, how does that make you feel?
Well obviously, it feels pretty awesome, but this question doesn't apply to Die Young very much these days. It's rare that anyone is into us at all anymore haha.
How were you introduced to hardcore music?
Oddly enough, through seeing a Sickofitall video on Beavis and Butthead, and also seeing Earth Crisis on an Ozzfest home video. So basically we all have Mike Judge and Ozzy Osbourne (or maybe Sharon Osbourne) to thank for me being here to do this interview with you! Weird, huh?
What do you hope to accomplish in the future with the band?
To keep traveling and seeing the world. To keep eating a lot of awesome vegan food everywhere we go. To hopefully maintain some meaningful relationships with the kids we meet along the way. To keep learning about the world, other people, and other cultures. And certainly, to keep conveying what hardcore and punk music means to us, and to hopefully make some positive impact in the world and in this community along the way.
What do you hope to get across to people with your music?
It all really boils down to "thinking for yourself." That's our message above and beyond anything else. I know people often think of us as some kind of "political/arnarchist, atheist hardcore band," but fuck labels.We don't have a specific platform--never have, never will. I don't write the lyrics I write, nor do I get on stage and say the things I say so that people will heed my words and live by them. I'm not trying to indoctrinate anyone of anything. I just want kids to think about things. I'll be the first to admit, and I'm sure anyone reading this interview knows, that I am a complete jackass of a kid. I don't know shit. I wish I did. I try to know things, but at the end of the day,I'm just another fucked up kid trying to make sense of this world we're all living in. I'm just trying to communicate. As much as I love to potentially inspire some young kid coming into the scene, I also depend on that kid to inspire me. It's a two way street. Nobody has all the answers, and ultimately all we can really do as individuals is think...THINK!...and try to communicate about the thoughts we're having. Maybe something can come of that. I hope so.
In your opinion, what would be the perfect line up for a show?
If it's a show we're playing, it'd probably be us and a bunch of our friends: Dead City (best live sound in hardcore right now period),Wisdom in Chains, 7 Generations, another Trial reunion, and Bad Religion as the headliner. If it's just a show for me to watch, I only want to sit and watch Loreena McKennitt for hours. No one else.Just her and her band. That's all I listen to in the van these days.She takes me away to simpler times of humanity, and I envision myself as some pagan running around in a forest of old Scotland.
Do you have anything planned for the future as far as releases or tours?
As I write this, we're 3 weeks away from one last Eastern US tour for the year, which will also include our third visit to Puerto Rico for one weekend. Next year will be two trips to Europe, a visit to Iceland, and hopefully a return to Asia. We also have to play all of Canada come summertime, because we had to cancel quite a bit of shows there this year due to getting banned from the entire fucking country last January in British Columbia. When the ban is lifted, we are going to pillage!Seriously, fuck customs (of every country for that matter). As for releases, I don't know man. Everything's been such a blur lately since Graven Images came out. I've got a couple new songs written, but we still have quite a bit of touring to be done on Graven Images, so we probably won't have another album out till 2009.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before?
For someone who is into hardcore: it's vocals that wish they were Catharsis, with riffs that wish they were Integrity or Ringworm. For someone who isn't familiar with hardcore: It's loud, crazy headbanger shit.
What is one of the craziest things you've had happen while playing a set?
One time there was this midget in S&M gear...
Do you have any shows coming up that you are really excited about?
All shows out of the country.
Hardcore can be explain in many different ways by many different people, but what does it mean to you personally?
I know for some people hardcore is an end, or a destination. It's an escape of sorts from the workweek, the daily grind, and after the show,after the weekend, everything goes back to normal. And that's fine. I'm not discrediting that, because to each his or her own, and in some ways I feel that way about it too, but to me, hardcore has always been more of an open door to new places (literally and metaphorically). For me,it's not an exclusive club of dudes. It's not just for the strong, or brave, or whatever. It's for whoever wants to embrace it and get something out of it, and in turn give something back to it. It was because of hardcore that I have been fortunate enough to go to many places and connect with many kids through the energy of the music. I have learned so much through that process alone. I have made so many friends through being involved with this underground. The music itself has always inspired me to seek out my dreams and to seize the day, while the community and lifestyle have given me great company along my that path, and so many memories I don't even know how to begin to tell.Hardcore has helped me to make many changes for the better in my life,be that introducing me to animal rights and vegetarianism/veganism, or by introducing me to a drug free lifestyle, or just by introducing me to new perspectives and ways of thinking. As a young teen, it was hardcore and punk that really got me to question things: religion,social issues, what it means to be human and have the consciousness we have. What do we make of all that? It can be overwhelming, but I think hardcore gave me a base or haven for all of that, because I've found so many people here over the years who share my sentiments. So in that sense, hardcore has always been a movement to me, something that inspires revolution in people one by one. I don't mean any specific kind of revolution beyond that of personal revolution, because revolution is a lofty word and can be taken in many different directions. But the fact is that hardcore has inspired many awakenings in my life, for better or for worse, and because of that I will always do what I can to keep that spirit alive, because though modern hardcore has many faults, I still think it's an incredible and empowering alternative to the hollow western culture most of us are brought up in.
www.myspace.com/dieyoungtxhc
www.myspace.com/dieyoungtxhc
