Ever hear goofy heavy metal? If you haven't, you've probably never heard LA (Los Angeles) by way of LA (Louisiana) band Iwrestledabearonce. Just days before their performance at City National Grove of Anaheim this Saturday, Iwrestledabearonce's guitarist Steven Bradley talks to the Weekly about the band's road to fame, the old days back in Louisiana, and what fans should expect from this weekend's show.
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OC Weekly: You're currently touring in Texas. How are things down there?
Steven Bradley: It's hot as hell down here, but at least it's not humid. That's about the only compliment I can give at this point. But people are great, and they're supportive of what we do, and we're having a good time.
What have been some of the highlights during this current tour?
It's hard to say. All the shows have been good and big. We really have nothing to complain about. Although our days are really long.
How do you think this tour has helped you guys promote your album Ruining It For Everybody? What kind of message are you trying to send out with this second production?
We've been playing a couple songs from it, and it's good promotion for the release. We're just trying to encourage people not to be scared of doing weird, different stuff with music, without having to limit to a certain music genre, and not giving a shit what people think. And stay open minded.
How did Iwrestledabearonce get its start?
Well, we've always kind of been together in band back in Shreveport, Louisiana. Then we just kind of merged, and we went on our first tour, we found our drummer and bass player,
How did you come up with your name?
It's a quote by the actor Gary Busey. He just said it on TV one time, and so it seemed like a good idea for it to be the name of our band. That's it.
How did you end up moving to LA?
None of us are originally from, LA, although we're living out there now. But we're actually from the other LA: Louisiana. We had just been on tour for 310 days, and we just liked it out there. There is medical marijuana, good alcohol, and people that we already knew, so we've been having a great time.
What's your favorite part about being the guitarist of the band?
Just the fact that I get to jump around without having to worry about breathing as much as the singer.
How has your life changed as a band?
Well, we're on tour constantly, and we're rarely at home, so that's drastically different than having a job, and the band as a part time kind of thing. We've gone to Europe a couple times, also Russia, and Japan, so we have gotten to see some crazy stuff.
What can fans in the OC expect from your performance this Saturday?
Well, usually our shows in Anaheim are some of the craziest, people get wild, jump around and break things, but we're just looking to have fun, so they can expect a friendly and crazy good time.
What do you think the future holds for Iwrestledabearonce? What are some of the goals that you have yet to accomplish?
Hopefully this year we'll be going to Australia. That is the goal. And then maybe South America. We're basically trying to go on tour everywhere else that we haven't gone yet.
Have you run into any obstacles as a band? If so, how have you overcome them?
There's something new everyday. I'd say the worst would be having our vehicle break down while on tour, getting robbed, having our house broken into. So pretty much any shitty thing that could happen to us happened to us. But at the same time, we've had good luck, and we're still having a good time, and we've grown closer as a band, we've been living together for four years now.
How did you get in touch with Central Media Records?
It was 3 years ago.They hit us up. We were playing in L.A. and Robert, the owner of the lable came out, and was hanging out with us in the parking lot, eating pizza. We had no idea who he was, and then he was like, “By the way, I'm Robert from Central Media, I want to send you guys an offer,” and we just thought that was crazy, and we loved it.
Invite fans to go see your show this weekend:
If you're into something different, instead of that same old bullshit, and if you want to and have a good time, then come out and let things get wild with us! It's all in the name of fun.
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