Damien Youth

Richie Unterberger’s book, Unknown Legend of Rock and Roll, got me hooked on the lesser known psychedelic bands like Aisha Kandisha’s Jarring Effects, Love, United States Of America, and The Bluethings. Last year, I came across a page on Unterberger’s website and saw Damien Youth’s Sunfield and Surprise Symphony albums listed along side Aisha Kandisha’s Jarring Effects debut record in an All Time Favorite Top Ten Cult Rock Albums of the 1990s list. I searched for online reviews of Damien Youth albums and found writers comparing him to Syd Barrett, Donovan, and other obscure UK psychedelic bands. I’d been obsessed with British psychedelic groups like Kaleidoscope, Tintern Abbey, and The Move since 2000 and felt excited that a contemporary artist was loving the same sounds that I was. I tracked down some songs from Sunfield through a friend and played Susie Cinnamon at least fifty times in one week on my car and home stereos. It’s one of the catchiest psychedelic pop songs that I’ve ever heard, and I’ve tried my hardest to search for them all. I recently emailed Damien Youth, and he cheerfully agreed to participate in an interview for an upcoming issue of KDViationS. When I mentioned this to Bryan Cederberg (moderator of New Bruton Town - an online Wyrdfolk discussion group), I realized that he had far more of a history absorbing Damien Youth’s massive catalog. I stepped aside and encouraged Bryan to conduct this interview that I hope will help bring Damien Youth’s music to more listeners of KDVS. In this interview, Damien Youth explains the evolution of his cult fame and obscurity, his relationship with the artists who have influenced him, the strange characters from his songs, the genesis of his creative process, a potential record deal with indie psych label Camera Obscura, and more.