Crobot is: Brandon Yeagley on lead vocals, Chris Bishop on guitar/vocals, Jake Figueroa on bass and Paul Figueroa on drums.2014 has proven to be one hell of a year for Crobot. The four piece band of rockers has gone from being “who?” to a must see on the concert trail. Their old school vibe of combining big, heavy guitars and deep, nasty grooves has seemed to have struck a chord with a key part of the music public who are craving a little more substance in their rock music. The guys have lived on the road for most of 2014 proving that this band is one of the most dynamic live shows out there in music today. That fact, combined with the release of their album Something Supernatural in October has made 2014 a stellar year for the band. I managed to steal a few minutes with lead singer Brandon Yeagley right before the band hit the road with Chevelle.
Hey Brandon, how’s it going man?
I’m doing excellent! I just winterized the house and taking care of a few things before we go out on the road with Chevelle.
Man, you guys are like road warriors. It seems like just when you finish a tour with one band, you start right up with another one. You go out with Chevelle, then over to the UK with Black label Society, then back to the U.S. with Anthrax and Volbeat.
(Laughs) Yeah, we would definitely be out there every day if it were up to us. It’s crazy and it’s proving to be a great year for us. We started out in January with Clutch and The Sword, which was probably our dream tour, and it’s been awesome ever since. Next year is already looking to be an even bigger and better year for us.
I’m seeing your name pop up on some of the festivals that have been announced for next year as well.
Yeah, we love all of those festivals, Rock on the Range, Louder than Life, Northern Invasion, they’re all awesome festivals. It’s really cool because we also get to see some of our own favorite bands there as well.
Interview with Crobot at Louder Than Life Festival 2014 – RockRevolt™Magazine
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I know a lot of people tend to reflect back on the year that they’ve had when December rolls around. Is it even possible for you to pick out a highlight or two given how many awesome things happened this year for the band?
It’s like you just said; it’s really tough to pick just one thing. It’s been a year of really working hard and being patient. We finished up the last bits of recording our album in December of last year and we finally released it in October. Like you said, we’re being road warriors and playing as many shows as we can. We’ve been stepping up and making up some ground and it’s really been great to see the support that we’re getting from everyone. I think the biggest surprise for us is that we received some radio airplay this year. When we started this band and even when we go into the writing process, it’s just something that we don’t see us as a radio rock band and especially by today’s standards. I might be the only one thinking so, but I just don’t see us as that kind of band or that kind of sound, so all the support from radio for ”Nowhere To Hide” was really surprising.
Your sound is a bit throwback in ways to a sound that hasn’t been heard in rock in a while. Has it surprised you how it’s managed to strike a chord so quickly in a lot of people?
We just write songs for us, as selfish as that might be to say. Speaking for myself, I listen to what’s out there today, especially on the radio, and it’s just become this stale environment. It was cookie cutter ten years ago and I feel it’s still that same formula. I think things really do need to be shaken up, whether it’s now or another ten years from now. You know, history seems to repeat itself and I feel like we’re in the disco era right now again. You have the formula there without the groove behind it. Our sound is referred to as throwback a lot and they use that term because there aren’t many bands out there who are feeding into that influence of hard rock of old, maybe not to the extent of what we do. There are bands like Rival Sons, Graveyard, Truck Fighters and Kyng who are a testament to the fact that old sound is still very much alive. I think that the support that all of bands has gotten is from diehard fans of music and of genuine music and specifically of bands like Zeppelin, Sabbath and AC/DC. Those bands tend to stand the test of time and it’s still the stuff that we listen to. All of the support that we’ve received has been really rewarding for us because we built this from something that we genuinely love and we put every ounce of our hearts and souls into it.
Speaking of soul, you really do have a very distinct voice and one of my initial thoughts when I heard you was that you really do have a lot of soul to your voice. How did you get into singing?
Thanks man, really I just started playing guitar and singing at about the same time. I thought it would be easier for me to play and sing if I learned them both at the same time. I really didn’t look to take that any further other than the fact that I could just do it. Upon my journeys of being in bands and such, as well as my own personal journey to overcome such obstacles, it seemed that bands were lacking singers and we really couldn’t find the right one. I just started to take on the role and develop myself and go through the journey of becoming a singer and learning the things that I can do to my body and the things that I can’t put into my body. I’ve found that drinking is probably my public enemy number one. I try to take care of myself out there and use a lot of discipline. You know, singing’s not really something that I looked into doing seriously; it’s something that I kind of found and at the same time it found me. I think for the first two years, my dad would bang on the door and tell me that my guitar sounded good, but maybe that we may want to think about finding a better singer (laughs).
Along with the many awesome tour packages that you are on, I also saw that you are doing Ship Rocked.
Yeah, that’s going to be pretty great. I’ve never been to the Bahamas, I’ve never been on a cruise ship and this is going to be an amazing voyage of many sorts.
It’s work, but it’s also a mini-vacation for you at the same time.
Oh yeah, you know, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of the characters who will be aboard this years as well. Man, every person who we’ve met who is a ship rocker can party. I’m pretty sure we will be intoxicated the entire journey, but sometimes that’s a good thing.
I wanted to touch on the dates that you’re doing in early 2015 in the UK with Black Label Society. Have you played in the UK before?
We played the UK for about a week in September of this year with the Virginmarys; they’re an awesome band and it was on their home turf. We got to taste just that little snippet of what a life changing experience it is to be overseas. We are really chomping at the bit to get back over there. The trip with BLS is going to be crazy and we’re going to be bouncing around like kangaroos in Europe.
CROBOT – Nowhere To Hide (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
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Did you notice much of a difference in the crowd over there when you played as compared to here?
You know, there were a lot of differences, but I don’t know how to pinpoint what the exact origins of the differences were, but the people and fans over there were just like rabid dogs! They’re ok over there with letting you know if they don’t like you and if they do like you, then they are really behind you; luckily for us they really liked us. I’ve always thought that we had that European sound and that we’re fitting for over there. They really give you a lot of energy to feed off of. I mean, not that there isn’t that type of energy here in the U.S., but I feel like people look at us like were aliens and for good reason sometimes in the U.S. (laughs). The UK audience really didn’t think about it at first, they just felt it whereas the U.S. audience tends to think about it a little more and try to digest or process what they’re watching.
Do you guys have any pre-show rituals that you do before you hit the stage?
(Laughs) Well, I’m not sure if they’re really pre-show rituals, but we do warm up a bit. I do my vocal exercises and I drink my honey water which actually looks like a big piss jug on-stage (laughs).
Dude, that sounds like a prank just waiting to happen.
(Laughs) Yeah, I’m asking for it, I’m sure. We also have a few beers, we smoke ‘em if we’ve got ‘em, but really we just hang out and enjoy the calm before the storm. We just relax and try not to take things too seriously before we hit that stage. We like to go up there and have fun and that’s what it’s all about.
Yeah, I think too many bands actually do take it way too seriously and that translates when they take the stage.
Yeah, I totally agree with you and that’s what we’re trying to bring back. It’s not something that’s necessarily been lost, but I don’t think the scale is balanced now. We go up there to have fun; we just plug and play man.
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