Hello magical friends, with an extra-big “hi!” to my wonderful patrons who make interviews like this possible. I’m your hostwitch Bess, and today at WZRD we’re doing a double interview! You’re going to love this one, so let’s jump straight to the music!
Oh wait, first a special announcement: You have until the end of the month to sign up for this year’s cover swap! Link in the transcript, as per ush. [link]
Okay, now here’s Huffle My Puffle with “Hagrid’s Back!”
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That was Huffle My Puffle’s “Hagrid’s Back,” “Waiting on the Other Side” by the Blibbering Humdingers, and “Tonight” by Creevey Crisis.
Speaking of Creevey Crisis, here’s my interview with Brandon of Hollow Godric and Russ of Creevey Crisis!
We have an extra special one today, magical friends, because we have the returning Creevey Crisis and first time interviewee, Brandon of Hollow Godric. Welcome to the show and welcome back.
Brandon: Thank you.
Russ: Thanks for having us.
This was fun because normally I either get a yes or a no when asked in an interview. And Brandon, you said, “Yes, and I would love to do it with Russ to talk about our history together.” So how about let’s start there?
Brandon: Yeah, sure. I, from my end, I am such a fan of music, right? Like I think most, many musicians, you’re a fan first. And, um, I am a, a super fan of the music that I really love. And I think Russ was one of those people that just was such an amazing supporter and fan of the stuff that I was doing. And, uh, it’s not like I was really in the mix, you know, like going out there and playing a bunch of shows and anything. And so over the years, like Hollow Godric had sort of, you know, we’d, we’d done that thing and then I’d moved on and, and life had happened. Uh, and every time I would sort of check in or whatnot, I would see Russ out there kind of like fighting the good fight and, and spreading the word about the band.
And I still remember the very first time that he contacted me. So I thought it was a very interesting story and I though it would be cool. First of all, I just have so much appreciation for Russ and all the, all the– He’s, he’s a wonderful musician and also just as a supporter and the best fan I could ever ask for. So I, I though it would be great to just kind of talk, you know, see it through his lens and my lens.
Russ: You’re giving me way too much credit, Brandon. So let’s just get that out of the way right now. Way too much, way too much credit, you know? I mean, but for me, you know, in, in the opposite direction, without Hollow Godric there probably isn’t a Creevy Crisis because the first time I got involved with wizard rock, it was always, you know, the very kind of punky, indie, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, kind of silly-ish, but not really silly-ish music. And, and for me, it was, you know, it was cool. I loved it. You know, I, I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t really think that I would ever, you know, do it. I was playing drums in a band at the time. And it was hearing Hollow Godric, the song “Autumn Note” on the original WZRD podcast. And that made me, like, take a real big step back and go, “Wait a minute.
There is so much more to wizard rock than, you know, just like the indie punk DIY thing if a band like Hollow Godric can exist in this community.” And that really opened my eyes and made me go, “Oh, wait a minute. Okay, maybe I can do this because, like, the kind of silly, funny, jokey thing wasn’t ever my style.” And hearing “Autumn Note” and then getting Portraits in the mail sent to me by Brandon, literally halfway across the world, if not more than halfway across the world at the time, and just sitting back and listening to it, I was like, “Wow, this is. Okay. I, I can definitely do this because this is incredible and I wanna be in a place where this music exists.”
Brandon: Well, that makes me very happy, obviously. I mean, what a, what, <laugh> what an impact to have. I wonder if you have one of the early misprints, because the earliest– I, I was looking through some old emails of Sam– Sam sang on a couple of songs, and he’s one of my best friends. And he was doing all the work for me, right? I was in Japan at the time when I released it. And so he’d be like. I’d be giving these orders of, of these CDs that were coming from just the craziest places, right? The wizard rock is so wild. Like, I was, you know, in Japan and I’m sending, you know, we’re sending them around the United States. We’re sending them to, like, Denmark and Sweden.
Russ: Mhm.
Brandon: By the way, I was probably losing money on it. I didn’t care, right? It was like <laugh> your thing, like the shipping. And I had a straight fee. I was, that was the very, like, DIY kind of Fugazi thing. I was like, “It has to be a straight fee. I don’t care where it’s going. I don’t care about, you know, like, I’m not making a profit off this thing, right?” I don’t think many people were. But I want. I found out one of them in the initial run had, like, a, the, the tracks swapped. So if you have one of those, then that’s one of the early run. But yeah, that’s wonderful to hear.
Russ: My CDs are all in the garage nowadays because it’s all online and it’s MP3s and everything and it’s streaming, but I’m gonna have to go grab it now and look, so I can see if I have a collector’s item.
Brandon: Yeah. I’m sure you have an early one either way. I remember, I heard that it was all battered up when you got it, I think,
Russ: Yeah.
Brandon: and that makes me sad, but, uh, <laugh> I’m glad you still have it.
Russ: The CD played just fine and that’s all that mattered.
I’ve been talking to a few bands these days with lost wrock on CDs. So I’m curious in your garage if you have the missing Striking Down Diggory song or the, um, Solitary Snape early albums.
Russ: I do have the original Striking Down Diggory CD, but I don’t have anything else beyond that. But I, I definitely know I have Eric’s first CD, yes, that I do have.
Brandon: You know, it’s funny that you mentioned that it kind of opened up this though of like, “Well, okay, you know, I, I could actually have a place in here.” I listened, by the way, to your episode on, on this, um, podcast. And so it’s funny, like, you had a very similar journey to me, and I think many people where it’s like, okay, first of all, was big into Harry Potter and it, it hit me at a time in my life where I just, I was extremely… I had a lot going on and I was young and sort of isolated and traveling a lot. And, um, something about that r, I really kind of needed it, if that makes any sense. There was something I needed about it. I don’t know what it was.
Russ: Yeah.
Brandon: So, you know, I was far away from all my friends and all that stuff. And when, uh, I heard, like, Harry and the Potters and then Draco and the Malifoys came out, and I was on board with all of it. I was like, “This is really…” First of all, it’s wacky, it’s funny, I love it, the whole library thing. I always imagined, I was like, “Man, I wanna get in on this,” right? Like, I’d love to play libraries. I love books, you know, who doesn’t? And, um, unfortunately, I ended up, you know, due to my, my work at the time, which was the military, I ended up going overseas. But the point of, of what I’m getting at is, like, I’ve always been writing songs for, for a long time, you know, and I don’t think any of them were particularly good. And I don’t consider myself some, you know, high, high shelf, you know, top shelf musician or anything, or, or songwriter, but I’m very proud of the Hollow Godric album, especially Portraits, because for the first time, there was something like, okay, I’ve been writing songs for a long time.
I don’t think any of them are that great. I don’t think anyone else thinks particularly that, that great. Like, I’ve, I’ve played to a lot of people, I’ve played a lot of empty houses, most musicians have. But there was something about that stage of my life and the emotional state I was in, and just, like, the Harry Potter, like, where it was putting my brain and, like, all of the creativity that was going on. And then when you mix that with all my weird influences and what was going on musically with me at the time, I would be sitting in my room and for eight hours at a time, I would just kind of get a thing sort of churned out. And I was happy with those songs. And that sounds really, like, “so? He was happy with the songs.” That’s, like, very rare. I think for a lot of musicians, if you’re happy with one of your songs, if you can listen to one of your songs 5 years later, 10 years later, and now 20 years later, and you’re pretty happy with the song, like, we are our own, our worst critics.
I mean, in any kind of creative endeavor, as all three of us know, it’s like you’re your worst critic. So I don’t know what it was about that, that miasma, but– I don’t know why I chose. I. That just kind of where I was at. I like writing sadder songs. I don’t know why, that’s sort of where I’m at. And, uh, I’m not a particularly sad person, right? I’m in a wonderful place, you know, but <laugh> I just like that kind of soulful, sad music, uh, or maybe yearning or, or creative. And so I just kind of started doing that, and I remember posting into, like, a Chamber of Secrets forum. Like, this is before even I was doing it on MySpace, and I was just hoping I would, like, put a song in there. I was like, “Is anyone even gonna listen to this?
Like, is this…” I did “The Scar,” I think was the first one. And I, I threw that on there, and I was like, “Is anyone gonna listen to this?” And I think I’d done a couple songs, and it was, eh. And I threw “The Scar” on there, and then suddenly it, like, went, in that terms, big. And so that kinda showed me. I was like, “Oh, this is… “The Scar” is sorta like this…” I don’t know if you’d call it, like, some kind of emo-y, kind of acoustic. I don’t know what you’d call it, but, like, it’s pretty on the nose, but people really liked it. And so I was like, “Okay. All right, like, I guess we’ll go for it again, right?” ‘Cause it’s tough, like, wanting to share your music with people because a lot of it, it’s, especially the internet. So anyway, to wrap that up, I didn’t know there was a place for me either, and I sort of was very nervous about it.
And then I started getting that traction, and then once, once we hit kind of the Myspace era, that all sort of really started moving along quite nicely. But, um, I’m glad that it had the impact it did. I’m glad you started making music, for sure.
Russ: Yeah. Oh, definitely. And, you know, even, even years later, you know, we’d be talking about, you know, first wave, second wave, third wave wizard rock. I don’t know which wave we’re on now, 27 at this point. I’m, I’m not sure, you know? But, like, you know, like when I was, you know, helping out with the Wizrocklopedia and people would constantly be asking, “Well, where should we start? I’m, I’m brand new to wizard rock. Where should we start?” I mean, I know if I was answering, I was like, “You gotta go listen to Hollow Godric.” And, and that was one of the, you know, the bands because it was always, yeah, Harry the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, Whomping Willows, Parselmouths, Moaning Myrtles, all incredible bands, incredible people. But for me, I was like, “We need to kind of show that there’s a huge breadth of bands in wizard rock.” And that’s where, to me, Hollow Godric really came in.
Like I said at the top, you know, the style of music, the songwriting, the chord structures, the way the songs were layered, very intricate at times, but also very simple at times. And it, it kind of had just this perfect sound. And, and, you know, Brandon, one of things I loved about your lyrics too was that, yeah, some of the songs were on the nose, but some of them really weren’t. And you could probably take somebody had never heard of wizard rock play some Hollow Godric and they’d be like, “Yeah, this is some great music,” and not even realize that they’re listening to a wizard rock band. And to me, you know, that was, you know, a good thing. I know some people liked their lyrics on the nose and some didn’t. But, you know, Hollow Godric was one of those bands that, especially in the first couple of years, that you could introduce somebody to wizard rock and then they’d go, “Eh, yeah, it’s all right.” But then you play like a Hollow Godric or you introduce them to somebody like a Butterbeer Experience that’s more, you know, like, uh, Broadway showtune influenced, the Gringott Girls, you know, chamber choir type music.
And you could say, “This is all wizard rock because the lyrics are about Harry Potter, but the musical styles are completely different from each other.” And so somebody could say, “Hey, wait a minute. If all these different bands are wizard rock, then number one, I can probably find a wizard rock band that I’m gonna like. But number two, hey, maybe I can be wizard rock because I would prefer to rap, or I’d prefer to play jazz standards, or I prefer to play, you know, death metal.”
Brandon: Yeah.
Russ: And you could just blend everything together, and as long as the lyrics’re about Harry Potter, people were gonna find you and listen to you and like you, and you were gonna find a place in the community. And that’s what I always loved about it.
Brandon: 100%. I feel like for me, I, I felt a little. There’s always a strange feeling at first of like, am I butting in on this thing, right? It’s like you’ve got the Harry and the Potters and you got Draco and the Malfoys and all that. And like, am I kind of like getting into someone’s party where I shouldn’t be, right, in terms of that? I, I felt that very much early on, but I found that the community was just the most, like, accepting, just up for a good time as you take to kind of, to your point, up for a good time. And just like, I’ve heard some of the coolest stuff come out of it, and so yeah, 100% agree. And I’m just so grateful for that, right? ‘Cause again, it, up to that point, I did not have a ton of people clamoring to listen to anything that I was writing.
<laugh> And even since, even after that, I think that was really, um. I don’t know that I wrote a listenable song after Hollow Godric until a couple years ago. It’s just kind of… There’s just something about the intersection of those two things. I don’t know.
Russ: You know, if you’re like me too, Brandon, you, I mean, I’m sure you remember going out, you know, playing clubs in, in different bands and playing shows, and there’s always a bit of a competitive nature to it. You know, like, you’re in a bill with four of the bands at a bar, you’re all fighting for 20 bucks from the door, whoever comes in during your set, that’s who gets counted towards you. So you’re always, like, watching the other bands and going like, “Oh, what do these guys sound like? Look at that drum kit. Is he really gonna hit all those toms? Oh, they got a Marshall stack. I think, oh, boy, these, these guys might be good because they have really good gear.” And then they sound like, you know, crap when they actually start playing. But, but there’s like a competitive nature to it –
Brandon: Mm.
Russ: When you’re, like, in a, you know, a quote unquote real band, a muggle band, whatever you wanna call it. But then in wizard rock, you know, it’s like you get all these people in a house sitting on a bunch of couches, having fun, and you’re talking to somebody, and they go, “Wait a minute, hold on a second.” They grab a guitar, jump up, play a set, put the guitar down, sit right back down next to you on the couch and start talking, just pick up the conversation we left off. And there’s a completely different vibe and atmosphere to a community like wizard rock that’s so very different. So the first time I experienced that, I was just like, “Wow, this is– I’m blown away because I, I though music was very competitive at times, and it’s really about community and hanging out and having fun with each other.”
Brandon: Yeah, it’s wonderful.
But Brandon, you were saying you didn’t do a lot of that? You were abroad –
Brandon: No, my story’s kinda– My wizard rock adventure was very interesting. I would say it was kind of phoned in, not in the sense that it was, it was lazy, but more in the sense that, like, I was kind of doing it from afar, right? And so what happened was, in, in short, gosh, I’d read, I’d, I’d read an article about Harry and the Potters, this is, like, 2004, maybe. I d – I don’t. My timeline might be messed up, but, um, I wanna say it was around 2004, 2005, something like that. And, uh, so I listened to it, kinda got into it, got into a couple of the bands we mentioned, and at some point around 2005, you know, I, I’ve always been recording songs, whatever, right, like, messing around with stuff, but I was very busy at the time. I was, I was in the Air Force, I was in the military.
And so, I, I was studying, I was just doing a lot. My work was extremely intense, and I was very far away from literally all the musi – like, all my friends are musicians pretty much, and I was very far away from all of them. So, it was very much like a isolated kind of project, and there are a few– Like I met my, one of my best friends, Tyler, who was the drummer on, on many of those songs, uh, and performed with us the, the two times the Hollow Godric <laugh> has, has played. Uh, again, you’re probably gonna start to realize, like, how, uh, much of a two-bit operation this is. But basically, you know, we, we started recording some things, and by the time I was probably most of the way through the album, I had moved to Japan. And, um, so I just had–
I didn’t even really get to go and, and, and see any of these shows or, or go to any of the things. And I would read about it, right? I’m on the– This, of course, at the time, we’re still on. We’ve got forums, you know, the internet’s very much. We’re already kinda, like, we’ve got communities going. And I was reading about it, and I was, I just wanted it so bad. I was like, “Man, like, I wanna go to one of these…” Was it they call it, was it the, uh, the Wizstock or, uh, what was the name of it?
Russ: Wrockstock.
Brandon: Wrockstock, sorry.
Russ: Wrockstock, yeah.
Brandon: Like, I was like, “Man, I’m gonna get into one of these Wrockstocks. It’s gonna be so awesome. We’re gonna meet all these, like, people.” And of course, at the time, I was thinking there’s no way I’m getting on a Wrockstock bill because, like, to be quite honest, like, there was never a time i- in that era where, like, I was, uh, I really felt like, like Hollow Godric was really hitting hard on the, on those charts, right?
I think it was much more of kind of a niche thing, which was perfectly, like, fine. So I honestly never thought I was gonna get on a, on a, on a, on a bill, even if, even if I’d been here. But I ended up moving and finishing the album in Japan, so of course I couldn’t really, um, do that. And then I guess to, to sort of segue into, to why Russ, I think, is, and I are here, is I ended up having to unfortunately go into a war zone. And, um, while I’m there, I had very sparse, uh, access to internet, right? I had a tiny little travel guitar that I hated that could barely do anything. Um, but it was all I could sort of fit with my gear. And one day, I get this email, right? I, like, come, come back from a particularly difficult day, and I get this email, uh, that was just like, “Hey, I really love your, your music or whatever, and I, I really like this song, Autumn Note. Like, what is the tuning use on that? Or what’s how you play?” Something like that.
Russ: Mm-hmm.
Brandon: And it’s so funny, because “Autumn Note” is, like, I have this one tuning that I consider, like, my tuning. I’m sure it’s not. I’m sure tons of people that do alternate tunings use it, but it’s just, it was the one I always kind of. I just was messed around one day, kind of locked it in, and I wrote a bunch of songs on it. And so, if that’s the one I’m thinking of, I don’t think it’s in DADGAD, that’s guitar stuff. But, like, I think it was in this weird tune that I used. And the fact that he kind of keyed in on that, “Autumn Note” was, like, one of my favorite songs to play. I just liked playing. I liked how it felt to play it. I really think those are pretty notes.
And I. This sounds really, like, airy-fairy cheesy, but, like, it’s one of those things where you, Sometimes you don’t feel like you’re writing these songs or you’re writing these, like, riffs. You just sit in a room and you kind of pay attention and then things happen and then, um, these things happen. So, uh, I was just so. I was really happy to hear that. I was like, “Oh, someone liked “Autumn Note,”” because that was. It’s not like an easy song to, to play. So I was like, “Okay, well, like, I’ll, I’ll give you the, like, how I play it. It’s, it’s not easy to play, but here you go. Here’s the tuning.” And so I kind of took my little guitar and I was trying to remember. I was like, “I think I do this.” And so I sent him a, a tab or whatnot, and, um, and it really just made my day, made my week, you know?
It was like, okay. Because it was, it was taking these two parts of my life, which is, this is a common theme with Hollow Godric and wizrock and where wizrock is in my life. It, it was, like, really getting me through a lot of what was going on in my life, which was very unpleasant. And, um, so to get that, like, call from that side of my life, which no one else knew, no one I worked with, I wasn’t talking about this thing, I was–for obvious reasons. And so to get a call from that world, from, like, literally half a world away and be like, “Hey, I really like this stuff you’re doing,” it just, like, I really, really have so much gratitude for that, because it really meant a lot to me at the time.
Russ: You know, that makes me really happy, because, you know, it’s. I felt like I was, like, stepping out on a limb. I was like, “This guy is an incredible musician, incredible songwriter.” I’m like, “He’s, you know, he’s Hollow Godric. He’s one of the OG wizrock bands,” you know? And I’m like, “This guy’s probably gonna be like, “Who the hell is this guy emailing? Why does he want to know the tuning of the song?” You know, and I’m a drummer by nature, you know? It’s so, like, I, you know, thankfully now, 20 years later, I, I’m a little bit better. I can, I can play two songs in DADGAD, you know, so I consider myself pretty accomplished for a drummer on a guitar.
Brandon: No, I’ve heard what you play. You play quite well.
Russ: <laugh> But I was like, I was like, I was like, I just, I couldn’t get my head around this song. I was just like, “I gotta learn how to play it,” because I would listen to it literally every day. I took, I took that podcast episode, put it in a Reaper. No, it was Cubase at the time. I was using Cubase, and I chopped the song out of the podcast, put it on my iPod.
Brandon: Was this the WZRD podcast? The original?
Russ: Yeah, the original WZRD podcast. Okay. Yeah, so it was, it was like a, a more laid back acoustic version of “Autumn” than I think you had put out for compilation. It wasn’t the version that’s on the CD.
Brandon: Uh, that, that was the pre-album version. I was telling you –
Russ: Yeah.
Brandon: I used to upload those songs. That would’ve been, like, the original recording, which by the way, some of those, I kinda like more. It’s like, you just, you can’t capture it again –
Russ: Yeah.
Brandon: When you try to do it for the album.
Russ: Yeah. Yeah. But I would listen to that song literally every day trying to figure it out. And I finally, I’m like, “All right, I’m just gonna shoot my shot and just message, message Brandon.” And, and they came, came back, “Here you, here’s the tuning, here’s the tab.” And I grabbed my guitar and I fought with it for hours and eventually got a very kind of close approximation. And I said, “Hey, I guess I’m a really good guitarist now because I can play the riff from “Autumn Note,” you know?” So –
Brandon: That makes me really happy because I still remember. It is, like, I have these things, right? I have these guitar parts of bands that I love or songs that I love. And if you learn how to play it, it’s… Like when I first learned to play guitar, I still remember there’s a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers called “My Friends,” and it’s from this era that they’ve completely, like, just, “Oh, we don’t talk about that era. We lost John Frusciante and we had– blah, blah, blah.” But I loved this song. You know, I’m a teenager at the time, and, and I, I just loved the guitar part. And when I was learning guitar, and I just, I was struggling. Learning guitar is hard. Learning anything that’s worthwhile is hard, right? But when I finally, I got the tab or magazine and I learned to play the first couple notes of that, and it just hit.
Brandon: And I was like, “Okay, I’m hooked.” Like, this is –
Russ: Yep.
Brandon: If you can play a song that you love, I’ve got songs that I’ve heard, again, 25 years ago, 20 years ago. When I pick up a guitar, I play it every time.
Russ: Mm-hmm.
Brandon: I play the riff every time. I just, and it makes me happy every time.
Russ: Same. <laugh>.
Brandon: So I’m, I’m, again, I’m just honored that I’ve got someone out there that feels that way about anything I’ve done.
Russ: Yeah, it was great. And, and, you know, you know, I, I did a, a metal kind of cover of that song.
Brandon: Yes, I remember. Yeah.
Russ: Yep.
Brandon: I remember where I was when I heard that, actually. God. I was like, “Wow, this is nuts.”
Russ: Uh, I had so much fun recording that, but I actually did play, I played it at a house show outside of Boston. Whompy was there, JFF was there. There were a couple other bands there. I think Bellatrix and the Le Stranges were there. And I started playing “Autumn Note” and, and Matt and Justin’s face is just what. Like, they couldn’t believe that I was playing that song. And afterwards, they were like, “You know Hollow Godric?” I’m like, “Doesn’t everybody?”
Brandon: No, not every. <laugh> I love thi– I love this, this fiction that is, if this has become the new revisionist, like, reality, then I’m on board.
Russ: I would not make this up.
Brandon: Yeah. But, you know, it’s funny, you mentioned Matt. Did you, you mentioned Matt Maggiacomo, right? And, uh –
Russ: Yeah.
Brandon: I don’t think anyone would know about who I was if he hadn’t, like, put me in one his songs, right? I, I have a lot of gratitude for, for Matt, because again, at the time, like, he was, uh, he was a big– I think he’s been a big deal, like, for a long time. It’s hard for me to, to sort of place all the people in all the time. But I remember, like, uh, Whomping Willows, right? He was definitely, like, one of those very influential players. And, um, he had put, like, my band’s name in one of those songs, which I just was like, “Whoa, like, okay.” <laugh> You know, because it’s a real, “this is, like, a real wizard rock band, and, like, they’ve thrown my name in here.”
So, uh, you know, I’ve given him crap for it over the years, but, like, you know, jokingly, but, like, honestly, I can, I can say with, with complete sincerity that had he not put my name in that song, I don’t think anyone really hears Hollow Godric, you know? Like very few people. ‘Cause people hear that and they’re like, “Oh, this must be part of this whole thing.” You know? Meanwhile, I’m in my room, you know, like <laugh> like thousands of miles away, like, writing these songs, like, you know, I don’t have a horde of fans around me. I’m like, “What, Russ? Sorry, I’m partying with my – <laugh>. My fans–
Russ: <laugh>
Brandon: Right now.”
Russ: Yeah, that’s the wizard rock life, yeah, partying all the time, yeah.
Brandon: Absolutely, yeah. It seemed like a party that I never got to be a part of. So for the, for the two shows that we did have, and we had wonderful time, and people were so gracious, like, when I finally played our show and I had all the people there, I had Sam, you know, all the people that we had on the record, Tyler’s there, like, Nathan’s, all, all these friends that I had that, um, helped me make that thing, and we got to play and just have a good time, and I was home on leave from Japan, and so it was, it was a great time. And honestly, the first time… We played one show in Dallas in 2009, around there, and, uh, How Airplanes Fly, I think, was –
Russ: uh-huh.
Brandon: Was there. And then, uh, I believe that that was the musician who, who she came up, and she asked for an autograph, and she, like, had the, had the album or something.I was like, “What?” Like, <laugh> like, “What?” <laugh>
Avery of How Airlanes Fly, uh, credits you for him, uh, realizing that he could make wizard rock as well.
Brandon: Yeah. Well, he, like, he was so gracious and, and kind and, like, it was just, it was just, it blew my mind that, like, anyone would wanna have my, um, would, would have my autograph, right? So.
Russ: Well, I’m, I’m jealous Avery has your autograph because I don’t. <laugh>
Brandon: Okay, well, I’ll have to, have to get one shipped out to you, Russ. <laugh>
Russ: Thanks, Brandon.
Brandon: I was joking when I played this song, um, that I recorded. Um, I was like, “I’m gonna blur out the neck so Russ can’t see how I’m doing it.” <laugh>
Now, Russ, I remember we talked about how the name Creevey Crisis came into being, uh, when you were here a shocking number of years ago.
Russ: Yeah, it was a while ago. I think I still had hair back then. <laugh>
But I’ve always wondered about Hollow Godric, and I honestly never thought I’d get to ask, because you seemed like such a cool, like, legend figure. But, uh, how did Hollow Godric happen?
Brandon: Uh, oh, sorry, that’s a question for me. Russ might know the answer. I don’t know.
Russ: That I don’t, unfortunately.
Brandon: Well, I mean, a lot of it happening kinda has to do with Russ talking about a lot, but how it happened, um, I don’t have a great answer for this one. I was thinking of a name that met kind of the, the vibe of what I was doing. And again, I like to write sort of just more pensive, sort of moody songs. And I also was, you know, in my early 20s at the time, so there was probably a little bit of the emo thing in there. And so the name, you know, you got Godric’s Hollow, obviously, which by the way, it’s absolute hell trying to search for anything of, like, <laugh> for, for Hollow Godric, because it just comes up with Godric’s Hollow. Um, but it, uh, it was just kind of… I was thinking about, I was like, “Oh, what if I switch this?
Hollow Godric, Hollow… You know, it just has this kind of darker vibe that I, at the time, felt like I was going for. And by the way, I don’t think the music’s overall dark, but for whatever it was, I kinda thought it, it worked out. I kinda liked it. Obviously, it’s a, a pretty, again, on the nose name, right? Like <laugh> it’s not a- altogether that creative. But that was what it was, was I just though it kinda fit the vibe. I, I always, I loved… I’ve always liked, like, the third book and the third movie, because I really liked in the third movie how they did the, the colors and the filters, and it was very, like, Halloween-y vibe. I mean, they’re singing, like, the bubble, bubble, toil and trouble thing at the beginning. It’s ve – just they’re wearing all the earthy colors, the ’70s stuff, um, the pumpkin patch, all these, like, visuals and stuff, that was just right up my alley.
Like, that was just really kind of my aesthetic. And so, I kinda wanted that. I remember I even, I had asked, uh, I found someone that helped me do the website back when we all had websites for HollowGodric.net, whatever it was. And I asked them to, like, get me all these, like, pumpkins. I want it to be blue, you know, and, like, a dark kind of blue sort of, like, you know, that kind of thing. So that’s, that’s a really long answer for a really not imaginative name.
Were there ever alternatives? Were you considering, I don’t know, Slytherin or something else entirely?
Brandon: The only one that I had that I, that I made as a half joke was that I was going to do a band called Cruciatus that was going to be a, a death metal band because I, I. <laugh> Oddly enough, one of the things that really seeps into a lot of the songs I was writing with Hollow Godric was I was listening to a lot of this band called Opeth at the time, which was, like, this, uh, Swedish. They’re like the gateway drugs to death metal because there’s a lot of really nice vocals and beautiful stuff, but then it, like, gets really, really intense. But they write these beautiful bardic, you know, a lot of the stuff I was doing, I really love, like, Celtic-y stuff, obviously, like, there’s just all these influences like that. So, I really, like, was listening to a lot of this stuff that was kind of…
When I hear the Hollow Godric stuff, it’s like this weird mix of, like, the Sundays, which is this kind of, like, British band from the very early ’90s, late 80s that I love, and it’s not at all heavy. It’s completely kind of, like, this slightly dreamy kind of Brit pop. Not Brit pop, like, indie, whatever you wanna call it. And then you’ve got, like, death metal stuff in there, like, the Swedish, you know, these guitar things in there. It’s just this weird mix of all those things. So, no, I, I think I kinda had this desire to do, like, a death metal project where I would write these potter songs that went really into that. And the closest I ever got to that was the last song on my second Hollow Godric album, which doesn’t really. It’s complete 180 to the rest of the album, but I was like, “I’ve, I’ve just gotta, like, do something, you know, a little heavier in here.” ‘Cause I, I r – I play a lot of rock and roll. I really like playing louder music sometimes.
Russ: I loved what I heard as, uh, “Beyond the Veil.”
Brandon: Yeah.
Russ: Because it starts out like a, like a traditional Hollow Godric song and then turns into Hum like in a second.
Brandon: Yeah.
Russ: I’m like, “Yep, there we go.”
Brandon: Okay. So, uh, I’m glad that you mentioned Hum, because, like, I’ve flown to see that band a lot of times. I’ve driven to see them. I’m gonna see them, by the way, in…pretty soon. Again, that’s. I listened to a lot of, like, space rock and just weird. All kinds of stuff was going into the, the influences there.
So I know you said you didn’t get a lot of in-person experiences. Russ, I think you had more. But I wanted to find out some of your cool stories besides, you know, legendary Avery asking for your autograph, which is pretty huge enough already.
Brandon: Yeah. Um, they were both very magical things. First of all, there’s just, there’s a lot of magic just in how it all just. I mean, standing in line to ship CDs to people from half across the world, and then, and just have them want it. To have people wanna listen to a CD, like, and have me send it to Argentina or, you know, Sweden or whatever, that was a real trip. And I, I just loved it. I, I just. It brought me so much joy. The first gig that we played, I should’ve done this research so I could name the people that I played with. I need to go back and do that. But we set up a show. Basically, we paid to set up a show, like, we just. A show. We weren’t gonna get one unless we put one on. So we were like, “Hey, I think I can get back to the States for such and such time.” And all of our friends are sort of, you know, in Texas at the time.
So it’s like, “Hey, um, I can come back at this time. Can we set up a show? We can rent a venue.” Uh, we did this whole thing. We set it up. We have friends bring a PA. It was very, very slap dash, kind of last minute, got a bunch of snacks. And then, like Russ mentioned, it was. I, I literally though it was gonna be, like, us, like, four people or just the other artists that were gonna come. And, um, like, a bunch of people came, like, from the area, like, because there, there’s a network here. There’s a, like community, right? Which I just wasn’t, I wasn’t aware of. And so a bunch of people came and it was very just hanging out, having a great time, very, very gracious. Seeing people arrive and watching us play and actually knowing what we were doing was just a very odd experience.
Uh, and again, I’ve been playing music a long time. No one knows like <laugh> or maybe your, your family and your closest friends, you keep dragging out the shows because they, you know, they wanna support you. Those are the people that might kind of sing along. You don’t get people that you’ve never met like kind of bobbing along with your songs or, or being excited to hear them. So that was very, very magical. I mean, the, um, I’ll go and I’ll find the, the names of the bands, but I remember, uh, the gentleman who, who played, it was like a, uh, a single, like a solo act, um, that had a microphone and kind of did music that way.
Russ: I wanna say you played with Catchlove at that show, if I remember correctly.
Brandon: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That, um, I believe that was, that was correct as well. So it was ju – I remember like after we, we all played, you know, I came into town and we had to practice. Oh my God, I forgot about this. <laugh> I came into town and we were jamming. We were, you know, so great to jam with your friends again, right? I’ve been gone for probably a couple years. And, uh, and I blew out my voice. Like we were like, you know, playing Led Zeppelin or something and I’m trying to, I can’t do Robert Plant, but I tried anyway and we were just having a great time just, just rock and rolling. And I blew out a whole like register of my voice. And I, I had like four days to the Hollow Godric show and I’m like, “Oh no, like this is not good.” And so I, I was, you know, okay, it’s throat coat and, you know, lemon and, and ice water and, and, and honey and not talking for several days, just being real easy on my voice.
Magically, like the day of, I was able to sort of, we did fine and it kind of came back. I was very worried about that. It went on okay. So maybe the first Hollow Godric show could have been just me not being able to sing. And I forgot, I think I forgot my ocarina as well. Um, so that happened. I play ocarina by the way, like ocarina, my, my things. That’s the Zelda/Renfair influence, I think on. <laugh> But, um, I remember hanging outside after the show with just all the people there, you know, we’re all out, out just hanging out. And that to me, that’s my favorite part about music and rock and roll was, right, it’s like the, the show’s over, everyone’s just hanging out and you’re just talking to all these people that everyone shares like a common thing. Everyone is, you know, you can talk about all these bands that everyone likes.
So that to me was just magical. It was just hanging out like, again, that was what I always wanted, right? It’s like I always wanted, it’s like I’ve been, I’ve been putting into this system, you know, I, I, I felt like I wanted this to be a part of this thing pretty badly. But honestly, I’m very glad that it was a delayed thing because I think had I gotten any attention at the time or gotten a lot of attention at the time, I was not in a place where I could have processed it well or in a healthy way. So I got just the right amount of sort of exposure and kind of feedback and it was healthy in all, I think. So that, that, that was the magic there. And then when we played in 2009, man, uh, I forgot the CDs that we were supposed to sell, like, for the show.
And so, uh, I had, had to ask someone, uh, that I was with at the time to go and like, “Okay, can you go through the back door? I promise my German Shepherd is very sweet, like she won’t bother you.” Uh, <laugh> and have someone go and get my CDs and like speed them to the show at the last minute. Well, so it’s very likely that I can’t remember if Avery had brought one that he had already had or if he bought it from us, but if he bought it from us, that was a last minute situation. And all that came together. We almost didn’t have a drum set. It was just like, you know, this always happens. This is how music goes. But –
Russ: Yes. Yes.
Brandon: Those are, those are some stories I remember. They’re just, um, yeah, it w – it was all a very magical time.
I know, I can barely tear myself away either, but it’s time for the next block of music. First up is “Molly is the Bomb” from the Shrieking Shack Disco Gang.
~*~
We just listened to the Shrieking Shack Disco Gang and their “Molly is the Bomb,” RiddleTM singing “Up to You” [lyrics], and “Going to Hogwarts” by Amy Snow [lyrics].
And let’s get back to that interview with Brandon and Russ!
And you all never met in person, the two of you, despite such close connections over the years. Was it all MySpace?
Russ: Yeah. It was all MySpace.
Brandon: Yeah. I think MySpace was when it really took off for, for me and probably for a lot of wizard rock.
Russ: Oh, yeah. I mean, without MySpace, I don’t know if there was a wizard rock. Like, like we know it. Because it was such a, uh, a self-contained community where there was no BandCamp, there was no iTunes, there was no Spotify. So if you wanted to, you know, hear new music, MySpace was where you went, that’s where you found bands. And it was the whole, you know, top eight, top 12 thing –
Brandon: Yes.
Russ: That instantly got you introduced to other bands.
Brandon: Yeah.
Russ: You know, the first time I listened to wizard rock, it was Harry and the Potters. And just like you, Brandon, I, I read an article about them and I listened to them on MySpace. It was a live version of “Save Ginny.” It was the first wizard rock song I ever heard. I was like, “Wow, this is cool. Okay.” And then I walked away.
Russ: And I didn’t think about it for a little bit until one night I was like, “Ah, I wanna go listen to that funny Harry Potter band again.” And I started listening to the song. But this time I actually scrolled down and I saw the top eight. I’m like, “Wait a minute. Hold on. Time out. There’s other bands that do this? It’s not just these guys?” And I started clicking. And back then you could download the MP3s from MySpace too. You couldn’t, you, this wasn’t just streaming, you could download them. And I just went nuts downloading songs like crazy. And that was like my first real introduction to wizard rock. And it was MySpace that allowed that because I mean, yeah, you can go on BandCamp and, you know, see who the artist recommends. You can go on Spotify and, and see other things, um, or YouTube playlist, for instance.
Russ: But, you know, MySpace gave you that single ecosystem where you could find a new band, send a message to them to say hello, look at the bulletins on the side of your screen –
Brandon: Yeah.
Russ: Just what other bands were saying, “Hey, we just uploaded a new song to our profile. Go check it out.” And you could leave a comment on their wall. That’s how I met Jared Perkins from Gred and Forge, because I was talking with Ashton Vedder from the, from the Hufflepunks about guitars on a, on, I, I can’t remember if it was my wall or his wall on MySpace. All of a sudden, Jared Perkins pops in and he’s like, “Hey guys, I don’t wanna jump in here, but, you know, um, I tried this Gibson and I think it’s better than the one that you’re talking about. And if I were you had to go look at it,” and I was like, “Oh wow, it’s a guy from Gred and Forge.”
Brandon: That’s funny.
Russ: But I mean, that whole ecosystem is what allowed it to flourish as quickly as it did. And I don’t think that it would’ve blown up the way it did without having that single place where you could listen to music, download music, buy music, talk with bands, talk with fans, discover new things. It was so simple back then. It all looked like crap because it was MySpace and people tried to like change the profiles and put glitter bombs in.
Brandon: Lot of sparkles. Yeah, I remember that.
Russ: Yeah. And stuff would break. Um, but without it, I don’t think that it would’ve grown as quickly as it did.
Brandon: No, I think you’re right. What’s funny about that era is like, I’m so glad that, that there is a perception, you know, that I’m in the, in, in Valhalla here for, for wizard rock. But if I am, this should tell you kind of how things actually went at the time. Uh, I believe– So you mentioned that the, the solo act, that was Catchlove, right? I’m trying to remember. That’s when he
Russ: I’m pretty sure it was. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah. So I wanted to remember I had, I had the, the. I know that the Catchlove was, I think that was right. And I remember, uh, I definitely hung out with him after the show and I was telling him about how I was so e- excited that, like, I had a, uh, a instrumental song that had gotten put on the Giant Squid, kinda used to do the Giant Squid podcast or whatnot.
Russ: Mm-hmm.
Brandon: And, uh, you know, where he does the funny voice and he’s kind of talking about– And he, he did this, like, analysis of my song where he’s just kinda like, you know, it’s sort of like a Mystery Science Theater 3000 thing. He’s kinda like gently ribbing it, which is wonderful, right? I though it was amazing and I, I, it was just getting listened to and I was like, “Yeah, you know, this Giant Squid, like, thing had one, one of my songs in there.” He’s like, “You know who that is, right?” I was like, “No.” And he goes, “That’s like, you know, the guy from Harry, Harry and the Potters.” I was like, “What?” He’s like, “Yeah, like, that’s, that’s like the Harry and the Potters guy.” And so I was like, “The Harry and the Potters guy heard my song?” Like <laugh> like that.
So that, that’s like the level of, that’s the tier that I was at, was that I was so gobsmacked that, like, the, someone from Harry and the Potters actually has heard of Hollow Godric. Like, that is literally where I was at in that, uh, in that thing.
Bess:
So you’re providing your own evidence that Hollow Godric was a huge influence in this era?
Brandon: Yeah. Again, we’ll, we’ll run with it. But, um, I’m so glad that it went the way it did. Because I, again, I don’t know that, that I was in a place where I would’ve handled that, just that thing healthily, like, you know, and all that stuff. And I think, um, to be able to be involved from afar and just being. ‘Cause what it spawned was, like, I did all these collaborations with what at the time I felt like were sort of a, a little bit obscure, um,wizrock bands. Maybe I’m wrong, but, like, I think over time, the footprint got, got bigger. But, like, Bandon Banshee is right, and even, um, you know, talking to Russ later with Creevey Crisis is not like. I would do these things with, you know, we, I think we did a winter compilation, and we did one that I had a song called “Glimmers” that was on, I think it was a Bandon Banshees, but I’m trying to remember.
It’s, it’s been a long time. But, um, I’ve always had a very, very DIY indie sort of mindset where, which is all very performative and ridiculous now that I look back on it, but I wanted to be on, like, undergroundy stuff. Even if it was wizard rock, I wanted– Which, by the way, I say that had Harry and the Potters or Draco and the Malfoys asked me to do something 100%, like, I’m gonna go, like, do that, right? But I wanna have some, pretend like I have some dignity here. So, like, I would be on these, these things that just. It was, like, very grassroots. It was like, “Hey, we wanna put together this, you know, thing.” I was just happy to be asked, right? <laugh> They’re like, “Oh, like, someone wants, uh, wants us to be on this thing. They like my music enough to be on this compilation.” So, um, I’m just so glad that it went the way it did.
Like, to be on those compilations, I’m so proud of, of the work that, that got done. I’m so proud of, of the songs. I had such a fun time doing them with, with my friends, right? Like getting together and, you know, we did a little playlit before one of our, our, like, winter songs, like, when, you know, my friend Tyler and I are. We had a little, a little drama thing before one of the songs. I, I was never in, like, the thick of it. I was very f- far removed from kind of the, the nexus of it, but I’m glad that. I think that was f- for the right, you know, I think that things went the right way. And again, so much of the enduring legacy of Hollow Godric is literally up to Russ. Like, that’s just, just been just a fact. So –
Russ: Oh, come on.
Brandon: I’m very, very happy about the way that it went down. And he, he literally, like, over– I remember I had my, my first child, and I had, like, no sleep. And I was just having a rough time. Again, you’re gonna s. This, like, a theme here, but, like, so I, I’m sitting there, and I think I was, this is back when I would actually use social media, and I, I would, uh. I, like, checked Twitter at the time and, and I, I get this. I think something like Russ had called me out or something, like, he’s like, “Oh, you guys gotta listen to, you know, Hollow Godric. It’s just, like, this great thing.” He was just out there just, just, like, you know, selling it. And I just felt so good. Again, it was another, Like this, this is twice now where Russ has hit me at a time where I really needed, <laugh> needed some good vibes.
And he, he was just out there, and it was like, “Oh, people still remember I exist. Like, this is, you know, not me, but, like, the music, right? Like, people still actually wanna listen to this.” And it was so special. And so, to me, it’s had such a positive, um, a positive, like, influence on me as a, as a creative, you know, person and amateur songwriter. And I’m so happy to hear that it’s having influences on other people too. And if, and if you, to any degree, were inspired to create something because of something that I did, that, to me, is one of the greatest goods, I think, that, you know, I’m, I’m so thankful because so many people did that for me. And, like, I obviously would not have created a single thing if I didn’t have people that inspired me that way.
Russ: You know, and it works both ways too, because I remember, you know, uh, there was, uh, Stranger Country, you guys had just recorded something.
Brandon: Mm-hmm.
Russ: And out of the blue, you sent it to me, and it was, like, I think not even a week or two after my father had passed away unexpectedly.
Brandon: Oh, gosh.
Russ: I was in a terrible place. And you’re like, “Hey, Russ, here’s some stuff that we’re working. I want you to, you know, you have it and listen to it.” And it just, it was such, like, a sigh of relief for me, because it gave me something to, like, focus on. I’m like, “Oh my God, Brandon’s got new music and I gotta hear this.” And I just listened to it nonstop for, like, two days. And it just kinda, like, helped me because, yeah, I was in a very, very bad place.
And I’m like, “Hey, this is something that’s, you know, different and I, it’s from a musician that I, I, I really appreciate.” And he thought kindly enough of me to reach out and send it to me, and I just loved the music, and it was such a great thing for me to have. And just like you, it was, like, came perfect timing, perfect timing for me. And I was like, and it just really helped me get through a couple of days and helped me get started back on that up slope again.
Brandon: Oh, very glad to hear that. I’m, I’m so sorry to hear that, that it was in that context, but I’m very glad to hear that it, that it helped. Um, and again, always glad to hear that you’re listening to the, <laugh> to the music. I’ve dragged Russ through several bands of mine, you know, some better than others over the years.
Uh, speaking of several bands, Russ, in an email, mentioned something about coming clean. About having been, I think about 15% of all of wizard rock throughout the years.
Russ: I believe it was only 14. <laugh> No, it’s, it’s funny as we talk about different bands and, and different sounds and, you know, like, I went through, like, phases with wizard rock where what I loved about it in a band like Hollow Godric showing me that you could do all sorts of kinds of music and have it still be wizard rock and still find an audience. I, it allowed me to kind of, like, you know, spread my wings. And, you know, Creevey Crisis was always a very kind of heavy band. We had acoustic EPs and everything, but it was always very distortion driven and double kick and, you know, um, I’ve got a five-string bass that I use now on the stuff that I’m doing now, and I wish I had it in Creevey Crisis, because then I would had to buy a seven-string guitar and everything would have been, like, Drop A, which would have been a lot of fun to perform.
Russ: But I, I wanted to stretch out. And so, you know, like, I did the, um, Muggle Spell Theory EP, which is just a one-off, because I tried to be, pretend I was in Information Society, and it did not work out at all. It sounded much more like the, the bastard child of Weezer and Reggie and the Full Effect, which is still fine, but not information.
Brandon: That’s very interesting. I would listen to that. That’d be a lot of mogs going on at the same time.
Russ: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it was, it was a fun EP to make, and, and I had fun. I, I stretched out with it. And then, you know, I had the Starfish and Stick project with Steph Anderson, which is, you know, very, you know, slow core, shoegazey type music.
Brandon: Love all that. Yeah.
Russ: Bummer, bummer pop. Yeah. And it was a lot of fun doing that. So, you know, and, and I still, that’s, this is one thing of, I definitely still go back and listen to is that just because Steph is just an amazing musician and her harmonies on my songs just brought them to another level. So there’s very little wizard rock I listen to nowadays, even especially my stuff. Starfish and Stick I go back to. But, you know, talking about, like, you know, death metal and wizard metal, so I eventually went and did a death metal project called Mulciber Zerstorer. And Bess’s, Bess’s face just went, you know, this is an audio podcast, people aren’t gonna be able to see what the face you just mean when I said that. You know, I was like, “I’m gonna try to screw around with, like, you know, like, black and death metal, Norwegian death metal.” And I had that project.
And then I jokingly submitted a song for Jingle Spells, thinking, “Ah, who, uh, it’s gonna get, like, hundred submissions.” And this is a, that death metal song with a bunch of subdrops in it. And then I get an email from Paul DeGeorge going, “Congratulations, we picked your song.” And I was like, “Oh, crap. Now what? <laugh> This is a fake band filled with fake members. What the heck am I supposed to do?” And so I came clean and he was like, “Oh, no, run with it. We want fake bios of everybody in the band, and whatever you can do, just run with it.” I was like, “Okay.”
Brandon: That’s amazing.
Russ: So – I did that, and then a couple years back, I did a Wizard of New York hardcore EP, Rotfang Conspiracy. You know, I was listening to a lot of hardcore during, um, quarantine and Turnstile, who just won a couple of Grammys, you know, by the way. But back when Turnstile was still kind of very underground-ish, I was listening to a lot of them, and I was like, “I’m gonna try this out.” So I did the, the hardcore EP, released that, and that was a lot of fun. But that kinda got everything out of my system, you know? So I think that was, like, five total bands that I’ve been in over the years, and I was like, “Okay, well, it’s. I’m never gonna do anything else, so I’ll just finally just fess up that it was really me. It wasn’t five guys from Arkansas in Mulciber Zerstorer, and it was not a bunch of guys from Philly doing a hardcore band.
It was all just me pretending. And, you know, there was, there was a wizard rap supergroup that was in the works, and I was going to be a member of that, but that was not my idea, so I can’t share anything beyond that. So it could have been six groups. But I don’t think
Brandon: There you go. Man–
Russ: Nobody would’ve wanted to hear me rap, believe me. That. No. Definitely no. So I’m glad–
Brandon: Well, I think that’s amazing that you’ve explored that ma. I, too, love so many different types of music. I wanna try all these different things. So, um, I feel you on that one. I have a desire to try all these different, these different genres someday. Maybe, maybe not rap. I’m horrible at it. <laugh>
Russ: Same. But, but, but again, you go back to wizard rock, and again, the fact that you can play literally any type of music and still have it be wizard rock is such, uh, to me, and I’m sure to you and any, a lot of other people, a very liberating thing. It’s like, let’s try and do something different. Let’s try and have some fun with it and just see what happens. And, and that’s just, you know, you know, just being able to mess around and experiment and stretch your, your ideas and, and what you think music is, incredible. I just, I always loved it.
So every time I’ve emailed one of those other bands for interview potential, do you just, like, chuckle to yourself?
Russ: Yeah.
<laugh>
Russ: That’s why I had to turn them down though. <laugh>
I feel like I’m just discovering I’m at the, like, the target of, like, a five-year long con. That’s amazing.
Russ: I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but, you know, again, yeah, I, I had to keep up the, uh, you know, keep up the facade for, for a long time. And, and even just. The wildest thing too is, like, li- like, Mulciber Zerstorer, like, got reviewed in, like, all sorts of, like, death metal, like, websites and magazines.
Brandon: Oh, wow.
Russ: Like, literally, I had people from, like, Norway.
Brandon: You’re gonna be with Devin Townsend soon. You’re gonna be like, you know –
Russ: I am. I am. And I, if I, if I was even, uh, a, a hundredth of the musician Devin Townsend is, I could die happy tomorrow, you know? But, like, yeah, like, I was getting all these interview requests and I was like, “Oh, I got, I gotta turn this down because then it’s. I’m gonna blow it wide open.” <laugh> So, sorry, Bess.
Well, I got that exclusive scoop, so I think I’m okay with it.
Russ: There you go. It’s a sclusey, just for you.
Brandon: It’s a big one. It’s a big, big, uh, big reveal.
Russ: And every single listener right now is going, “What? Who? Never heard of him. What? What is he talking about?”
Brandon: That just, you know, wait 20 years. Apparently, you’ll, you’ll be the biggest thing and they’ll, they’ll remember that you were the top of the, uh. <laugh> You’ll follow my arc.
Brandon, do you have any musical secrets you’d like to unveil? Are you, I don’t know, secretly a Parselmouth?
Brandon: I’m not secretly a Parselmouth. I do lots of different projects. I’m working on a video game right now, but it’s, it’s not one that I would particularly think that that many people are interested in, but I’m doing, like, a very old school kind of RPG, and the, my, one of my favorite parts about it is doing the music. Like I get to do all the music, and I think for anyone that likes the sort of moody, atmospheric, super saturated, reverby stuff I was doing on Hollow Godric, it’s very much up that vein. So I’m sure I’ll send some to Russ soon, um, and see if he’s interested. But, um, yeah, so that’s, that’s something that’s going on now. I did have Stranger Country. Unfortunately, I, I have a tendency to move. <laugh> So, um, that’s no, that’s on pause right now, but we did do an album that I’m very proud of, um, that’s on, online, uh, called Dim the Stars.
And, uh, very proud of that one. That was. I would say since Hollow Godric, that’s the first time I’ve been part of an album that I, that I wrote, you know, most of that, um, I felt kind of hit the mark where I’m like, okay, I like listening to this one. I’ve, I’ve had other albums that I’ve been maybe guitar on and things that were, that I felt were quite good.
So my listeners, uh, get a chance to ask questions, and we’ve covered it, I think, a little bit, especially, you know, Hollow Godric being such a huge inspiration for everyone. Uh, but to narrow in specifically on it, what were some of your wizard rock, uh, influences, your inspirations?
Brandon: Um, boy, this is a long time ago, but it, it was a lot of what was going around at the time. So definitely Harry and the Potters, a lot of Draco and the Malfoys. I loved. I though that was one of the funniest things. They had a breakdown that was, like, like a “99 Red Balloons” thing, one of their songs that I ju – I was just like, “What are they? These people are insane.” <laugh> But it was so good. The little, like, hand claps and stuff. Uh, we listened to it, like, we were grown adults, right? And we’re, like, going to work at 5:30 in the morning and, like, this is, like, the military, right? And we’re just listening to these goofy songs over and over every day. So there was a lot of that going on. Uh, Whomping Willows was great. I mean, there was so much.
I was listening to anything on Myspace, right? I was listening to a lot of stuff. I, I wish I could name drop a lot right now. It’s just been so long. But I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for kind of the, the really DIY, rougher sounding, um, just weirder stuff. Like, I heard one, I think maybe it was on the, the one a long time ago that rested, or maybe it was a newer one of your, your episodes best, but it was. I think it was, like, something about Snape or whatever, but it was a very odd kind of 80s mod sounding thing, and it was very repetitive dance kind of, but real dark. I just, I just loved it. I was like, “Man, this is great.” But anyway, um, that’s kind of what was going on. This is rapid fire. I don’t give short answers. I’ll, I’ll work on it.
We’re not in the rapid fire yet, don’t worry. You can still go long form.
Brandon: Okay.
My listeners also wanted to know, and knowing who this came from, I feel like she probably had a specific something in mind. Are there any songs or lyrics that you would go back and change with this 20 years retrospective?
Brandon: No. Um, are there songs that I wish I’d written better lyrics for? Yes. Would I go back and change them? No, because to do so would kind of. It changes something, it ruins something. I, I think “The Scar” was one of the first songs I ever really wrote and did. It just seems very on the nose to me now. It’s hard, you know, it’s like you, your music kind of tastes change over time. But then where is the rest of my music without that song? Like if that doesn’t happen, do I ever get to “Autumn Note” and the answer is no. If I don’t write “The Scar,” I don’t get the “Autumn Note,” which is a favorite of mine. There’s probably, I know there’s people out there that really like “The Scar.” So, um, officially, no. Does it mean that I, that there are things that I wouldn’t wanna change?
No, there’s definitely stuff I, that I wish I did better. But that’s one I would say that, that, you know, I look back on it and I’m like, “Ugh, okay.” But yeah.
All right. And, uh, my listeners basically immediately lost question privileges because of these, but I thought maybe we could just go through them quickly, see what your first thought was for all the rest of these questions. Why is your music so beautiful?
Brandon: Um, I’m a romantic. I’m always yearning. I’m yearning for something. I think a lot of, maybe all of us feel this way. Like if you’re just a creative type or you’re, you know, you’re just yearning for something. Um, you’re holding up the world to an impossible standard and you feel like something is. That, that’s half. The other half is I don’t know. The other half is like the songs that I’m, that I listen to, I feel very good about are in that. What, what do they call that as a term for it? Where you’re like in the zone and it just doesn’t feel like you. They talked about it in that soul movie, you know, where like he’s playing the piano and like he kind of. There’s a term for it that, that, that escapes me, but like it’s a very real thing where it just feels like you’re channeling into this thing and it’s way, way more than you.
And, um, I’m not a particularly skilled musician. Like I have my tricks, like my bag of tricks, and I have the things that I feel that, that I like to do and that I’m good at, but that’s the only answer I can give is that I’m a, I’m a romantic and that I, I yearn for something. I yearn for the fantasy of, of imagination and things like that. And so, and, and a lot of things that I listen to, maybe I don’t. I’m, I’m the product of things that I have liked musically that much, much greater musicians have, have done.
Where do baby wizards come from?
Brandon: Baby wizards. From wizard storks, I guess. Magical storks.
How many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon?
Russ: Well, hold on. Okay. Regular granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar. We need to know this.
NOS, I’m afraid.
Russ: Unless we can get clarification on it, I don’t know if we can answer this question.
All right. Uh, what is your favorite song you’ve written and why? And we’ll go for both of you.
Brandon: Uh, you wanna go first, Russ, and I’ll follow?
Russ: No. <laugh> I gotta think about this. Sorry.
I though this was easy. I though Brandon “Autumn Note?”
Brandon: Uh, you know what? Like, maybe “Autumn Note,” but if I were to say what’s, what’s, like, my favorite one there, I’m probably gonna say, “I have a really soft spot for “The Lonely Half Giant.” It’s just one of the songs where if I listen back to it, I, I kinda get really emotional and I don’t know why.
Russ: That’s a great answer. Yeah, I think for me, um, this is tough. I have way more songs than Brandon, so I should probably get extra time to think about this. No, i- if I had to really give an answer, it would probably be the song “Maybe in Four Years,” because that was in, like, in a really weird tuning, and I was able to write chords that, you know, it just sounded so good to me. Um, it was a duet with Steph Anderson. It was a song where I had two complete different character points of view, one of them being Ginny, one of them being Colin. And the, just the way it came together worked really, really well. And that’s one of the songs I can look back on and go, “I’m proud of the way I wrote it, proud of the way that we recorded it.
I’m proud of the way that we performed it at, at Wrockstock together.” And it’s one of the things that’ll just always live on for me.
The next one is, uh, specifically for Brandon from one of our archivists. We have so many now, Russ. Uh, and it is, “Can you please, please, post the lyrics for the rest of the songs on your second album?”
Brandon: That I can do. Is it not on, uh, BandCamp? If it’s not, I will certainly do that. Yes. I’m glad that people listened to the second album. I don’t know that I ever got much, much traction on that one, and, um, it was a little kinda all over the place, but I do have some songs I’m very proud of on that album.
Uh, where is Full Salazar? I got Russ.
Brandon: I think this one’s over my head. <laugh>
Me too. They had to explain that they were also looking for Partial Helga and Solid Rowena and that they can think of Godric as half full.
Russ: Brandon, think, think about your band name.
Brandon: I see. Okay. You got me. You got me.
Uh, and finally, which magical objects do you think would make the best unconventional instruments?
Brandon: I would love to record, get a bunch of microphones and put them all around and record the flying car in varying, like, degrees of percussive, um, situations.
What about you, Russ?
Russ: You know, I think that if we mic’d up the whomping willow as it was moving around, that it makes some really great atmosphere.
Brandon: That thing could do some killer double bass too, I bet.
Russ: Yeah. Like a really weird synth pad.
All right. And that is it for, uh, silly listener questions. Thank you for playing along with this two decade retrospective. What kind of advice would you have for new wizard rockers? ‘Cause we still have people trying out the genre all the time.
Brandon: Do not be bound by other people’s opinions or the ex – like, this is very easy to say. It’s very hard to do. But, like, you have to trust the thing that you’re aiming for. Um, and I think, you know, with how Russ and I have had this journey together, like, with Hello Godric, I think this kind of proves the, the point is, like, at no point was… I mean, by the time I got, you know, an album out and already done that, like, yes, people started kind of, you know, like, wanting to hear it, and they were listening, they were contacting me. There was a very long period where you’re not gonna get a lot of that support, and you’re not gonna have, like, this instant gratification, right? And, like, things may not go viral, right? Like in the modern parlance, like, really quickly, it can’t be a thing that you’re trying to, like, capture for other people, uh, at least in–
I can only speak from my experience. I’m not, like, some godfather of how to succeed in an obscure way in the wizard rock thing. But I would say if you have a, a art that you wanna do, do the art and believe in the art and, like, do bad art. Make mistakes or, like, do things that are, that are at, um, amateurish, right? Because you have to get all that out of the way to get to the stuff that, like, is gonna be really, really good. And it’s, it’s gonna be so good that you’re gonna be able to look back on it years later and you’re gonna be very, very proud. And you’re gonna know that you brought something good into the world. And so for me, even in whatever little way, you know, that, that something I’ve done has done that, uh, and there’s so many other people that, that have done that and have inspired me, you have to have that bravery, is, is how I would say it.
I do also like to get, like, a really concrete piece of advice, like, uh, something interesting you didn’t know about microphones or recording or hand warmups or something that would, like, help them get to the next step.
Brandon: I think Russ would probably be great here. I’ll just throw in, make sure you have a good interface, you know, little USB interface, plug it into your computer, use a good mic. If you don’t have a good mic, use whatever you got. I did that too. But I think if you spend about 150, 200 bucks on a good condenser, large, large, uh, diaphragm condenser microphone, that’ll last you for the rest of your life, you’re pretty much good to go. Mm-hmm.
Russ: Yeah. I mean, along those lines, there are so many good freeware programs out there now and software, amp sims, synths, effects, reverbs, drum machines, you know, bass amps. There, you can get by, like Brandon said, with just a, a halfway decent interface and a good mic. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on software. You can get started very easily, very inexpensively, and, and have a lot of fun. And on the, you know, the, the grander scheme side of things, I would say don’t let perfection get in the way of progress. You are never going to be 100% happy with anything that you write or record or mix or anything else. Get it to a point where you’re like, “Yeah, this sounds good. I like the vibe,” and just be done with it.
Brandon: Absolutely.
Russ: Don’t sit there just constantly tweaking. Don’t be like me, getting out of bed at 2:00 AM because I’m like, “I don’t think I like the reverb I used on the acoustic guitar track that plays for 20 seconds on this 20 minute long song” and go and start tweaking things. It. 99.9% of listeners will never notice. They’re just gonna hear a song and enjoy hearing the song. And then that point 10th of a percent person like me would email you at 3:00 AM and go, “Hey, what, what delay settings did you use on that?” Because there’s always gonna be one of them. But, but, uh, but, you know, in all seriousness, just, just have fun with it. And when you get stuff to a point where you like it, just, just release it. Let people listen to it. Let people enjoy what you’ve created because there will be people who enjoy what you create.
Brandon: You know, Portraits was created on a 2005 era low tier Mac laptop with a- It was GarageBand, 2005 GarageBand, if you can imagine this.
Russ: Mm-hmm.
Brandon: Um, with an interface and a single microphone. Uh, I think that’s accurate for pretty much all of it. And so if you, if you listen to Hologratic and you like it and you wanna do something, like that’s what we were working with at the time. You don’t need, like, people are gonna chase tones, people are gonna think you need to spend money. Everything’s trying to get you to spend money. Yo shouldn’t fall for it. You can make good music on pretty much anything if you just have a good microphone and you, you take the time to do it and you just repeat.
Russ: Yep. 100% agreed.
Brandon, you’ve mentioned a video game, you’ve mentioned some muggle music. What are you working on these days? What should listeners get excited about?
Brandon: Um, yeah. Video game is probably the next thing that would get. I’m a, I’m a pretty private person. So most things I do, they just don’t go out. But like, um, video game, if I can finish it, will go out. I will maybe tease some music, maybe I’ll just send it to Russ and if he thinks it’s interesting, maybe I’ll, you know, we’ll find a way to get people to listen to it. But that’s, that’s the big thing I’m working on musically right now. Um, I’m always doing something creatively just because if I don’t, I lose my mind. But that’s, that’s something I’m doing.
Does it have a website or anything people should be keeping an eye on?
Brandon: Not yet. Um, I probably should. I will get on that at some point, you know. <laugh>
If it happens before this interview goes out, we’ll add a link. Uh, and did the band you mentioned have a BandCamp?
Brandon: Yes. InStrangerCountry.BandCamp.com. It’s I-N, Stranger Country, uh, at BandCamp.com. You can also just go to stream it. Um, you don’t have to pay any money. Like if you have a streaming service, Stranger Country, Dim the Stars is the album. You can find it on any of those. That’s me singing. I, I wrote the songs, uh, and Sam is playing lead guitar there. He’s, he’s on Hollow Godric, right? He’s, um, been with me for a lot of my musical stuff. So it’s different. It’s not Hollow Godric, but, you know, it’s something that I’m proud of.
Russ, what do you have going on? Anything people should know about?
Russ: Um, you know, the past couple of years, I’ve had a, uh, an instrumental post-rock band called Atlas Drift. Uh, we have one EP and one single that are out right now on BandCamp and Spotify. Um, literally just two days ago was wrapping up the masters for our new EP. So that should be out hopefully in the next month, month and a half or so, you know. I just talked about not making, you know, everything perfect and not letting progress get in the way, but yet here I am going back and I’m like, “I gotta change the fade out on this one song by two seconds to make it sound better.” So, but that’s the mastering side, so I’m gonna, I’m gonna give myself a pass for that. But, uh, yeah, no, we’ll have a new EP called, um, Dancing with a Synthetic Band out, at least I hope within the next month.
Russ: But yeah, just search, uh, Atlas Drift on, on BandCamp or Spotify. You can listen to what’s out there right now and, you know, if you like it, great. You don’t have to hear me sing, so it’s, you know, wonderful.
It’s time to pause for our last music block, but don’t worry, we’ll be back again soon. Here’s “House of Ravenclaw” by Slytherin
~*~
That was “House of Ravenclaw” from Slytherin, Totally Knuts with “Fantastic Creatures” [lyrics], and “Mean Ol’ You Know Who” by Them-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
And here’s the last bit of my chat with Hollow Godric and Creevey Crisis!
Bess: Thank you both so much for talking with me. I feel like we hardly got into anything, but I still learned a lot, especially about you, Russ. Where can WZRD listeners find you and your wizard rock online?
Brandon: Uh, mine is at HollowGodric.BandCamp.com, I think. I hope. Um, so I’m still there. You don’t have to pay for it, I don’t think. It’s free if you wanna download it. If you wanna throw a couple bucks, feel free, but please don’t feel obligated. Like it’s, it’s there for, it’s there for you to have and enjoy. Um, I probably should put it on streaming too. I’ll think about that one. Um, Russ?
Russ: Yeah, let’s see. Uh, CreeveyCrisis.BandCamp.com or on Spotify. MuggleSpellTheory.BandCamp.com or on Spotify. StarfishAndStick.BandCamp.com or on Spotify. RotfangConspiracy.BandCamp.com or on Spotify and MulciberZerstorer.BandCamp.com or on Spotify.
Brandon: You have to speed that up like one of those, yeah-
Russ: I didn’t even take a breath during that.
Brandon: Yeah. Like one of those medical commercials will speed you up something like that.
Russ: <laugh>
Brandon: Void where prohibited.
Russ: Like the micro machines guy from the 80s.
Brandon: There you go.
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And now, magical friends: Hollow Godric!
WZRD Radio Podcast 