And Came Back Brutal
Life is full of twists and turns, when the road narrows or throws extra bumps in the path you quickly discover the boundaries of your own ambition as well as the commitment of those around you. Skill alone is not enough to reach the top. Desire by itself will not open doors. As a band approaches the sweet spot where skill, desire and a combined resolve to weather whatever curves may come, then that band begins to climb past the low hanging fruit of convenience and begins the uphill climb of opening doors of opportunity. As the name presumably hints upon, the members of And Came Back Brutal have seen their share of personal and professional trials in the course that has brought them this far. With some serious attention from labels such as Artery, And Came Back Brutal is hard at work to prove they have the drive and talent to make a serious run at bringing some Bearcore into the heavy music scene.
You’ve Recently garnered the attention of labels such as Artery, how did you get hooked up with them and on their radar?
Scott Gallagher (Vocals): I know Artery from when my dad, who is also the manager for our band, represented my sister when she was taking pictures for a lot of local and touring bands for the label. She landed a big gig from Artery and Drop Dead Gorgeous, taking their website and CD photos for Worse Than A Fairy Tale project. We’ve stayed in contact ever since.
What has the process of showcasing for a label been like?
SG: It’s been frustrating at times cuz it’s such a hurry up and wait kind of deal. Playing at the right places with the right people watching took a long time to get us our showcase show. Our manager started working on it a year and a half before we got our first break at the showcase. At Artery’s invite, we recently opened up for the Unearth and Carnifex show and it looks like we will be doing more locally and in Nor Cal with them. During that waiting time, we had to be ready to play at a moment’s notice for any shows that would open up that would help us get our name out and hopefully draw more interest to the band. Bands have to network to build the fan base cuz at the end of the day, that’s what the label wants to see…..big turnouts at your show.
I know your dad has been one of your biggest fans, how huge is that for you to have the full backing of your family?
SG: Its been a big to have the support. Our whole family is involved in music one way or another and we all support each other. Most parents don’t see this genre of music as being anything productive or useful. I love the support and can remember telling my dad I was going to be in a band when I was 12 years old.
ACBB is your second venture birthing from a split of your previous band, did your first incarnation end on good terms?
SG: Yes and no. It was awkward but not terrible. There was not much cohesiveness there.
What did you learn from that experience and how have you kept momentum with forming a new band?
SG: I learned to deal with it as a business instead of personally period!
You’ve been tweaking your line-up, who is And Came Back Brutal and is there any significance to the name?
SG: The significance is we’ve all been a part of some bad bands and some failed experiences in life and just felt that we were ready to take back, put on a new skin and come back brutal.
You all have taken to the label of Bearcore, how did this get started?
SG: We have different types of genres within our own music, the primary genre involves death metal which generally ends on a downbeat, and death core which ends on an upbeat and the background of all of that is we have what we like to call BroMetal which usually has the same rhythmic patterns. When we see the crowd dancing to our music and following the natural rhythm moving their hands to the bobbing rhythms up and down it reminded us of a bear standing with arms up and bobbing it’s head. It was just spontaneously birthed at our 2nd or 3rd concert and stuck.
Where do you grab inspiration for your writing – what are some of your sources outside of the umbrella of hardcore?
SG: We don’t write under typical hardcore. We are inspired by hip-hop as much as we are by any other metal bands. I’m inspired by the emotion and energy of bands like The Acacia Strain, Coheed and Cambria, and The Hives. As far as lyrics, I write about the side of Christianity that we as Christians don’t like to talk about. We can be a very brutally judgmental people. I also feel like I have to write about stuff that kids think about but won’t talk about.
You recently got to go behind the scenes with Chris Penne of Coheed and Cambria, how did that come about and what was that like?
SG: My Dad met him through a project at his work. Once my dad meets someone, he tries to stay in contact with them and such was the case with Chris. He invited us to be a guest at a Coheed show in San Francisco last year. We were able to spend some time talking about the music process and what I could expect along the way. He has checked out our music and has given some feedback which is cool cuz he is on the road so much. Honestly, it was awesome to meet Chris. He’s been one of my idols since Jr High and I have to say he is one of the nicest guys you would ever get to meet.
Youve got incredible range in your vocals, going from straight guttural to serpentine without and strain, what have you found works best to prepare your voice for the strain of hardcore?
SG: Mongolian throat singing is a great exercise. It’s where this type of vocal originated. I’ve been practicing since I was twelve years old and taking it slow along the way. Too many singers blow out their voice before they even get started. I’ve tried to experiment with the different sounds and body positions that it takes to support the range. Also, I want my stage voice to sound like our recorded tracks so it stays consistent.
There are some big shows coming up and I believe you mentioned working on recording as well, what do you have in the works and what are you looking forward to in Summer of 2010?
SG: Yeah we are excited about our future. Artery has given us some direction to where they would like to see us in the spring, so we are working with them to book more shows opening up for the national bands that come through Sacramento as well as booking shows on our own. We are hoping to get picked up on a tour and who knows, maybe one of the bands reading this will dig our stuff and make us that offer.
And Came Back Brutal (Hardcore – Sacramento, CA) is: Scott – Vox; Marc – Guitar; Peter – 7 String Leads; Will – Bass; Eric – Drums. Check the ACBB Myspace for music, concert dates and news.
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Tags: Hardcore, Sacramento