There aren't too many bands out there that are as real as The Bronx. In this day and age where substance is a secondary thought, The Bronx throw it all down and don't regret doing it. It takes this type of a band to carry a name with such an impact as The Bronx.
Currently ripping up and down the US as part of this year's Warped Tour, the hard work has been paying off Stateside for the Californian wrecking crew, who already routinely play to larger crowds abroad than they do in their native country. However, standing out like a greasy smear across the white silk sheets of Warped's shiny pop punk stars and starlets, The Bronx are a breed apart on the summer's travelling festival. "It's a bit of a mixed emotion," says vocalist Matt Caughthran, about his thoughts on being on Warped: "It's like being in a hot tub with a man. The hot tub feels good but sometimes the company ain't that great."
Having toured for just over two years in support of 2006's second self titled album, the last few months have seen the five piece working on not one, but two new albums (as revealed in BC 97). "That's what we do," explains Caughthran: "One of the main things about the band is all talk, no action - we talk about things, and randomly do them. We've been working hard in the last year in the last year especially to get two records out. We're doing a mariachi 'El Bronx' record, which is the tradional Hispanic record - as traditional as we could do it. Plus a regular, what you have come to expect - or not expect, Bronx record."
With new song 'Knifeman', newly uploaded onto the band's Myspace page, showcasing the 'regular' Bronx, Caughthran and guitarist Joby Ford took the time to explain how the idea of a mariachi CD came about. "We did a TV show in LA and they wanted to do an acoustic song, but those suck," said Ford: "Have you ever heard a good one - an acoustic rendition of another band's song? With the exception of, I don't even like it but the first time I saw Eric Clapton do all of his music unplugged, I thought it was great. I'm still not a fan but when he changed 'Layla' to what it was, I thought it was an incredible thing, even though I don't like that song. It was great to see what he could do with that song..."That had nothing to do with anything I was talking about. But we decided to do a mariachi version instead of a bunch of guys with acoustics looking great. It came out great and we had a bunch of our friends play on it."
With new song 'Knifeman', newly uploaded onto the band's Myspace page, showcasing the 'regular' Bronx, Caughthran and guitarist Joby Ford took the time to explain how the idea of a mariachi CD came about. "We did a TV show in LA and they wanted to do an acoustic song, but those suck," said Ford: "Have you ever heard a good one - an acoustic rendition of another band's song? With the exception of, I don't even like it but the first time I saw Eric Clapton do all of his music unplugged, I thought it was great. I'm still not a fan but when he changed 'Layla' to what it was, I thought it was an incredible thing, even though I don't like that song. It was great to see what he could do with that song..."That had nothing to do with anything I was talking about. But we decided to do a mariachi version instead of a bunch of guys with acoustics looking great. It came out great and we had a bunch of our friends play on it."
But, contrary to what people may think, the songs on 'El Bronx' are in English and not in Spanish. "I didn't sing in Spanish. I kind of use the force when it comes to that. There's a natural evolution of things. The record came natural to all of us and in certain ways, it came naturally to me, vocally, in English. It was a way for me to get out more of the melodic side of singing, and it felt really good. I felt no need to force myself to speak horrible Spanish," says Caughthran.
Raw, honest and as subtle as a luminous breezeblock to the forehead. The Bronx play hardcore punk in its truest essence, compounding their vicious studio attack with furious live shows. "It's definitely our favourite type of music," says Caughthran: "I also think a lot of bands take a shit creatively. A lot of bands enjoy the fact that they're in bands and not really doing it for music." "Because I can't play it, therefore I should," adds Ford.
"We try to push ourselves in that direction also. We're all proud to be in the band. It's a nice feeling," concludes Caughthran.
Their debut on the first date of the tour in Pomona, California featured the usual opening day of organizational madness as kinks were ironed out last minute and confusion reigned supreme.
"We try to push ourselves in that direction also. We're all proud to be in the band. It's a nice feeling," concludes Caughthran.
Their debut on the first date of the tour in Pomona, California featured the usual opening day of organizational madness as kinks were ironed out last minute and confusion reigned supreme.
The 108 degree heatwave Southern California was sweltering under didn't help much either, but the band worked through the problems and are enjoying their time on the tour. "You know what? We're glad to be here. We're having fun. We work our asses off all the time - we're excited to go on summer vacation. We've got some friends on the tour here and there, so it's cool," adds Caughthran. "What was awesome was a guy in a wheelchair was fucking people up in the mosh pit. I could give a shit about anything else but seeing that dude do that. It was awesome!" adds Ford. "It was like, I wanna hang out with that guy! [There's] so much positivity coming from that guy."
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