Reverse Grip Interview

REVERSE GRIP INTERVIEW:
December 20, 2011

Websites: www.reversegriprock.com – www.facebook.com/reversegriprock
Interviewer: David S. Grant (author of BLOOD: The New Red)

Canadian rockers Reverse Grip have just released a new video for “Nasty Reputation”, a track from their current four-song debut EP with the same name. There is no mistaking the mission of this band — bring back true rock and roll, built on a sound that can shake the gates of hell, and don’t stop until everyone has been violated by Reverse Grip. It was cool to get all three Broda brothers — Dru (vocals), Sean (guitar) and Dylan (drums) — to participate in this interview, covering topics ranging from their song writing, influences, and of course, strip clubs!

Sleaze Roxx: Let’s start with the band, can you provide a little background on how Reverse Grip got started?

Sean Broda: Well, Reverse Grip is a band formed by 3 brothers — myself, Dru and Dylan Broda, but the band really got going when our brother Dylan joined. He was the final link to the puzzle and he was able to connect all our musical ideas together which put our live show over the top!

Sleaze Roxx: So there are three brothers in Reverse Grip. I’m assuming this can be good and bad — have you had any ‘OASIS’ type blow-ups?

Dru Broda: Dylan had a bit of a “spazz-out” the other night right before our show and tried to pull an “Axl” on us. He had left the club we were playing and I called him and told him I had cut a bunch of people from our guest list because Sean and I had met a bunch of new female fans out front. Dylan freaked out and was screaming at me over the phone. I was sitting there laughing but he was seriously pissed off and said, “Fine, I’ll see you tomorrow!” I laughed over the phone and told him I was joking. This didn’t go over so well when he showed up and his girlfriend was replaced with a random chick on the list. Regardless, Dylan went on stage and we had a great show. Of course we’ve gotten to the point of physically fighting, but in the end we always burst out laughing and everything gets sorted out.

Sleaze Roxx: Describe the Toronto rock scene today.

Dru Broda: In one word, “brutal”. Rock has a wide variety of subgenres — Toronto is rich in rock, it’s just low in hard hitting intensity.

Sleaze Roxx: Who are the influences of Reverse Grip?

Dru Broda: If I had to choose a few names to throw around it would be Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, Britny Fox and Poison.

Sleaze Roxx: Describe the writing process. Given the music you are looking to make the riff and lyrically hook are both important. Which comes first, the hook or the melody?

Dru Broda: It really depends on all three of us sitting down together and playing with ideas we’ve come up with. Sean will normally have a main riff that I will match with a chorus hook I’ve written. But sometimes I will have a riff in my head that Sean will be able to bring to life automatically. Dylan has his hand in everything from the chorus, verse and especially the break downs and tricky parts of songs such as the pre-chorus. But it normally always starts, for the most part, with a hook we will use for the chorus and the song falls into place around it.

Sleaze Roxx: Your video for “Nasty Reputation” is entertaining and everyone looks to be having a good time. Was the making of the video as much fun as it looks and was all the drinking real?

Dru Broda: Oh god! The drinking was real. The bar tab was the budget for the video. Dylan is actually working on a blooper real right now. There’s a scene I try to jump up on a car and fall over because I had a bit too much Jim Beam. It was two days of partying with friends so things got outta hand but it was a blast! Sean was doing his solo scene on a car and he almost collapsed backwards and would’ve smashed his head against the hood of another! During the storyline scenes of the video we opened a tab for everyone at the bar and had the booze flowing. We might have been responsible for paying for a few bathroom clean ups. You can’t help but have a good time with free booze and Rock n Roll… I mean that’s what it’s all about! Not to mention there were some amazing looking girls around.

Sleaze Roxx: What is your favorite Rock and Roll song of all time.

Dylan Broda: Arcarsenal by At The Drive In — that tune is pure, unmatched intensity!

Sean Broda: Highway to Hell for sure.

Dru Broda: Mine would have to be Welcome To The Jungle, no question — it changed me for the better and made me realize this is what I have to do in life.

Sleaze Roxx: What is your drink of choice?

Sean Broda: I don’t know if you watched the video, isn’t it obvious? It’s definitely straight Jim Beam or JB on the rocks with a sprinkle of coke.

Sleaze Roxx: What is your favorite hangout in Toronto?

Sean Broda: The Bovine Sex Club is the best place to find sleazy rockers. Or you can find us at The Zanzibar, it has some of the best strippers in Toronto. But our pad, “The Grip Pit”, hosts some insane parties and debauchery that your mom would not be proud of… or on the other hand you might find her passed out on our front lawn.

Sleaze Roxx: Okay, let’s go there. Speaking of strip clubs, is it true the strip clubs are much better in Canada than the U.S.?

Dru Broda: I don’t know how you can consider a strip club legit unless the girls get fully naked. It’s just normal, so whenever we’re in the U.S. it’s just a tease to venture out to the strip clubs. I’ve been to a few in northern Ontario and some of them have women that you’d prefer to stay fully clothed, but I’m sure there are spots in the States that are exactly the same. We’ve been tossed out of a few clubs around here — one time these strippers wouldn’t leave us alone all night and we weren’t spending any cash cause I was dating one of ’em so her and her friend were basically giving us dances for free. The manager noticed that his best girls weren’t making him money so he got the bouncers to get rid of us, which didn’t happen without a bit of a fight. But we had our fun later when the girls’ shifts were up.

Sleaze Roxx: Based on what I’ve seen, Reverse Grip is very much about the live act — any consideration recording some tracks live?

Dylan Broda: Ya, it would be a lot of fun to do some live tracks. We feel our live show is so much of who we are as a band and a lot of times it’s really hard to get that same intensity out of the songs when you’re in a studio. We actually recorded all of our EP, ‘Nasty Reputation’, live off the floor so that we could all play together and feed off each other. We’re a visual band and people get off on our energy, so the more energy in the recordings the better!

Sleaze Roxx: Tell us about your new EP. Where can it be purchased?

Dylan Broda: This is the ‘Nasty Reputation’ EP it’s our first official release — its four hard hitting party songs. It’s available at our live shows, iTunes and soon it will be on our website.

Sleaze Roxx: Ten years from now your band has blown up… in one sentence, how will VH1 describe the Reverse Grip Behind The Music episode?

Dru Broda: There was a time when critics had announced the ‘Death of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, until a band known as Reverse Grip stuck an adrenaline needle straight through its heart.

Sleaze Roxx: Thank you, any closing words?

Sean Broda: Boobs n’ Jim Beam!!!

Dylan Broda: Big shout out to Udurms!!!

Dru Broda: We’re currently touring Northern Ontario and in September 2012 we are headed to Japan for our first overseas tour. We’re ready to ROCK wherever, whenever!