Band: Prager Youth
From: Eugene, Oregon
Their formation story:
(Sam, guitar/vocals): "Dane (bass/vocals) and I were in a power violence band here in Eugene, Oregon before the pandemic that broke up after playing one show. We reconnected after a couple years as I was desperate to play music again. We started writing songs in Dane’s living room and the pieces started to fall into place.
"After struggling to find a drummer, I posted in our local subreddit looking for someone out of desperation. We somehow found Bill after his wife’s friend noticed the post. The three of us clicked immediately. After Dane came up with our name, we were off to the races."
Their sound in their own words:
"Musically, I wanted to stick to some classic '90s West Coast power violence worship. My favorite bands from that era are Crossed Out, Infest, No Comment, and Spazz.
"Dane brings more of a grind and technical influence. Bill brings a classic hardcore influence with his drumming. I’d say if you like the aforementioned bands you might like us."
Latest release info:
"Agitprop Powerviolence was recorded by Bill and mixed and mastered by Joe Anderson from Portland. Some of the songs were written for our demo that didn’t make the cut. Dane and I both write lyrics and my lyrics for the older songs were very much inspired by what I saw during the George Floyd Uprising.
"'“Shot Face' is about the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. 'Copaganda' is about how our politicians and media manipulate public opinion about police actions. Lyrically, we stick to politics or our personal struggles with depression and addiction.
"'Agitprop' is short for agitation and propaganda and what I believe a political punk band should strive for. We are Anarcho-communists that believe in equality for all. We try to center those ideas without preaching too much, though that can be a fine line. Finding Marx, Lenin, Mao, and Kropotkin has been very helpful to me personally trying to make sense of the world. Propaganda isn’t always a dirty word."
Future plans:
"We are writing music that I think is a step further than anything we have done. We are working on hitting the road and getting out of Oregon. I’m hoping we can do a full West Coast tour in 2025 and maybe hit the Midwest."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Shoutout to our friends in Rot//Woven and /root_Dir and their non-profit organization, RAD. Check out Ausekara, Ablation Cascade, Caged Ape, Impermanence, Gaspack, Simian, Bleach, Weapon World, Tolls and Breakneck Flow.
"I could keep going, the Northwest has a great scene, don’t sleep on us out here in the woods."
Prager Youth on social media: Instagram
Tagged: prager youth
