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KILL YOUR IDOLS

KILL YOUR IDOLS

KILL YOUR IDOLS

by Brian Lentini

Give me the band info-when it started and who’s in it.
We started in late 95. The only members left from that lineup are Gary and myself. I don’t feel weird about losing several members because it was pretty much just him and I doing all of the writing. The members now are Gary and I, Paul on bass, Brian on 2nd guitar and Raeph on drums. Raeph just joined. He is the newest drummer in the Kill Your Idols hot seat.

Your views on “Tainted Love”?
I’m not sure what that is.

Describe growing up on Long Island.
Ah, life as a youngster on LI. What can I say? hanging out in dumps and school rooftops. Beer and pot (that’s right, I wasn’t always straightedge), police chases, graffiti, ring and run..all the joys of suburbia. There’s a reason there are as many gangs in the suburbs as there are in urban areas, there’s nowhere to go and nothing to do. One of our favorite things to do was to call the cops and say that there were kids lighting fireworks in the school yard, then we’d wait for them to show up. When they did we would throw bottles and eggs at them. We were complete trouble makers. There doesn’t seem to be kids like that around here anymore. The streets are quiet late at night. Kids today suck. They sit home and play video games or go dancing or something lame like that. Yes sir, no sir, blah. Get out and live!

“If they don’t let our skateboards into heaven, we will ride them straight to hell.”

Do you think Long Island should be its own state?
Long Island for the most part is a cultural wasteland.

Tell me a crazy tour story (you get extra points if its about a Canadian).
We’ve done 15 tours, so you could imagine some things that have gone down. There is a rule for touring bands. Stories stay within the walls of the van.

Tell me your take on violence at shows.
Well, since I have been going to shows in NYC for over 10 years now part of me feels almost immune to it. I’ve seen people beaten unconscious more times then I could count, I’ve seen people stabbed, slashed, and kicked in the head until they were not moving anymore. There was a time in NY that it seemed like every show ended with a fight. I hated to see it, still do. It’s funny, I’ve seen such crazy stuff that seeing two kids pushing or hitting each other seems almost laughable. I think it is wack for people to fight at shows though. You have to be really selfish. There are a lot of troubled people involved in hardcore and fighting is a normal way for them to settle things. Personally, I am not a violent person. I try to respect people, especially people that I consider my peers, like hardcore kids and punks. If people are going to fight I just wish they would take it far from the venues that do shows.

How many people have the Kill Your Idols skull tattooed on them?
Not counting band members, there are over 30. We put everything we are into Kill Your Idols and it’s so cool to see it mean that much to people.

Did you ever think about going emo?
I am emo, I just don’t fit the stupid stereotype. I put all my emotion into every song I write. If people don’t understand that because I don’t wear floods over slacks or get a bowl haircut then that is their loss. “emo” has become yet another term that the hardcore scene has taken and ruined. It simply means to be emotional, I am. So Kill Your Idols, we as a band are completely emo in every sense of the word. Our music oozes with emotion, that is how it is created. Because it’s loud and fast hardly means it is not emotional. For what it is worth I love a lot of “emo” bands like Promise Ring, Jejune, Inside, and tons of others.

Do you think ten years from now kids will start rumors that there is going to be a Kill Your Idols reunion show?
I can only hope so, because that only happens with great bands. By the way did you hear about the Black Flag, and Minor Threat reunions? (laughs)

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