Grit, Leadership, and A Forbidden Crush

Photographs By Rick Perez

Shoegaze Bratpunk (or Shoepunk) musician Bed opens up about persevering as an artist, his first headlining tour, and having a crush on someone you're not supposed to have feelings for in his new single, “Tear U Out”.

Los Angeles, USA

How did you begin your journey as a musician?

When I was in high school, my sister took me to a DIY show at a spot in the Antelope Valley desert behind an aqueduct (notoriously known as "The Generator Show"). This was my first live music and indie scene experience. I was absolutely amazed by what I saw, I never imagined an event like this could be put together by a bunch of passionate kids with a vision. While watching one of the bands and seeing everyone going crazy in the pit and feeling the energy around us, I was heavily inspired and knew at that moment I needed to pursue music.

I began making music in my bedroom when I was about 15 years old on my sisters laptop. I'd post the songs I made on Soundcloud for fun and would get good responses so that all just made me want to do it even more. Eventually I built a small discography and released my first little album called "Gems".

What have you learned along the way?

A lot, and some lessons were definitely learned the hard way. Over the years I’ve learned and am learning how to put together shows, how to connect with my audience, how to survive touring, dealing with internal issues within the band, how to be a leader, and how to manage the business side of things.

I’ve also learned alot about the industry and how to navigate my way through it with the best of my knowledge. I believe its important to learn from people that have "been there done that '', as it provides invaluable insight to how things work and how to build success. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few mentors in my music career that have greatly helped me make good decisions for and within my band.

I’ve also learned this path aint an easy one, and not for the faint of heart. This path will grind you down to the bone before you start to see any hints of success and it may take awhile, but your drive and will to see it through must be strong. Persevere and you will succeed.

You had a religious upbringing but don't follow that religion anymore. How has this influenced you as an artist and musician?

I grew up in a doomsday cult, so I never saw the world like every other kid did. I missed out on alot of "normal" things like holidays and birthdays and I feel like I never learned a lot of social rules and etiquettes that everyone else knew. The cult had very restrictive and sumptuary rules that I hated. I never felt free or like "me". For a long time I lived a double life (an experience people in my shoes go through) and ever since I left (escaped feels like a better word) it feels like I’ve been playing a very long and exhausting game of catchup.

Ever since then I swore to myself that I’d always unapologetically be myself and do what makes me happy and do what I believe is the right thing. The way it translates into my music for me is that I will do whatever I want when it comes to my sound and image. For example, I love making music that some may identify as punk, but if one day i had a strong desire to release country or reggae music, I owe it myself to explore that part of me and do so.

What was the very first show you played? How was it?

The first show I ever played was a DIY art show put together by a friend of mine whom I met through my sister, they were in a photography project together. At the time, I didnt even have a band or had even jammed with anyone and my musician friends were all already in bands so it was a struggle to find members on such short notice. The show came around and I still hadn't formed a formal group so I decided to just play the show as a solo act. The venue plugged my laptop into their pa system and I just sang and played guitar to my tracks. I received great feedback and it seemed like alot of people enjoyed the set and it inspired a great drive in me to keep doing what I was doing. Soon after that, I started to receive more opportunities and formed a "real" band.

How have you grown as a performer since?

I've definitely gotten a lot more comfortable on stage, allowing me to focus more on dynamics and the "performing" part to give our audience a high energy and memorable experience. We'll change up songs, do some crowd work, and even add some creative transitions to create a nice flow. I never want there to be a dull or quiet moment as to keep the momentum going.

As we grow as a band, we try to give an experience rather than just play the songs as they are on the recordings to make it more memorable for the audience and give them something to go home with and tell their friends and family about.

What have been some memorable shows you've played?

When we opened for a sold out show at the Fonda Theatre to over 1500 people. The last show I played before that was literally in my own backyard so it was a whole different game but the crowd absolutely loved us and we rode that energy for the rest of that support tour we were on. Another memorable show was when we sold out and headlined The Echo. That night I got to play with one of my favorite bands The High Curbs and the rest of the lineup included my best friends in Wayword and Grave Secrets.

Who are some other bands and musicians we should check out?

Wayword, Grave Secrets, Yungatita, KingShelter, En-Vitr , and Onira.

You are sharing your latest single, "Tear U Out". What's the story behind the song? What's it about?

The song is about having a crush on someone you're not supposed to but cant help it, and having to suppress those feelings no matter how much it might hurt hence, "tearing them out".

How does "Tear U Out" differ from your previous music? How does it show your growth as a musician?

“Tear U Out” is the first song I yell on since Gems, it’s been a long time and I'm really happy I finally got to do it again. It definitely makes me want to explore my voice more and see just what its capable of.

You just announced your first headlining tour with Grave Secrets. Which cities are you hitting? What kind of planning goes into a tour like this?

We’re kicking off the tour in Los Angeles at a venue I’ve been wanting to play for awhile, the Paramount (10/29)! And I’m most excited because it’s the first Halloween show we’ve ever headlined and I can’t wait to see everyone in costume having a great time, it’s going to be sick. Then we’re heading east to Tucson Arizona, we’ve played there before and had a blast and I can’t wait to be back. Then we’re heading to Las Cruces, New Mexico for a show at a place called the Range. I know a few bands thatve hit that place and it looks sick. Not only are we playing their venue but The Range are also letting us stay for the night(shoutout to them!!) AND theyre shooting a live session of us! Don’t know when it’ll be out but viewers can expect it soon after. Then we’re hitting Texas for 3 dates and venues:

11/2 Austin- Mohawk

11/3 San Antonio- The Paper Tiger(I’ve always wanted to play here too) and lastly 11/4 at a venue called Ruins. Just typing this out has me ecstatic and excited.

In my experience, planning tours can be kinda stressful (for the booking agent mostly). You have to get dates approved, find local support, and locally promote-all for different dates and venues and cities. The bigger the tour gets, the more complicated planning can get. You also have to plan the route and schedule efficiently so you don’t accidentally book a show in California one day and New York the next and have to travel the speed of light to make soundcheck (if your traveling in a van). But BADTIMES has made this all easy for us so shoutout to them for putting it all together and taking most of the headache for us haha.

Seriously cannot wait to embark on this first ever headline tour for us

What do you love about touring?

The overall grit of it. Getting to tour is definitely a pandoras box of an experience with lots of ups and lots of downs, but the opportunity to be on the road with your best friends/bandmates playing shows every night in different cities is such an invaluable and amazingly fun and even beautiful experience, it makes it all worth it and you completely forget about the downs. I hope to reach a point where I can tour full time for a living.

I also love that I get to learn more about my bandmates and grow with them as friends and as musicians. Personally, I also feel I get to practice and learn a lot about being a leader to my group as well as function as a unit to get through the harder times together. Touring also makes you a better performer and overall musician.

What's next for you?

October 29th we embark on our first headline tour, a huge milestone for us as a band and I couldn’t be more excited. We're also dropping a split 7'' ep with Grave Secrets and the vinyls look so fucking sick I’m really stoked for it, its going to be 2 of our songs and two of theirs (they’ll be available via wiretaprecords.com). We're also dropping another 4 track ep with the two songs on said 7'' as well as 2 "refurbished" ones from Gems (Black Diamonds and Not Over U).

We also plan to release another album by next year and hopefully do another tour early 2024(thats if the aliens dont invade by then)