Interview with Brandan Schieppati of Bleeding Through
By Dan Hoyt
Crave: Alright man, so how’s the STHRESS Tour coming along? Brandan: Good. Shows have been exceeding our expectations the whole time, so it was cool going into this because you can sell a decent amount of records and still not get people to go to your shows…so you get kind of tripped out sometimes. But, this tour’s just fucking amazing in terms of how many people are coming out and the attitude of the people. There’ve been no fights or problems so it’s been really cool.
Crave: Awesome, so the bands are all getting along great and everything? Brandan: Oh yeah, everything’s going well for that.
Crave: That’s cool, so you guys released “This is Love, This is Murderous” a couple years ago which was a great album, and now, what’s next for you guys? What kind of mentality do you have going into this next album? Brandan: We’re about halfway done recording it right now. Actually, when we come back from the tour we’re going to start finishing it up. I think a lot of stuff was left untouched on “This is Love…” that we wanted to do and just didn’t have the time for, and the thing is, I wanted to make the songs shorter on that album, and I think if we had done that, the songs would’ve been more to the point with more structure and more of the things that we wanted to do. More melody, a little bit heavier, that kind of stuff...I think we’re going to send that out with this new record; that these songs are more to the point and there’s less filler, it’s heavier, it’s faster and there’s more of a thrash element to it. And it has more singing.
Crave: Yeah, actually my next question was about the thrash element. I noticed that a lot of the songs have that in there and I was curious if you guys looked to a lot of the old 80’s thrash metal bands for influences. Brandan: Yeah, well stuff like Testament and others for sure. We used to derive a lot of elements from Swedish bands and now we’re taking it from a lot of the American bands like Exodus, Testament…those kinds of bands.
Crave: For sure. This is a different question…I asked Dan from ZAO the same one and it’s something I ask a lot of the vocalists I talk to. If you can, describe your vocals in one word. Brandan: Rough.
Crave: Hahaha, just how you hear yourself? Brandan: Yeah, when I hear myself, it’s just…rough. That’s it.
Crave: That’s awesome man, no worries; I get all sorts of funny answers for that one. Going on to your lyrics, what do you think about when you write the lyrics? Do you look back on your experiences, do you tell stories; write poetry, things like that…what’s your inspiration? Brandan: It’s kind of all just experiences and stories from the experiences. I really don’t do any poetry or anything like that; it’s more of expressions of things that have happened. So, that’s pretty much where I get all the lyrics from. Definitely on this new record, the meaning of the lyrics won’t be as hidden as it was before. It’ll be right out there a lot.
Crave: Nice. Going on to the hardcore metal scene, where do you see it going in the next couple years? Do you like the way it’s going right now? Brandan: Yeah, I definitely do like the way it’s going. I think that the hardcore scene has always been known for being honest with its message and I think that it stays with a lot of people and gives them something to believe in. I think that the fact that it’s growing and more people are getting into is in turn helping it fill the void that bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn instilled into people. People have a real reason to be listening to something instead of just saying “Oh, look, this is what I should be listening to,” you know what I mean?
Crave: Oh yeah, I definitely do. Brandan: Yeah, so I think it’s definitely a good thing that hardcore’s on the rise because the element’s still there and the message is still there, so as long as that remains and people are still getting into it, then it’s perfect. But if those things get altered a bit, then it’s just going to go down the same path as nu-metal or something like that. I don’t think it will because hardcore has roots whereas nu-metal didn’t have any REAL roots at all. I mean, you read some old interviews of these bands’ influences and it goes something like this: “Oh, what are your influences?” “Oh, you know, Metallica, Slayer…” and so on. Yeah right, dude, you guys listened to hip-hop and then you listened to Korn; that’s what happened.
Crave: Hahaha, that’s pretty damn funny! Well, to move on, on the subject of touring, you guys were on Ozzfest last year…what was that like and what bands really surprised you the most on that tour? Brandan: I don’t know. A lot of the bands on that tour we had played shows with before, so I thought all the bands did really well portraying themselves on that big stage in front of a bunch of people who had never heard them before. It’s cool because every band on stage was just going for it and that was really fun.
Crave: Definitely, that’s always important. Let’s see here…do you guys have any sort of ritual that you do before you go out on stage? Do you do anything to prepare? Brandan: Well, I usually warm up for about 45 minutes…do a little workout of stretching, sit-ups, jumping around; stretching again and then I relax and listen to my iPod for about 5 minutes before we start playing. As far as the band…I don’t know, they really don’t have any major superstitions like I do, I guess.
Crave: Oh, OK. Well speaking of the iPod, what are you playing the most on there right now? Brandan: The new Coldplay, the new Foo Fighters…definitely the new Nine Inch Nails, that’s really good…as far as metal, the new Ringworm record is really good, and that’s pretty much it.
Crave: Something else that I ask a lot of band members is if they have any pet peeves when they go out and do a show, like something that the venue does, security, or any of that. Dan from ZAO said it was when the bands don’t get a private bathroom and have to wade through the crowd…what are yours? Brandan: That’s a good point. Basically, a pet peeve of mine…I don’t know, I don’t mind not having a backstage room because I like hanging out in the club. But if I had to pick something, if the venue’s security guards are a bunch of assholes it just takes me out of the whole vibe of the show. It’s too often that, say, on like this tour where certain members of bands are thrown out of the clubs.
Crave: You serious? That’s crazy! Brandan: Yeah, I mean, what the fuck? It’s refreshing when you go to a club and they treat you with respect, because respect is something that you give as much as you receive.
Crave: Right, right. Well what’s your favorite song to perform on stage? Brandan: Right now probably “On Wings of Lead” because it’s a crowd sing-along song. When we first started as a band, our first shows were with kids who already knew the lyrics and it was the most bizarre thing I had ever encountered in my life. I never thought anyone could ever sing along to my lyrics.
Crave: Hell yeah, I’m sure the feeling you get when you see a kid singing your lyrics is just unreal, man. Brandan: It’s crazy, it’s crazy.
Crave: Absolutely. OK…so, what’s your favorite city or venue to play in? Do you like the bigger venues or smaller club-like joints? Brandan: I like the 600-capacity places, like middle-range. Tonight we’re playing at El Corazon in Seattle and it’s one of my favorite clubs to play at. I love playing in Seattle. I love playing at home, I like playing in San Diego....
Crave: Right, tomorrow you’re going to be at the Loveland (formerly the Meow Meow) and that of course is about the same-size venue as well… Brandan: The new Meow Meow is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. You put 600 people in there and it’s totally packed, so that’s fucking awesome.
Crave: Alright, got one more for you, kind of a personal question. What, in your opinion, is the best part about being in Bleeding Through? Brandan: Basically, the thing that I like most is when people come up and say “we really appreciate you being here” and when they can find help within the lyrics and things like that…because that pulled me out of a lot of shit when I was younger too. The feeling that I’ve returned the favor to a scene that helped me out is my favorite feeling. It’s not about how many people are at the shows or how many records we sell; the feeling of people actually finding comfort in your music is fantastic.
Crave: That’s really cool man, I respect that a lot. Alright then, I think that’s all, you guys take care and I’ll see you in Portland. Brandan: Cool man, take care.
