THE LONG VERSION

The Outcasted Teens were founded around 1995 in Ilpendam. The band name is a quote from an unused lyric from Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit: “Who will be king and queen / of the outcasted teens”.

In the summer of 1997, the legendary ‘Believe in Steve’ demo was recorded using borrowed equipment on a four-track recorder in the rehearsal space of Stichting Volksvermaak Ilpendam. Semi-legally, because the people who run the rehearsal space were not amused that those troublemaking kids had unscrewed the access doors from their hinges to get into the room.

This demo opened the door to a whole string of gigs across the Netherlands. Mainly because venue bookers thought they were dealing with actual teenagers, due to the jokingly intended fake ages in the bio. Nope. sorry.

Nevertheless, the chaotic performances were well received and the band was regularly invited back. With the proceeds from these shows and strong merch sales, they decided to book a real studio and record their self-titled debut CD. Recording and mixing 13 tracks in two days turned out to be quite a challenge, full of blood, sweat, and tears, but the band now had a Real CD! Boxes full! Stacks! If you look carefully, you might still find a copy in the second-hand bins.

The shows kept coming steadily, with highlights including gigs at the Melkweg, in Germany, and a short tour through Scotland.

In 2002, the band recorded a live session at the Dorpshuis Ilpendam, during which the recording equipment couldn’t handle the intensity of the rocking and literally began to smolder. ‘The Flaming Hardware Sessions,’ featuring live favorites like ‘Hinkstapcore’ and ‘Medication,’ was the final release before the band went on an indefinite hiatus.

After a sabbatical period of about ten years, the realization came that the world wasn’t quite done with The Outcasted Teens, and the band picked things back up. Since 2024, the band has been active again, performing and writing new material. More political and critical than ever, taking aim at AI, big tech, autocrats, and other idiots. The EPs Monsters of Rock (2025) and Snacks & Violence (2026) were recorded in their regular rehearsal space, Slachthuis (Haarlem), and released independently.