Teen Idols

by Mike DaRoncoHailing from a city more well known as the birthplace of rock & roll, Nashville's Teen Idols -- not to be confused with the early-'80s D.C. hardcore band -- had some serious angst against country music. Fed up with their redneck surroundings and "hee-haw" environment, Keith (vocals), Phillip (guitar/vocals), Heather (bass), and Matt (drums) got together with their Ramones records and leather jackets to form the Teen Idols as their own way of flipping the bird at the Grand Ole Opera. Combining '50s rock & roll attitude and snotty pop-punk got them some attention from Honest Don's Records, which would later on release their debut in 1997. Following some heavy touring and a nomination for Best Nashville Independent Artist in 1998, their sophomore album, Pucker Up, was released in 1999, followed by a split EP with Japan's Spread. Full Leather Jacket followed a year later. In 2003, the Idols released both The Dysfunctional Shadowman EP and the full-length Nothing to Prove (through Asian Man and Fueled by Ramen, respectively).