The Diffs

The Diffs (2005)

Jesse Raub

The idea of four kids ranging in age from 14-17 playing old-school punk and hardcore doesn't sound too intriguing at first. I mean, we all know what a debacle Orange turned out to be. They're just kids, right? I mean, it has to be shit. Right? Right? But what if the father of the drummer and guitar player was Greg Kuehn from TSOL?

Whether or not that really has any influence on their success, it does influence their music. These four kids have churned out the best modern punk record I have heard in a long time. Drawing influences from the Germs and Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, the Diffs pull together bits and pieces from each and make a song out of them. Fast, snotty, loud, and original while paying tribute to their forefathers (and in the case of Max and Elvis, their father).

This band is already building themselves a reputation playing with punk legends the Weirdos, TSOL, the Adicts, Adolescents, Agent Orange, Circle Jerks, and even got invited by a reformed Germs to play some songs with them on stage. It sounds like they've already got themselves set.

The great thing about the Diffs is that they're just kids having a damn good time. There's no pressure from music execs cashing in on a prodigy novelty act. There's a feeling that this is genuinely what these kids want to do, and they just happened to luck out having a mentor like Greg Kuehn to help produce their album and get them an edge.

If you ask me, having a celebrity father probably helped them get a foot in the door, but I have a feeling they'd be just as big as they are now, even if it took a little extra time.