Vile Talks
Interviews with musicians, mostly hardcore music, that are putting on and supporting their local scene.
Vile Talks
Vile Talks #7 Adam of Backbiter/Lie in Wait
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On this episode of Vile Talks, I met up with Adam of Backbiter and Lie in Wait before the Snuffed on Sight show at Mahalls. We talk about his musical journey, origins of Backbiter, and what making music means to him.
Hey everybody, I'm back with another episode of Vile Talks. We are here at Mahal's for the Snuffed On Site, Find a Resting Place, Torture, Line Weight, What Thousand Blades show, and I am here with Adam of Backbiter and Line Weight. How's it going? How's it going today, bud? What's going on, buddy? How you doing? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. I'm not looking forward to going to work after this, but that's right. I don't blame you. You're gonna miss a hell of a set. I know. It's okay. That'll be fine. Um, I wanted to start. I wanted a little background on your musical journey, I guess. Okay. So uh when did you first pick up the guitar?
SPEAKER_00I think I was in like eighth grade, I want to say, around then, middle school. Uh so basically, like middle school was like the most transformative, well, one of the most transformative periods for me. Um, it was like MTV2 back when all that was going on. Yeah, uh, getting ready for school one morning, and it was uh the the music video for Afterlife by Avenge Sevenfold. I think that was the big turning point for me. I never really heard anything like that before, and like I don't know how to explain it, but like it just kind of clicked, and it was just like this rocks, yeah. I want to do this for the rest of my life, and from there it was kind of just like you know, like you discover a band, and then like you just kind of hit like a wormhole of other bands like that are similar to that, and then like you might discover one thing that kind of passes that threshold and gets a little bit heavier, and then it just kind of like snowballs from there. So I would say that like Avenge Sevenfold uh Afterlife was like what really kind of kickstarted it for me.
SPEAKER_01I was not aware. That's cool. Oh, yeah, dude. That's awesome. Uh, what was your first guitar?
SPEAKER_00Uh Fender Squire Strat. Uh I still have it. Oh, sick. Yeah, I still I'll never get rid of it. Um, it was a gift from my grandmother one year for Christmas. Oh, actually, no, that's a lie. My first guitar was like an acoustic, kind of just like, am I allowed to cuss? Yeah. Okay, it was like a uh a piece of shit acoustic. Uh my I think my parents got it for me, and it came free with uh lessons. But the guitar teacher that I had at that time, uh junkie dude, and uh he just uh there wasn't like any fundamentals or anything, it was just like, hey, learn this Aussie song, and it didn't really go anywhere. But then uh I got the Squire Strat, my first electric, and that kind of like took over, you know what I mean? So like I'm not I I'm not even good at guitar. I just I just play caveman riff, and that's that's about it.
SPEAKER_01I mean, your riffs are pretty good.
SPEAKER_00I mean, they get me moving, which uh I mean if you I mean Al writes all the lineweight shit, Bryson writes all the backbiter shit.
SPEAKER_01So that's fair. Um was backbiter your first band or no?
SPEAKER_00No, so my first band uh was a metalcore band out of like the Bellevue, Ohio area called After the Ashes. Do not look it up. It's not good. Okay, poop metal core. Uh and then after that, after I left that band, uh I started a band with a friend of mine, Hunter, called Habitual Gloom Deathcore. Played a couple of shows and whatnot. COVID happened. Uh uh and at that point, after like when COVID was going on and everything, uh we can we actually, you know what? We'll we'll get into the backbiter stuff because it kind of like turns into the backbiter stuff. That's where I was gonna go. So no, backbiter is not my first band. I was in we'll say, we'll say two bands before Backbiter, uh, after the ashes and habitual gloom. Cool, awesome. Uh so when does Backbiter come into picture, I guess? So Backbiter comes into picture like pretty shortly after lockdown happens. Um me and Backbiter's like original drummer went to uh what was it? It was like Spite, Varials, Orthodox, I Am, and Dealer. Oh, I remember I remember the Flyer. Yeah, crazy, crazy tour. Um, an insane lineup. Uh, we me and the OG drummer of Backbiter went to uh the show at the old foundry. Yep. Um, and then uh that's when I met Bryson, the vocalist of Backbiter, uh, which was cool and everything, you know. Um didn't really talk to him at all at the show or anything, you know, just kind of like an introduction like, hey, I'm Bryson, I'm Adam. This is Chase. Uh Chase and Bryson were in a band together. It might have been Backbiter, maybe a different project. Uh, I don't really remember like the history of those two. Um, but me and Bryson met at that show, and then like a couple weeks after that show happened, uh Bryson messaged me and was just like, Hey, uh, do you want to join Backbiter? And I was just like, uh, I don't really know because I'm already in this band, you know, like I'm already kind of doing stuff. Send me some demos or whatever, I'll listen to them and like I'll let you know. Uh he sent me a couple demos. One of them was dog eyes, of course. And uh that's dope. After listening to the to the demos and everything, I was just like, Yeah, this shit rocks. This is like what I really want to be doing. Um, so after that, it was just uh me, Bryson, and Chase. We were kind of like working on by that point. Bryson had already had most of like the first album kind of like figured out and everything. Um, but yeah, so we met at that show, and then a couple weeks after that, he's just like, Hey, do you want to join? And uh after I heard the demos and everything, I was just like, Yeah, this is this is gonna be something crazy at some point. When I don't know, but like, and it's just crazy to be like I don't even know how to explain it. It's just crazy for me to have like that thought where like back a biter is gonna do something crazy one day, and then like to look back and see like all the shit that we've done, you know, like the Oceano tour and whatnot, and like just kind of have like that that thought process or like epiphany like snowball into like reality.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know what I mean? I think uh I think the first time I saw you guys, it was at Frankie's. I think it was the something we're suffering EP release. That was at OT. Oh, yeah, OT. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00With uh who solace, uh No Solace, Loose Cannon, uh there was a couple uh Snake Charmer from Philly. I don't know if they're still a thing, um, but yeah, we had we had the homies on that show.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was like you guys blew me away. I remember you guys blew me away, and you guys were a four-piece, right? Yeah, we were still a four-piece.
SPEAKER_00It was just me, Bryson, Tim, and Hudson.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Yeah, because uh you had hair then too.
SPEAKER_00I had a mane. You did, you did, dude? I had a lot of hair. Do you miss the hair? I miss aspects of the hair. Uh, I do not miss brushing it every day, yeah, getting ready for work. I don't miss letting it dry for three hours after I got out of the shower. Right. Uh the aesthetic of it was something, but like now I have my head tattooed. It's which is hard and it's it's a vibe.
SPEAKER_01It's a vibe. For sure, for sure. Uh that's super cool. I I've always read backbiter. You guys are awesome. And I don't know, I just some of my most violent shows. I talked with it with Jess. Uh, every show, it's like you guys, Backbiter, World of Malice, Lion Wait are some of the always some of the scariest shows. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00World of Malice shouts out World of Malice. They're scary. Uh fuck Lion Wait, even though I'm a member of Lion Wait. Fuck Backbiter too, now that we're on the subject of talking shit about bands that I'm in. Fuck both of them. Yeah, right. Listen to Gouged Out 330.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, that's right. That's too funny. Uh man. Um you mentioned the Oceano Tour. Is that I was gonna ask, like, what are some of your favorite shows you that you've played with back with Backbiter?
SPEAKER_00Honestly, I enjoy every show that I get to play no matter what, just for the love of the game. I'm not in this for a monetary thing, I'm not in this for clout or anything. This is just straight up love for the music that I enjoy, the music that I love playing, uh getting to be uh like a catalyst for people who might be dealing with things that they don't really know how to like deal with. Um it's just nice to be able to go and play shows and songs that people resonate with, that they can take out aggression or any any any kind of emotion that you're feeling, be it anger, sadness, grief, whatever. Um, just being able to uh what's I don't even know how to explain it. I don't know. Just being able to like create a medium that people resonate with and that people can let loose and be themselves with is like the most important thing because that's what this music and this scene has done for me. It's given me an opportunity to be myself, to feel emotions that normally I feel like people don't get to really express. So yeah, I don't know. It's just uh it's just like uh I don't even I don't I'm getting lost in in the in the thought about it. It's just like uh an escape from the typical day-to-day bullshit that we all deal with. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yep, I totally get it. Yeah. I do have a favorite song to play live.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Uh a favorite song to play. Uh we talking line weight or backbiter. Backbiter. Oh shit. Um honestly, we don't play it anymore, but Death Witch has always been a favorite of mine. You haven't you guys haven't played that in forever. I think the last time we played that was in, and we didn't even play the whole song. We did Death Witch kind of into like a break, and then I think it went into Maggots. Oh, oh good one. Because I think I think the first time we ever played no, it wasn't the first time. Oh, what the I don't even I don't see because this is so long ago, it's been two years. Uh we played Death Witch, and then I think we just kind of like did like a like an open holdout thing, and then we went into like maggots or something like that. But I would say Death Witch is for sure one of my favorites, and then uh I I I just I don't know. I love it so much. I don't I really can't pick like a favorite song, you know what I mean? Just because being up there just doing what I've dreamed of doing for for so long is like you just you can't beat that feeling.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's they're like there's some bands that I watch that like there's I wouldn't say a dip in their set, but there's a set where it's like or a s a song where it's like okay, I can take this song up. Every time I see Backbiter, it's like that that doesn't happen. Yeah, yeah. And it's just like I want to move, and people are moving for 99% of your set.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's that's all we strive for. We just want people to to move and go crazy and beat the shit out of each other. Uh no brawls. No, no brawls, but respectfully beat the shit out of respectfully and consensually beat the fuck out of each other.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. Uh so when did uh when did lion weight come to the picture for you?
SPEAKER_00So Al has been working on Lionweight for the last couple years. This was like the brainchild of Al. Um I first joined, I want to say it was in like November, December of 2024 after I moved to Toledo, which was dumb as hell because uh Lionweight is obviously like a Cleveland band. True. Um, but me and Al are best friends. Um he asked me to join, and I joined. Um, but when I moved to Toledo, it was a it was a bit of a process because the job that I had when I got there didn't last long. They fired me after three days uh for some bullshit with my background check. I have speeding tickets and I was uh a courier for FedEx. Um that job. No, I loved it, dude. Oh, really? I I love that job because like, dude, I don't have to talk to anybody. You just delivered. I just get to deliver, I just get to deliver shit and listen to fucking podcasts and metal all day. Dream job. Right. Um so I moved here and then uh I think we played a show at Frankie's where I took promos with them, but shortly after that, uh life kind of got in the way, and I was like in survival mode at that point, going between jobs, just trying to be able to pay my rent. Yeah. Um, you know, just freshly moving into a new place and whatnot. So I had to leave for a little bit. And then they announced that snuffed on site show back in September of last year. And once they announced that, it was just like, okay, you guys are like starting to do big shit. I'm ready to I'm ready to join the band now. It sounds selfish, and it might have been a little bit selfish. But uh the plan was, you know, like when I told Al after I like couldn't like do line weight at that point in time, he's just like, hey man, take your time, get your shit situated. There's always a spot for you here. So like, you know, things just kind of fell into place. I was able to like fully sit down, learn the set, get everything like ready to go. And then um, yeah, my first show with them was the snuffed on site show last year at uh Foundry.
SPEAKER_01Cool, the new one or the old foundry, new foundry. Okay, cool. Uh do you miss the old foundry?
SPEAKER_00Yes, absolutely. I've been to a handful of shows there, and just the vibe that the room gave off and everything about the everything about the old foundry, you know. Um, I've like I've said I've been to a handful of shows there. It's just uh a very good space. Um, but also like also new foundry.
SPEAKER_01I mean, like, yeah, this is no shade to the new foundry at all.
SPEAKER_00No, not at all.
SPEAKER_01It's like very nostalgic for me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. It's uh it's a it's a legendary location in the in the Cleveland metal scene. So absolutely I miss Old Foundry. I have a ton of a ton of uh love for the old location, ton of love for the new location too, as well. So go there. It's awesome. Yeah, absolutely. If you're in the Cleveland area, even if you're not, any show that you can go to at New Foundry, go there because the Cleveland scene is is popping off right now.
SPEAKER_01It is. Yeah, there's so many vineyards. There's what there's Mahal's, Foundry, no class. Yeah, just the Cleveland is uh a hub for everything heavy. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, pretty sure tonight, like there's a like a hardcore show at the foundry. Oh no shit. Yeah, and I'm like, damn, like I'm already I would have to look it up after this. I don't remember.
SPEAKER_00Uh we don't even have to we can talk about it off camera. Yeah, for sure, for sure.
SPEAKER_01That's super awesome. Yeah, I uh I told Al this the the LP that the LP, the Lineweight LP is one of my favorite things that has come out last few years. I had nothing to do with that.
SPEAKER_00That was that was all out. You want to know something funny? Uh the first time I heard Deja Vu, actually I hated Deja Vu because of the intro. I don't know what it was about it. It just made me super uncomfortable. It gave me a sense of uh I don't just uncomfortability. I don't even know if that's a word, but it just made me feel so fucking weird. Yeah. And now that's one of my favorite songs to play. It is, it is because the breakdown at the end is it was it was the first song I learned in the set. Oh, it was crazy because I don't know, he would send tabs and like video playthroughs, and it was just like the second song in the set or whatever. So it was one of the like the first ones that I learned, and uh I've grown an appreciation to that song.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's good, that's really good. Uh, but yeah, shout out Backbiter, shout out Lion Wait, go listen to both of them, they're dope. Uh I just got a few more cookie cutter questions and then we'll wrap this up. Uh, what was your first concert ever?
SPEAKER_00My first concert ever was Let me see here. Let me see if I can get it right. It was Avenge Sevenfold, Buckcherry, uh, fuck, who else? Um, I'm losing it. Ah, fuck. Avenge sevenfold, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Saving Abel. Dude, that's so dad, right? So, yeah, yeah, absolutely. But like I said, Even Sevenfold was my gateway into the into the whole world, into the to this whole thing that we call metal. So, um actually, my mom, God rest her soul, uh, she was supposed to take me to that show, but she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Oh, and her surgery to get you know the tumor removed and everything was the day before that show. Yeah. So uh I had a friend. Well, I uh well, he's a state trooper now. I'm not gonna say his name. Okay. Fuck the police. Uh but God re you know, like bless him and his mom because like they knew how important the show was to me and everything. Yeah, they took me to that show, and uh that like opened my eyes to to a lot more, like playing live, seeing things on like a stage and whatnot. So, like uh, you know, shouts out to them for taking me to that show. So, yeah, my first show was Saving Abel, Papa Roach, Buckcherry, awful live, by the way. Don't ever pay money to go see Buckcherry Live and Avenge Sevenfold. How was that Avenge Sevenfold live? I mean, you gotta think. I was in middle school then, so like, and at that time, Avenge was my favorite band. And it was with the Rev. That was when the Rev was still it was the year he died, it was 2009. Really? He died later that year. So my first show ever was Avenge Sevenfold as their like as their original lineup.
SPEAKER_01One of uh speaking of someone's last show, uh, one of my last you know, Peabodies, right? I've never been to Peabody's I never got to experience Peabodies. I'd been there a few times. Uh it was the All-Star Tour 2012. I saw Suicide Silence with Mitch. God damn, you're lucky. You're lucky. Yeah, on his uh on his last, I think it was their last tour. That's crazy. Yeah, because like that happened in the summer and then he passed away on Halloween. It was Halloween, yeah. Yeah, damn. Uh that's crazy. I know.
SPEAKER_00It's it's it's crazy to think about. I got to see Soundgarden like a week and a half before Chris. Where at? North Carolina. So like North Carolina, like so it was like it was like Sonic Temple, but in North Carolina, like a three-day fest. That's a Rockville? Uh what the fuck was it called? Um Carolina Rebellion. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So uh yeah, I got to see like I got to see Corn for the first time. I saw Soundgarden, I saw Bench Sevenfold again. Like it was, yeah, so that's awesome.
SPEAKER_01Um, do you have a show you were most scared at in terms of like playing or going to?
SPEAKER_00Uh going to. Um maybe like the first time I saw tsunami live, just because that was at like no class and I hadn't really been to like something like that. Maybe I had been to a couple hardcore shows at that point. Um but yeah, I was, I don't know, it was just like, hey, like I'm I'm about to see like this Bay Area band that's like tough guy shit, you know. Yeah, how concerned for my health do I need to be? It ended up being like, you know, just like a typical hardcore show or whatnot, you know. So um playing wise, maybe maybe like the first show I ever played, which was in like like I said, my I want to say like my first real band was called After the Ashes, but before that, uh After the Ashes was a band called Who Killed Todd Lauren. Definitely don't look that shit up because it's real bad. Okay. Um, but like my I would say like my first time ever playing live, like on a stage, was probably the most like scared I've ever been, but it's crazy because like there might have been eight people in the room, and I want to say like people that I brought, which was like my mom, my dad, my sister, and her now husband, okay, made up like half of the crowd. And then I didn't know how like backtracks worked or anything like that. So like we had like covers in the set and everything, and like I was just playing like the actual song of the covers we were playing, like through the PA. Yeah, and it just sounded like shit. Oh no. Um, so yeah, I would say like the first time I ever played live might have been like the most scared I've ever been.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Yeah, that would make sense. I I've only I was in like a uh cover, I wouldn't say we were a band, but we did only covers. And like playing on stage when you've never done it before is like it's uh it's like I don't know, like it's a whole different world. Don't look at me. Yeah, exactly. I'm looking at my neck and my guitar thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like you wanna you wanna be up there and be comfortable, but like there's ten people in the audience and you're scared as fuck. You know what I mean? Yeah, right. But everybody has to go through that, you know. Like now at this point, I've been playing music live for almost 10 years, and especially with like being in Backbiter and everything, and you know, like everything that we've done. Um you guys have been all over, uh, for the most part, mostly like Midwest kind of stuff. Um we are doing uh a tour here in September. Can't really like delve too much into that because it's not announced yet, but we do have uh a little what is it like 10 day tour coming up. Uh we're gonna hit uh uh some Midwest stuff and then like mostly East Coast, a couple Canada dates. Oh, cool. Have you been have you been to Canada yet? I like as a band or just uh No, so backbatter's never been out of the country. Um that's cool for you guys. Me personally, I've been to Canada twice. Yeah, you went uh you went to gamble with Benji. I did go gamble with Benji. I lost forty forty CAD Canadian dollars. And then I swore to myself that I'd never gamble again. But then uh what was it like April? Me and my homie Gooch. I was I remember that night. Yeah, I should have gone there. Yeah, yeah, you were there. That's right. You were there. I didn't I should have went. You were there. Me and Gooch, uh, we got well fuck, what was it? We started out at the OT for that for the for the resignation show. And then uh went to goth night. Went to Goth night. That was a fucking bust. And then Gooch shit was dead, dude. And then Gooch, he looked at me, he was like, hey man, so on my way here, I saw y'all had a casino. We're going to the casino, and at this point I was like, I was drunk, and I was just like, Gooch, we're not going to the casino, dude. We have to get up early to go to Kentucky for the crowbar show. And he's like, We're going to the casino. And then uh went to the casino, turned $50 into like $225. I guess I should have gone with you guys. You should have gone with us, man. We we were up on blackjack, dude. That was a possible. If you have a gambling addiction, just play blackjack. Just play blackjack. That's your best bet. Or play the the the fucking craps on the whatever the dice game is where you don't have like a machine controlling it. Yeah, right. That might sound because it's it is a machine, but like I feel like your odds are better if you're not playing like a like a slot machine or something like that. Yeah, but I'm not a gambler, so I haven't been in the casino since, and I I don't have I don't have no desire to go back. Okay, that's fair. I just just go out on top. Yeah, you know when to quit. That's the biggest thing. If you're up, get the fuck out of there. Just know when to quit.
SPEAKER_01That's great. Um, okay, so I ask everybody this. Could you tell me three albums that have no skips on them? Three albums, no skips. Any genre, it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00Well, they're all gonna be. Oh fuck. Uh let's see. No skips. Loathe. I let it in and it took everything.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I haven't heard that.
SPEAKER_00Fuck dude. I what?
SPEAKER_01I know I've never heard that album. No, I need to listen to you like that.
SPEAKER_00Brother, you need to listen to I Let It In and It Took Everything. That so the funny story about that. The first time I not the first time I ever heard Loath, okay, but like, because like they come on on like Spotify Shuffle or whatever. Um we were we were in my buddy's uh basement, his studio basement, um, and they kept putting on two-way mirror on repeat, and I'm not gonna lie to you, I was under the influence of some substances at that time, and I did not want to hear it. I wanted to hear the most aggressive, mean shit that you could put on, and they kept playing fucking two-way mirror, and I was getting pissed. I was like, turn this bullshit off. So then I'm I don't know what the fuck I was doing, but like I'm on Spotify, and uh loath comes up, and it's just like the name of the album, I let it in, and it took everything. I was going through some shit at that time, yeah. Uh, and that and the name of the album really spoke to me. So I just put the album on, I let it ride, right? It's like the fucking fourth or fifth song, two-way mirror. And uh by that point, I was too far in, and like I ended that's like one of my favorite loath songs ever. So definitely I let it in and it took everything by loath. Dude, I could give you like 15 or 20 albums with no skips. You want my top three though? Yeah, just off the top of your head. Fuck, I let it in and it took everything by loathe. Um, we'll do Faces by Mac Miller. Honestly, any Mac Miller album, because I'm a big Mac guy. Okay. Um, also, a lot of like a lot of his music has helped me get through some some tough periods. And then shit, I don't know. The first like every Avenged Sevenfold album, up to Nightmare, no skips. Uh yeah, that's true. The first two Asking Alexandria albums, no skips. Um maybe even from Death to Destiny, I don't know, but that was like formative periods. Yeah. Like I'm still like discovering myself at that point. So for certain, we'll go I Let It In, Faces by Mac Miller, and then just because of how formative of an album it was for me, uh, the self-titled Avenge Sevenfold album.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. Yeah, those are good. Yeah, that was hard for you, wasn't it?
SPEAKER_00I don't know. I could I could talk about like music and like what it's done for me all fucking day, and it's it's it's hard to narrow it down to like I guess like the most influential or like you know, yeah that kind of shit is I guess that's good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, those were good. I I haven't heard the Loweth album. I don't listen to Mac Miller, maybe I shouldn't. I know I know.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I I don't know. I just uh like I was like I discovered Mac when I was like a freshman, you know, like Kool-Aid frozen pizza off his kids' mixtape and like senior skip day and everything. Yeah. Um and then I don't know, I had a I had a a buddy like in 2014 when when Faces came out, you know, after we had graduated, he would play that mixtape on repeat. And uh I just kind of grew to to like really appreciate like Mac Miller and like his style of of rap. Yeah. R.I.P. Right? Yeah, yeah. I've got a I've got a I got his portrait right here on my uh let me let me turn the flashlight on so you can see it. This isn't on camera, but just for the for the record. Oh yeah, that's Mac Miller. That's Mac Miller. That's that's I just did I was not aware. What if we make that the thumbnail so people aren't aren't lost out of context? Oh, you're right. We can just like take the picture of me and then have the thumb. We don't have to do that. That's stupid.
SPEAKER_01I it's gonna I I think it needs to be included.
SPEAKER_00All right, we'll do it for just for context.
SPEAKER_01For documentation, yeah, yeah, for change. Awesome. Well, cool. Uh it's got two more, then we'll then I'm excited for the show. The show's gonna be dope. It's gonna be like do you have any advice for the youth or for someone getting into heavy music?
SPEAKER_00Uh do I have any advice for the youth? Uh follow your dreams. If you really love this shit and you want to do it, chase it until your fucking legs give out on you. Um this has been like playing live music and and and just creating music and creating art in general um has been such a huge part of my life. It's helped me uh get over loss, it's helped me uh find myself. Um, I don't think there's if we're being real here, there's nothing more important in this world than music because it gives you uh an opportunity to really get in tune with your emotions, with your feelings, with who you are as a person. Yep. Um I lost my mom in September of last year and The Acacia Strain, their most recent album. I let it or uh not I let it in, that's a load album, um, You Are Safe from God here. Uh that album really helped me cope with that because a lot of the lyrical content and themes on that album are really close in nature to how my mom passed away. Yeah, so like just literally if if music is what you want to do and this is something that you're passionate about, literally let it in and let it take everything. Yep, because there's no uh stronger feeling or emotion than being up on stage or creating something that you're proud of that you can put out into the world for other people to have access to and to to fuck see, I'm getting tripped up on my words again to like to just feel. Um because I don't know, you can listen to to whatever you're into. There's there's something out there that's going to tap in to how you're feeling and what you're going through, and any sort of like emotion, like you could be happy, you could be pissed, you could be sad, you could be just kind of like in the middle in limbo, and I promise you there's something out there that's going to resonate and it's going to make you feel and it's going to inspire you to create, and that's the most important thing in the world. Because especially with with everything that's going on right now in the world, like everything sucks, dude. Everything sucks. This shit is awful. Yep. What what we're going through right now. Um, and I think music and expression and being able to let that out is uh one of the most important things that anybody can do.
SPEAKER_01Yep, that's I couldn't say better myself. Very wise words, actually. Good job. That was awesome. Thank you. Uh cool. Well, uh, this has been really fun. I always end this with um, do you have any shout outs?
SPEAKER_00Oh, any shout-outs. Um shit. Uh fuck. I'm drawing. This is the one the one question I'm drawing a blank on. Um shit. I don't know. Shout out uh World of Malice, shout out Love Letters, uh our bassist Tim. Uh he plays guitar on that metal core, uh Angel statue metal core, I should say. If you're into like Poison the Well and like Seven Angels, Seven Plagues, all that like early 2000s metal core. Yep, uh, that's right up your alley. Shout out Southover, shout out Toledo, Ohio, shout out the 419, shout out Cleveland, 216, Lion Wait, fucking just a shout out to your local scene if you're listening to this, because there's nothing more important than your local scene. Go listen to the bands that are fucking opening up for the bands that you love right now, because one day those bands that are local are going to blow up, and you're not gonna be able to fucking see them on a small stage because they're gonna be headlining Sonic Temple, they're gonna be fucking headlining Welcome to Rockville, they're gonna be huge, and like get in while you can because at uh I don't know, just like shout out to to your local scene, yeah. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's really it's really important. That's that's one of the reasons I started this because like, yeah, there's people who like interview like you know the big artists, yeah, but like no one's interviewed back by uh maybe we might have done a couple interviews, but like you know, nothing like super crazy or something. Yeah, but it's just important, it's important for people from Toledo and you know, other scenes to get to know the people in their scene, the people playing in shows on their stage. It's really important.
SPEAKER_00Go to shows, uh, meet people, connect. Um, because like those connections that you form at the local level are going to blossom into something that like you can never have imagined. Like when I met Bryson at that show in Cleveland in 2020 before lockdown, like I never could have imagined that him and I would be doing the shit that Backbiter is doing right now. So like it doesn't like it's insane like how you could just meet one person and like that turns into something that snowballs into a huge not even want to say huge, because by no means is backbiter huge, but like you know, we've done things that we never imagined we would have done, you know, like going on tour with Oceano and I declare war, like crazy, dude. I was listening to those bands in high school. So was I and like I discovered I declare war in middle school, dude. Like I was listening to like now you're going to be famous in eighth grade, like trying to replicate those vocals, and then like hearing I don't like Oceano for the first time and hearing Adam's vocals for the first time. It's just like this is so insane. Like I could do this, and then like you know, like it just it turns into I want to do this, and then like you meet somebody and you form a bond with that person, and then you start a band with that person. Granted, Backbiter didn't start with me, you know. That started in uh Pittsburgh in a fucking laundry room closet and to like watch it turn into what it has turned into. Um like you just can't you can't put a price on that. You can't, you can't, like, you know, I don't even mixed up with my words again because like I get like I get so passionate talking about. I can feel I can I can feel it. Just go to your go to your local scene, go to your local shows, support your local bands, connect with people, talk to people, start bands, start making music that you care about, and that's that's all that matters. Yeah, it doesn't even have to be I mean it doesn't even have to be good, just make music, just make music because like the more you do it, the more you can fucking lock in, you can refine it, and you can you can turn it into what you want it to be.
SPEAKER_01True, that's so true. Wow, that was that was really inspiring.
SPEAKER_00I hey man, like I just I can I like I said, I could talk to you all day about this shit. I could go on and on and on for hours about it.
SPEAKER_01I would love to talk to you all day about this. Okay, maybe maybe I maybe I'm the first uh fucking part two. Part two, yeah. Hey, I I I might be I'm I'm definitely down for that actually.
SPEAKER_00Maybe maybe we can get together after the the tour in September.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm down with that.
SPEAKER_00We do have we do have a Cleveland date. There's a Detroit date too, so I know you're I know you're active. But you're you're so involved and you you're all over the place with the shit. So I know you'll you'll be at least one of them. I'll be at least one of them, yeah. And if not, I mean I know where you live. Yeah, you know where I live. Right, right, for sure. Yeah, this has been super fun. Oh yeah, man. I'm glad that we could I I don't know, you guys are listening. Me and Kyle have been trying to set this motherfucker up for weeks. Weeks, maybe even a couple months at this point. And uh, because your first episode was with Al, right? Yes, sir. Yeah, that was at Metal Frat.
SPEAKER_01No, no, I actually we didn't we didn't we didn't do yeah, technically yes, but then I went over to his place afterward.
SPEAKER_00Oh, so the metal frat wasn't even uh that didn't make the cut.
SPEAKER_01No, because the the video sucked. That's why it was video. It was video and audio. I didn't okay. It was not what I wanted, and we're just like, you know, we'll just do this.
SPEAKER_00Well, hey, make sure you guys tap into Vile Talks early because right now it's just audio, but one day he's gonna get to audio and video, and it's gonna be fucking badass.
SPEAKER_01I was here as I want you I want you guys to be here before the video comes.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Well, cool. Yeah, man. This has been dope.
SPEAKER_00This has been fucking sick. I did not expect this to last almost 40 minutes, but like here we are. You got the shit going on, but um I'm like in you know, knowing you and being your friend. Also, by the way, I used to be straight edge. I wasn't gonna bring it up.
SPEAKER_01No, we can bring it up because it's okay. It's okay. You brought it up, so that's okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's okay. Yeah, so no judgment at all.
SPEAKER_00So I used to be straight edge. You can't even say used to be because if you're not now, you never were. Exactly. All right. There we go. But yeah, you you X'd me up for the first time at LDB. That I I have that photo, I have that photo on my wall, actually. Uh we still well, I don't know, you're not in the picture, but it was me, Ethan, Evan, and Tim. We took the the picture that day at the LDB photo booth.
SPEAKER_01Dude, those photos booths are dope. Those photo booths are sick, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Also, like if you can go to like any fests, like hardcore fests or whatever, like go to that because it's a life-changing experience. Uh but yeah, uh, I saw we uh it was twitching tongues. They played day one, and they played what was it, feed your disease in front of that. And I was already sober at that point, but I didn't claim edge because I didn't know if it really was for me. And then uh just watching like the unity of like the straight edge movement and everything. I still have massive respect for the straight edge. Um but yeah, so I used to be straight edge, I'm not anymore. And that's okay. It's just your guy enjoys smoking weed in a stella artois every now and then.
SPEAKER_01And that's okay, I don't judge you. I I remember the first time I heard you broke. It was it was at uh Oh, we were in Detroit. No, no, it was it was Brothers Lounge. Was it Brothers Lounge? Yeah, yeah. It was that summer show with like last summer, with like it was back, I don't even remember, but it was at Brothers Lounge and Oh, it was oh, because it yeah, because I broke edge in Pittsburgh with the squaligrind, because we toured with them, yeah, and they were on the summer slaughter.
SPEAKER_00And I this is gonna sound so bad to anybody who's straight edge who's listening because this is all it took for me to broke. It was a coin toss. What it was a coin toss, it was a coin toss because like I don't know, I uh I was uh I I quit smoking weed and everything because like my mental health wasn't really doing that great. Yeah. Uh so like I had we had like a big shebang on New Year's going into 2023. I was drunk on substances, not gonna go into that because it doesn't fucking matter. And then, you know, sober up until uh summer slaughter 2025, and then uh me and a couple homies went to Pittsburgh, and obviously like I was cool with the square of the grind because we had toured with them in May of that year earlier. Um and uh we were uh backstage and they were you know they were lighting up a joint, and I was just like, fuck, dude, I kind of want to smoke, but like I'm not just gonna I'm not just gonna willingly break edge break edge, you know what I mean? Yeah, and like it's so dumb how much I have put things up to a coin toss. Okay. So uh uh the the drummer Jess, uh I think that's his name. We might have to fucking we might have to edit this out. Uh Jesse, yeah, the drummer. Okay. Uh they were passing around a joint or whatever, and I was just like, dude, we gotta flip a coin for this. Uh so I flipped the coin, he called it, it landed on whatever he called it. What he called. I was like a fuck. And uh so the joint was on uh fuck Justin, their basis, passed it to Jess, and I was just like, Oh, what are you doing? You know what I mean? Like I did the coin toss, so he passed it to me, and that's that's how I broke it. I never heard it was on a it was on a coin toss, and then it's just kind of yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, okay, like I've said before, no judgment. I did okay, because after I heard that, the brother show happened, and you showed up, you looked at me, and you looked like a sad puppy.
SPEAKER_00I was sad to confront you about it because you X'd me up for the first time. That's like a m- that's like a that's like a real thing, and that's like a big deal in straight edge. Uh the first person to X you up. And I don't want to say I I I I was a little bit ashamed of it. It's okay. To to see you eye to eye and be like, hey man, I'm not I'm not a part of this anymore.
SPEAKER_01And you know, I don't like I said, I give you shit initially, but I what it's your life.
SPEAKER_00I mean, anybody can give me shit about it. It's okay, but uh at the end of the day, we are all our own person, and I still have a huge amount of respect for people who can go day to day being sober. I I can. Yeah, I can. It's a little bit, I'm not gonna lie, it's it's it's difficult, yeah. It's tough now, you know, not not doing that day to day. Um, but like it's yeah, I just I uh you know, even though like I'm not straight edge anymore, it's still a huge amount of respect for the straight edge community because like you there's just uh a unity about it that and a bond that you know like you don't really see anywhere else.
SPEAKER_01I'm happy I got to know that story. I like like I knew that's like the base of what happened, but I like dude, I'm all I'm all about the lore.
SPEAKER_00Shout out hard lore, right? Shout out hard like rest in peace, Bo. Rest in peace. That might have been one of the craziest fucking things like to just wake up that day and be like, oh fuck, dude.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because I just watched whatever episode they dropped like that day. I'm pretty sure it was the Thursday.
SPEAKER_00Uh it's crazy because I got to meet him at uh LDB 2024. Because I was like, I was big, because like I said, I was like at that point, I was still driving for FedEx and listening to podcasts and shit. And like hard lore, hard lore was one of the podcasts I listened to every it was like that, Kill Tony. The show sucks now. Uh it was like that, Kill Tony, uh a couple other like hardcore and comedy podcasts, but like hardcore was definitely hard lore was definitely like a weekly listen. So like to just see that news, it's just like fuck, dude. Yeah, it was like actually kind of like heartbreaking. Like our time here is finite, and taking the most advantage of the time that we have here is the most important thing. So hug your friends and your family, hug them tight, tell them you love them at every fuck, every opportunity you get, because our time here is not guaranteed. True. Make the most of your life, make the most of this thing that you can, because at the end of the day, we all end up in the fucking ground and And who knows what comes after that. There's no there's no answer to what happens after after this thing that we call life. Yep. Make the most of it because nothing is guaranteed. Hug your friends, tell them you love them, hug your family. Any beef that you have with anyone, unless it's fucking like justified or whatever, you know. Like if it's some if it's some superficial bullshit, get the fuck over it. Because like I said, nothing's guaranteed. That's wow. That that that's actually the perfect way to end it. Tell your people you love them. Yeah, it's a really important thing. It's it's so important. Yeah, there's there's uh there's so many people that I wish I could fucking just embrace and hug again. Yeah, and I can't. No, I'm sure that there's people you wish you could do that with. And like I'm like, I'm thankful that we're able to have this conversation. Yeah, and I'm gonna I'm gonna fucking hug you after this because I'm super thankful that you've given me an opportunity to sit down and talk about these things. Yeah, um Hey, I love you, man. I love you too, dog. Hug your friends, hug your family, tell them you love them. Spend as much time with the people that you care about because nothing is guaranteed, and at the snap of a finger, it could turn anything can go left.
SPEAKER_01Yep, that's so true. Wow. I don't know. That's that's the perfect endness, actually.
SPEAKER_00I I feel like that's the best way to go out on it.
SPEAKER_01Oh, cool. Thank you for the very inspiring words. Thank you for letting me uh put this out into the universe. Yeah, this was really nice and really fun. I'm beyond excited for the show.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we're sitting in a fucking dark room at the Roxy Apache. This is a bowl. This is a bowling alley.
SPEAKER_01I I know I've never because this is where they hold the big shows, right? This is the big shows, yeah. I've never been in the shrimp.
SPEAKER_00This is uh yeah, this is a sick room, man. I've got to see some uh who fucking counterparts, Kublai Khan, Drain. Men to some sick shows in here. Fucking Al Fornhands was playing here on that counterparts tour. Me and Al were two stepping, and the next thing I know, I'm catching a fucking elbow from him straight to the bridge of the nose, dude. It was awful. But no, I yeah, uh this room is this room is sick, and it it's uh uh hopefully one day one of the bands that I'm in gets to hit. It's a perfect stage dive height. Dude, we got to see I got to see drain here with excuse me. I'm a little bit uh I'm a little bit drunk. Uh so I got the hiccups. They're they're starting to catch up. Right. Got to see drain here with no barrier. It was like the one of the only no barrier shows on that tour.
SPEAKER_01That's crazy. Yeah, I've not that's dope. Well, yeah, dope. This has been fun, man. I'm super excited for the show tonight. And uh part two coming in the fall.
SPEAKER_00Part two coming. We're gonna make that happen. We are we locking that in right now? Yes, we are. All right, part two in the fall. So I will I will see and hear from you all uh post post September. It'll probably be October because that tour runs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm excited to talk about the tour.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm I'm excited to talk about it too because we've only done one real tour. Yeah. Like, you know, like on a on like a uh we we we did the like a three-day run in 2024 with uh what is it like place blame and chain. Shout out Shout out motherfucking place blame from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Those motherfuckers are the homies. They make the hardest fucking beat down you've ever heard. Listen to Place Blame. Right. Shout out to Chain from North Carolina, shout out Death Bloom. Uh yeah, so we did that little uh we did that little run with uh place blame in uh no, that would have been 2023. Yeah. We did like Toledo, and then we went to Little Rock, and then we went to Louisville. Fun fact, Louis uh back. It's like crazy drive. 14 hours overnight in my ex-girlfriend's Ford Fusion. All of our gear had to go in place blame's van, and they were cramped in that motherfucker. So like that's hilarious, dude. It was bad. I got so that whole that whole weekend was like 96 hours, right? We went we left on like uh like a Friday. I didn't get home until Monday morning. That whole weekend, I got six hours of sleep in Little Rock, and then we had to go to Louisville, and then like that show was a fucking bust. Backfighters never had a good show in Louisville.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you guys played like a fest thing last year, right? Or some something.
SPEAKER_00So we uh yeah, uh I'm trying to think. The first time we played in Louisville was on like that weekender with place blame. It was just us two. Uh that show was a bust. Damn. And then we went back, we played with Heavy Hitter. That show was alright. Shout out Heavy Hitter, yeah, they did it for the homies. Yeah. And then fuck, we did we did the first. I'm not gonna name the fest because it doesn't matter. Uh we did the first fest in Louisville, bust. Uh, and then we went on tour with Oceano. That venue was fucking way too big for the tour. I think we played to maybe like 60 people in a 1400 cap venue. That's crazy. They were dude, they were fucking wanding people as we were playing, they were doing like the metal detector wand shit as we're like playing our set. So that was whatever. Uh and then we played year two of the fest, which was crazy because like you had like Waking the Cadaver, Chain Gang, Sanity Slip. And it flopped. That's unfortunate. Yeah, so like uh just I Louisville, like cool city, you know, like that's how it's surfaced, obviously, like knock loose and everything, but like I don't just like we just haven't had like a good example. Wef an X, dude? Oh shit and X. It's alright. Boy shouting out straight edge bands, and like I'm I'm over here drawing blanks on the shit. But yeah, I don't know. It's like we haven't really had like a good time. Like I love the city, you know, it's kind of cool. Um, but yeah, just like uh I don't know. I feel like man, this podcast was supposed to end on like some real inspirational shit. Here I am talking shit about Louisville. It's fine. I love you, Louisville. You ain't talking about it. Listen, you ain't talking shit. It's fine. We haven't had like a good time in Louisville, but I I for me, I I'll play any show that I can matter whenever I can. Like I just I'm in it for the love of the game. So I'm thankful for every opportunity that I've had to set foot on a stage and and play music that people can fucking resonate with and that people enjoy.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, that's very like I said earlier, very inspirational. You are very inspirational to me. And uh I am we are ending this here. All right, we can we can call it I'm I'm about ready for for another beer. And and and doors are open, and I have to run this stuff outside. Doors are open. All right, I bet. Hey man, thank you for thank you for letting me. Yes, cool. Well, uh this has been another episode of Vile Talks. Uh I'll have more soon. Thank you guys. Bye. Dude, good shit, dude. 51 minutes.