Pictured: from L to R - Derek Luna, Cameron Luna, Dylan Nicholas, Panagiotis Pete Bell. Photo courtesy of Youth Antics.

From the dawn of rock n' roll it has been many a teenager’s dream to start a band with their friends. And many do, from the garage rock movement in the early 1960s to the grunge culture of the mid-80s and ‘90s to the self-produced, soundcloud era of the late 2010s. Most of these endeavors, however, are not successful. Bands and artists flame out, some from a lack of talent, others from a lack of dedication and many from the harsh reality of the entertainment industry: making music is hard. Making commercially viable music is even more difficult.

That’s why those who persevere, who continue to create and push themselves in the face of these tough truths should be celebrated. Such is the case with Youth Antics, a Parrish-based indie rock band who have been creating music on and off since 2017. Earlier this year, the four-man band released Silhouette their first single in two years and dropped their latest song, Too Close last week. “We started out originally as a cover band in 2017. We did the whole bar scene around here in Tampa and Sarasota, but it wasn’t until 2018 that we got involved in the music scene in Tampa and hooked up with a lot of bands around the area,” says guitar and synth player Dylan Nicholas. “Once we did that we really found our ground and audience and released a lot of singles.”

The band, whose sound can best be described as a mashup between modern indie rock and 80s synth-filled new wave, took a two year hiatus in 2022 to attend to life matters. All of the members have full-time jobs–music is their passion and hopefully, one day their career, but until then they will continue to create in their time off, exploring their creativity and pushing for a new and larger audience. “Everything we’ve done up to this point has been pretty much completely DIY. We take care of all our recording now, we have a studio at my house and my younger brother Cameron, our drummer, does all of the filming and editing for our music videos,” says lead singer and bassist Derek Luna. “Having the time off was really key for us. It allowed us to invest in ourselves and have fun making music again.”

https://www.facebook.com/youthantics/; https://open.spotify.com/artist/33vkDAawaiJbtxqy1kWRpN

Pictured: from L to R - Derek Luna, Cameron Luna, Dylan Nicholas, Panagiotis Pete Bell. Photo courtesy of Youth Antics.