What is your name and what do you do in the band?
My name is Brobra aka killa B, hep A, Hi C, Tall T, Sweet P, creek johnson, texas jack, and da Hubcap. I play guitar.
Haha, why do they call you that?
Well there's two Jakes in the band and the other one is bigger and has more tattoos so he got to keep his name.
How long have you been playing guitar?
I've been playing since I was 15ish so like 8 years.
So, you being the main song writer, you have certain style to the way you play. What would you say are some of your main influences?
Well for the new album I was listening to a lot of Biohazard so its got kind of a funky, groovy, bouncy sound. I also ripped of a bunch of Suicidal Tendencies riffs to give it some thrash. I just try to make catchy, recognizable, hard riffs without really over thinking it.
Favorite bands? Past and current?
In the last few months I've had a strict diet of Life of Agony-River Runs Red, Metallica-Ride the Lightning, Biohazard-Urban Discipline, Suicidal Tendencies-Self Titled.
The new Ill Intent record is recorded and waiting to be released, talk about the writing process.
The riffs are bigger, the songs are longer, the sound is tighter, the solos are thrashier, the lyrics are harder, the tattoos are bigger and in worse places, the asian kids been lifting weights, less shirt wearing, more chest hair, cheaper beer, I feel like I'm just ranting instead of answering your question.
It's all good. That sounds about right. What do you expect from the release?
Remember the first time you heard War Pigs? Something like that.
Yes! I do! I was 14 and my friend Travis gave me the "We Sold Our Souls For Rock and Roll" Album, it blew my fucking mind. Anyway, back on track... What is your favorite part about being in Ill Intent?
The massive corporate record deals, 3 day cocaine binges, stretch hummers, lullapalooza, oh and i got to meetJimmy Fallon. I love him.
Sweet.
What is the best show and worst show you have ever played?
Rainfest 09 was the best and Guatemala City was a close second. The worst? I dont know, I've never had a bad time playing in this band.
What made it the best?
All the philly and canadian kids beating each other up to a Skarhead cover.
Funnest time/memory being in the band?
The infamous Oregon watermelon/poop fight was pretty fun. I was pooping in a toilet that was sitting in my friend Matthews yard when i was ambushed by an australian with a watermelon, then Peter pushed me off the toilet and it fell over on me covering me in my own doo. So to retaliate i chased the aussie bastard around the house with poopy toilet paper. I caught him. Peter was a bit harder to get even with. I had to wait in the woods for a few hours for him to go inside and i snuck into the van to steal his pillow case and drench it in something peter hates worse than doo doo, which is anything that smells like coconut. Then he threw my backpack under an earthmover. Now that i think about it that night really sucked.
Yeah, I remember that. It was a fucking melee! Like the shores of Normandy or something, but with watermelon and shit instead of bombs and guns.
So every knows that you have a pretty intense, party-dude reputation, what exactly is your formula for success?
Oh, you know, just living each day blind and going the distance.
Who do you hate the most in your band and why?
I love all my boys but if I had to pick I'd say the tall guy with the small head who makes me do interviews. I liked the asian kid till he put a drumstick in his bum, i haven't really felt comfortable around him since then. The big guy scares the shit out of me so I try to be nice to him. I don't think I've ever heard the drummer say more than 5 words but he's cool I guess.
Listen man, I just don't want the true genius to go unrecognized and unappreciated. I do have a small head though.
So, you along with most of the guys in the band have a lot of tattoos, tell me what your favorite one is, if there is any type of meaning behind it and why you got it.
Any tattoo that i got in a living room, bathroom, basement, garage, or bedroom. That wasn't really an answer was it?
It was definitely an answer, but not to the question I asked. It's alright though, since I know you, I know exactly what you mean. You are the king of stick and poke / unprofessional tattoos out of all my friends.
Favorite things outside of playing in Ill Intent? Hobbies, Interests?
Hockey, history books, clam digging, bum wine, shuffleboard, seafood, John Coltrane records, really old chairs, you know, normal shit.
That's extremely accurate, most people would think you're kidding, but I lived with you. Our living room full of old chairs proved your love for this interest.
Scenario: There are two tall cans of Rainer on a table, a pack of cigarettes, a slice of chocolate cheese cake, a steak dinner with a loaded baked potato and you have two helium balloons in your hands that you were told to hold onto by your mother. What do you do with the balloons if you decide to go for these items. If so, what do you go for first? Here's the catch, the cigs have spiders on them, but you like spiders. What do you do?
I think I would just tie the balloons to my wrist and then....wait i dont like spiders.
Can you pinpoint the exact moment in your life that you knew would take you on the place in life that you are today?
My senior english teacher pulled me into her office one day and asked me if I was planning on going to college after high school. I was actually considering it and told her yes then she said I shouldn't waste the colleges time or my money because i was going to fuck it up. Thanks Mrs. DiBartolo for helping me realize i am unfit for society!
What are your current views on the scene and how do you think we all can improve for the better?
Heres a list of things I don't like about the scene: venues getting shut down, venues refusing to book hardcore bands, getting fucked by promoters, getting fucked by security, liars, fakes, fights over nothing that result in all of the above that result in kids not coming to shows thus hardcore becoming one step closer to dying which in turn makes all the hardcore kids join pop punk bands.
You're also in another band, ODDRULE, tell us about that a little bit.
Odd Rule is the kind of band I wanted to be in for a long time. I feel like this band could have been around in the late eighties, early nineties. Its like a mix between bad brains, sick of it all, leeway and killing time. We've only had a few shows because most of us are in several bands but I think it should be picking up for us shortly. Our singer is a madman/genius, our guitar player is the next Estaban and our drummer plays like he huffs paint. Check it out at myspace.com/oddrule.
Word, well thanks for the interview man, I love what you have to say and I think you're a true mind wizard. Hope you are well.
Alright, everyone be sure to check out BROBRA's other band, ODDRULE and keep watch for the Ill Intent release when it drops! 12 Tracks of undeniable ILL INTENT!
-Slim Terror, 8th Wonder of The World!
