"Born in 1998 out of the ashes of The Catalogs and Crawling Chaos, these crowned princes of Hell have been called everything from Horror Punk to Pop-Punk to Satano-Pop. Truth be told, The Quintessentials are the new faces of evil in Punk Rock!" - My Space.

First of all, what has the band been up to recently?

We've been working on material for our new album, which we'll be recording in mid-May. 18 tracks in all. We're also working on a possible tour.

How would you describe your music?

Punk Rock. There's a definite Screeching Weasel/Misfits/Ramones influence musically, but lyrically we're more influenced by occult and horror literature.

The media influencing young people is a big issue at the moment. How much of an influence do you think music has on today's youth? What kind of influence does it have?

There's no doubt in my mind that music influences kids. To what extent depends on the individual kid's need for identity. Musical genres today tend to spawn clicks, much like tribes, of fans which all conform to a certain look, that being of the band they idolize the most at the moment. It's all very cult-like, but it usually comes and goes without issue, as all trends do. It's almost like a short-lived religion in that kids will read or hear interviews with their favorite bands and parrot them until a new band comes along to worship.

Music really doesn't influence kids any more than television or comic books. A person's natural disposition will come through regardless of whether he's listening to Slayer or Chopin.

The problem isn't music influencing the youth--it's the adolescent need for role models. Rock stars become heroes that kids worship because these kids don't have any real-life role models they feel are worthy of admiration. That's the root of the problem. That's why a young teen will look up to Snoop Dogg and want to be in a gang and smoke pot all day.

The media is raising America's children, not their parents. Their parents are at work and don't have the time required to be good role models. So what kind of role models do the media deliver? That's not a hard question to answer.

Do you ever try and get messages across to your fans in your music, or try to persuade them to think a certain way?

Yes. I try to get kids to read books and think for themselves--to be self-aware, open-minded and informed so that they can judge things for themselves and make good decisions. I try to get them to see that they don't need to impress their peers; they need to stay true to themselves.

Have you ever experienced conflict as a result of dressing a certain way/listening to a certain music/being a part of a certain group? If so, what form did this conflict take?

Yes. Being raised in gang territory, I was constantly confronted with violent situations while growing up, being the only kid in the neighborhood back then (the mid-late 1980s) with long hair, black nails and a leather jacket. I've been hospitalized before from being beaten by a group of thugs for looking different and not being Christian. It taught me more about humanity than any school ever could. It taught me more about Good & Evil than any minister could. It was a lesson in the evils of mainstream religion and herd behavior.

Have you ever been to a show/gig (either one of your own or someone else’s) where violence has broken out? Why do you think this violence starts?

Lots of them.

The violence stems from lack of self-esteem. A kid who has no self-worth will try to compensate for that by either being an asshole and starting trouble or he'll always be on the defensive, particularly where alcohol is involved, thinking others are staring at him or that they think they're better than him. That's how it usually starts, with kids feeling they need to prove themselves.

People are represented / stereotyped in a certain way for the way they dress. Does this 'labelling' also happen to people for the kind of music they listen to? What are your opinions on this?

For the most part, they try to become what they admire, which isn't always a good thing, but can be in certain instances. Too many kids admire the drug dealers and losers the media constantly bombards them with.

Every subculture is its own meme; it's own form of conformity--even if it's disguised as nonconformity. It all boils down to the need for acceptance.

The sad thing is that most of the time these kids actually think they can think for themselves. They don't realize how they're just mimicking their heroes. That's also the essence of religion.

What kind of music are you into at the moment? Any favourite bands?

I like a lot of different forms of music. I generally go for more melodic stuff.

I listen to everything from exotica and early swing/jazz to punk rock and black metal. I love music from the 1950s and 60s--except for all the drug-fueled hippie crap. Boyd Rice, Dean Martin, Samhain, Emperor, Eartha Kitt, the Electric Hellfire Club--all favorites of mine.

What has the band got planned next?

The release of our third full-length album 'Legends from the Grave'. It should be out by mid-Summer at the latest.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to add or promote?

People can visit us at thequintessentials.com and hear our mp3s.

Thanks to all the bands and promoters who have taken part in our 'Punk and Politics' Feature!