Kill Your Idols

Formed on Long Island in late 1995, the hardcore punk band Kill Your Idols revolved around vocalist Andy West and guitarist Gary Bennett II, longtime friends who had shared an early devotion to both '80s NYHC and groups such as Black Flag, 7 Seconds, Negative Approach, the Descendents, and Poison Idea. Their first release, a 12" EP issued by the local indie None of the Above, gained traction within the regional scene and prompted nationwide touring. The group soon joined Blackout! Records and delivered the eight-song This Is Just the Beginning in early 1999, with bassist Paul Delaney and drummer Jim completing the lineup alongside West and Bennett; second guitarist Brian Meehan joined shortly afterward. Extensive road work alongside fellow hardcore acts including H20, Indecision, Kid Dynamite, Ensign, and the Casualties generated strong underground interest that carried into the June 2000 album No Gimmicks Needed. Despite continued attention in those circles, internal strain nearly ended the band in 2001, yet they stabilized in time to sign with SideOneDummy Records that May.

The follow-up Funeral for a Feeling surfaced the next month, and the members promoted it on tour with Good Riddance and Death by Stereo rather than joining the summer Warped Tour. Drummer Raeph Glicken, who had been part of the group since 1999 after earlier work with S.F.A., departed in fall 2002; Vinnie Value, known from Warzone, Grey Area, and No Redeeming Social Value, took over on drums. Across their run the band issued multiple full-lengths along with numerous EPs, live recordings, and split releases, among them collaborations with the Nerve Agents, Crime in Stereo, Full Speed Ahead, Good Riddance, and 7 Seconds. In 2004 Mike DeLorenzo, formerly of C.R. and Milhouse, permanently replaced bassist Delaney, who shifted focus to his other project None More Black. The next Kill Your Idols album, From Companionship to Competition, finally arrived in 2005 once again via SideOne. Late the following year the members declared they would disband after a final round of shows that concluded the next May with a hometown performance on Long Island.