By Ben Bonadies

Photo by Cam Cavagnaro

Garage-punks Today Junior are back with their first new music since 2023. “If You Want To” is a surf-inflected ripper that clocks in at a little over two minutes, and it comes with a music video directed by Alex Ilyadis. In the clip, the band invites you into their lavishly decorated practice space where they watch Beavis and Butthead, take bong hits, and perform the track in full. Think an Architectural Digest tour but with a guitar solo in the middle. 

We caught up with drummer and founding member Mike O’Toole to get the inside track on how the video came together. 

You filmed this video in your practice space. What’s something you like about practicing there and why was it important to capture that for your video?
Our practice space is like our own little safe haven. The walls are littered with our posters of our favorite bands and past Today Junior shows. We also keep a rotating collection of VHS and DVDs to watch while we are writing, practicing, and hanging out. That ranges from classic movies and TV shows we love, to 90s wrestling tapes. We wanted the video to showcase us as ourselves, so we chose our practice space because we think that it helps represents us and our vibe.

What was it like working with director Alex Ilyadis? 
Alex is a good friend of ours and we were excited to work together. He was really professional and filmed the whole video for us in under 3 hours. Alex came in with an idea and created a rad video that all of us are proud of.

Does the bong live in the practice space or does that travel with you?
It occasionally takes field trips.

Whose Beavis and Butthead DVD is that?
Ours! We bought it on tour when we were at a random Walmart in Ohio. We also bought a Rocko’s Modern Life Complete Series DVD.

What are some practice space etiquette rules you live by?
1. Pick a DVD or VHS to put on before any music starts
2. Take a sip or take a rip
3. No Big Lights Allowed, mood lighting only
4. No Stairway to Heaven