The following interview is with Brandon McGrath, longtime friend and former bandmate. He has been in Unending and toured and recorded in support of Unconquered's last record in Europe.
We have know each other for a long fucking time and we are close. We share kisses on the cheek and shred the gnar on our dirty bikes.
Fat kids rule......
1. Okay, who the fuck are you? How old are you? What do you do? Why are you so sexy? Will you marry me?
Yes of course i will marry you! haha.. Well my name is Brandon McGrath i am a born and raised Reno cat who has been straightedge for 10+ years. I am 24 years old. Currently i am a fulltime college student and have 2 jobs. I have been involved with music as far back as i can remember and my band and my Hip-hop project take up some of my time also. And i am sexy because i am myself and never in my life have i tried to "fit in" i just do what i enjoy.
2. You have a new band. Tell me about it. Who is in it?
Well my new band is called Not Til Daylight. I scream/yell/sing whatever you want to call it in this band. We have been together for about a year or so maybe longer but we all played music together before in a band called The bakers dozen letdown. Basically it is metal/hardcore fun stuff to shake your ass to. Some of the subject matter is light hearted and some of it is not. With songs that range in topic from the worlds addiction to prescription drugs and being "medicated" to relationship and "scene" related stuff like how kids live their lives on or through the internet. We play metal mostly with alot of hardcore influence and basically just enjoy rockin'. The line up is Me-vocals, Jason Jo-guitar1,
Alex Cardenas-guitar2, Troy Elizares-bass, and Chris Jimenez- drums, All of us have done music before in bands locally such as- Lionel Huts, Drugknuckle, Unending, Unconquered, and some other ones i cant really remember at this very moment.
3. What really bothers you these days? I mean, I am a hater, but does anything really get under your skin?
Heartless cowards that think they are hardcore/metal.
People who think they were part of something they had nothing to do with. Straightedge and the hardcore/underground "scene" having lost it's sense of brotherhood and comradery only to be replaced by kids with this psuedo-gang mentality that fuck up what took us years to build. Frat boys and their pink polo shirts. I could go on forever really.. haha
4. Along time ago, I saw you at a Clear show. How have you changed since then?
Wow well i am definetly a little older and alot wiser than back then. I still have fun at shows like i used to but it just isnt the same anymore. now i have a shit ton more responsibility in my life but i definetly feel young still. I have alot of good/great friends that i have made since then that without them who knows where i would be.
5. Straightedge has changed over the years. Does it mean the same to you as it did when you were first coming up?
It means the same to me for sure.. I feel that what it means to me is not even close to what it means for the other people in straightedge, especially the newer crowd of initiates.
6. Who stirs the pot of passion for you? Other than me?
Um well of course my girlfriend Valerie, and um i would have to say Kate Bekinsale is a close second haha.
7. It is 2006. What will you be doing in ten years? Will you be alive?
In 10 years i will finally be out of school. Still playing music. Still havin fun. Maybe even have a family and all that good stuff. As we all know the future is what we make it and i plan on making my present and future a splendid fuckin time. I imagine all of us sitting around as old men at a BBQ with each other .. Our kids playing together and all that mess and all of us still reminiscing about the "good ol days" still..
8. When was the last time you got so pissed you wanted to truly kill someone?
Anybody up for a game of rugby...? hahah yeah it has been a while for sure. I dont let things get to me easily at all anymore.
9. Not til daylight is not your typical hardcore band. I would say that you have an original sound, and definitely different lyrically. What inspires you when you rock lyrics?
Different things inspire me when i write. I take the emotion i am feeling when i write and reflect in that tone and inflection when i find a topic i want to write about. Usually it is about something that happened in the near to present past and i just flow it. I have never had writers block because i have this wierd problem where i think too much about everything haha. I am a wierdo. Hey has anyone seen Jacob lately?!?
10. Hey, weren't you in lame ass Unending? They sucked....
No fuckin way we rocked in that band!. Man i had alot of fun with you in that band. So many good times and many more to come my man!
11. What is your typical day like?
Sleep until i got class, then get up and go. I work on the weekends and a couple nights during the week but i basically make my schdule. Maybe have band practice. go to matty's house and make some beats/music maybe write a song or 2. Hang out with my girl if she is not too busy. Go to the gym or snowboarding or maybe even ride my dirty bike with friends. Basically everyday is what i make it. well that and class and work get in the way sometimes haha.
12. What is/was your defining day? Have you had it yet?
I think everything a man does in his life from what he does to how he does it defines who he is.. so i take it one day at a time and hope that the choices i make define me as i should be defined.
13. Can we kiss? Haven't we already? We did on Program mountain once. "Why can't I quit you?"
Because we love each other thats why! You are one of my Best friends and i will have your back whenever you need it til the day we die, or you get another girlfriend and disappear! ooooh! hahaha just kidden homie. Kenny loggins and dennis rodman called private snowball the other day to inform him that 3 men dont fit so well in a 2 man tent hahahahah.
14. Finally, what things should scene kids be doing to help it grow?
Support local music and bands, help promote when you can, join special interest groups that help raise awareness for underground movements, quit fighting amongst yourselves, pick someone up when they fall down,be there for someone other than yourself, and lastly if you have something to say to someone say it to them personally and hold people accountable for their actions.
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