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Interview with Nightmare of You's Singer/Guitarist Brandon Reilly
by Gina Asaro on 2004-07-22 |
Mammoth Press (Gina Asaro): Who are the members of Nightmare of You (NOY)?
Brandon: My name is Brandon. I sing and play guitar. Joe plays guitar. Phil plays bass. Sammy plays drums.
MP: How did NOY form?
Brandon: A frosty evening in January of 2004. We are all close friends of each other. I recorded some demos with Joe. Sammy and Phil liked what they heard and signed their life and rights away to me. We lived happily ever after.
MP: How would you describe your music?
Brandon: I would say it has dance elements. Some folky elements. Some rock elements. Britpop elements. It all adds up to be one big melting pot sandwich of goodness.
MP: You have been playing east coast shows for the past several months, any plan for a national tour yet? Or at least make it out here to the west coast?
Brandon: We don't want to do too much touring until we have something to tour on. For instance, a record would be fantastic! We are currently in the process of finding the right label that suits us well. Once that happens, we will be covering the United States in great detail.
MP: On a side note, I really like your merch. Did you design it?
Brandon: The main idea came from our friend "Crobin." He also designed our website. He is a brilliant artist, a self-proclaimed genius, and a jolly alcoholic.
MP: Your lyrics are all really personal. How does it feel opening it up to audiences in such a way?
Brandon: It feels very intoxicating. I've always wanted to do that. I have so many bottled up feelings that I think people can actually relate to. Everyone is tired of these bands in this "scene" that aren't saying anything relevant about our lives. It's so candy-coated and it bores me to a near suicide attempt.
MP: How did it feel taking your music in this direction? Was it scary to expose so much of yourself?
Brandon: At first it was a little frightening. I was even too shy to play it for my friends. It's a strange thing when you go from being this completely introverted person hiding behind a singer with your guitar to being the frontman/singer/songwriter of a band. It's a complete 180. But like all things, you get used to it and you become numb to any criticisms or judgments.
MP: When you say "candy-coated" when referring to the "scene" I am assuming you mean the typical: girl likes boy, boy likes girl, girl stomps on boys heart, boy writes 15 songs about it and puts out a CD on a major label which is then sold as Emo or Punk. Is that what you were referring to?
Brandon: In a sense, that is definitely what I'm referring to. All of these singers with their studded belts who have never been unfaithful or wrong or have never told a lie in their life. I'm sick of singers not telling the whole truth. I've never seen the singer of a band have trouble with girls. It's a complete farce. They want to appear lonely, deep, and dark. They want to come off heartbroken. It sells records. Throw on a black shirt and grow your hair over your eyes, you know? People need to start writing songs about how they completely have ruined a lover’s life by promising them a future and then throwing it all away. What I'm trying to say is I've been the bad guy just as much as I've been the good guy. But unlike other singers, I'm going to write about both. I'm going to display my weaknesses and shallowness and how I've been coarse towards others without fear that it makes me look like an awful person.
MP: Your songs are about true emotion, but they feel much more...real than what I was referring to above. What is it that you are doing different that makes your music stand apart?
Brandon: I'm being honest. If there is someone that I'm only physically attracted to, I'm going to write something sexual and shallow. I'm not going to go on a tangent about how she is the girl of my dreams and if I can't have her I'll slit my throat open and write her name in blood on the wall above my bed. I'll write something along the lines of "I want to have sexual intercourse with you and only sexual intercourse because you're not remotely interesting. In fact you're a bore and the only thing exciting about you is your physique." Singers are milking it and going through the motions too much. You don't need to fall for every girl in every song. They need to start writing about lust and animal-like sexual aggression. That's punk to me. It's real and it's in your face and it makes my Mom uncomfortable.
MP: What does the future hold for NOY?
Brandon: Meaningful music. That's the only thing I know at this moment.
Visit Nightmare of You online at www.nightmareofyou.com
Hear their music on their Pure Volume page.
[ VIEW ALL INTERVIEWS ]
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