The Americans Teen Mortgage are coming for a concert full of adrenaline and pure punk at AUX Club on May 29th. Kyriakos Athanasiadis, a big fan of the Washington DC scene, contacted James, the band’s guitarist and vocalist, and talked about what’s going on around the up-and-coming punk rock band.
Hello from Afternoiz.gr, What is the news from Teen Mortgage?
J: Hello. We are on a short break after doing a 6 week US tour. We can’t wait to get to Europe to perform for you all.
You are a new band in general, since you recently released your debut album. Can you give me a short bio about Teen Mortgage?
J: I had been kicking around the Liverpool UK scene playing with multiple different line ups and different band names. Eventually after getting frustrated with guitarists and bassists quitting I decided to make the project a 2 piece – just drums and guitar. Through having dual citizenship in the US I decided to relocate to the Washington DC area and met drummer Ed through an online ad. The band released some EPs and singles via New York’s King Pizza Records, eventually culminating in a self-titled compilation vinyl record and cassette tape. Teen Mortgage joined Roadrunner records last year and released our first full length album “Devil Ultrasonic Dream” in April 2025.
The name “Teen Mortgage”
was inspired by Darren Cullen’s art installation “Pocket Money Loans”
What is the story behind the choice of the bands name?
J: The name “Teen Mortgage” was inspired by Darren Cullen’s art installation “Pocket Money Loans” (σ.σ. Some info you can find here here). “Pocket Money Loans” satirizes the predatory practices of loan sharks on young people, especially in the United States. By the time you turn 21 years old you’re paying a loan to go to college, a loan for a car, and a loan for a phone. I just thought the next step up from a pocket money loan is a “teen mortgage”. “Mortgage” in latin translates to “death pledge” which is exactly what a mortgage on a house is – you’re pledging to pay off your debt until you die.
How do you feel after the release of your self-titled album that was released last January? As I see was your debut album.
J: It feels like we planted the seeds and now we need to maintain them and make sure they grow the fruits of our labor.
The kind of music you represent I could describe as Garage rock meets Punk. Do you agree with this description?
J: We would just call it garage punk but it’s all the same thing to us. We are equally influenced by stoner metal, desert rock, sludge, surf rock, hardcore punk, new wave, and drum and bass.
What are your favorite songs from the album and why?
J: “Personal Hell” is one of my favorites because it is very different to our previous material and what is expected of us as a punk band. It’s slower, more introspective, and the vocal delays were fun to bring to life in the studio. “Rip” has my favorite riff on the album. I wanted to make a song that sounds like Dick Dale playing with a New York hardcore band. “Party” is our mission statement as a band – “I don’t wanna be part of the war machine, got me forced to work but I’m born to party” – that lyric just says it all in my opinion.
Your cover arts are clearly punk in character. Can you tell me a few words about your excellent artwork?
J: Our artist, Kevin Sottek is a tattoo artist in Washington DC. He has a very unique style that is influenced by American tattoo culture, horror movies and comic books. The first time we saw his stuff it just spoke to us. It’s as simple as that honestly.
The Washington DC alternative rock and punk scene has a long history. What are your favorite bands from this state and why?
J: All of the Dischord Records bands. Gray Matter is the first Dischord Records band I listened to. They had two songs in Flip Skateboards 2002 skate video “Sorry”. One of the songs was a cover of The Beatles “I am the Walrus” and it’s possibly better than the original. The combination of the songs and the skating was very inspiring to me at 11 years old. It took me a couple of years of learning the basics and history of rock music to understand Bad Brains. When I did, it influenced me to be the best musician I can possibly be and that energy is the single most important part of music.
Suppose the end of the world is coming and you had to keep one of the following bands: the Offspring, Green Day and The Ramones. Which one would you keep and
why?
J: The Ramones. There wouldn’t be a punk rock scene to this day without the Ramones. They unfortunately never really made a great living off their music even though they are one of the most influential bands of all time. Offspring and Green Day wouldn’t be playing stadiums if The Ramones had not laid the groundwork for them. Teen Mortgage certainly would not be here.
The American and British scene have a huge history in the Punk and Garage Rock scene. Where would you identify differences between them?
J: Punk is a state of mind, and garage rock is really a template to do anything you want with. I think everyone just puts their cultural and sociopolitical spin on the message that goes with the music. The US and the UK influence each other back and forth. New York and London are like 2 sides of the same coin.
Which are Teen Mortgages next plans, maybe a new album?
J: We just released our debut album “Devil Ultrasonic Dream” a month ago. We’re going to be touring that album for a bit.
On May 29th you are playing with Frenzee in Athens. What can the Greek audience expect from you that night?
J: Adrenaline. Sonic assault. A good time.
And do not forget:
TEEN MORTGAGE (USA)
FRENZEE (GR)
Special guests: THE VULCAN ITCH
Πέμπτη 29 Μαΐου 2025
AUX CLUB
Αγίου Όρους 15, Βοτανικός
More info in greeks, here.
