Wesley Henderson (Yankee Brutal)
SPB: What's your favorite band you discovered on your most recent tour?
Henderson: That question is not one I can answer outright. In the span of a 3-month US tour, you'd hope to play with a lot of awesome bands. And we absolutely did! I can only break it down to a top 5 in no particular order, mind you.
1. Kill Lincoln. This band was beyond energetic! Native to the DC area, they play ska-core along the likes of Less than Jake meets Mad Caddies. Totally rad dudes who partied hard, talked a ton of shit, and forced us (ha ha, right?) to take the remainder of the beer that was left behind. Those guys are A-okay in my book!
2. Chilled Monkey Brains. This Florida-based band is bad ass. You'd have to imagine something to the extent of older Strung Out, blended with some Mad Caddies and Iron Maiden thrown in for good measure. Can't really pinpoint them into a single genre. Ska-Metal-Punk. Great musicianship, and they know how to party.
3. A Dying Regime. Our first encounter with our labelmates (before they signed) and, man, were they a bitch to follow. They have a similar melodic hardcore sound to our own, but with a much cleaner vocalist. Kind of a NoFx/Death by Stereo musical vibe, with melodies reminiscent of early Bayside.
4. Still Alive. These motherfuckers…were awesome! We jumped on a show last minute with these guys following a show at the same venue with Michael Graves. This Chicago hardcore quartet were not only fast ‘n’ heavy like I dig, but they had in inspiring blend of what I personally like about punk (real) and hardcore (breakdown stuff).
5. Allout Helter. Although I had heard of them previous to playing with them, I had not listened to more than a handful of songs. These guys shred so hard!! And seeing them live, is a totally inspirational event for any shreddy guitarist. I kept thinking, "Motherfucker, I wanna shred like that" only to realize that I do shred like that! Or at least I think I do...
I can't decide between those bands who I enjoyed more, and the good thing is I don't fuckin' have to, and I'm even going to throw some awesome honorable mentions in:
Chapter 31
Sniper 66
American Dischord
Folk Y'all
Night Gaunts
Joystick
The Rackatees
And, Your Mom (I'll be honest, these guys suck a lot, but they know it, and love it, and so do I! Some truly funny shit between the likes of Guttermouth humor, with GG Allin’s antics)
