Brotality brought some nasty riffs to The Foundry in Lakewood, Ohio! I had the pleasure of interviewing the band before they took to the stage. Below are some of my favorite shots from their set, as well as the entire interview! Go grab some snacks and get ready for a good read!
Sky: I listened to you guys a little bit before coming out here. How would you describe yourself for new listeners like my self?
Bryce: A lot of, like, riff worship. Anything with like a nasty riff is kind of like in our wheel house. We love putting songs together that have those like super heavy punchy parts. I mean we've grown up listening to a lot of thrash metal, but then recently getting into a lot of, like, hardcore as well. So combining like the rifiness of thrash with the like groove and some of the, like, simplicity of hardcore at times, I think that's kind of a big staple and what we're trying.
Sky: Alright, now I do have a question for the brothers of the group. What encouraged you guys to start a band. Were you like, well we’re brothers so why not?
Bryce: So, when we were both seven years old, for our seventh birthdays our parents got us our first instruments, and it was both guitars at that point. I started playing guitar. And then when he turned seven, he got a guitar.
He started playing and I just wanted to be in a band so badly. Like there would be points where, like, I just be, like, crying in my bed at night. Like little seven year olds, like, I wanna be in a band.
Like, why? Why don't I have anybody to play with? And Reece was like, yeah I think being in a band would be cool. So then he switched over to bass, and we started playing together.
And then from there, we've done a couple different projects here, and there. Like, cover songs at bars for, like, 3 hours. When we were still, like, twelve years old. So we've been playing together for a while in that regard, we've kind of been playing ever since we picked up the instruments.
Sky: Nice, so were you (John) from school or a childhood friend?
John: We met through a mutual friend in college. A dude that I would play with, like, since middle school, I was in bands with for a while, he went to the same college as Bryce, so when they were in need of a drummer, he put me in contact with them.
Sky: Oh nice, so when did you guys start?
Bryce: We technically started in 2018. That’s when we recently decided we should kick doing these, 3 hour cover sets in bars and, like, start writing our own music.
Sky: Have you been playing smaller venues recently? Or have you played any big ones yet?
Bryce: It's been a lot of touring around, playing places like The Foundry, like this. But then we've had the opportunity, like last year, we co-headlined a festival down in Mexico called. Solo Fest, which was so sick, it was like, probably, if not the highlight, like, a biggest highlight of our career so far. It was an absolute blast. We've been able to, like, hit some festival dates that were a little bigger, but a lot of it is just kind of like playing like these tighter, more intimate clubs for right now, which is great, because you can just like, pack people in a tight room and go crazy.
Sky: I hear a lot from fans that intimate shows are their favorite to attend. As a band, would you say performing intimate shows is your favorite?
Reece: I feel like the festivals we've played have probably been like some of the most fun shows like on top of my mind, um, just cause, like, especially like festival shows, like, there is a built in crowd, obviously, because you're not the only band playing.
And so when it's, like, out of area and kind of, like, hours and hours from home, it's really cool to just be in a place where a bunch of people still now you and are excited to see you. So festivals are always really cool, but definitely playing places like this, like The Foundry, are awesome too, where, like, they're not, like, too big, but they're also big enough. Where, like, some of the bands that we have looked up to since we were kids, also still play here. So it's just awesome to be able to get anyone out to these type of shows.
Sky: So either of you can answer this, is there a dream venue that you guys would want to play?
Bryce: I feel like the the pipe dream, like long term, and if this really goes well. Red rocks, would Be incredibly sick. That's always been like, a down the road one day, hopefully keep praying for it.
Sky: So here’s one question I’ve always had for any band. How do you guys pick the songs you want to play each night? Is there like science behind it?
John: Kind of, just before you warm up, like, before we go on stage. We just kind of figure out just before we go on stage to kind of feel out the room and, like, see what makes sense.
Reece: So usually before, I mean, before any show, but especially before tour, we have a few practices in a row where we just like, okay, what are the like kind of grab bag of songs that we might want to play throughout tour…And then we just basically figure it out like an hour before we go on. We just like write the set list up, whatever we're feeling for that night.
Bryce: …we still make sure that each show we're playing, like, I would say, at least one or two, if people have come out to see us specifically, they'll probably know, like, older songs that we've been playing every show. So you wanna make sure, like, we don't just do all new songs…
Sky: Alright, well I think that’s all the questions I have. Is there anything you guys would like to add before we end this?
Bryce: If you're listening, you can check us out anywhere, just under the name Brotality or Brotality Band. We have that new ep It Feeds that just dropped about a month ago, that you can stream anywhere. And if you wanna come out to a show, follow us on our socials.
We post about every single show that we're playing, and we play a ton of stuff, whether we're on tour or not, just like regional weekenders. So definitely come out to a show. Throw down, lose your hearing for a night. It'll be a blast.
You heard the man, go check out Brotality like right now! They put on a crazy show that you don’t want to miss! Listen to em on Spotify, and find them on Facebook and Instagram!
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