Kill Your Idols - History

History

Kill Your Idols took its name from a Situated Chaos song of the same name. Situated Chaos was a Long Island hardcore band that existed in the late 1990s. Founding members Andy West and Gary Bennett chose the name because the lyrics of the song reflected how they felt about hardcore. Also, Andy and Gary were introduced to one another and asked about forming an old-school hardcore band by a mutual friend named Vinnie Segerra, who was the frontman of Situated Chaos. Segerra also ran a DIY ("Do it yourself") label called Mint-Tone Records, which released a 7" EP by Gary's first band Big Sniff, which was also melodic hardcore. After the band broke up, Vinnie put him in touch with Andy.

Vinnie Segerra played a big role in the beginning of KYI. Once they released their first demo, which was recorded at their first live performance at CBGB, Vinnie got them their first record deal with Bitter Sweet Records. After the label was shut down, KYI was forced to bring the masters of their first, self-financed studio recording to another common acquaintance in the hardcore scene. Brett Clarin of Long Island's None Of The Above Records came to the band's rescue, and the "12 inch EP" was released. The band then booked their first-ever summer tour down the east coast of the United States. It wasn't long after when the band was signed to Bill Wilson's Blackout! label.

For the next six or seven years, the band toured relentlessly across the United States, parts of Canada, Europe, and even a short tour in Japan and Korea. The band toured with many other important hardcore/punk bands of the day including H₂O, Good Riddance, The Casualties, 7 Seconds, Agnostic Front, Death by Stereo, The Nerve Agents, Kid Dynamite, and many others. Along the way, the band was picked up by Joe Sib and Bill Armstrong's SideOneDummy Records, a major independent based in California. This afforded the band more widespread distribution, college radio play, and offers to tour with much bigger bands and play much larger venues. By this time, the band was almost completely burned out from the road, and took to only playing locally, mostly at CBGB, and recording from time to time. Interest in other musical projects and family life soon contributed to the breakup of the group. They played their final shows in May 2007 in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York.

Their last show ever was held at a VFW hall in eastern Long Island. Right before the band went on, the show was raided by local police and fire officials and was shut down due to over-occupancy. Local hardcore fans and friends of the band quickly reorganized the event later the same night in the parking lot of a band rehearsal space in an industrial area. Complete with a P.A. system and full backline, the band ripped through as many of their songs as they could before the police arrived again.

Throughout their career, KYI earned a small but loyal grassroots following of underground punk and hardcore fans. Most of KYI's songs dealt with depression, anxiety, the pain of loss, day-to-day problems, and the social politics of the punk scene.

The band prided themselves on their DIY ethic, and largely worked with similarly oriented promoters and record labels. The band never took on a manager, and only took on a booking agent for a short time when their touring schedule was at its peak.