Having last caught up with Oakland's Brasil with a listen to "Dr. Zero", we were graced with a dystopian sci-fi anthem about evil-overlording-yuppies taking over the Bay Area. Returning to mess up your Monday with their video for "Drunk at the Controls", the former members of The Myonics, The Symbolick Jews, and so on continue their trail of destruction like a group of alchohol quaffing captains.
Today they bring a binging bundle of rock and roll that plays off of the drunken grandeur that comes from an "alcoholic afternoon." This is the practice session that gets boozy where the band brings out their inner-killer and soldiers of skronk, in between special effects of analogue television static and gratuitous flames. After making the jump from brews to the hard stuff, the band busts out the silly masks and continues their pop-punk onslaught like drunken pilots wrecking up the rehearsal space.
We had a chat with our East Bay buddies Jasper Patrick Leach and Tommy Forgotten from Brasil, as we discussed illustrations of drunken grandeur, as they corrected our off-base lyrical interpretations.
Tell us about what it is like to be a "soldier," "killer," and whatever in the "army of the void"?
Hope this isn't a huge turn-off, but it's 'army of the lord.' I really like 'army of the void,' though, and I'm going to have to steal it from you. But what is it like? It's the human condition.
Are afternoon binges really this epic? Or is this drunken illusions of grandeur?
It's an illustration of drunken grandeur, or possibly an allusion to grand drunkenness.
Favorite East Bay watering holes as of late?
Missouri Lounge in Berkeley has a good patio. Oakland's Ruby Room's pool room is the kind of nostalgia I can get behind. Uh, Bar 355, Heart and Dagger, Kingfish, the dumpster outside of Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut…
Best spots for morning benders?
You have to wake up pretty early to get in a good morning bender. Who does that?
Best spots for afternoon benders?
Band practice tends to justify day-drinking . . .
Best places to pass out if you're not at home after said, morning and afternoon benders?
All roads lead to Lake Merritt—mind the geese. Either that, or an airplane on its way to a city you can't remember buying a ticket to.
What is next for Brasil?
Figuring out how we can appeal to the yuppies who are swiftly replacing anybody else who might have liked our music in the Bay Area. Or, how we can destroy them.
Pros and and cons of being, "Drunk at the Controls"?
The pro and con is that you can forget about your responsibilities while attending to them. That said, please don't drive drunk!
Brasil's debut LP will be available later this October.
