Todd Youth (1971-2018)

Todd Youth (1971-2018)

Todd Shofield was born on May 15th, 1971 in Rockaway, New Jersey and grew up in New York City. At the young age of 12 he started playing in several bands in New York City. He debuted with Agnostic Front and Warzone. He Joined Murphy’s Law in 1986, recording 3 full-length albums and performed with them until 1995. After leaving Murphy’s Law he evolved his style from hardcore to incorporating more 1970’s punk influences. During this time he pined the New York City glam punk band D Generation from 1996 to 1998. Youth and another former D Generation member formed a short lived band called Chrome Locust. He played with Danzig in 1999 and again in 2007. He’s also played with various other bands throughout his career. Since 2004, Youth had been playing in the Los Angeles band The Chelsea Smiles. On October 27th, 2018 Todd died at the age of 47.

Achievements: 

Murphy's Law 1989-1996

Back with a Bong was released in 1989 on Profile Records and subsequently re-released on Another Planet Records in 1994 with the previous self-titled album on the same disc. In 1989, Murphy's Law opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their Mother's Milk tour.

Murphy's Law ushered in the '90s with a reinvigorated blast of their debauchery-laced brand of comedic punk. Stylistically, Murphy's Law made quite a jump on The Best of Times. The band did dabble in skacore long before it exploded, but was always pretty much a flat-out hardcore unit in the '80s. The Best of Times finds Jimmy Gestapo and friends combining funk, reggae, ska, and hardcore into their own distinct brew, shedding any dogmatic restrictions applied to the standards of their genre in the '80s.

Production by Fishbone's John "Norwood" Fisher and Philip "Fish" Fisher lends authenticity and diversity to The Best of Times, as does the added instrumentation by several members of Fishbone. Covers of James Brown and Stevie Wonder provide some insight into Murphy's Law's sometimes controversial and misunderstood affiliation with the skinhead faction, finally putting to rest any allegations that racism or fascism have anything to do with the band's outlook. Although the group manages to shed this stereotype and expand musically on The Best of Times, the subject matter doesn't otherwise stray too far from earlier work. Songs about pot, beer, girls, and cars showcase the glorious immaturity and quest for fun that pretty much define Murphy's Law. When the band does get serious, which isn't very often, it's in the interest of unity and friendship.

The title track is basically a fan tribute, thanking a small but loyal group of followers for the support that's enabled Murphy's Law to continue the party. The ska-tinged but heavy "1%" revels in the outcast-minded punk rock ethos, giving nod to those who embrace the good and bad of surfing the fringe of culture and society. Classic Murphy's Law rage surfaces on "Harder Than Who," an attack on the mindless aggression and competition that sometimes rule the hardcore scene.

D Generation 1998-1999

The band toured Europe with Green Day in early 1998. D Generation then recorded their third album, Through the Darkness, this time with David Bowie and T.Rex producer Tony Visconti.

Son of Sam 2000-2008

In 1999, Youth was invited by Glenn Danzig to fill in the guitar position for the Samhain reunion tour, replacing Samhain's original guitarist, Pete "Damien" Marshall, who had opted out in order to tour with Iggy Pop. Playing guitar for the Samhain reunion inspired Youth to write an album worth of Samhain influenced music. Youth then contacted Steve Zing and London May (both ex-Samhain members), who were impressed with what Todd had written, and agreed to help him record an album. The project was dubbed "Son of Sam," a nod to the fact that the band was spawned out of the Samhain reunion. Davey Havok, whose band, AFI, had opened for the Samhain reunion tour, was invited to write lyrics and record vocals for the album, since it was well known that Havok was a Samhain fan.

In a short amount of time, they recorded an album of 10 tracks called Songs from the Earth and released it on Nitro Records in 2001 . "To me, doing this record was sort of a tribute to Samhain. Playing guitar for Samhain on the reunion tour was such an honor. I had forgotten how much I love and respect the band," Youth stated. The album featured guest guitar and keyboard from Glenn Danzig on the tracks Stray and Songs From The Earth.

Danzig 2001-2007

Danzig undertook the Blackest of the Black tour across the United States, replacing Circle of Snakes drummer Bevan Davies with Johnny Kelly (of Type O Negative).

Also played in: Chrome Locust, The Homewreckers, The Chelsea Smiles, Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick, Bloodclot, and Fireburn