Interview with Broken Side

Formed in early 2020, Knoxville, Tennessee based five-piece Broken Side have recently released their second EP, Fathom.  I had the chance to talk to them about the new EP, the video for first single “Cartographer”, the pandemic and more. 

Can you give me a quick band history?

We started forming Broken Side shortly after Justin (drums) moved to Knoxville from San Diego for work.  Justin had put out some feelers on the local musician pages on Facebook and after about three months of back and forth on messenger got together with Jesse Thacker (lead vocals, guitar) and Jonathan -Jonny- Crawford (guitar, backing vocals).  These guys showed up with a notebook full of ideas, riffs, and partially written songs that they had worked on over the past couple of years after their previous band had broken up.  

This started it all.  The ideas in that notebook and the partial songs (one of them being "The Flaw" -our first single as a band) all seemed to click musically with Justin's playing style and we started practicing weekly while looking for other band members.  Jesse was never big on playing guitar while singing, so we knew we would need another lead guitarist.  We started recording ideas and practices while writing songs, and John Wiest (guitar, backing vocals) was brought in after hanging out with Justin one night.  They had talked about getting together for a while after going to the same Tool concert in Nashville.  John showed up and fit in perfectly as the third guitarist.  Enter- Skylar Gratz (Bass).  Skylar was also found through a couple adds on Facebook.  We had already written a couple of songs as a 4 piece without bass which Skylar had gotten to listen to prior our first meetup, and once he started playing, we knew that he was the right fit.  The songs felt good.  Skylar had never played bass guitar in a band before, so his outlook was more guitar driven which fit perfectly.   We all tried thinking outside the box while writing, and our styles just meshed.  After that, it was off to the races.

 

You formed in early 2020, which is right around when the pandemic started, and you released your first EP right in the midst of it.  How did that affect the band?

The COVID pandemic actually helped us as a band more than anything.  We did form in the midst of the pandemic, which meant that there was nothing else to do.  Writing and practicing were stress relievers.  We all looked forward to our Saturday afternoon sessions each week.  Usually meeting at Justin's house in his tiny music studio, we would cram the four other guys and their gear all in the upstairs room and just have fun.  We got tight as a band and didn't really stress about things. It did help being in Knoxville.  Knoxville was probably one of the most relaxed places when it came to COVID restrictions, so we were still able to work, visit, and even get in on an open mic night early on at the Open Chord (a known local music venue).

 

How does your songwriting process tend to work?

Usually one of the stringed instruments show up with a riff, or an idea.  We just jam that riff for a while as a band to feel it out and if something musical happens we run with it.  The biggest help in writing has been that we will usually multi-track record our entire practice sessions, so all of the crap talking and harassing of each other for various reasons, and those little incidental cool riffs get recorded.  There have been so many times that we will start messing around with a riff or idea, and someone will play something great accidentally, but then instantly forget how they played it.  Well, we have it recorded, so we review it and do it again.  We can keep track of ideas, what works and what doesn't, and even get some great demo's when it's time to hit the studio. 

 

To me the production of the new EP is crisper and the bass seems a little more prominent than on the first one.   Would you agree and how else do you think it differs?

There are definite differences in how we recorded and produced this EP.  Drums for the first EP were all done in Justin's studio at home and while the recordings came out good, it was lacking in ways.  We were also not too sure how to voice our opinions on what our actual sound was to be.  The low end for Fathom was mixed to have a little more of those sub frequencies, so if you have a great stereo, turn it up, you can feel all those lower (below 80 hz) notes, which carry the songs.  Skylar also introduced a little more grit to his tone which did wonders. Drums were recorded in a studio this time with better equipment, which made everything a little more lively and open feeling.  We really tried to capture the mood and feel of the songs with as much dynamics as possible.

 

While the songs on the EP are heavy there is always a strong sense of melody and the vocals are very clean.  There is a small section in “Cartographer” where the vocals get a little aggressive, but then you get to “Black Waters” and about two-thirds the way into the song it gets really intense for a moment and the vocals are, for lack of a better word, “screamo”.  Can you tell me a little about that?

Jesse writes his songs as melodies. His guitar is where he figures out where and how a vocal line will go.  He thinks and writes in harmonies, so his vocal presence in a song is almost always a reflection of what he wrote on his guitar part.  It's what drew us all together as a band.  Melodic, heavy music with emotion.  The heavier vocal parts on "Cartographer" are full of emotion with just a little push vocally.  Now if you listen to "Black Waters" and hear the screaming, that tasteful bit of vocal emotion comes from Jonathan.  Has a great scream, and bringing that into the breakdown of the song really drives the emotion felt.  He and Jesse actually trade off back and forth on that section with "GO! GO! Take this life from me."  It's an awesome part to experience live, because it's followed by this melodic and dynamic wave of guitar that slows the song back into a chorus with a waltz (6/8 time) feel. 

 

There are a lot of layers to your sound.  Is it difficult to get that across live?

Thanks for noticing!  It's actually not hard to get across live.  We play the songs just like we recorded them, for the most part.  One night after a show in Asheville, the house sound guy came up and said "wow, that was great!  You guys have a lot going on up there.."  We write in layers.  We like having different things coming at the audience from different places on the stage.  It's like having a five-piece orchestra.  The left guitar may be playing something different than the other two guitars, but the feel of the music makes it all melt together. 

 

I heard there is more of a story to the “Cartographer” video than most people would realize, kind of telling the story of how the band met.  Can you tell me about that?

The video for "Cartographer" has kind of a post-apocalyptic feel and we decided to make it a story that followed the timeline of how we all met.  Basically, it starts with Jesse, Jonathan, and Justin then adds the other two guys along the way.  We find John in his "crack shack", that's what he called it, and it stuck.  We band together along the route and eventually find Skylar, the shotgun wielding prepper in an empty house.  In real life, Jonny was the first to reach out to Skylar, and that's how it is portrayed in the video.  Followed by the old school bro-hug and if you watch Skylar's face during the meeting scene, he says "You son of a bitch", which is a throwback to the Predator movie when Schwarzenegger (Dutch) meets Carl Weathers (Dylan).  We know it's corny, but it was fun.

 

I also read that there was actually a different idea for the video originally, but that fell through.  Is that true?

Yep, the original plan for the video was to have this post-apocalyptic world where there was something chasing the band, and at the same time we were all trying to find something, using the compass to give direction.  We were to eventually find ourselves, as in our former selves, playing music on an empty stage. There were guns and gun fights, but we realized it was all a little much.  We quickly found out that we aren't actors, and things were getting cringy, so we stuck with what you see now.

 

I don’t see anything about physical copies of either EP.  Do you have any plans for that?

We do have physical copies of both EP's which can be purchased by email request or picked up at a show.  Follow the Truth is a sleeve CD, and Fathom comes in a great jewel case with the album artwork.

 

Since you couldn’t get out to do any live shows did you do any other type of promotion during the pandemic?

Since we are from Knoxville, we actually did get out and play a couple of parties and open mic shows. Other than that, we would share our music with friends.  We spent most of the time writing music.

 

Now that the EP is out what is next for the band?

We are just trying to get these songs into as many ears as we can.  While our schedule is pretty busy at the moment with shows, we are already writing and working on our third EP which might end up being a full 8-10 song album.  We have found our stride with writing music as a band.

 

Do you have any plans to do any touring further out from your home base?

Our current schedule has us playing shows in our surrounding areas: Asheville, Clarksville (just North of Nashville), Chattanooga, and Johnson City.  Our goal is to push further and further out, away from Knoxville for most of our shows.  That way when we do play a home-based show, it's a special event.  Our local fans, friends, and family want to come out and catch the show.  We would love to get into the festival circuit and get a tour or two knocked out over the next year.

 

Are any of you involved in any other bands or is it strictly Broken Side?

Justin is a busy-body.  He plays drums part time in a Tool Tribute band based out of Chattanooga, and is drummer for Silence and Light, a Military Veteran founded band that raises money for various Veteran charities. 

 

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

We hope you like our tunes, if you do, please let us know.  We are five guys that are proud of what we are doing and would love to hear from you.

-Broken Side

(Broken Side)