Interview by James Walkley

1).  When did Eddie Brock first begin as a band?  Were any of you in bands before this one?  Please share a little bit about those early days.

There were a couple early bands before we officially became Eddie Brock.  I wanted to start a band again because it was years since my high school punk band broke up.  So I asked my friends Brian and Tom if they were interested — and that is how the first phase of E.B. started.  It was called Discourse and that started in … I wanna say … 2008, maybe.  At the time, we asked a kid we all knew, Nick, to play bass.  He only played for a little bit.  He runs Photobooth Records now.  But that band was more of a Ceremony rip-off band.  Then Nick left and we changed our name to Choptank and got a little bit heavier and a bit faster.  We also picked up our friend Kelin to play bass.  That lasted a few months and then Kelin left.  We had been practicing without Kelin for a while so we decided to just not have a bassist.  That was when we decided to “three-man” it.  Being the nerds that we are, we used one of our favorite comic book villains/characters to name our band.

2).  Eddie Brock are a three-piece, with a vocalist, guitarist, and drummer, but no bassist.  Your recordings have a lot of low end, however, which seem to make a bassist superfluous.  Do you ever miss having a bass player in a live setting, where the sound can be hit-or-miss and extra low end helps?  In the future, do you think you might add that position in the band?

See the previous answer for why we don’t have a bassist.  When we record and play live, our guitarist Brian plays through a guitar amp and a bass amp.  So the low end is achieved through his bass amp set-up.  He also tunes down a bit.  We have never really discussed adding a bass player, but I don’t think we want to, anyway.  Brian likes his set-up and he is always buying more gear to make us even louder.

3).  Magrudergrind are a well-known fast hardcore/powerviolence band with three members, but sonically, Eddie Brock are more reminiscent of Weekend Nachos, particularly in your vocals.  I’m certain you’ve played with Weekend Nachos (including at one of the A389 fests, if memory serves); please describe what that was like.  Weekend Nachos are an insanely energetic and devastating live band, and Eddie Brock are ripping on vinyl, so I’d imagine it would have been nuts!  Also, what was the A389 showcase earlier this year like in general?

Weekend Nachos rule and so does Magrudergrind.  We rip them off too much.  But the A389 set was fantastic.  Both bands killed it — but they always do, so I expected nothing less.  It was a complete honor to open that night.  So many good bands.  But let’s talk about the next A389 bash.  It is gonna be insane!

4).  The Charm City Art Space is a pretty legendary venue in punk and hardcore circles, and it’s located in Eddie Brock’s home base of Baltimore, MD.  Evidently, that space went through some renovations and now has a greater capacity.  Is Charm City one of your favorite places to play?  Please describe it to readers who may be unfamiliar with it and let us know why it rules!

The C.C.A.S. is a collective-run venue similar to Mr. Roboto in Pittsburgh and 924 Gilman in California.  We play there every so often.  A couple years ago it literally moved next door to an empty garage.  The old space was a basement and could host all types of bands, but when larger, more well-known acts came through, it sometimes became too crowded.  But the new space is pretty cool.  Punch just recently came through and packed that place.  It was awesome.

5).  To Live A Lie has a high-quality digital version of your first 7-inch for free download on their “net label” Bandcamp.  I’d encourage everyone reading this to check that out, but I’d also add that the physical EP is worth purchasing; it comes with a cool-looking obi strip that has the band name written on it in silver metallic ink, as well as an interesting lyrics insert.  Unfortunately, I did read a dismissive review of the 7-inch, though, where the reviewer seemed content to label the band as “powerviolence” and conclude the review, almost as if that was a slur.  The argument could be made that Eddie Brock didn’t fully come into their own until the Lapse split.  What’s your opinion?  Are you guys still happy with that “demo” 7-inch, or do you feel that the later recordings better represent the band?

Let it be known that we do take this band very seriously.  How we approach writing songs and the thought behind all of our actions is dealt with professionally.  However, we are a joke — sort of.  I love this band and one of my favorite aspects behind it is our sense of humor.  Like I said earlier, we are total nerds and we embrace that.  The first 7-inch was just short, dumb songs that I wrote.  That was us getting a feel for things.  We were totally psyched that people liked it.  Nick put it out on his label, Photobooth Records.  But I think that review you are talking about is from MRR.  Even though it was bashing us, the dude used some great words to describe us.  I believe the term “dog-shit” was thrown in there a bit, as well as some other great adjectives.  The split we did with Lapse contains two songs that are much slower than what we usually play.  But we liked those songs — and as a pair, those songs slay.  Our latest record, the “Brand New Day” EP, just came out on A389 Recordings — and it contains our best songs without a doubt.  It is fast, with a few slow riffs in there.  The perfect blend, I think.

6).  On the subject of that Eddie Brock split 7-inch with Lapse, it’s a great record!  The opening song, “Pointer Thumb Pinky”, showed a much heavier, more trudging side to Eddie Brock’s sound, but there’s also a punky “lightheartedness” to the EP,  especially in the artwork.  Your band often combines fiercely aggressive music with humorous songtitles or artwork.  I think that rounds out the band and prevents things from getting too dour or overly serious.  Please talk about the “theme” of the artwork on that Lapse split EP as well as Eddie Brock’s decision to sometimes use more playful, funny songtitles.

Justin (the drummer of Lapse) and I did the artwork for the record.  We didn’t really want that cliché cover of blood and gore everywhere, so we went for the complete opposite.  No story behind it, really.  As far as songtitles go, I usually say what the lyrics are about and then Tom, our drummer, says our song title.  He is good with words and at being sarcastic/funny.

7).  The lyrics on the Lapse split are far from silly (they’re quite intelligent, in fact).  I liked the statement at the end of “Pointer Thumb Pinky”: “People change; their  ideals, too/Stubborn fucking prick, I hate you”.  Please explain what you wanted to communicate in those lyrics; I, for one, appreciated your maturity in stating that people can’t be expected to live their whole lives under one set of ideals.

Thanks!  That song, in particular, deals with edge and veg kids breaking their lifestyle choices.  I fully support and participate in both lifestyles; however, I do not care if you start to drink again or eat meat after twenty years of abstinence.  It’s exactly what I say.  People change; it is inevitable.  Sure, I may not agree with how someone changes, but that is how things progress and evolve/devolve.

8).  The most recent Eddie Brock recording is the “Brand New Day” 7-inch, which may well be your band’s best EP yet!  Again, despite the whimsical songtitles that occur from time-to-time, important words are communicated on this record.  One of the most moving segments on the EP takes place in the opening track, “Brain Squad”, where you sing, “You take away her rights and expect her to be okay”.  Please talk about why you’re outraged by the “pro-life” contingent that’s criticized in “Brain Squad”, and why Christian Right representatives in America can be labelled as “a government founded on religious animation” that so often “thrive on fear and greed”.

Politics annoy the shit out of me.  There are two topics, though, that I am very passionate about —being pro-choice and supporting gay rights.  The following phrase does not represent the band; it is my opinion on the matter.  Fuck pro-lifers.  I do not see any reasonable excuse to make abortion illegal.  It is her choice, not yours.  And as far as same-sex marriage goes, who cares if two dudes or two ladies get married?  Seriously, people deserve to be happy and enjoy the benefits of marriage and love.  Simple as that.  I think a lot of our elected officials claim the we are a nation founded on Christianity.  That is bullshit.  So we have these dumb-asses in our government trying to push laws restricting our health, bodies, and our happiness all in the name of God, a god we are supposed to fear.  Lame.

9).  The lyrics in the second song on “Brand New Day” are ones I really enjoy as well.  “The scene is a free market, so fuck your hype band/ Here’s your fucking moshy part, you stupid motherfuckers/ I better see you dance, because this is what you wanted, right?”.  Were there any specific incidents at an Eddie Brock show that prompted you to deliver those lines?  I will say that it only takes a couple meatheads to ruin the vibe at an otherwise awesome hardcore show.  Hopefully, that’s not a frequent occurrence for your band!

No, our shows are usually pretty rad.  You run into a couple of meatheads every now and then, but whatever.  This song basically just sums up my frustration about bands these days.  It just sucks to see a band who sounds generic and is totally lame get awesome record deals and a ton of positive feedback only because they have been hyped in one way or another — and then the smaller band who puts so much into their music, and tries so hard, gets pushed aside.  That’s all.

10).  Do Eddie Brock have plans to record a full-length LP?  If so, would that occur relatively soon?  All of the band’s previous recordings have appeared on the EP format.

We currently have two songs recorded for a split with the band Hatewaves.  That is going to be out on A389 recordings again sometime in early 2013.  In that year, we also plan on writing an LP and playing a ton of shows.

11).  Thanks a ton for the interview, Alex!  In closing, please attach an itinerary of upcoming Eddie Brock shows, as well as let us know pertinent web addresses for people who would like to learn more or follow your band.  Thanks again to everyone in Eddie Brock for doing such a rad and inspiring band!

Thank you so much for asking these questions!  Really appreciate the interest.  For the remainder of 2012 we are lying low, but we hope to see some familiar and new faces in 2013!

Talk to us at eddiebrockmd@gmail.com and, if you have a Facebook, check us out there, too: facebook.com/eddiebrockmdhc.  See ya!

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