I was really excited to do this interview, and I'm even more excited to finally share it. Brad is a real cool guy, completely down to Earth. He went to high school near me and I always kind of knew him, but it wasn't until college that we really started digging each others writing. When he's not studying at Bryant University he's writing dope music or creative poems. Check out his newest project Last Summer , and take a look at the interview i did with him below, and follow him on Twitter here, SoundCloud here, an WordPress here.
What do you do?
“I make music and I am a writer, those are my two art forms I’d say."
Do you prefer one?
“Honestly it depends on the day…like right now I’m working on a project that I really like, one that I'm very passionate about.
Is it a music-project?
“Yeah the project is called Last Summer, it’s the progression of a day basically, of an average kid in the summer. Its six songs. The first day/song is “Golden” its like the morning and then the rest progresses through the day. But I like writing too because you can do it at anytime. I was just sitting in my car writing honestly (laughs). Writing is easier, music is more of a process, you have to record it, work on a beat etc. So I like writing, because anytime you get inspiration you can jot something down and see what happens with it.
When did you start?
“Writing…I used to write short stories about sports teams when I was in first or second grade. I remember writing a book for my dad, about me and him playing football at the beach. It was basically just telling what we did.
When did you take it serious?
“End of high school, freshman year in college I started really getting into poetry, then I started working on a memoir, I still am. I really haven’t done too much into novels, but I have done a lot of short stories. Definitely have done dozens and dozens of poems.
For music, I started playing the drums in third grade, played all throughout school.
Do you still play?
Yeah. I just started playing guitar like three years ago, so I’ve always been involved in music. But the rapping stuff and singing is kind of new. We used to free-style in the car for hours and hours, but then we got to a point where we were like…we need to put this stuff down. So it kind of progressed on its own. We felt like it needed to turn it into something productive.
Where would you like to see it go?
My whole goal is that it (music) really hits people in a certain way. I would love to inspire people to do something that they love. Sometimes I’ll write a song not just on my experiences but on other stuff that I heard. So people come up to me and will be like “oh is that about him?” and it’s really not. But yeah the majority of what I write is personal- like I’ve gone through it or someone I know has.
What are your biggest influences?
“Definitely the ocean, I’ve written the majority of my stuff either at the beach or remembering instances at the beach. Just the ocean in general is really inspirational to me, its so vast, I don’t know. it’s like a mystery to me.
“As far as people, musicians, and writers; definitely (Bob) Dylan is huge to me for writing. I love everything really…A Tribe Called Quest inspires me just as much as Dylan or The Beatles. Music in general is huge. I mean the Beatles were the first group that I heard, it sounds kind of corny, but they had so many melodies. You kind of have to respect what they did. I just like Bob Dylan from a songwriting perspectives, there’s a lot of meaning there. He did what he wanted.
He was definitely an incredible songwriter, real cool guy”
“The majority of people in that time era made music because they enjoyed making it. They would say what they wanted to say.
Do you feel that is kind of lost today?
“Yeah to an extent. I don’t want to be cynical of the music industry as a whole beacause there are some good groups out, but they don’t get the airplay they deserve. Even groups like Boston and Steve Miller Band, I don’t think it would surface as well (today). I think a lot of people today take the easy way out. And I get it, I’ll party to some Nikki Minaj song and have a great time, but I wish it wasn’t as prevalent. Like I wish 3 or 4 of the top 40 would be songs like that and the rest would be more inspirational.
If you could have dinner, or sit down, with anyone in the history of the world who would it be?
I would say my Grandfather first, the way he brought up my dad, he instilled the same values in me. He was just like a gentleman, I really respected him, still do. I would say Paul McCartney, I love Paul McCartney…he’s just the man (laughs). We would talk music forever and I would learn so much. I would say QuestLove too from the roots. I think that would be good dinner.
“I make music and I am a writer, those are my two art forms I’d say."
Do you prefer one?
“Honestly it depends on the day…like right now I’m working on a project that I really like, one that I'm very passionate about.
Is it a music-project?
“Yeah the project is called Last Summer, it’s the progression of a day basically, of an average kid in the summer. Its six songs. The first day/song is “Golden” its like the morning and then the rest progresses through the day. But I like writing too because you can do it at anytime. I was just sitting in my car writing honestly (laughs). Writing is easier, music is more of a process, you have to record it, work on a beat etc. So I like writing, because anytime you get inspiration you can jot something down and see what happens with it.
When did you start?
“Writing…I used to write short stories about sports teams when I was in first or second grade. I remember writing a book for my dad, about me and him playing football at the beach. It was basically just telling what we did.
When did you take it serious?
“End of high school, freshman year in college I started really getting into poetry, then I started working on a memoir, I still am. I really haven’t done too much into novels, but I have done a lot of short stories. Definitely have done dozens and dozens of poems.
For music, I started playing the drums in third grade, played all throughout school.
Do you still play?
Yeah. I just started playing guitar like three years ago, so I’ve always been involved in music. But the rapping stuff and singing is kind of new. We used to free-style in the car for hours and hours, but then we got to a point where we were like…we need to put this stuff down. So it kind of progressed on its own. We felt like it needed to turn it into something productive.
Where would you like to see it go?
My whole goal is that it (music) really hits people in a certain way. I would love to inspire people to do something that they love. Sometimes I’ll write a song not just on my experiences but on other stuff that I heard. So people come up to me and will be like “oh is that about him?” and it’s really not. But yeah the majority of what I write is personal- like I’ve gone through it or someone I know has.
What are your biggest influences?
“Definitely the ocean, I’ve written the majority of my stuff either at the beach or remembering instances at the beach. Just the ocean in general is really inspirational to me, its so vast, I don’t know. it’s like a mystery to me.
“As far as people, musicians, and writers; definitely (Bob) Dylan is huge to me for writing. I love everything really…A Tribe Called Quest inspires me just as much as Dylan or The Beatles. Music in general is huge. I mean the Beatles were the first group that I heard, it sounds kind of corny, but they had so many melodies. You kind of have to respect what they did. I just like Bob Dylan from a songwriting perspectives, there’s a lot of meaning there. He did what he wanted.
He was definitely an incredible songwriter, real cool guy”
“The majority of people in that time era made music because they enjoyed making it. They would say what they wanted to say.
Do you feel that is kind of lost today?
“Yeah to an extent. I don’t want to be cynical of the music industry as a whole beacause there are some good groups out, but they don’t get the airplay they deserve. Even groups like Boston and Steve Miller Band, I don’t think it would surface as well (today). I think a lot of people today take the easy way out. And I get it, I’ll party to some Nikki Minaj song and have a great time, but I wish it wasn’t as prevalent. Like I wish 3 or 4 of the top 40 would be songs like that and the rest would be more inspirational.
If you could have dinner, or sit down, with anyone in the history of the world who would it be?
I would say my Grandfather first, the way he brought up my dad, he instilled the same values in me. He was just like a gentleman, I really respected him, still do. I would say Paul McCartney, I love Paul McCartney…he’s just the man (laughs). We would talk music forever and I would learn so much. I would say QuestLove too from the roots. I think that would be good dinner.