Ben Lally (guitar, vocals), Adam Copelin ( bass), Jason Walker (drums), Seth Thomas ( guitar, vocals) and Trent Russelburg ( keys, guitar, vocals) are the definition of “bravado”. They’ve been creating sounds that are both bold and intimidating for the past three years after coming together through common interest and a drive to pursue what is now New Bravado. The Louisville group has played shows locally, as well as, out of town and has also self-recorded all of their music. Minus Jason Walker because he was working, Louisville.com got the chance to pick Bravado’s brain about their music and debut album, “Sun and Moon”.
Louisville.com: Where was your first show at?
Ben: Haymarket Whiskey Bar, before they had the back open. So it was in the-
Seth: No, no. The back was open, they didn’t have any soundproofing then. Who played before us? Screaming Hand, I think. They were loud.
Louisville.com: Sounds like they might be loud.
Seth: Yeah, they’re kind of like a punk, hardcore, I don’t know. Anyway, cops showed up because someone in the hotel next door complained, so we moved up front to the little area. It was interesting. Very enthusiastic crowd of three, I think.
Adam: Yeah, it was a full house, though.
Ben: The guitar player’s girlfriend and there was a drunk guy.
Louisville.com: You guys are labeled as psych rock. Do you agree with that?
Adam: When someone asks me I say its psych rock, mostly. I like it.
Seth: I would say psychedelic rock, but there are definitely some old school metal influences, jazz influences, guitar hero influences…
Ben: I call it what my dad calls it, psychiatric rock.
Louisville.com: Who do other people compare you to?
Ben: No one. We’re one of a kind— we’ve had people make comparisons like Queens of the Stone Age and Pink Floyd - like, good Pink Floyd.
Louisville.com: What do you consider to be bad Pink Floyd?
Trent: Roger Waters.
Adam: Yeah, when Waters took over. I mean “Animals” is a good album.
Seth: Soundgarden too.
Adam: We did get Soundgarden once. I don’t hear it, but—
Ben: We get a lot of [grunge comparisons], too, which for me happens without even really knowing it. As a young teenager I grew up when all that was going on. I dug all those bands: Nirvana, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees. I did even get into the Spin Doctors until I knew better. The dreads and the shitty beard can only go so far.
Louisville.com: What would you say influences you guys now?
Ben: Let’s see, whatever Facebook tells me to like. No, my ten-month-old daughter influences me a lot. I really only have two. It’s her and Ozzy Osbourne.
Louisville.com: Do they share a lot of common traits?
Ben: They both mumble and pee on themselves quite a lot.
Trent: Hopefully, by the time she’s grown you can teach her all about music and she can be in Ozzy Osbourne’s band if he’s still around.
Louisville.com: You guys have quite a few recordings. What is that process like?
Adam: [Sun and Moon] is going to be coming out soon. We recorded over a two-month period. It’s all DIY, using my equipment to do it with. However, I do have a job at a studio now, so hopefully next month I’ll get to use their equipment. That will at least be much easier.
Louisville.com: What’s the writing aspect like?
Ben: I usually come up with the core idea and then by the time I run it passed everyone, at least musically; it’s changed a whole lot. It evolves based on what everyone else wants to do. I write all the lyrics. I take all the blame for the lyrics, but not all the vocals on the record. Seth did some on this record.
Louisville.com: When is "Sun and Moon" supposed to come out?
Ben: Shooting for September.
Adam: September is the general idea. We are trying to get all the materials together.
Louisville.com: Are you going to have a release party or just let it go?
Seth: We’re hoping to do a release show.
Ben: I was hoping that people would hear it and then we’d be world famous. We wouldn’t have to tour.
Louisville.com: Have you played any shows outside of Louisville?
Seth: We went to Chicago last summer.
Louisville.com: How was that?
Seth: It was a lot of fun. Chicago is awesome.
Adam: We use to play Lexington pretty frequently. We haven’t been there for a while.
Ben: We just got back so late. We were always cranky. We always stopped at Waffle House, which put us home at about four.
Louisville.com: Do you have a favorite song you like to play or one that is a crowd favorite?
Adam: "Translucent Dreams." That’s our latest single.
Ben: It’s really fun to play.
Adam: It’s big, fast, loud rock.
Seth: It’s structured really well. Whenever Ben came up with the riffs and the structure of that song it basically stayed exactly the same. Other than you fleshing it out and picking up the solo sections and coming together on an ending, everything was pretty much great. Good job, Ben.
Louisville.com: What are your methods of promoting New Bravado?
Adam: We use social media as much as we can. [Ed: You can follow New Bravado here]
Seth: We try to make flyers, but we don’t do as much as we should.
Ben: We only print off like, 15.
Louisville.com: But you put them in really good spots?
Adam: Yes.
Seth: The best spots.
Ben: Then we all each keep one, so that’s like ten. Jason insists on it.
Seth: They’re really nice flyers.
Louisville.com: How do you feel about Louisville as far as a creative space?
Trent: It’s great. It’s eclectic. You can go out in the country and have fun or you can go into the city and have fun.
Adam: It’s easy to get away and commune with nature like [Seth] said if you want to do that or you can be right in the middle of everything.
Ben: There’s also enough dark elements to make it not just all sunny and happy. If we lived in San Diego it would be hard for me to write anything that was remotely angry or sad.
Adam: It wouldn’t have any teeth to it.
Ben: In Louisville, the weather is shitty. There are enough problems to distract you. Misery is our happiness.
Check out New Bravado and the band's upcoming shows:
7/28 Modern Cult Records
8/8 Zanzabar
8/15 Vinyl Fest
8/20 RYE
8/29 Cirque de Virgo
10/2 Zanzabar - Album Release Show
Louisville.com Picks:
"Nobody Saw Nothin'"
"Get Sane"
"Long Head Blues"
"Translucent Dreams"
Photos Courtesy of New Bravado
