In the summer of ’98 Matze and Keks started the project Rejected Youth, which wasn’t supposed to last too long at that time. Both the music and the lyrics were either taken from or influenced by old U.S. Hardcore Bands like Youth Of Today, Minor Threat and Sick Of It All. However 2 Months later Matze decided to write own songs and as they turned out quite good, they changed their minds and wanted to make it a real band. Another 6 Months later, after playing as opening act at 2 shows, it was just about time to look for someone to take on the bass.
Andy, a local guitar-hero, was just the perfect man to complete the band Rejected Youth. After he joined the band, the rehearsals became a bit more serious, the songs more matured and the hardcoresound changed more and more to some kind of streetpunk. But one thing that didn’t change was that it still was all about having fun playing the music they love. Still Matze from the very beginning wanted to express something with his music. The lyrics were supposed to be critical of society and life in general... which hasn’t changed jet! Songs like "Fragile" and "Outworn" speak out loud and clear. Matze is convinced that a band has a huge responsibility as music can influence people very much. That’s why he always disliked the irresponsible way some bands behave on their ego-trips, only talking about how nice everything is and how cool they are. Musical influences were plenty: Matze loved Hardcore, UK Streetpunk & Oi (e.g. Cock Sparrer, Blitz, Insane, Exploited, etc...), Keks on the other hand was more into "Deutschpunk” (german Punkrock). Andy was something else again: Psychobilly and US-Punk had been his musical life for years. 1999 turned out really eventful. Although they were completely unknown they got the chance to support several band all across Germany. In late ’99 they recorded a few tracks at a professional studio. The Auditorium Tonstudio in Nürnberg / Germany was the place of their choice (and not for the last time...). So they sent the Demo-Tape called "Millennium" to several labels. Not even 3 days later they received a call from Berlin. Ralf Megelat, the owner of the Punk/Oi-Label "Streetmusic", offered them to release the 7". The band’s debut was called "Screwballs", containing 5 tracks (including "White Scum", which was the favorite tune of several fanzines). The weird author J. D. Salinger had impressed the band so much that they decided to put his picture on the cover. Moreover they later wrote a song called "Affected donkeys", which was influenced by Salinger’s greatest book ”The Catcher in the Rye".
During the following year they kept playing more shows and the reactions became better and better. This convinced Streetmusic to offer Rejected Youth the opportunity to go on tour in Canada with Oxymoron. To be ready for this they were asked to record a full-size record, and so they did. "Not for phonies" was ready for release in October 2000. But discrepancies between Rejected Youth and Streetmusic made the band leave the label (so the tour never took place). It took over four months to set things straight, a nerve-racking time for the band. By the end of January 2001 the band was free and within one week they were able to sign a contract with two labels, Halb-7-Records and Bandworm-Records, who agreed to release a 10" and a CD in May. The reactions were enthusiastic! Fanzines and mailorders loved the record and the comparison was (almost) always the same: Something like "It sounds like Oxymoron...". Do I have to tell you more?
In order to give people who don’t have a record-player the opportunity to listen to the 7”, they decided to put in on the CD along with the new tracks. Unlike the Onlinezine presumed it was not the band’s intention to make more money by making people buy the CD version! The band does not intend and never has intended to become rich with their music. Rejected Youth always was about pointing out serious grievances in our world today to make people think.
As they found it necessary to improve their on-stage-performance they asked an old friend of the band, Braune, to join in on the second guitar. He agreed and since early 2001 he now is the fourth force working on new material. In time with the first big tour through germany the first full lenght album hit the market in the beginning of August 2002. During the recordings it was already known that Andy will concentrate more on his family so the band was on a lookout for a fitting successor, who was found pretty fast in Kalle who already made some music with Keks and Matze in the mid 90ties. After a short work-in-time Rejected Youth played their germany tour and from that time at the latest Kalle became a wholesome member of the Rejected Youth.
Then the European Tour that was scheduled for May 2003 had to be cancelled on short notice because Kalle broke his right hand prior to the tour. Therefore Rejected Youth decided to take on the invitations from overseas and so they did a small tour through the northeast of the US in August 2003. Despite of some minor problems the tour was a big success for the band. While being on it the band recorded their show in New York City which leaded to the release of their 7" 'Awesome CBGBs' in december 2003.
As of yet there have been shows together with Adicts, Exploited, The Crack, Oxymoron, Bombshell Rocks, Mad Sin, Rawside, Sick On The Bus, Deadline, Scattergun, The Bones, Turbo AC´s, Vanilla Muffins, Snap Her, I Farm, Let It Burn, Amazombies, Molotov Cocktail, The Goons, Loikämie, Backslide and many, many more.
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