Interviewed by Jada Burns Prairie, edited by Oak Reona
Adolescents, and their formative years
The Lineup: Casey Royer, Frank Agnew Jr, John O’Donovan, Ryan Cherney, and Roger Ramjet
After their headlining gig at The Park in Rapid City with RED40, our journalist Jada Burns Prairie caught the present members of RADolescents for an interview.
JBP: What was the inspiration for the name of the band?
A: “Well there was another band called Adolescents from Petaluma, an all girl band, and at the time, yknow, late 70s early 80s, it’s really easy to be like ‘Oh hey, that’s a really great name, I’m… gonna take it. (Laughs) There’s no internet or anything, it was a different time.”, shared Casey Royer. Frank Agnew Jr. also gives us a glimpse into the bands origins. “Steve [Soto] had gotten kicked out of Agent Orange, cuz he was like, ‘I wanna write some songs’ and Mike Palm was like, ‘No, it’s my band’, and so Steve was just ‘Well fuck you and your band, I’m starting the Adolecents.”
JBP: Did you get a lot of support from your hometown in the early days?
A: “Yeah, Orange County loved it. [ ] The early gigs were wherever we could get them: parties, local Boy Scout houses, high schools, etc. Later we started doing The Fleetwood in Redondo Beach and LA art galleries.”, John O’Donovan shares.
RADolescents, and their future
JBP: How does it feel to be back on the road?
A: Casey Royer: “This is what we live for, really, touring, meeting new people, seeing new bands, just having fun.” As for post tour ventures? Look out for a mixed live/studio album from RADolescents, including material old and new.
JBP: Are there any musicians that have inspired you?
A: From John O’Donovan, “Sex Pistols, Ramones, DOA, Led Zeppelin.” “I was a huge DI fan growing up, so it’s cool to play in a band with Casey Royer.”, Frank Jr. chimed in. “Easy. Alice Cooper, Stooges, Iggy Pop, Beach Boys,”, Casey Royer opens up. “We’re all friends. We don’t look at people from different cities like, ‘Oh, this guys so and so,’ we just gotta be friends. It’s a wholesome, basic fundamental of love and rock and roll, and travelling.”
JBP: What’s your most memorable show?
A: Casey Royer – “All of them. You make friends, and you travel. And when you do that for 30, 40 years, you get to know good friends, and when you go see them, it’s really cool. It’s a really touching thing, to do what we’re doing. We’re lucky.”
JBP: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
A: “The fans are really just friends, in our genre. With punk rock, it’s not about hiding backstage, you go out there, and watch all the bands, and hang out at the merch table, and just make friends.”, says Frank Agnew Jr. “This scene is just so tight. We just stick together and help each other out. That’s the cool thing about punk rock, we’re just a smaller part of this big thing.”
Later, we discussed the details of a new movie focusing around the formative years of Frank Sr., Alfie, and Rikk, entitled, “Agnew, The Story of a California Family”. Casey Royer – “The Agnews have been a big part of every band I was playing with, ever since Social Distortion, all 3 of them, Alfie, Frank, and Rikk. It’s really cute to talk about us when we were just, kind of fuckups, y’know?”. Frank Agnew Jr. also opened up about the strong family bond re-enacted in the film. “My grandpa and my Abuelita are both in that movie as well, they were both very inspirational, and just supportive of the punk rock that my dad and my uncles did. Anytime anyone in the family recorded something and play it for her [my Abuelita], she was just like, “This is so good, oh!’’ The movie premiered at the Fox Fullerton Theatre, in an event that saw it open for the first time since 1955, but as for streaming, the details are still in the works. Make sure to look out for “Agnew, The Story of a California Family”, a Luna Max Film, directed by Gabriel Zavala, and produced by John O’Donovan and Kat Monroe.
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