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readablenoise · 7 years ago

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Joy In Repetition: A Conversation with Adam Bravin The co-founder of She Wants Revenge talks about the music industry, his new project ‘Love Ecstacy Terror’ and future to come (minus Replicants)

If you were a music fan in the mid 2000’s and were a purveyor of the newest in rock, you watched The Late Show with David Letterman, aptly following in his predecessor’s shoes, and if you could stay up long enough, you watched Carson Daly’s program which was, and continues to be, a savior to college radio dreams made real. However, there was a third option and one that was all too often overlooked. If you wanted really really good new rock, you watched Jimmy Kimmel’s program. And if you were watching one fateful night in the mid 00’s, you couldn’t help but be drawn, perplexed and fascinated by She Wants Revenge’s debut performance. Vocalist/instrumentalist Justin Warfield captivating with a vocal that was drawing and musician extrodinare Adam Bravin on keys, giving the camera a deadpan stare straight into it. It was something cool, something different and most importantly, something brilliant.

Which brings us to here: 10 odd years later where the performance led to The Late Show which led to numerous song appearances on major films and TV series, and opening for Depeche Mode and The Cure, an honor and twofer that doesn’t happen all that often. Then again, the pairing of two perfect influences doesn’t happen all that very often and it’s in this innate chemistry that Bravin and Warfield thrive, both sharing a love for 80’s culture, rap and most importantly, being deliciously strange. Amidst all this, are the equally impressive achievements both Warfield and Bravin have accomplished: the former making his 1993 debut with “My Field Trip to Planet Nine” on Qwest Records, Quincy Jones’ record label, as well as being produced by Jones’ son. If you recognize Warfield’s voice elsewhere, it may have been from his recent solo material being featured on the TV series “Sons of Anarchy” or a throwback to “Spite & Malice” by Placebo which remains a hidden gem by the band. Bravin hasn’t had any less impressive feats on his list, having a distinguished reputation as one of the top DJ’s, from the personal choice of President Barack Obama to the late Prince, production credits and making his first foray into the solo world with his passion project, Love Ecstasy Terror, which sees the multi-instrumentalist taking the mic for the first time. As if this wasn’t enough, Bravin is one of the masterminds behind numerous successful themed club nights in L.A. with Giorgio’s (a disco love letter to Moroder and his legacies), AFEX (a hip-hop parade of the classics and underdogs) and now Cloak & Dagger, which while reaching the same high bar of musical quality as the rest, maybe the most interesting. It’s the kind of club you heard about in the 80’s: neon and candle lit, held in a secret location accessible only to card carrying members given out by the members to the lucky few. If it sounds like a mixture of Eyes Wide Shut meets Fight Club minus the orgies and blood, you wouldn’t be too far off, as the club even has it’s own set of rules though they’re more about etiquette than anything else. The public will get a taste of the club’s offering when it celebrates it’s second year with an L.A. festival that would make any goth/synth lover’s ears salivate, with the Jesus and Mary Chain, Cold Cave, TRUST and of course She Wants Revenge.

With all these credits, it’s easy to picture the duo having big heads catering to rock royalty. And so it makes it all just that much more refreshing when you find it really could not be farther from the truth. Upon meeting the band before their show in West Palm Beach for the 30th anniversary of local venue Respectable Street, Warfield wearing a worn Siouxie and the Banshees tee and Bravin in A Tribe Called Quest tee that looks just as comfy as your own favorite band shirt, they are still the exact same humble and music loving kids from the Valley who set out to make good music and crush the standards. Bravin is more than kind, soft spoken and possessing a knowledge of the industry in all it’s facets, the good the bad and the ugly. With the Morricone line being played in synths. This is a candid look into that insight.

Readable Noise: 10 years on since the first debut you’ve you’ve toured with Depeche Mode and The Cure, did it feel special the first time you recorded it? Adam Bravin: You know, we don’t think about it in those terms. I think we were really just trying to do a few things at that time, one was to inspire each other to do something new; we both have a hip-hop background and accidentally locked into this sound. We did a song and then we did another one and then another, and we go way back, and I think we were just trying to make music that we liked, you know? I was just learning how to play bass, learning how to be in a band, learning how to collaborate with somebody. We weren’t really thinking about it in those terms, we were just like “Let’s make a cool song, okay? And then let’s make another cool song”, just trying to do our thing.

RN: You have a lot of musical background, from hip-hop as well as working with female musicians, so I have to ask is “City of Women” (Bravin’s teased side project consisting of female vocalists) ever going to come out? AB: That is what I started working on when I was sidetracked, once again. I was working on that before She Wants Revenge, for a long long time. She Wants Revenge sidetracked me for 10 years and then when that was done, I started working on it again. And then Justin convinced me to make a solo record which sidetracked me once again. So now that I’m done with my solo record, I'n going to go through the cycle that you go through, putting it out and hopefully touring? And then when that’s done, I’ll probably get going to recording City of Women and hopefully finish it one day… Before I retire. (laughs)

RN: And how’s the solo process been for you, since it’s your first foray into vocals? Which I have to say is really good. AB: Thank You. I still can’t wrap my head around hearing myself sing, although it gets a little bit easier every time I do a new song. It’s a fear of mine, and I’m in this mode in my life of conquering as many fears as possible. So when Justin first suggested to me that I do an album and sing on it, I was completely against it. But he helped me write a song, record it, and I wasn’t… I didn’t have a great time on that first one. And then we did another one and then another, and after we did like, two or three, I realized how amazing it is. Even though it still terrifies me, and even though I’m not where I want to be as a vocalist, I’m in love with the process of writing something on paper and then saying it out loud. There is something about that that I’ve never experienced as an artist. It’s just, to be at this point in my life and find a new way to express myself is a really special thing. And so I’m kind of taking the anxiety and fear that it gives me and redirecting that energy into a creative space and pushing forward, it’s really exciting. I’ll be doing my first show pretty soon and I’m terrified of doing that but again, I’ll take that energy and turn it into something else.

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RN: What has been the most revealing thing to you, stepping into the lead vocalist shoes? AB: You know, I’ve always been able to hide behind the turntables as a DJ, and kind of hide behind Justin in She Wants Revenge, and hide behind other artists producing them. And it [Love Ecstasy Terror, Bravin’s solo moniker] really doesn’t allow me to hide behind anybody. I think the most revealing thing is revealing myself, to other people in that way. And again it’s terrifying but it’s really rewarding. I haven’t really gone up in front of anybody yet except a couple of my friends and even that alone.. Even if I never got up in front of anybody except a few of my friends, that’s been enough for me, really enjoying it. And again, I have one show planned and hopefully that goes well, we’ll see what happens.

RN: You come from a music background, has that always been a prominent part of your life? AB: Oh yeah, since I was a baby. Both of my parents are musicians and I’ve always been around music. I was raised basically in a recording studio, my Dad always had a studio when I was a kid. He always played keyboards and piano and was always in a band or jamming with somebody. So I’ve always been around music.

RN: In terms of DJ'ing you still stay to the traditional, you still spin actual records which is great, what was the first 12" that really kind of changed your life? AB: I remember… I always had records, but I remember when I first DJ'ed in my friend Travis’ bedroom, like, put two turntables and a mixer together. And he had a bunch of records and I brought over a bunch of records but none of them were really like, they were all kind of random? So I do remember going to the record store at that time and buying records specifically for playing them at our friends house party, which would have been my first party I ever DJ'ed. And I remember getting Pet Shop Boys “Opportunities”. That was probably my first record as a DJ that I ever bought. I had a whole bunch of stuff that I inherited from my parents but as a DJ, I remember that one, going back to my buddy Travis’ house and I remember going “Wow, let’s go get more!”, we ended building up a little bit of a collection and I just started DJ'ing all the parties at high school.

RN: Are you happy with the vinyl resurgence that’s coming back? AB: I mean, I love vinyl. I have probably close to 50,000 pieces of vinyl. You know… It’s difficult to get excited about what they call a resurgence because there’s been a number of vinyl resurgence. And… It just sometimes feels like people are buying records because it’s ‘cool’, you know? I see a lot of DJ’s saying ‘Come hear my old vinyl set!’. It doesn’t mean anything to me, you know. I don’t think it matters what format you’re on. I think records are cool, but I also think if you use an iPod, if you use CD’s, if you use vinyl, whatever you use, whatever’s coming out of the other end of the speakers to create a cool soundtrack for a party, I don’t think it matters what you use. So when people are using vinyl because they love vinyl, and they understand the difference in sound between playing a piece of vinyl and mp3 because there’s definitely a difference, people that appreciate that part of it, that really understand the sonics of it as well as get into like the artwork. Not just going ‘hey, come check out my vinyl collection’ but really buying the records for the linear notes, and to hold it, listen to one side of the album, turn it over and listen to other side. There’s something cool about that that younger people don’t really understand because they didn’t really grow up listening to records like I did. If somebody appreciates vinyl in the same- not even in the same way I do, if they appreciate the art that comes along with it, and the sonics that come along with it, and the fact that you can hold it, can’t hold an mp3, you know? Then that makes me excited about the resurgence. People that are like ‘check out my old vinyl set’ just because its cool? Doesn’t really mean much to me.

RN: You guys came from the 00’s where everyone had to work for their dollar with MySpace and other platforms. Do you feel that new bands don’t have to try as hard these days because there’s so many media platforms or does that make it harder? AB: Try so hard in what way?

RN: To promote themselves, insofar as get noticed because there’s Bandcamp and Soundcloud among others. AB: You know… There’s so much music on a daily basis that gets released, I am just happy for anybody that breaks through in any way to get their music noticed. It’s not like it used to be. There’s like, hundreds and thousands of songs and artists that come through on a daily basis. So to even… I wish I knew what the answer was, we don’t even know what the answer was. I don’t think anybody knows, unless you’re on a major label or you have somebudy funding you and have tons of money for advertisements or get sponsored. It’s really difficult to be noticed unless you get lucky or you get on some Spotifly playlist that gets popular or a big artist cosigns for you, retweets you, or reposts you on Instagram. So, I mean… I get excited when the underdog or some band- cause I’ve always been that way. I’m like “oh my God, no one knows about this, it’s amazing!” And then it blows up, sometimes you get a little…you know, you get a little jealous that the little secret gets out. I remember when I was younger, I knew about a couple of bands that no one else knew about and then when the whole world finds out about it, it doesn’t feel as special, even though the music is still as special. But I think these days, whatever you got to do to get noticed… It really comes down to the music. Like, if the music’s good, I feel like one way or another, it rises to the top somehow.

RN: Going back to all the band’s that influenced you, what is one lyric that would sums up your life? Like if someone asked you to describe yourself, what would it be? AB: From another band?

RN: From your band or another band. AB: One lyric that describes me? I’ll have to think about that one for a minute. Its probably a Depeche Mode or Prince lyric. Probably… (pauses) It’s a good question. (Another brief pause) Lets come back to that one. I’ll think about that one before we finish.

RN: Speaking about Prince, do you have as much b-sides at this point as Prince’s vault does? AB: Who, us?

RN: I remember you saying you has a b-sides album you were toying with? AB: Prince has hours, and days, and weeks of music that’s unreleased! I don’t think anybody has the amount of music that’s locked away in his vault. That guy worked- every day he wasn’t on stage, he was recording. For the entirety of his career, so there’s thousands of songs locked away in that guy’s vault, for sure. We probably have like, 30, not even close. Probably the same amount of songs that we’ve released, we have others on our computers somewhere, on a hard drive.

RN: As a personal question, you’ve worked with Prince a few times, what do you think of his work aestethic? Do you agree that he kept his music withheld from places like YouTube and off social media and released them on his own? AB: I mean I understand how he was really precious about everything, but up until a certain point- there came a certain time where I was like, c'mon dude. We all just want to hear your music, man. And I get where he’s coming from, I mean… He’s like the ultimate artist in my opinion, he’s the definition of an artist. So it doesn’t really matter how I feel about it even though it’s more of a selfish thing, like I want to hear all your music, put it out on YouTube or wherever. But I understand it, he kept it true, you know, until he passed away. And what I mean by that is like, he did that for a reason to protect all the artists. Artists don’t make money anymore. I think it was more, making a statement like… You’re only worth what you let the world know you’re worth, right? So if you say, I’m putting my own stuff out and you gotta pay for it, you’re creating a market for your art. We live in a world where you just don’t make money because people don’t buy music anymore, and its crazy. It’s crazy that people spend all this time and energy, blood, sweat and tears creating art for other people to connect with, creating a soundtrack for people’s lives. And they don’t get anything in return for it, except love, which is okay, you just have to figure out other ways to get paid as an artist. But I think, back to Prince, I think he was just trying to, you know, make a statement and say we’re artists: this is what we’re worth, if you want to hear what I create as an artist, you gotta pay for it.

RN: That’s why I wanted to ask you, because you’ve been in the music business for so long in so many different aspects of it. There’s so much consumption that I feel the only way for bands to make any money is to work their asses off in touring which is sad because it takes such a personal toll on them. Sometimes bands gets destroyed by touring being away from their families, that’s why I was curious. AB: It’s a tough call because if you’re Prince, you can do that. If you’re not Prince, and no one knows who you are, you have to put your music out, people have to hear it. So, again if you’re Prince, you can be precious about it, you can take it off the internet and you can get people to buy it because you had a career that spanned over 30 years. For a band no one knows, you have to do everything you can to get people to hear it. So if you have to put it out for free, if you have to put it on YouTube, stream it, give it away for free in order for people to hear it, that’s what you gotta do. So, I see both sides of it, but again, you have to be a huge band. If you’re U2, you can do that. For me, because people know She Wants Revenge I have a little bit of an advantage, but not much. The only reason I would charge anybody for my music… Like, I’m probably gonna do what Justin did with his new side band, Dream Club. You can download it for free, if you want, or, you can buy it for whatever amount you want to pay for it, and the money that he’s getting from people that buy his music, he’s gonna turn around and print vinyl with. So people are basically just funding, vinyl. I like that idea, of like, pay what you want and if you don’t want to pay, you know, take it. If you want to pay and you understand that what you’re giving me will either help support me doing shows or support me pressing vinyl, it just goes right back into it, I’m not putting it in my pocket. For us, when we tour- when people come to shows, it just supports us being able to do more shows. You know, we don’t make a ton of money off of touring. That money goes right back into what we do, and it helps support us going to other cities and continuing to share our music. Hopefully, someday we can go back in the studio and make more.

RN: It’s kind of funny that you bring up the pay what to plan because when Radiohead did it for In Rainbows, it’s hilarious that some people paid 9 cents or even 1 penny because like you said people put their blood, sweat and tears into this- AB: Well again, if you’re Radiohead, you can afford to do that.

RN: Even with newer bands though who put it through Spotify and get, one fraction of a penny. AB: It’s like- it’s a tough call. It’s just a very strange world where, because of the internet, all these different art mediums with the exception of painters, who still sell their artwork, if they’re not digitized. But music and film, it’s crazy how… At a certain point, you have to give it away. You know, for me, I worked 4 years on my record. I put more energy and heart into my solo record than I’ve ever put into anything. Do I think I’m gonna make money off of it, probably not. I don’t even know if anyone’s ever going hear it, honestly. Again, because we have a fan base, in She Wants Revenge, someone’s gonna hear it because people follow us on social media. I may not make any money off of it, and you know what, that’s cool. I don’t have any expectations. I think we live in a world where when people make music they don’t have any expectations either. They shouldn’t, they may never make a dime, and they have to be okay with that, it’s just how it is. You make money off licensing, you make money off merchandise, you make money off touring. if you’re lucky enough to tour. You kinda have to go into it knowing you may not make any money. And you know what, it’s discouraging and I know a lot of musicians that are turning away from music. I know a ton of musicians that, they write for film and TV. Or they direct. Or they take photos. Or they just stop making music. It’s very hard to have a life and be a musician; have a family, like, Justin has a family. We do this because we love it, we’re fortunate that people come to our shows, make a little bit of money. But it’s discouraging. I meet a lot of managers, lawyers, we all say the same thing. They discouraged people from entering the music industry, more times than encouraging them. Because there’s no money, you have to know what you’re getting yourself into, and it sucks, honestly. But I’m not here for that, I just love making music. Fortunately, I do other things that I make money from, and I love making music so much that I would do it for free, and I can afford to do it for free. I can’t imagine being an 18 year old kid, trying to do a band in my garage.. Knowing that the chances are I’ll never make a dime off of it. Unless I get lucky somehow and my song ends up on a TV show or a movie. I come up with a clever t-shirt that everybody buys, you know what I mean?

RN: I know what you’re saying. Even being in journalism, I’ve been told so many times to ‘get a job doing social media enterprising, you’re never going make a cent off doing journalism, and I tell them fuck them, because I like to do this. AB: As you should.

RN: It’s sad that its gotten to this point. What was supposed to help us just went off the rails. AB: It’s crazy. You know, a really kind of big publication interviewed me the other day… (Pauses) And It was an intern. They basically got rid of their entire staff with the exception of three people. And I know they used to have a staff, probably of 30 or 40 writers. Now it’s like, 2 or three? The guy that interviewed me, no offense, was an intern. No one’s left. They either all went off and started their own blog, or podcast. You know, why help somebody else’s brand when you can just go create your own, and put all your energy into blowing up your own podcast or whatever. Because publications just don’t make the money that they used to. So I understand journalists’ frustration in general, just one more down the line, one more occupation down the line that you have to figure a new way to approach it in order to make any money.

RN: It’s sad because when big magazines were forced to go online, they became snarky just to get the clickbait, and I saw that. It was heartbreaking because I saw them flip-flop artists and say “hey we dissed this band, buy our stuff.” AB: It’s crazy. …I think everyone’s just scrambling to figure how to do it, how to move forward. Who knows? It’s frustrating as someone who wants to breathe music journalism. Like, I want there to be amazing writers, the more I read shit online, not to say there’s not amazing journalists out there, but like-

RN: It’s very few. AB: The publications that like… …I don’t want to name any names but the things that I used to buy every week in a magazine, I don’t pay attention to anymore because they suck.

RN: It feels like you have to go overseas to kind of get satisfaction, but even then it’s iffy.. AB: Maybe. Maybe. Even then, I just search out, there’s people that just branch out on their own or never work for a magazine and just write, who I follow. I’d rather read some kid from Ohio, some 16 year old kid who’s well read and really digs in, and discovers new music in some unique way than read some jaded guy who works at wherever, who doesn’t give a fuck anymore and all he’s worried about his job because he’s one of the last four people who works there. But he’s doing- all these people are based in fear. All these industries: DJ’s, nightlife, everybody does their job based in fear. Because they don’t want to lose their jobs. Like in nightlife, it’s crazy. The owners hire promoters, the promoters hire DJ’s that suck because they’re afraid if they get somebody that’s actually an artist that the guys coming who are buying the bottles, aren’t going to come. The DJ’s are playing a bunch of bullshit because they’re afraid if they’re artists they’re going to get fired. It just trickles down, I think it’s almost in every industry. Listen to the state of music, it’s so hard for me to find anything I like, because everything sounds the same. We were just having this conversation today, how like, it wasn’t so much about music, it was about people and their personal style. Like, when we were growing up and there wasn’t the internet, you couldn’t just go online and see what everybody else was wearing all over the world. And then there are these girls that every girl follows on Instagram and however they do their make-up, or whatever they’re wearing, it trickles down to the world. So everybody, everywhere I go, looks the fucking same. And when we grew up, you couldn’t do that, you had to have your own style. You just went out and bought the clothes that turns you on, based on whatever music you were into, whatever the subculture you were living through. There are all these amazing people that had their own individual style and it’s so hard to find now, not just in fashion, but in music. No one plays guitar anymore because it’s all digital. Kids aren’t learning instruments, they just want to get a computer and make music like all the pop artists are making. Same way with writers. It’s just…

RN: It’s frustrating. AB: It’s frustrating, not only s a musician, or as a DJ, or an artist but as someone who appreciates good writers. Good photographers. Everybody’s a photographer, all you need is an iPhone.

RN: Or an Instagram account. AB: That’s it, a couple of filters and everything looks good. Everybody’s a model. No one looks like they do in real life. It’s crazy. I know all those girls on instagram. I know them in real life, they don’t look the same.

RN: No exactly. AB: You get a couple of apps, and a couple of filters-

RN: Photoshop. AB: Get some make-up tutorials online. And then turn into this thing that looks like all the rest of them, it’s crazy.

RN: I was reading Johnny Marr’s autobiography and like you were saying, fashion made him meet these types of people who made them meet their types of people, and you don’t- it’s so foreign to me because it doesn’t exist anymore. AB: You know, it’s crazy, I was having another conversation recently with a business partner of mine who I do a night with in Los Angeles, people used to go out to be inspired, in nightclubs, because you were around amazing people that came from all these different walks of life: real writers, real photographers, real musicians, everybody inspired each other to be creative, or to collaborate or to learn something new. I go out now, and I don’t learn anything, I don’t even want to go out, not to say that those places don’t exist.

RN: They’re harder to find. AB: They’re almost impossible to find. They exist, you just really have to go out of your way to discover them. So… Long answer to the first question, it’s frustrating.

RN: Going back to Cloak & Dagger festival, how did it come up? It is a really good line-up. AB: Thank You. The original idea was to do a two year anniversary party, which would include my band. There are members of other bands that are members of Cloak and Dagger, the original idea was to do like three bands for the two year anniversary but after doing a little research with my agent, we realized that there’s no festivals out there that mix genres in the way that we do at the club. So it really was my agent’s genius idea to try and do a festival that encompasses the different genres that you play at Cloak and Dagger. So, it just went from an idea to do a little show at the club into this sweet festival we’re having. And its really exciting because all I’m really doing is what I do in the club which is put together a bunch of songs and I play them for people, in a certain order. So doing a festival like this is kinda like doing the same thing, I made a list of artists and put them altogether and we had a festival.

RN: They’re a super stellar line-up, it’s tempting to make a trip to L.A. for. AB: It’s a pretty special line-up, I have a couple of partners and everybody worked really hard, because I don’t know the first thing about a festival, I just know the music I like. So fortunately, I have a couple of partners that worked really really hard to book all these bands. And it took 9 months of work, which is a long time to put together. So I’m really glad it happened, we were able to put it together and my first show as a solo artist will be at that festival. We’re already planning on doing it hopefully in other cities next year, we’re already starting to book 2018 and hopefully it’s the next chapter of my life, building up Cloak and Dagger as a brand and doing more Cloak and Dagger festivals.

RN: I always like to close it out with a lyric, you can either complete it with your own, or you can just complete it as it is. “Must be something in the water they drink” AB: That’s one of my favorites, I love that. When I think about Prince lyrics that relate to my life, I don’t if they really relate to me but I will say… ‘The beautiful ones always smash the picture’ is one of my favorite lyrics, or ‘what’s this strange relationship?’ You know there’s just… Lemme think of the perfect Prince lyric. This is actually probably my favorite Prince lyric, is.. ‘Holding someone is truly believing there’s joy in repetition.’

If music is a cycle of new innovation, then there is endless supply of joy found in between the waves. And it’s exciting to see what the next tide brings.

The Cloak & Dagger: Dusk Till Dawn festival featuring The Jesus Mary Chain, TR/ST, Love Ecstasy Terror, Cold Cave, She Wants Revenge and more will be held Oct 20th to 21st in L.A., information can be found at http://xcloakanddaggerx.com

-Jenelle DeGuzman

#adam bravin #dj adam 12 #cloak and dagger #love ecstacy terror #she wants revenge #interview

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