by Kenneth Morton

Bringing Down Broadway has recently been on tour with Imperial and Kingston Falls, even making a trip out here to the Southland for a show. Fans of Norma Jean and Underoath will surely want to check out what this amazing band has to offer. It’s All Gone South is the name of the debut Wounded Record release, coming out this October. Here is a recent interview I conducted with bassist Seth Brasile.

Where is the band from and what is is the music scene like there?
We are from a little 'cow town' in Michigan called Lapeer. When we first started, there was no music scene at all! I remember in like 2002 or so, As I Lay Dying played at our little Venue called the Flint Local 432 in Flint Michigan... There was like 8 people there! But in the last couple years, our style of music has gotten a lot more popular, so shows do a whole lot better now. I also think that us being a touring band and stuff has inspired a lot of kids from our hometown to start their own bands and whatnot.

Where did you get the band name Bringing Down Broadway? Why do you want to bring down a place where they do a lot of plays and musicals?
Well the name "Bringing Down Broadway" was originally the name of one of our songs. That song became "1927" when we changed our name. The lyrics to "1927" basically describe how disgusting our modern day media is. It refers to how the media will exploit ANYTHING... They will skew and distort things however they see fit in order to make a profit. "1927" explains that when 'Broadway' came around, people started exploiting sex ( i.e. peep shows) and started exploiting current events (i.e. paper boys), and that phenomenon is what evolved into our current media.

The cover of the CD looks ominous. Who took the pic and where is it at?
It was actually taken by a German guy named Daniel Otte. We haven't met him, so I don't know where the picture was taken. Brian randomly found the picture on deviant art and we just asked the guy if we could use it. He said yes.

What made you guys decide to call the CD It's All Gone South? Is there any story or concept behind the title?
Well, I guess Brian is kind of a pessimist... Just about every song on the album is talking in a different way about how crappy things are hahaha... Every song talks about how bad and disgusting the world we live in really is. "It's All Gone South" is referring to that. We also liked the title because it doubles as a way to poke fun at how every band around now plays "southern metal."

How difficult was it to produce the CD on your own? Would you like to produce other bands in the future?
It was VERY difficult. I produced it and recorded most of it and I only had two weeks to do it because we had a tour scheduled for two weeks after we started recording. I had HUGE problems with gear that made it very hard to do anything... haha... it was a bad experience. I would LOVE to have the chance to go back in time and re-do the whole thing with no time restrictions. I ended up having to do about half the work while on the road; we recorded all my bass tracks and some vocals in basements and closets of random people's houses! I would love to produce and record other bands in the future, but I'm not going to be able to do that any time soon since I'm so busy working my job and doing stuff for BDB all the time.

Where do you get the ideas for some of the lyrics? Please cite a few songs on your CD and what they are about.
Like I said before, a lot of our lyrics are about how bad things are, here is part of 1927:

"Is this the world we live in? Is it the one we've created?
With our two hands... With our own flesh and blood?
Those who have come before us,
would be so ashamed to know.
We love our brothers,
but can't stop killing our own."

Unseen Tears is about abortion. It looks at an aborted child and wonders what the world would be like had the baby been born. What would have been different? Would the world be better or worse?

"If you had seen the marvels of my time,
if you had seen the world through my eyes,
if you had walked that mile in my shoes.
Would it have been any different if it was you that lived instead of me?"

How did you wind up signing to Wounded Records?
They pretty much just contacted us and I fell in love with a guy they had working for them named Yogi, haha... Yogi called us and I thought that Wounded's future plans sounded awesome, and we loved their views and outlook on things, and they sounded like really straightforward, honest, great people. So we signed!

Has your band ever played out here in the Los Angeles/OC area or plan to do so in the future?
Yes we've already played a few times out there. We're booking tours right now and I'm guessing that at least one of them will be out your way. I'm pretty sure by the time this is printed that the tours will be booked and posted... So if you're reading this right now, go to our myspace and check out our tours!

How did your tour with Imperial and Kingston Falls go? Any unusual happenings while out on the road?
It went really well for us, but I can't quite say the same about poor Imperial :( They had some serious van issues and ended up having to go home after just a few dates. There's always unusual happenings while we're on the road. We went to Huntington Beach and I caught a starfish and named him Patrick, and we caught a bunch of baby lobsters, and I fed a crab to a sea anemone. It was awesome. Oh, and our transmission went out, so we were stuck in Denver for like 5 days and missed a ton of awesome shows. None of those things are really unusual though... They're actually pretty usual for being on the road!

How influential is Christianity on your music?
We're all Christians and we were raised Christians, so we have a very Christian outlook on life. It ends up coming through in our music a lot, just because that's who we are. So I'd say it's pretty influential.

What was the experience like performing at Cornerstone?
It was awesome! This was our fifth year playing cornerstone, but it was the first time we got to play on a real stage. It was amazing! Anybody reading this: Go to next year's Cornerstone festival in Bushnell, Illinois. I know you guys have one in CA now, but I'm positive that it doesn't compare!

Are any members of Bringing Down Broadway involved with any other bands or projects?
Well our guitarist Chris has a death metal/black metal project called "The Doomsday Onslaught" and our drummer Pete and I have a grind core project called "The F.F. Annihilation." They're both kind of joke projects... but they're sweet nonetheless. Search for them on Google or something like that.

What are the future plans for Bringing Down Broadway?
Short term future: We pretty much plan to tour as much as we can and write another CD.
Long term future: World domination via metal

Any final words of wisdom?
Never fall asleep with Aaron from 'A Plea for Purging' around. He's been known to make a mess on sleeping folks.

Bringing Down Broadway links

Wounded Records: The record label for Bringing Down Broadway!
Bringing Down Broadway on Myspace: Their Official Myspace Page!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

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