Bleed The Dream
By: Lauren Napier

Bleed the Dream, a rock/screamo band from Los Angeles, consists of Dave who plays guitar, Keith who plays bass and vocals, Brandon on vocals, and (temporarily) Aaron who plays drums. Aaron was filling in for Scott who has been diagnosed with leukemia. They have produced two EPs. The first one is Awake, which is an electric mix of lyrics portraying brutal honesty and rock melodies. The newest one is Asleep, an acoustic/unplugged recording. I was lucky enough to interview all four band members while bowling at Jillian's when they came into town in July before joining up with the Warped Tour. Interview and bowling - could it get better?

SM: Who are your major influences?

Keith: We're pretty spread out. We're really different as individuals. We don't really have any influences that make our music besides our own influence on each other. But, personally, I grew up metal-style with some electronic stuff and punk. I like everything. It's good to be eclectic and respect all genres.

Brandon: My major influences are Faith No More, Mike Patton, Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode. I guess as far as rock goes Mike Patton is my major influence, but The Cure, anything with just lots of melody and 80s stuff. As far as modern stuff, I like Deftones and stuff like that.

Dave: I like all the 80s, like the early Cure and as far as guitar playing goes probably Jimmy Page of Zeppelin. As far as songwriting goes, the Eagles for sure.

Aaron: My main influences musically are Danny Carey from Tool, Neil Peart from Rush of course, and any band that just rocks: Further Seems Forever, The Used, all kinds of stuff.

SM: What are your favorite songs from your two EPs? And why?

Keith: On Awake, I like the first track "Villain" because it showcases all aspects of the band. It's melodic and heavy. On Asleep, my favorite track is "Streets of Baltimore" because that's where we're from and it's really cool for us to write a song about our hometown.

Dave: Off of Awake it would be "Pop Song" because it's so out there and it's kind of funny that we put it on there. On Asleep it would be "Shattered Memories" because it shows the progression of the band and how we're not just another screamo band. (Brandon: Did you see that? I just got a strike, bitch!) It shows progression as far as the songwriting goes.

Brandon: Favorite track on Awake is definitely "Solace" because it's just got a lot of energy. It's the meat and potatoes. On Asleep it's "Broken Wings" because it has a lot of meaning behind it.
Aaron: My favorite track on Awake would definitely be "Sarcastic Farewell" because it's more inspirational for me. On Asleep it would be "Broken Wings" because it hits the heart.

SM: What is your favorite part about being on tour? Your least favorite?

Brandon: My favorite part about being on tour is that you wake up in a different place everyday and get to see things that you don't see everyday and meeting new people. Worst thing about being on tour is...nothing. I love being on tour; I hate being at home. I miss my girlfriend, that's about it. Being on tour is way better than sitting at home scratching your butt.

Dave: I love everything about being on tour. I grew up and lived in Southern California and we have the best weather in the world, so when we tour in the winter, I'm a crybaby and I freeze my butt off. The worst thing is probably not being able to see your family.

Aaron: My least favorite thing is Keith's snoring. Especially since he's sick, he's sawing some serious logs. It's painful to try and sleep around him. The best thing about being on tour is seeing the country. The desert, I had never seen the desert before yesterday, it's pretty amazing.
SM: What is your biggest regret?

Brandon: (pauses) I have no regrets. Every shitty thing I've ever done has made me who I am and every good thing I've ever done has made me who I am, so I don't really regret anything I've done. I've made bad decisions, but I always end up working things out in the end.

Dave: I have no regrets to life, the good things you do and the bad things you do make you a better person. You learn from it.

Keith: Aw man...my biggest regret. I don't have any regrets. None. Zero.

Aaron: My biggest regret is not following my dream early enough and choosing a life that's set out for you before you decide to choose one for yourself.

SM: What political issues most concern you?

Aaron: I try to just keep to myself. There's so much going on in the world, you can hardly comment on one particular thing. The whole world is screwed up from every single angle. Nothing is right anywhere.

Brandon: We're not a really political band and I'm not a very political person myself. But there's always, no matter what politician we have in the office, there's going to be a lot of shady things going' on. But I think that we're fighting a war that we don't need to be fighting right now. I mean, Bush just recalled like 30,000 reserves and it's ridiculous. Everyone else in my generation, in our genre of music, it seems pretty senseless that we're over there fighting a war for nothing. I don't claim to be a genius in politics and I don't vote either, so I don't really have much room to bitch.

Dave: Too many issues concern me. I'm not really a political person; quite honestly it's not something I've really dived into. The past few years I've started talking more about it and becoming more aware of the issues. I'm not for this war that's happening right now, but at the same time I am pro-American. I just don't think that the reason we're at war right now is a good enough reason for all the lives that have died.

Keith: Our horrible president, he definitely needs to get out of office. He's ruining our country. I think it's been the scariest four years in American history. I'm not huge on who's running against him, but anybody but that guy, dude. He's just so awful for our country. I hope the nation wakes up and gets him out of office. He's just really fucking things up for everybody.

SM: What occupies your time besides music?

Keith: I write. I have other side projects. Music pretty much saturates every day of my life.

Brandon: Other bands, I listen to a lot of music period. When I'm home, my girlfriend, just going to dinner and hanging out on the beach. Skateboarding, just loser stuff, the things high school dropouts do.

Dave: Not much, because when you're in a band at the level we're at right now it consumes your life 110%. But, when I'm home I look forward to just going and surfing everyday and skateboarding probably. Just hanging out with my girlfriend and watching lots of DVDs.

Aaron: My girlfriend occupies a lot of my time. The thing is with me and this band it's a temporary gig for me, poor Scott's very sick, so aside from this I actually have a job. Regular everyday life: work, girlfriend, food shopping. It's not very rock and roll, but. I’d like to make it full time, but we'll see if we can jump for that. If I could have followed my dream a lot earlier it would be a lot easier for me now.
For more information on Bleed the Dream, check out their website at www.bleedthedream.com.