Hey Readers!
A year ago, I was in Niagara Falls, Canada for a girls weekend, where we frequented this fun outdoor karaoke bar called Beer Garden, where I saw this dude with long flowing Jesus locks on stage who did this awesome performance (I cannot recall the song he was singing). He actually dove off stage and crowd surfed- never saw that at a karaoke bar in my life! Anyways, I said hi to this guy, got his band business card, and thought: "Of course he's in a band!"
Almost exactly a year later, his band, which consists of Bryan Maher on Guitar/VOX, Bryan Contreras on drums, Eddie Christian on bass, and Chris Brooks on guitar, Black Suit Youth, based out of Long Island, New York, is in the Jamsterdam Radio rotation with their single "Another Night in The Tombs"! Here is my email interview with BSY frontman, Bryan Maher:
JGIC: What inspired you to get into music?
BM: I was always obsessed music. I came up during the height of the hair metal into grunge transition where the music and the style was just everywhere. I always knew I would be in a band somehow or someway. Then I heard Guns N Roses and that was it. I started playing guitar, bass, and singing because I wanted to be Axl, Slash, and Duff all at the same time! The irony is I ended up having more in common with Izzy, in my actual career.
JGIC: How did you start?
BM: Pretty fast after I picked up my first guitar in middle school I was jamming with some kids around the block. We sucked! Old women would scream at us. Animals would hiss at us. It was awesome! I played in many bands in the local LI and NYC scenes, but that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to tour and experience as much of the country as I could, so I tricked my newest bandmates into following me, called up and mailed a bunch of clubs, talked my old bassist into buying a van, and off we went.
JGIC: How did you come up with the band name "Black Suit Youth"?
BM: When I started the band it was called The New York Dynamite. Great name for a women’s soccer team, bad name for a band. We had a list of potential new names that was four pages long. We could have ended up being The Sun Gods, Get Mendoza, or a whole host of other bad names. Thankfully none felt right. At the time we were writing a record and I had a song called “A Black Suit For My Youth”. The song was scrapped, but the name sounded badass so we condensed it to Black Suit Youth and back on the road we went.
JGIC: Women's soccer team.. That's hilarious! You definitely made the right choice! What are your top 3 fondest moments being an artist?
BM: 1. Walking out onto a dark theater stage with 800+ people crammed into the house and the scream as the lights went on.
2. The second Midwestern tour. Counting off the first song and seeing a bunch of kids who lived hundreds of miles from where I live and wrote the song screaming along and back at us.
3. Holding the test pressing of our first 12” Vinyl release “Meet Me In Death Valley”. It just seemed so legit.
JGIC: Hope to catch you guys play in Canada sometime! What do you find is the toughest part of being an artist?
BM: For me the toughest part is the dichotomy between self-expression and the whole artistic side while managing and in some cases conforming to the practices and expectations of the business side. These days I spend much more time balancing the books, counting dollars, fighting with promoters and other bands, booking shows, and writing press releases, then actually being on stage having fun. The one saving grace has been getting an iPad and garage band, so at least now I can demo every Idea I get and all the b-sides that never were, so that’s very satisfying. I also have a great drummer who’s a magnificent merch salesman, and a bassist who kills it with the mailing list, so the weight is a little easier to manage.
JGIC: That's awesome- sounds like you've found yourself one hell of a team! Favorite bands?
BM: G’N'R, Gaslight Anthem, AFI, The Doors, Pure Love, Alkaline Trio, Black Sabbath, The National, Therapy?, Billy Idol, to name a few.
JGIC: I have seen one too many musicians with jealous girlfriends because the stereotype about musicians is that chicks dig them, so of course, there would be potential for groupies hanging around them. If you are/were in relationships, how would you deal with groupies?
BM: You don’t have to be in a band to get hit on by someone. You could be pumping gas or working in a cubicle. I don’t see the situation as being that amplified. If you made someone a commitment you can either stay true to your word no matter what or you can roll the dice, but I don’t think that seeing the people you love in tears is ever worth any hot piece of ass. There’s women on the road, no question, but if you’re not actively seeking that kind of attention, then it’s easy to avoid. People can read the signs usually. It’s also not the Dionysian free for all that many are lead to believe. At least not for us! Our shows tend to have way more dudes!
JGIC: Now after reading this interview, I'm sure a lot more ladies will show up to the shows knowing there will be a sea of dudes in the audience! If you could form a “dream tour” with any musicians of your choice, deceased or living, who would you choose?
BM: Right now it’d be an arena tour with Guns N Roses, AFI, D Generation, and us! Of all time it’d bean all day rocker with us, Roy Orbison, The original G’n’R, The Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses, Rage Against The Machine, The Doors, The Clash, and Elvis would headline!
JGIC: Any shout outs?
BM: Shout out to all our fans, and family who have stuck with us!
JGIC: Anything else you would like to add?
BM: Free downloads of our new single here at http://blacksuityouth.bandcamp.com/
Brand new album update and tour video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blyhjBvdYvg
Thanks again Krystal for taking the time to talk!
JGIC: Thank you, Bryan, for taking the time for this interview!
To hear Black Suit Youth's single, "Another Night in the Tombs", tune into the Jamsterdam Top 10 Countdown at 10am and midnight EST right here on jamsterdamradio.com! Keep it locked!
@JerZGrlinCanada
A year ago, I was in Niagara Falls, Canada for a girls weekend, where we frequented this fun outdoor karaoke bar called Beer Garden, where I saw this dude with long flowing Jesus locks on stage who did this awesome performance (I cannot recall the song he was singing). He actually dove off stage and crowd surfed- never saw that at a karaoke bar in my life! Anyways, I said hi to this guy, got his band business card, and thought: "Of course he's in a band!"
 |
| Black Suit Youth |
Almost exactly a year later, his band, which consists of Bryan Maher on Guitar/VOX, Bryan Contreras on drums, Eddie Christian on bass, and Chris Brooks on guitar, Black Suit Youth, based out of Long Island, New York, is in the Jamsterdam Radio rotation with their single "Another Night in The Tombs"! Here is my email interview with BSY frontman, Bryan Maher:
JGIC: What inspired you to get into music?
BM: I was always obsessed music. I came up during the height of the hair metal into grunge transition where the music and the style was just everywhere. I always knew I would be in a band somehow or someway. Then I heard Guns N Roses and that was it. I started playing guitar, bass, and singing because I wanted to be Axl, Slash, and Duff all at the same time! The irony is I ended up having more in common with Izzy, in my actual career.
JGIC: How did you start?
BM: Pretty fast after I picked up my first guitar in middle school I was jamming with some kids around the block. We sucked! Old women would scream at us. Animals would hiss at us. It was awesome! I played in many bands in the local LI and NYC scenes, but that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to tour and experience as much of the country as I could, so I tricked my newest bandmates into following me, called up and mailed a bunch of clubs, talked my old bassist into buying a van, and off we went.
JGIC: How did you come up with the band name "Black Suit Youth"?
BM: When I started the band it was called The New York Dynamite. Great name for a women’s soccer team, bad name for a band. We had a list of potential new names that was four pages long. We could have ended up being The Sun Gods, Get Mendoza, or a whole host of other bad names. Thankfully none felt right. At the time we were writing a record and I had a song called “A Black Suit For My Youth”. The song was scrapped, but the name sounded badass so we condensed it to Black Suit Youth and back on the road we went.
JGIC: Women's soccer team.. That's hilarious! You definitely made the right choice! What are your top 3 fondest moments being an artist?
BM: 1. Walking out onto a dark theater stage with 800+ people crammed into the house and the scream as the lights went on.
2. The second Midwestern tour. Counting off the first song and seeing a bunch of kids who lived hundreds of miles from where I live and wrote the song screaming along and back at us.
3. Holding the test pressing of our first 12” Vinyl release “Meet Me In Death Valley”. It just seemed so legit.
JGIC: Hope to catch you guys play in Canada sometime! What do you find is the toughest part of being an artist?
BM: For me the toughest part is the dichotomy between self-expression and the whole artistic side while managing and in some cases conforming to the practices and expectations of the business side. These days I spend much more time balancing the books, counting dollars, fighting with promoters and other bands, booking shows, and writing press releases, then actually being on stage having fun. The one saving grace has been getting an iPad and garage band, so at least now I can demo every Idea I get and all the b-sides that never were, so that’s very satisfying. I also have a great drummer who’s a magnificent merch salesman, and a bassist who kills it with the mailing list, so the weight is a little easier to manage.
JGIC: That's awesome- sounds like you've found yourself one hell of a team! Favorite bands?
BM: G’N'R, Gaslight Anthem, AFI, The Doors, Pure Love, Alkaline Trio, Black Sabbath, The National, Therapy?, Billy Idol, to name a few.
JGIC: I have seen one too many musicians with jealous girlfriends because the stereotype about musicians is that chicks dig them, so of course, there would be potential for groupies hanging around them. If you are/were in relationships, how would you deal with groupies?
BM: You don’t have to be in a band to get hit on by someone. You could be pumping gas or working in a cubicle. I don’t see the situation as being that amplified. If you made someone a commitment you can either stay true to your word no matter what or you can roll the dice, but I don’t think that seeing the people you love in tears is ever worth any hot piece of ass. There’s women on the road, no question, but if you’re not actively seeking that kind of attention, then it’s easy to avoid. People can read the signs usually. It’s also not the Dionysian free for all that many are lead to believe. At least not for us! Our shows tend to have way more dudes!
JGIC: Now after reading this interview, I'm sure a lot more ladies will show up to the shows knowing there will be a sea of dudes in the audience! If you could form a “dream tour” with any musicians of your choice, deceased or living, who would you choose?
BM: Right now it’d be an arena tour with Guns N Roses, AFI, D Generation, and us! Of all time it’d bean all day rocker with us, Roy Orbison, The original G’n’R, The Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses, Rage Against The Machine, The Doors, The Clash, and Elvis would headline!
JGIC: Any shout outs?
BM: Shout out to all our fans, and family who have stuck with us!
JGIC: Anything else you would like to add?
BM: Free downloads of our new single here at http://blacksuityouth.bandcamp.com/
Brand new album update and tour video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blyhjBvdYvg
Thanks again Krystal for taking the time to talk!
JGIC: Thank you, Bryan, for taking the time for this interview!
To hear Black Suit Youth's single, "Another Night in the Tombs", tune into the Jamsterdam Top 10 Countdown at 10am and midnight EST right here on jamsterdamradio.com! Keep it locked!
@JerZGrlinCanada
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