Paint It Black

There are many sides to Dan Yemin. Aside from co-founding seminal New Jersey hardcore crew Lifetime and the Philly scene trifecta of Paint It Black, Kid Dynamite, and Armalite, he’s a fully qualified clinical psychologist.

“Being a musician is a good way to make sure you lose friends, family, and money, but having a doctorate in psychology has been really fruitful,” chuckles Yemin.

But don’t separate punk Dan from healer Dan. “If you drew a Venn diagram, there’d be a fair amount of overlap,” he adds. “The release is in the live setting. The craft of making the music is not that different from my work as a therapist.”

He calls Paint It Black “my baby,” a collaborative effort driven by shared ethics and political beliefs but focused through his lyrics. As for Kid Dynamite, while there are no plans for new music, the recent reunion fulfills other urges.

“If you’d asked me three years ago would Kid Dynamite play together again, I would say, ‘No way, never,'” he says. “And then, of course, I eat my words.”
(Kid Dynamite, Sun., 5:20pm, Black stage)

This article appears in November 4 • 2011.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.