Youth Brigade (band)

Youth Brigade (band)

Youth Brigade is a punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1980 by brothers Mark, Adam, and Shawn Stern. The band subsequently founded BYO (Better Youth Organization), which served both as their record label and as a statement of their attitude toward the young people involved in the punk subculture, which was generally sympathetic and arguably less sensationalistic than the view usually presented in the media. Despite never achieving mainstream success, many later punk bands cite Youth Brigade as an influence, including The Offspring, Rancid, Pennywise, Guttermouth, The Nation of Ulysses, The Briefs and Face to Face.

Youth Brigade has released four original studio albums (counting the one released as The Brigade), of which the last was released in 1996. Almost each album was recorded with the original lineup of the Stern brothers (Mark, Adam and Shawn); bassist Bob Gnarly replaced Adam in 1985 during the recording of The Dividing Line, which was released as The Brigade. Adam returned in 1991 (when the band reunited) and contributed to the band's 1992 EP Come Again and their next two albums (Happy Hour and To Sell the Truth) before leaving once again in 2007. Youth Brigade has been reportedly writing new material for their first album in over a decade.