The Return of Youth In Revolt

The Return of Youth In Revolt

Youth In Revolt toured all across the country on their own and as a part of the iconic Vans Warped Tour, making a good deal of fans along the way.  Known for their two standout recordings Love Is A Liar’s Game and The Broken, right when they were on the verge of making a true revolution with their music, all activities suddenly ceased.  And then towards the end of 2023, Youth In Revolt would drop two brand new singles – 925 and Onlyfanz – each accompanied by absolutely standout music videos.  2024 looks to be a breakout year for Youth In Revolt with a new full-length album in the works and a drive to go the distance like never before!  Highwire Daze recently interviewed vocalist Kenny Torres to find out more about the return of Youth In Revolt!  Read on…

Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in Youth In Revolt.
Hey, I’m Kenny Torres and I sing in the band Youth In Revolt.

First of all, at what point did you guys decide that you wanted to do Youth In Revolt again?
We always did, there was just so many obstacles that were getting in the way. So, it never died, it was just more so trying to figure out how to do everything since we weren’t back with the label and everything. So, yeah, it’s always been there, just how we could make it possible.

What was that very first rehearsal like back together again?
We didn’t actually rehearse. We all met up at the music video shoot and that was the first time we met our new guitar player, Emilio. And because me, Devon, and Alex have been here since day one and it was a really, really great experience for all of us to see each other again because Devon, Alex, and I haven’t been in a room together in, like, I don’t know, 8 or 9 years. It’s been a really long time. And so that was the first time all of us got to see each other. And then we met Emilio on top of it. So, it was amazing. It was a really, really great experience. We shot three videos in 5 days, 6 days.

Let’s talk about the new song that you have released, 925. What was the inspiration behind the lyrics to that song?
Kind of trying to figure out how to get the band to work. I was somebody who grew up and I went on my first tour before I finished high school, so all I ever did was music. And then there came a time where I had to go out and get a real job, and I didn’t like it very much. So, Devin and I put our frustrations together and came up with the lyrics for that one, and Emilio ripped that instrumental and did a really cool job. So, it was basically, not wanting to live that basic life of work till you die and being able to do and enjoy the things you love when you want.

Select any other new Youth In Revolt song, and what was the inspiration behind the lyrics?
Good question. Oh, man, there’s so many different kind of topics. Oh, man, this is really hard. I keep thinking of every single song.  There’s 14. It’s the biggest record we’ve ever done. I’d say probably the one that really means the most to me is a song called Give It Up, and it’s about my girlfriend. She was in a really, really abusive relationship prior to me – and seeing somebody go through that even after it’s over and the abuse is still happening. It was just shedding some light on that situation and kind of a call out to someone, the abuser. It’s a very special and sentimental song because of that. When you see somebody you love more than anything go through hell and even after it’s over, it’s still affecting that person, you just want to do everything you can to take it away, and obviously you can’t. And it’s just all that frustration of wanting all of that emotional damage to go away and it can’t. So, it’s just a very venti song about just watching someone you love get destroyed.

When do you think you may have new music or even these 14 songs out on an album?
You can probably expect another song in December with a video (Onlyfanz). And then the third video and song we’re going to drop with the album. We were shooting January, but we ran into some delays with stuff, so probably February, March. Who knows, it could be sooner. But that’s what I’m speculating, because I’m mixing and mastering the whole record and everything. We’re kind of in the halfway marker of everything.

Has this lineup had a chance to play live yet, or is that something that is in the works?
It’s definitely in the works. Our first, quote-unquote, “live show” was us playing to our photographers or videographers and girlfriends at the video shoot practice.

What were you doing the other time when you were not in Youth In Revolt? Did you have any other bands or projects going?
Oh, I’ve always been in Youth In Revolt. I was just always working behind the scenes, like trying to write music or produce other bands and stuff. I’ve always just done music. I never really did anything else. But no, I’ve never joined any other band or anything. I always felt that my loyalty and everything had to be with this band. It just means so much to me. I’ve been doing it since I’m like 16, 17, and I’m turning 28 in June, so it’s been a long time and it just doesn’t feel right to go out and jam with other people. I don’t know.

Warped Tour, what was that experience like playing Warped Tour, and do you miss it?
Of course, I miss it. It was insane.

We all do.
Yeah. I’ve been going to Warped Tour since I was like 12 and then I finally got to play it when I was 19, and it was insane. It was literally a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to play Warped Tour. Listen, we didn’t get on main stage or anything, but just the whole idea of, hey, we’re on Warped Tour, was crazy. It was a lot. We didn’t have a lot of crew. We just had merch and a photographer, so loading in and out and setting up and everything, that’s all us, and it’s really hot. We never really did crazy long tours like that. We would go out for a month at a time, and we were gone from the beginning of June all the way to, I think, the end of August or something. So it was crazy. It was easily the longest tour we’ve ever done. A lot of work, but worth it.

Kenny Torres of Youth In Revolt

When you look back on that first EP, Love Is a Liar’s Game, what do you think of it now in retrospect?
Man, I think it’s great. I I love it. And not just because it’s my band, I think it’s one of the best mixed records that I’ve ever heard. Again, it’s just the way Taylor Larson did everything. That record has been my biggest inspiration for production and mixing and everything. He just absolutely nailed it. And our sound, it wasn’t so ahead of its time. It was pretty much just another metalcore EP with that super high singer thing that everyone was trying to do at that time. And I like to imagine we did it really well and it was something that we all loved and got us our foot in the door for everything. I love it. I listen to it still. I play guitar along to it. It’s just such a fun EP, and it’s just got all that energy and emotion of us, our first time coming out on the scene really under a label.  And it was just all that excitement and energy just was all there and I love it. I think it’s great.

And then your debut full-length, same question for The Broken. What are your thoughts on that now in retrospect?
The writing with that was very different. We had some issues going on with the band while we were doing that, and it wasn’t nearly as fun or emotionally driven as doing the EP. It was a little exhausting just from all the things that were going on behind closed doors. I think it’s cool. When it first came out, I was super stoked, but we wrote that back in 2015 right before we went on Warped Tour and it didn’t come out till 2017. So all that excitement that was with it was like… And just the way things went, like we had to get another singer and then re-record stuff. It was just a really, really drawn-out process that kind of killed the vibe.

Musically, I think it was sick. It was definitely our transition to not as heavy music with screaming and stuff. We all collectively made the decision when we were starting this band, like, hey, in a year’s time, we want to go lighter. We want to go more pop rock. It wasn’t just one person’s decision. It was something that we all agreed on and all work toward. And The Broken was supposed to bridge that gap to, hey, yeah, we have metalcore roots and everything but here’s some rock and pop and stuff. We’re not just going to be this screaming metal band that everybody wants us to be.

Did Lorde ever hear or comment on your cover of Royals?
I have no idea. I hope so.

The only time I’ve interviewed members of Youth In Revolt was either with True or I think his name was Tanner. Do you still keep in touch with either of them?
I talked to Tanner not too long ago. I talked to True not too long ago either, but do we keep in contact often? No. Everybody’s got their lives and between some of us, we’re civil. That’s pretty much where it’s at. But yeah, I talked to Tanner. His new band, Heavy Thoughts, came out with a single and it was really cool. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

What’s up next in the new year for Youth In Revolt? What would you like to see happen?
I would love to see this album finally come out. I would love to go back and play shows and feel like the person that I felt when I was younger, as funny as that sounds. I want to see us just do great things and achieve all the things we wanted to do.

Do you have any messages for Youth In Revolt fans who are reading this now?
Yeah. Go check out the new track. Don’t expect us to be a heavy breakdown metalcore band anymore. I’m sorry. I know that hurts, but just want to get that out of the way now. Thank you guys so much for all the years of just jamming all of our songs and keeping the band alive and giving us motivation to continue doing what we love. We write music for us, but when you see that other people love it, it hits even harder. And to see we’ve still got like thousands and thousands of monthly listeners… Royals is still getting millions of plays every year. It’s insane. I’m so thankful for every single person who engages in any type of support for the band. It’s surreal. So, thank you, guys. I love you.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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