The Nostalgic Punk-Rock Youth of Closed Curtains
- Lauren Juillerat
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Caydie Tampac
Photos by Deandre Paplia
Edited by Malory Shaw
People reminisce on the best days of the youthful 2000s music scene: shaggy-headed teens with side-swept bangs and ripped skinny jeans who blasted jam-packed, punk-rock anthems from their compact garage.
At The Holland Project on a crisp January night, the audience traveled back to that era as they watched Closed Curtains rocking out on stage. They were shredding the guitar with their backs to the floor and head-banging as they jumped to the music.
Closed Curtains is a punk-rock, emo-adjacent band in Reno consisting of Anthony Hampton (vocalist and guitarist), Deven Mincey (guitarist) and Ian Farrel (drummer).
Mincey and Hampton first met at Reno High School, where they were 16 and 14, and began playing together in 2022.
“I can’t imagine him not being there for me as a friend, or even as a music partner,” said Mincey
Farrel soon joined in September 2025. It was right then that Mincey and Hampton grew more serious about creating music beyond their initial duo.
As the teenagers approach the end of their adolescence, their music revolves around the coming of age and the days of youth slipping away.
Hampton said, “A lot of it is about nostalgia and growing up because I’m seventeen, and I’m going through it.”
Closed Curtains’ recurring theme of nostalgia is highlighted in their 2025 album, “Super Dark Times”, which details the lives of Hampton and Mincey. In the song “When I Was Younger”, Hampton lyricized how he fell in with the older crowd as a 15 year old who graduated early, further pulling him into the reality of adulthood and away from his youth.
The song “Foster Dr” revolves around Hampton drifting from his childhood friends as they grow and mature, eventually parting ways to begin their own lives.
“404 (page_not_found)” is a blend of Hampton’s innocent days of youth and facing the harsh reality of teenage adolescence.
“When I was writing it, I was really alone, and I was in a huge transitional period. I didn’t have many friends,” Hampton said
Mincey added, “I feel like that song, I can really channel my aggression when I’m playing and my emotions, like sometimes on stage, I cry while playing it.”
Mincey had written “Merchant Chips” about his childhood trauma. His lyrics described how he has dealt with addiction and how it affected his family, gradually improving habits to live an honest life.
For listeners of their music, Hampton understands and once related to those afraid to follow their dreams. He encourages them to ignore negativity from others, venture into the unknown, and especially focus on what truly matters.
“You gotta care about the people in your life. You gotta care about the things that you want to do,” said Hampton.
“As long as you’re yourself and don’t really care what anyone thinks, you will channel your true spirit,” Mincey added
Hampton, Mincey and Farrel consider their music as a purposeful, therapeutic way to express their emotions, trauma and identity through each shredded chord and crash of a cymbal. The audience can see how vividly the emotions and memories run through the members of Closed Curtains with each high-energy, heart-pounding performance.
Hampton said, “I feel like this whole band is just my family, you know, these are the people that push me to keep getting better.”
“These are my brothers. These are my best friends,” Farrel agreed.
With the same career goals in mind and a passion for creating music, they aim to nurture a sense of community among their audience.
Closed Curtains is available to listen to on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube and Bandcamp.
