Vile Talks
Interviews with musicians, mostly hardcore music, that are putting on and supporting their local scene.
Vile Talks
Vile Talks #6: Brendan from Infectious Waste/ Basement Castration/ Excremental Scaphism
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On today's episode, I met up with my good friend Brendan. We talk about his drumming journey, influences, and what it is like being in so many projects.
Hey everybody. I'm back with another episode of Vile Talks. And I'm here with my good buddy Brendan. How are you doing today, bud? I'm doing good. That's good to hear. Um, first of all, I want you to tell me uh what bands are you in?
SPEAKER_01I am in um Infectious Waste was my first separate band. I am I'm still in that band, it's still going. And then I am in uh basement castration and uh and excremental scapism are my three active bands, and then I just have a ton of side projects that I do.
SPEAKER_00Cool, cool. You're drummer, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00All drummer. Yeah, you're you're you're the not the that not the Toledo drummer, but you're up there for sure. Uh uh.
SPEAKER_01Uh what's it like being so many bands and projects? Uh busy and also like running like merch and stuff for all my bands and stuff. It does get a little busy all the time, but honestly, it's really fun.
SPEAKER_00So do you do you print your own bands, merch?
SPEAKER_01Uh sometimes I I mostly like like um if I do print merch, it's usually like with my buddy Chris down at the bridge, and he has Oh yeah, he has a print shop in his basement that I go and print stuff at. But it's either like I do stickers sometimes, I print hats, and then I sometimes print shirts, but other than that, I go through Hero Print House in Toledo.
SPEAKER_00Shout out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, shout out them.
SPEAKER_00They're awesome. Alright, though. Um, I'm gonna get started. Uh like I s like you mentioned, you're a drummer. Uh where did you first pick up your first set of sticks?
SPEAKER_01Uh well re well actually it was back when I was um back when I was very young, like I think like maybe first grade, my parents got me a a drum kit because I would bang on pots and pans. But I mean that didn't really last too long because I found out what video games were, and then I got obsessed with that for years, and then I tried to like like play sports for a long time, and then when I hit like maybe my end of my sophomore year, I decided I wanted to pick up an instrument again, and I picked up drums.
SPEAKER_00So that's awesome. Yeah, yeah, I was uh I I was a guitar player. I remember like the first thing, like the first moment I wanted to pick up a guitar, but yeah, I was uh I was a guitar player. I've always I've always wanted to be a drummer, but I was always a guitar player.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I want to learn how to play guitar though. It's it's it would be fun to have like a like a a solo project or something would be really fun to do. Seeing you not behind the kit would be weird. Yeah, it would be weird feeling for me too. Yeah, there's like a little uh like a um uh side project that I'm doing with uh Dylan from uh Basement Castration and my buddy Mikey. Um, and I'm actually doing vocals for it. It's gonna be like some sort of like power violence slash like beat down band.
SPEAKER_00That's dope.
SPEAKER_01So I don't know. I really wanted to get going because I feel like that would be really fun to do.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that would that sounds really fun. And like I said, it would be weird not to see you behind the fucking camera. Yeah, yeah. Um what drummers influenced your style?
SPEAKER_01Um, so it okay, so just from like this like from the start from when I wanted to be a drummer, I saw like uh the first like drum cam, like I would always watch drum cams on YouTube. It would be uh well, I used to watch Joey Jordan drum cams from Slipknot, and then I found uh Dave Bland from um Full of Hell. I love Dave Bland, he is quite literally the reason why I like started wanting to do like death metal and grind drums. Cool. And um, and then uh I mean those two in specifics I really like enjoy watching them drum. And uh another big um inspiration for my drumming too is actually like clay from Mutilatrid. Oh yeah. Um he like I remember the like like the first drum I really got to see up close and like at a show was Clay. And I mean he's just a great guy, and he's a he's a nice guy and he plays really well and he's dope.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, that's dope. Shout out to me, Latrid. Yeah, yeah, I uh that's super cool. Um what was your first concert?
SPEAKER_01My uh realistically it was um uh it was that acoustics for autism like festival with those all those cover bands. Oh yeah, yeah, but like if it were to be like an actual first show, it was a long time ago. It was like back in 2020, like I think it was like August of 2022. It was Volcano, Vomit Forth, uh I think then there was Mutilatrid and then Dissected, Dissected. And I remember I went there because Trent is uh Trent from Dissected the guitarist, he's actually like kind of a cousin to me. Okay, like he's on my mom's side, but it's like a marriage cousin, so he's not really related, but we call each other cousins. Yeah, and but I remember I went to go see them and I saw mutilatred, and it was really dope. And uh that's kind of what sparked like, oh shoot, there is actually like a local scene that I can go to.
SPEAKER_00Was that in Toledo?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was in Toledo, it was at the Ottawa Tavern.
SPEAKER_00I I don't Volcano at the OT.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that that's it was a long time ago. I I really wish something like that happened again.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, I I Volcano's a scary band.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I haven't seen them yet uh because I ended up leaving after mutilation. Oh yeah, yeah. I'm so mad at myself I did, but that's also kind of how I met the infectious waste guys too.
SPEAKER_00They were all Tetra? That's that sounds about right. Uh speaking of Infectious Waste, uh, you guys just put out a new record. Yeah. Crushed within his mock. Yes. Oh dope. Dope. Okay, cool. I had to write it down just to make sure I got it right. Um what was the writing process like?
SPEAKER_01So uh whenever we write, we usually um like we usually um like we would all just jam and we would come up with like ideas on our own and then we would bring them to practice and then do them all together. And uh sometimes I'll write a drum, a drum idea, sometimes Holden will come up with a riff idea, and rarely, well, I'm not saying rarely, but a lot of the times like John will come up with ideas and stuff, and we just all just mash them together and we jam at practice and then we record it, and then Holden takes that recording. Um, and on his own, he kind of puts riffs together and the ideas together, and then creates like a guitar track, and then I just practice over that, and then we all just add it together at a at a band practice. And um, so over the span of like a few months, we got like 10 songs pretty much done and written, and we uh actually recorded that whole album ourselves out of the practice spot. We uh recorded the drums, and it was like me and Holden recording them. Um while Holden was recording, I was like helping set up and stuff, and I played the drums and then uh then um then after that when we recorded the scratch tracks, Holden recorded guitar over the scratch tracks. Well, no, it was it was guitar first. So guitar was being recorded on a scratch track. I play with I play drums with Holden, we play the song over, we take those guitar strack scratch tracks, I play drums over them, and then we record guitar over those drums, and then we record bass and then record vocals and then just everything. Yeah, yeah. Hopefully that was not no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I it sounds unique, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I mean it sounds good, and I I've listened to it full through once. I need to do listen to it more, but it's I've I've enjoyed it. Hell yeah. Yeah, thank you. And the artwork's dope, and I need some I don't have any infectious waste merch, I don't think we have shirts that are up for pre-order though. So I think after this I might have to go go buy, go some money your way. Yeah, that's awesome. I'm excited to see some of the songs played live. Do you have any shows?
SPEAKER_01Um, we have actually a couple shows coming up. We have uh one at the Ottawa Tavern coming up. Let me go to the notes app thing. Um, yeah, we have a show May 14th at the Ottawa Tavern with uh Mutilatrid Body Box and Ingested. Oh yeah. And then um the next show that we have after that would be on July 25th at the Pale Horse with uh Mutilatrid Decedent, Emaciated Remains, Oven Head, and Warm Body. Dope. So I love Oven Head, by the way. Shout out them, they are awesome. I love Oven Head.
SPEAKER_00Have you been to that uh Pale Horse yet? Not yet.
SPEAKER_01I really wanted to go to that uh uh VX or whatever, the one the one show where VX played and stuff, it's JC's new band. Um, and but I couldn't make it, unfortunately.
SPEAKER_00There's that show next week that's at South Over.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's at Pale Horse? Well, I'll be on vacation, so I can't. I can't do that. It's unfortunate. It's okay.
SPEAKER_00You're playing it in a few months, it'll be alright. True, true. Um, when did so you said Infectious Waste was your first band? Yes. When did you decide, like, oh, let's add another project?
SPEAKER_01Um, I actually uh when I I actually got asked to join um this band called Malice a long time ago, and it was a straight edge hardcore band that lasted like a little less than a year. Um but it was it was a really uh most of that time it was a really good good experience with that hardcore band. But honestly, like uh after that people just kept on asking like like me to play drums for their bands and stuff. So like it was like um yeah, when I I just wanted to be in another project and I was like just yeah, it was just a ton of friends that were straight edge and I wanted to be a part of the straight edge band and it happened and it's not around anymore, unfortunately. But uh yeah, I just like having a lot of projects. It's it's uh it adds more it it makes it more easier to like have different ideas and put them into different projects.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, because like not like all your project I wouldn't say all your projects sound the same because that's not true, but you can I can see where you can have different ideas for different projects. Yeah, that's super cool. Basement castration is like crazy, crazy sounding. I don't think I've seen I don't remember if I've seen you guys without the pitch shifter.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, yeah. That that band was a joke that ended up becoming serious. And it blew up on TikTok, yeah, and it blew up on TikTok because Dylan posted stuff on TikTok.
SPEAKER_00So yeah. That's really funny.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we got to that point where um in like popularity on TikTok where we're getting like people hating us because we're considered TikTok slot music.
SPEAKER_00Come on.
SPEAKER_01And I don't think a lot of people understand that we're not making that music because we listen to like Slamly Guy and Infectious Jelking, and we were like, oh, I want to make meme slam. It literally just started as some sort of shit post.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And um it just decided to just blow up for some reason.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, you guys are fun live. I know yeah. Yeah. Um, you mentioned straight edge.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You're you're straight edge, right? How long have you been straight edge for?
SPEAKER_01Um, I think it was December 3rd of 2022 is when I last smoked weed. Yeah, I did anything really. So it's been, I don't know, like three years or something? A little over a little over three years. Actually, no, I think it was 2021, so it was more than that.
SPEAKER_00Uh, you're a strange longer than me.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Beginning of 2024.
SPEAKER_01Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00Yep. What's it uh what's it mean to you?
SPEAKER_01Um, I just oh for a long time uh growing up, I uh um I've always been very against um like like alcohol and drugs. And I remember growing up seeing a lot of people um go through all these like like personal struggles with alcohol and and uh I always didn't really like being around people who were drunk at all. It's it's very it makes me very uncomfortable still to this day. Same thing. Um well I wouldn't really say that because like there are some people that it's like all right, but like with the the people that I remember being around when I was very young, with them being drunk, it was very uncomfortable for me. Um but I mean I remember uh like I hit like around my like the end of my freshman year, I was in a really, really dark point in my life. And um I unfortunately decided I wanted to turn to weed and I wanted to try it out, and it ended up just like completely frying my brain for the couple months that I did it, and my brain still hasn't been the same. I don't know what it I just had a really bad reaction to it, and um I just I just like got done smoking one night, and then I was like, what am I doing? Like, what am I doing? And then I I that was the last time I ever I ever um smoked was that that December night.
SPEAKER_00Oh okay, yeah. Did you already know about Straight Edge before that or did you okay?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I did. I did know a little bit about it. Um, so I was just like, yeah, I'm just claiming Straight Edge now because I just can't stand like uh anything related to this, and I didn't like the people who I was hanging around at the time. And um yeah, I I like left high school and I completely ditched all my like my like friend group there because they all treated me like shit, and then I just completely started like something new.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, well that's good that you left those shitty people and you found good ones, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Shout out to Straight Edge, it's awesome. Yeah, yeah, I didn't know you were straight edge longer than me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's been a long time. I just just couldn't stand always wanting to like like numb everything.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like it's definitely like a weird like people who aren't straight edge, they don't really like we we raw dog life basically everything. Like like yesterday, I mean I had a shitty day yesterday, and it it was like, damn, like I could numb this pain, but I'm not gonna do that. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's easier to it's it's better self-control. You could always like get really upset and then end up like overdoing the either alcohol or drugs, and then it ends up fucking.
SPEAKER_00And then it could be what you could end up, yeah. Well, yeah, yeah. Well, that's that's good for you. Yeah, it's always cool when young people find it and they don't turn, they don't go down the the bad path, and then they don't turn around. It doesn't turn their life around, which makes it worse, or it could end their life, you know? Yeah, that's super awesome. Shout out straight edge. Yes. Um, do you have a favorite show that any of your projects has played?
SPEAKER_01Uh oh, a favorite show. Um oh, that's a hard question. He was like, I remember like I'll like play a show, I'm like, that's the best show we've ever played, but then I'll just like play another show. I'm like, oh wait, that was really good too. But if I had to like if I if I had to um say any show ever, I would probably say um when I opened for 200 stab wounds earlier, like like I think it was a couple months ago. Oh at Frankie's yeah, at Frankie's, that was really fun, and a lot of people were going insane for that show, and I really, really enjoyed that show.
SPEAKER_00Um, yeah, that was awesome. I was there. It was dope.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was a really dope show. I enjoyed that show a lot, and um, but not playing a show, like if I would just go into one, it would have to be Midwest Spin Cake Fest last year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the that was a fun experience. That was so oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01I had I had a ball, it was so fun.
SPEAKER_00The monsoon that came through.
SPEAKER_01That that honestly, I thought that was hilarious. I hate to be that person, but like that's just seeing everything just go crazy. It was just insane to see.
SPEAKER_00But I think I left because like it got moved inside that that building, right? Yeah, I got because uh who was playing and they they got kicked out while the mouse was playing, right? And then they like stopped their set.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, they stopped their set early because someone had uh fucked with Asa. Yeah, and uh it it got really bad. So Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That was that was uh that was a fun fast. I had fun.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was a lot of fun. That was a really good show. Yeah, I enjoyed that.
SPEAKER_00Uh I think my favorite memory of you is uh I booked a show, I think it was my first show that I booked. Um and you played uh sets for three bands in possibly the hottest garage. It was probably like 200 degrees in the garage.
SPEAKER_01It was very hot. It was like July heat, and it was in a garage, it was musty, and by the end of the last set I played, I I I don't know. I just all I was thinking about was water. So water, water, yeah, like the dried up Spongebob is water.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's uh that's really funny. Uh Fate's Hand was on that show, right?
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, yeah. And I like I saw Fate's Hand for the first time, and it I don't really listen to a lot of like hardcore bands like that, but they were like seeing them live was so fun because they had such a stage presence, and um, they were just super fun and they got everyone moving. And uh I they played uh uh Six Feet Deep by Swear to God, and I was the only person in that entire fucking like like place that knew the lyrics, and it was so fucking good, and it made my tired ass want to mosh again.
SPEAKER_00So oh yeah, because they played they didn't headline no they didn't headline, no, but like they that's funny. That's funny you mosh that hard after yeah yeah, yeah. Shout out Fate Hands. Fate Hand is awesome. Yeah, I R I P. Oh that's that's really funny. Uh do you have a scariest show? Scariest show?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01You see, I was gonna think about this beforehand because I scariest show that I like that I've played or been to?
SPEAKER_00We'll do both. Sure.
SPEAKER_01Both that I've played. That's a hard question because I don't really feel like scared at any show that I've played.
SPEAKER_00Um we just do the other one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna yeah, I don't think I've ever been scared to play a show that I've probably my first ever show because it was like nerve-wracking. But um yeah, other than that, I don't think I've been scared at a show that I've played. Scariest show that I've been to was um it was back in like early 2023 when torture just popped off. And I saw them uh play the parts and labor bar.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, I remember there was this one hardcore band opening, and then there was this band called Sophilic, which is a uh one of the one of the guys from this band called Gut Rot. It's a solo project that he does by himself, and no one moved during his set because it was like really fast, brutal death metal. I thought it was good, but um, and then torture went on, and this is before like TikTok took over that fucking band. And like I s I shit you not, the whole like the pit got pushed out the back door, yeah, or like the entrance door to the parts of the thing. Like there was like like five like people, including this one big ass dude, decided to run full speed into the back of the pit where I was standing and then just push everyone out the door.
SPEAKER_00Oh no.
SPEAKER_01It was absolutely insane, and uh that still lives up to one of the most violent shows that I've ever been to.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's really no room to move at that point.
SPEAKER_01Oh no, no, it's a very small bar, but if it gets packed, you're not gonna be able to like stay away from the pit unless you're like back behind the merch table.
SPEAKER_00I've only seen Torture once, and I think it was after like TikTok kind of took over.
SPEAKER_01I I'm kind of I'm really glad that like I was able to see them before the whole thing happened, but it was a really fun show, and I kind of wish. I could relive that sometimes.
SPEAKER_00I I was not there. That sounds very scary, actually. Yeah, like when the whenever like the pit gets pushed open like that, and it's like, uh well, I'm a small guy. Like if a big like if someone Bailey's size comes running at me, like I'm not like I'm scared of Bailey. I think I wouldn't say everyone's scared of Bailey, but I mean I'm scared of Bailey's Yeah, I am terrified of Bailey when he moshes.
SPEAKER_01Like he's fine, like to talk with all the like he's awesome to talk with. Yeah, of course. But like the 30 seconds he moshes is Oh my gosh. He I remember I saw Dem's Fighting Words, like it was literally just a show that I decided to go to with him. Um, and I saw Dem's Fighting Words at Frankie's. It was a really like shitty lineup, and then Dem's Fighting Words was on it, and he took me and like grabbed me by the shirt, pushed me to the other side of the pit, and then like threw one back straight to the side of my like my temple. My vision was like fucked up for the rest of the day. Yeah, he he's he's terrifying. Like, I I mean like I remember there was another show that he hit me super hard in the face at at uh it was at Dirty Dungarees, and I remember this one dude came up, he's like, yo, you're in a band with him. You should know like when he's hitting you. I'm like, what? What do you mean? What are you talking about?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh, that's really funny. Shout out Bailey. Bailey's wonderful. He's a he's just a he's a cutie pie. He's a cutie pie, he's a bit just a big teddy bear who just stay out of his way for the 30 seconds that he mashes, you know? Yep, that's super awesome. Uh, I just got a couple more. We'll wrap this up. Uh, could you give me uh three albums that have no skips on them?
SPEAKER_01Um Prophecies foretold by Dehumanized.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um, the album that got me into extreme music was uh Prowl in the Yard by Pig Destroyer. That album has no skips. I love the album to death. Um and uh yeah, I didn't think this far.
SPEAKER_00I know it's always the third one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um I if I had to give one hardcore album, Worthless by um by Week and Nachos.
SPEAKER_00I'm not sure I'm not familiar with how I love Week and Nachos.
SPEAKER_01Week and Nacho's is like one of my favorite hardcore bands ever. Uh-huh. If I it was a tie, it would be the self-titled Sex Prisoner album.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Or um Worthless by Week and Nachos.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, those are both no skip albums.
SPEAKER_00Well, you've given me I I always like doing these because I get I get homework.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I it's more so power violence. I love power violence. If I had to listen to one style of hardcore, it would be power violence. I love that shit. Yeah. Um, but like, yeah, I just really like power violence a lot.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's awesome. Um, what's next for you?
SPEAKER_01What's next? Honestly, um, I want to get a couple of my side projects going and uh get more releases out for all of my bands, and I hopefully travel really far. I really want to travel far with a lot of my bands.
SPEAKER_00And um have any of your projects like been on like a tour tour?
SPEAKER_01Uh excremental scapism, yeah, but it wasn't really how we wanted it to go. We were gonna go to like Pittsburgh and like Indiana and uh like Columbus, but it ended up just being like two dates in Michigan, like Grand Rapids, Detroit. Uh the Detroit gate got actually canceled, so we actually had an off day, and then we played in Toledo, and then we played in Cleveland. Um, which it was a fun day, it was a fun tour. I enjoyed it a lot. It was just not what we wanted it to be. Yeah, but I am going to Connecticut with uh Excremental Scapazone in the start of June, and then we also have a show in uh New York the day before that show. Cool. So it's gonna be the fifth and the sixth. Uh cool. Yeah, pretty much.
SPEAKER_00Cool, good for you guys. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah. I I've never been to the well, I've been to Philly once, but that's super cool that my homies are going to the East Coast.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's I'm really excited. I've never been I I don't think I've ever been to New York or Connecticut.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I'm sure that I don't even know what the the scene is like over there. I'm sure it'll be different. Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. Good for you. Um, cool. I appreciate you talking to me today. This has been really nice, really fun. Uh, what shout-outs do you have?
SPEAKER_01Um, well, the entire like Toledo music scene and Michigan and Ohio music scene. Um like just music in general. I mean, I have friends with multiple like in different genres of music too. And um sh just straight edge. Um, if I had to give like yeah, just like honestly, I can't I don't really have like favorites that I have.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because like I I feel like if you start naming names, you're gonna feel bad. Yeah, forget yeah, because yeah, yeah, that's how it is. But shout out music, shout out straight edge and like just heavy music in general. Yeah, that's super awesome. Yeah, I know I I know I could probably say it saved my life, so yeah, it saved mine too. Yeah, that's that's awesome. Well, cool. Yeah, this has been a good conversation. I'm excited to see what's more what comes from my young homie. Uh cool. Well, I appreciate you talking to me today. This has been really fun. Uh I'll be back with more episodes soon. Thank you, everyone. Bye bye. Bye. Good shit. Hell yeah. Good shit. 28 minutes. So oh, that's not bad.
SPEAKER_01No, not bad as well. Not as bad as what