AFL: First of all, many thanks for taking your time for an interview with us. And respect for this great debut album. Sounds so good.
Brandon: Thank you very much. We are really happy to hear that you enjoy it and appreciate your interest in us.
AFL: You founded this band at the beginning of 2016. Can you tell how it came to the creation of this band? What was the idea behind it?
Brandon: I had a lot of music that I really wanted to record that was never used during my time in Authority Zero. Sean and I both left AZ in December of 2015 but we loved playing together and both believed in the un-used material so, in early 2016 I contacted Chad about starting a new band. He has always been one of mine and Sean’s favorite singers and, in my mind, I could already hear him singing over the songs. I sent him the ideas and asked if he would be interested. A few weeks later he started sending back the songs with finished vocals. Shortly after that, Sean reached out to his former bandmate, Joe Raposo, who said yes without even hearing a note of music and that was it. Everyone flew to my house in Texas a few months later and we played together as a band for the first time.
AFL: The songs all sound incredibly catchy and harmonious on the album. As if this band existed for a long time. Was it just as easy for you to write them like this or record them in the studio?
Brandon: Thank you very much. It felt easy. I believe we have a nice balance of musical diversity and common ground so, when we get in a room together everything blends well but we also surprise and challenge each other in a good way.
AFL: You have already played several concerts together. How was that and how do the songs arrive live with the people?
Brandon: The responses have all been very positive from everyone. We really appreciate everyone who takes the time to check us out and we are looking forward to getting much busier. We love to play.
AFL: The album was released via Bird Attack Records. How did the contact come about and why was the album released in such small limited numbers?
Brandon: I met Garrett years ago through AZ. He has always been a great guy and friend and has been doing a lot of great things with Bird Attack so, I reached out to him to see if he would be interested in us and he said “absolutely”. As far as limited numbers are concerned I don’t know. That would be a question for him haha
AFL: Who is responsible for the lyrics and the songwriting?
Brandon: Chad writes all of the lyrics and he also wrote the music for Fraud. Joe wrote the music for J.I.B. and I wrote the rest of the music. Everyone adds their own personal touch to each song though. Since we all contribute in four different ways, we split things evenly four ways.
AFL: How did you come up with the name A Vulture Wake?
Brandon: A group of vultures that are feeding is called a wake. Chad came up with the name and we all dug it.
AFL: Was the album just a one off project or will we hear more from you in the future?
Brandon: This is not just a one off or a project. We are a band. We have a 3 song EP that we recorded at the same time as the album that we plan to release this fall. I just emailed new demos to Chad about a week ago so we can start working on the next album. We are hungry.
AFL: Last question that of course here in Germany many interested are you coming to tour us?
Brandon: It has taken us some time but we now have a UK/EU booking agent and we plan to be touring the UK/EU next year.
[…] Interview with A VULTURE WAKE guitarist Brandon Landelius […]