“Today we lost my friend and partner of 30 years. Thank you for all the years of love and support that you all have given us.”
The simple, heartfelt post on Antiseen frontman Jeff Clayton’s Facebook page pays tribute to guitarist and founding member Joe Young, who died today at age 54. At press time, cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Along with vocalist Clayton, Young jump-started the Charlotte-based, Southern punk-rock juggernaut that celebrated 30 years of hard rocking reckless abandon and everyman appeal in 2013.
A memorial service for Young will be held at Tremont Music Hall on May 18 at 3 p.m. Anyone wishing to offer condolences should send them to Jeff Young, 5516 Farmbrook Dr., Charlotte, NC 28210. Monetary contributions to the family can be done via the Antiseen Paypal accout at antiseenjc@yahoo.com – indicate what the payment is for.
Befitting a group that thrived on noise and distortion, Antiseen derived its name from a distortion of the phrase “anti-scene.” It was a shot across the bow to music industry hype and fleeting musical fads as the group merged punk influences The Ramones and The Stooges with Southern rock, the bright propulsion of commercial metal and a borderline-kitsch redneck stance that both embraced and gently kidded Southern blue-collar culture.
With a buzzing grind-core guitar attack, pitched between Motorhead’s motorcycle rumble and The Pistols’ filth and fury, Young was a chief architect of Antiseen’s sound, sharing co-songwriting credits with Clayton on the band’s 1988 debut LP, Honour Among Thieves and its 1989 follow-up, Noise For the Sake of Noise. (Songwriting on subsequent releases, numbering over 40 LPs and EPs, is credited to the band.)
Fellow noise-punk populists The Meatmen paid tribute to Young’s musical contributions on their Facebook page:
“To say (Young) created a signature sound 30 years ago would be an understatement. That buzz saw wall of grind trademark axe will forever be etched in the cranium of anyone who was a fan of Antiseen’s countless platters and live shows.”
Formed in 1983, Antiseen was also briefly the backing band for self-destructive punk performance artist GG Allin. With their sarcastic lyrics and confrontational anti-authoritarian stance, the band embarked on a punk career that gradually broadened to include southern blues, R&B boogie and a love of pro wrestling.
Though Antiseen has remained staunchly apolitical, Young ran for state house in 2000 and made a bid for a city council seat in 2001, both times as a Libertarian.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2014.
This hastily and clumsily-compiled article is an insult to anyone who knew or knew of Joe Young. Two key mistakes:
1) Antiseen derived their name from a distortion of the phrase “anti-scene” not “anti-seen”.
2) Antiseen never performed as “The Murder Junkies”. They performed as themselves as GG Allin’s backing band on the album entitled “Murder Junkies”.
Please correct these errors.
Corrections have been made. Thanks!
And the correct spelling is “ANTiSEEN”. As much as they’ve appeared in CL over the years, someone should realize this.
I am profoundly sad to share the terrible news that my friend Joe Young, guitarist and founding member of ANTiSEEN has passed away.
I am deeply grateful that I was blessed with the opportunity to know Joe, to work with him and release his music on my label, and to call him a friend.
I know that any attempt by me to eulogize this man will be woefully inadequate, but my love and respect for Joe demand that I try nonetheless.
So with tears in my eyes and a tremor in my voice here goes….
Joe was a true original, an iconoclast in every sense of the word.
With his lifelong friend Jeff Clayton, Joe Young founded ANTiSEEN in 1983 in Charlotte, NC. In the decades that followed, with ANTiSEEN Joe recorded a relentless barrage of releases, and toured North America, Europe and beyond playing countless gigs. And I do mean countless- Joe was on stage in Pittsburgh five days ago.
In ANTiSEEN Joe pioneered a brutal, ugly, vicious, buzz saw guitar tone that has been countlessly aped by generations of musicians, but NEVER MATCHED. There will only ever be one JOE YOUNG.
But despite these and the many other reasons that unquestionably qualified Joe Young as an uncompromising bad ass, there was much more to the man.
Joe was always a quintessential Southern Gentleman to a tee, even when he was pointing a loaded firearm at folks that he was having a disagreement with. The one exception this rule was when he was on stage with a guitar in his hand. On stage, Joe was downright menacing, and nothing short of dangerous……
And yes, It is often pointed out that Joe recorded and performed with the notorious GG Allin…
HOWEVER this damming piece of evidence did not prevent Joe for running for the office of Mayor of the City Lenoir, NC as a Libertarian candidate… and he only lost by the most narrow of margins. Joe’s comment at the time was “Now I know how Al Gore feels….”
Yes, there was much more to Joe than the surface image of a Punk Rock guitarist would have you believe. Joe was a diehard music fan to the bone, loving music across many genres….Just check the broad selection of artists that ANTiSEEN cites as influences and the songs that they have covered on their records. Joe had an intellectual depth that was reflected in his deep interest in history, politics and culture. I knew the man for 15 years, and yet with every conversation I was lucky enough to have with him, I always learned something new about his personality.
When you consider the things that I’ve written about Joe Young, it would be easy to mistake him for a fictional character from film or literature, but make no mistake, the man was 100% real.
I don’t know where Joe is right now, but I am sure that wherever he may be, he is hanging out with Johnny Ramone, Thee Cosmic Commander of Wrestling, Commander PP Urino and Bruce Roehrs. No doubt they are having a great time arguing about music and politics. I am tempted to go and murder Jerry Lee Lewis right now so he can join the party……
Joe Young was my friend, and my life is better from knowing him.
Joe Young is and will always be a legend.
Endless love and respect, Joe.
REST IN POWER
-Mark Raine- TKO Records – Huntington Beach, CA
I saw them in Lenoir in 1982.
I knew Joe he was a great person. I was a regular at Repo Depot as well. Rest In Peace
Joe was a true gentleman. An absolute riff machine! Joe played with a subtle ferociousness that was absolutely mesmerizing. He made ANTiSEEN keep punk alive in NC and around the world for that matter. I hope he and Dave Brockie are jamming out right now in heaven driving the angels PUNK ROCK/HELLBILLY mad!!! Lenoir won’t be the same without it’s one and ONLY rock star. Too bad 3/4 of the population of his own hometown didn’t realize they had a REAL guitar player right in their backyard all these years. Not just another fat headed bluegrass wanna-be, but a true down to earth guitar player. Long live ANTiSEEN!!!! RIP Joe Young!
In the wake of Dave Brockie’s death, it was with a sad heart that I received this news – two Southern punk legends have now passed within a short period of time. When I was sixteen I used to go to the Record Bar at Southpark, which incidentally is no longer there, to buy albums. Joe Young worked there. I thought he was a really cool “older” guy so I applied for work but they never hired me. A number of years later, I opened the 4808 Club where Antiseen played on several occasions, once opening for Soundgarden in 1989. Later that month, Jeff and Dee were married at the club. while Joe, Greg, and Tom played the wedding march. The story made the grocery store tabloids. Joe told me several days later at Repo Records on Central Avenue, “We were in The Sun, you know that tabloid at the Harris and Teeter. The headline was, ‘Rock-n-Roll Wedding’ right next to ‘Boy Raised By Billy Goat – Eats Tin Cans’.” Joe, you always did it your way, uncompromising and with genuine discontent. You will be missed.
God bless Joe Young. I’m gonna miss that buzzsaw sound in person until I see him again.