YOUNGER LOVERS INTERVIEW IN LIQUID ZINE...

(*LIQUID is a now defunct riot grrrrl/hardcore punk zine from Alabama circa mid-to late 90's. They revamped just to interview the Younger Lovers and we're STOKED)


Liquid Zine: Is there any significance to the band name and what is its/yer primary goal?

Brontez: The name "Younger Lovers" is NOT sexual innuendo of any sort. Take it to mean a young rocker who is a "Hippy Johnny" (i.e. habitually smokes marijuana and/or is fond of psychedelics) is primarily a pedestrian, stops to smell the roses, WEARS a rose on their jacket (be it leather, pleater jean-WHATEVER) , engages strangers on the bus and if its appropriate flirt. They may or may not like The Modern Lovers. He/she/whatever is also a dancer/painter/poet/whatever (in trade or spirit). Our primary goals are: 1.) romantic intention 2.)touring England, 3. Put out record(s) 4. do it all over again.


LZ: As a black punker, do you find that people read too much into what you do? Meaning because you are a “minority in a minority” you must be on some sort of a mission or are about things you have never addressed publicly or lyrically, as perhaps similarly experienced by women in rock ‘n’ roll/punk rock?

B: Yeah. But its a hard call. I don't discourage people to have a take on my art though because sometimes they present a point of view that I've never thought of and it gives me a deeper meaning/sense of understanding of what im doing. Sometimes they're WAY off and I have to laugh. Now the thing about "being on a mission" to be honest i don't play music "just to have fun" i do it because im an EGOMANIAC. I have a particular point of view i want to see fulfilled and yes i do want to take over the fucking world, like, why not? As far as the black thing its pretty fucking awesome-besides all the pesky historical racism drama, i age well, look especially vibrant in the colors red, green and yellow, and i got "soul"-but aside from that i am NOT the "new crowned Black prince of rock n roll." Im THE crowned prince period...

LZ:Word on the webernetters is that you are putting the P back Punk. Was there a conscious effort to return to basics, so to speak, or was this project simply an organic process with no game plan?
B: I guess. I mostly "returned to basics" cause thats what was at my fingertips. My room mate has a studio downstairs and he had a 4 track analog set up and said he'd do it for cheap and i said YEAH. my boy vice had a similar set up but Digital and in a basement. Some people call it "lo-fi". I call it "FLAWLESS". Like right off to bat i got this FUCKED up review by this kid who was basically calling punk passe and me sad. The cold part is that we had hooked up the night before!(we've made up since then) This was back in 2008 (three years after the first younger lovers demos) before the whole "ga(y)rage" genre had "taken off" and naturally as THE FIRST i had to be the sacrificial lamb and accept my unwilling figureheadness nobly. I did this band as a reaction to being in Gravy Train!!! and touring in electro clash circles and hearing some of the worst drum machine shit and thinking i make better beats with my hands. i say that wearing bad 80's cloths and trying to be the next Debbie D/Soft Cell/Beyonce/ WHOEVER is equally as ridiculous as trying to be the lost gay Beach Boy, and with that philosophy i move boldly forward. (not that i hate drum machines, let it be known that Newest Romantics are equally as enthused about getting fucked up and dancing to 80's/Top 40 Hip Hop + RB/ 60's ska as we are about any song with a good beat)


LZ: Although one could say the independent music “scene” or what have you seems to be fragmented at the moment (even with the internets), lacking a sort of wider connectivity beyond local happenings, you have toured a bit, so who would you say are yer contemporaries?


B: I got family all over the place. My contemporaries are any one who ive got fucked up or talked shit with from 2001 on. I cry to the Shannon and the Clams record, I take the Frumpies "Eunuch Nights" 7 inch as my personal manifesto and i sexually assaulted NOBUNNY on tour one time. Mike Pack from the Hidden Spots introduced me to pot/powerpop/New Romanticism in general and Jonathan Richman is the rock n' roll poet i (on occasion) admire the most, and im in love with my older brother Hunx along with his Punx. We get a million and one comparisons to them for obvious reasons though in my reasoning i think they're more strict power pop whereas the Younger Lovers is a bit more rudimentary/experimental. Like you COULD say were a "power pop band" or you COULD say we're Diet Grunge.....

LZ: In a home video interview from 2000, you described punk rock as being a community of sorts filled with people similar to you. Do you still feel strongly about punk rock in this way?

B: I dunno. "Punk" is a LOADED fucking term and some people i just don't clique/agree with. I STAY pissed off at some manner of "punker" but try not to judge because i pull alot of bullshit myself. I still feel "punk" (WHATEVER that means to the viewer) should be full of similarly minded people. If your similarly minded group wants to show up to a show to dance and get laid then those are my kind of "punks" if your similarly minded people want to be racist skinheads/sexist jerks/squares in general/WHATEVER then im making it a point not to go to your parties.


LZ: How does one stay enthusiastic about a scene/community that seems to be stuck in tired ideas and clichés?

B: I say whatever. Everything is tired. The question you have to ask yourself is "am I tired?" If the answer is yes you need to take a nap if no crack your whip and proceed to fuck shit up.


LZ: The following is a three part question: What was the last record that made you (or at least want to):
B: Dance with wild abandon The Go-Go's How Much More/We Got the Beat Stiff Records 7inch single.

Fuck shit up. The Icky Girlfriends "Ziggy Buttsweat" -there 12 years old and the record was recorded at my old house.
Cry until you couldn’t see straight. The Gits Seafish Louisville.

(other records i like)
Record i lost my virginity too- The Creamers "Love Honer and Obey"
Record i consistently have sex too ESG
Record that makes me feel like an empowered slut Liz Phair "Exile in Guyville"
Record that i've owed 20 times XRay Spex
Record i should have NEVER given away Belle Epoch





LZ: What inspires you creatively?

B: Daydreaming.


LZ: Has living in a large city populated by many artist/musician types made you feel more competitive, if at all?

B: FUCK YEAH. I fight these bitches TOOTH AND NAIL for every inch of space i can get at. But i also love these bitches cause they keep me on my toes. Its essentially like have siblings.