From Birmingham, Alabama, BrokenRail has kept the post-grunge sound going. With influences from Linkin Park, Shinedown, Guns N Roses, and Pantera, the group is gearing up to release their debut album in 2016. The band is on their way to being the world’s best New Rock Band and that is why they were chosen for our Indie Band Of The Week.
Who are you and what is your role in the band?
My name is Blake Clawson. I’m the singer for BrokenRail.
How did the band get started?
The band started between me and some colleagues in college. We started out playing campfires and small bars on acoustic, then it turned into something more along the way. We decided to put an edge to the songs we were playing and then brought in bass and drums to the picture. At that point BR was born!
What does the name mean?
We really wanted to find meaning when we thought of the name. We wanted something unique and that would connect us all as a whole. We decided on the train reference for two reasons. The first being that me and the other original founding member’s first songs we learned on the guitar happened to relate to the railways. My first real song was Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train” and the original guitarist’s first song was “Train Travelin'” by Dierks Bentley. We wanted to have a deeper meaning though than that. We knew we wanted something pertaining to the railroad, but now what? After research and thought, we found that the South during the Civil War had essentially no connecting rail systems which led to its financial collapse. It helped stem the poverty throughout the South which aided in developing the culture and the music that the South is still known for today. We are all influenced musically in some way, in part, because of the role of a broken rail system. Our name is a representation of our Southern Rock heritage. After deciding on the name over lunch, we thought we had chosen correctly as we realized later on, we had just finished our first meal as BrokenRail at a place called Choo Choo’s!
Who are your influences and how do they play a role in your sound?
Wow. What a question! As a whole, I believe we have a heavy influence from the late 90s/early 2000s post grunge, hard rock scene. Early Linkin Park, Godsmack, Shinedown, Three Days Grace, etc. Individually, we have a vast amount of personal influences. I’m a modern hard rock guy with some rap here and there. Our guitarist Nelson is a huge 80s type of guy, Guns N Roses especially. Bassist Dick Black is big into 80s/90s metal Pantera, Metallica, etc. That’s not to say we’re not all influenced by each of these. The amazing thing about great music is it helps mold you as a musician without you even realizing it. They stick with you forever and we look at our sound as a homage to those that came before us.
Has being from Alabama influenced your sound or the way you play?
Oh I’m sure it has! Vocally, it’s hard to sometimes mask the accent in my voice being born and raised here. We have members from all over though which keeps us well rounded. Me and Nelson are both from the Birmingham, AL area. Dick is from Philly, and our drummer is from Tennessee. It’s fun to watch it all come together and the different styles merge!
What has been your most meaningful experience being in this band so far?
I think the most meaningful moment to me so far was when we were recording the new album we’re about to drop in Los Angeles. There’s a song on there that was the first song ever written by BrokenRail that kept being put off from the studio sessions early on due to us wanting to put out more high energy songs. This one is a very personal song for me and extremely powerful. When we recorded this song in LA it happened to fall, to the day, of the band’s 5 year anniversary. I was pretty emotional in the vocal booth that night and I think it was captured very well in the song. All of our accomplishments, failures, studio trips, tours, etc all came flooding back to me during the takes. It’s going to be a very strong song for us! I’ll never forget that moment.
Favorite memory from a show you’ve played or a place you’ve travelled?
I think that would fall on our trip to California again recording this new album. We spent an entire month in Burbank and really enjoyed all the scenery. Found the Playboy mansion, travelled right up to some poor guys house directly below the Hollywood sign at 3am with our headlights shining in their house lol. Spent a lot of time in Hollywood, Venice Beach, and Santa Monica. Very cool. We also met Derek Hough out there from Dancing with the Stars and got to spend a lot of time with him. He was on top of the world having just earned an Emmy and it was really cool to see that life from the inside. If you’ve never been, it’s definitely a place to see and take in. We’re thankful for the opportunity.
What do you hope to accomplish with your music?
We really like to write music that’s relatable. Music helped me through a lot of things in my life. We all go through amazing moments followed by some very hard times. All of our music is about events that have happened in our life, snapshots of a certain emotion. Many of our songs seem to have a theme questioning what’s next, with a redeeming factor in the end. We hope our music helps the listener get through whatever they may face, whether good or bad!
Something about you that no one knows?
Although I only sing now in the band, I play many instruments. Grew up playing piano and guitar, then learned drums before learning the tenor saxophone, which I played for 8 years in high school and on scholarship in college. I gave it up for what I thought was a lack of cool factor haha. I was very good at it though!
What is next for the band?
We’ve got a lot of cool things lined up for 2016! We head out on the road nationally for the first time in January followed by our album release coming late Winter/early Spring. We’re very excited to get the new material out to you all!
Anything else you want to add?
I want to thank you Kinsey for taking the time to sit down with me! I’ve enjoyed thinking back and remembering all these things. Also, the first single “Walk Again” off the new album just released! You can find the song and video over at our official VEVO, BrokenRailVEVO.
