Birmingham trio Youth Man are leading the charge at this weekend’s Roundhouse Punk Weekender, a celebration of the genre both marking forty years since the Sex Pistols broke onto the scene and looking forward at some of the ever-exciting emerging talent. Across a weekend of live shows, film screenings and panel discussions, Youth Man will be joined by False Heads, Birdsong, Molasses, The Antiseptics, BullyBones, Mystified, Drones, Thee Jezebels and Screech Bats to show the strength of the grassroots punk movement.
We asked Youth Man, who released the excellent ‘Wax’ EP at the start of July, to pick their favourite punk band, as well as to look forward to this weekend’s events.
“We’ve been checking out the other acts on the bill and there are some wicked bands playing. Birdsong are cool,” they say collectively. “Make sure you catch everyone though – bands need as much support as possible in order to make their shit work.”
The Roundhouse Punk Weekender runs from the 8th July to the 10th July. Check out the punk bands Youth Man picked below:
Marcus Perks – Drums
Black Flag – I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that the first time I listened to ‘Damaged’ by Black Flag it completely changed my life and everything I wanted from music. ‘Damaged II’ is one of the greatest songs of all time. To me, that band represent the essence of musical freedom, especially in a rock context. They were never scared to experiment, they wrote songs that blew your nuts off and they put in years of hard work on the road. Even if the music isn’t your cup of tea, every band should learn from Black Flag’s ethics and attitude.
Kaila Whyte – Guitar / Vocals
Fugazi – ‘Repeater’ changed everything. Fugazi were both hard hitting and vulnerable and allowed their political and social stance to be known with an integrity I haven’t seen in any other band, while also bringing melody and sass to punk of the 90s. When I haven’t listened to them for a while I get withdrawal symptoms.
Miles Cocker – Bass
The Damned – I was first introduced to The Damned when I asked where Vanian (my middle name) came from. I was given a CD to listen to and it blew my mind, for me it took punk to somewhere I previously hadn’t thought it could go. It’s theatrical yet trashy and most importantly kinda sexy. The Damned opened the door to so many other bands and genres that I may not have given the time to without them.