{"id":21059,"date":"2014-04-10T12:09:50","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T02:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=21059"},"modified":"2014-04-10T12:17:37","modified_gmt":"2014-04-10T02:17:37","slug":"rex-brown-of-kill-devil-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2014\/04\/rex-brown-of-kill-devil-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Rex Brown of Kill Devil Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n<\/a>\u201c\u2026It even brings back the hunger days of when Pantera started for me, so that being said, it\u2019s all about you\u2019re only as good as your last gig and you\u2019ve got to get out there and kick some fuckin\u2019 ass man, that\u2019s what I\u2019m known for and I\u2019m not going to fuckin\u2019 let you down now\u2026 no way.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Bio: Featuring PANTERA and former DOWN bassist Rex Brown, ex-PISSING RAZORS frontman Dewey Bragg, acclaimed session\/touring guitarist MARK ZAVON and now TYPE O NEGATIVE, DANZIG and A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH drummer Johnny Kelly, KILL DEVIL HILL deliver a crushing sound that combines a contemporary feel with a classic aesthetic that few bands today can rival. The band will be on the road throughout 2014.<\/p>\n

Only days away from heading to Australia, we caught up with Rex Brown to fill us in on all things Kill Devil Hill, including the departure of drummer Vinny Appice, Rex\u2019s passion for what he does, what the future holds\u2026 as well as helping me with hangover cures.<\/p>\n

Thanks for your time today, Rex, now of course Kill Devil Hill are heading to Australia for the first time with Killswitch Engage in April, what\u2019s the feeling like bringing a new band Down Under for the first time?<\/strong>
\nI think it\u2019s the perfect place to fuckin\u2019 do it\u2026 you know, we had a problem with Vinny, God bless him, it just came to a point he didn\u2019t want to tour, and you have to get out there and fuckin\u2019 get on the road man, people can buy the records or whatever, but you\u2019re only as good as you are fuckin\u2019 live you know? So it just came to a point where his focus was elsewhere, and I\u2019ve got Johnny Kelly in the band now and he just came in and I\u2019m not bullshitting man\u2026 I\u2019m not a bullshitter, number 1, I shoot straight from the fuckin hip, but having Johnny come in and the way he\u2019s held himself up and he\u2019s playing these songs in only a short couple of months, we\u2019re playing these warm up shows before we head over tomorrow and every show is better and better, and it\u2019s just unreal and he\u2019s just a solid sweetheart, I\u2019ve known him for years and he just came in and it was kind of funny, I said \u2018Johnny do you want to come in and jam? Are you familiar with the records?\u2019 and stuff like that and he said \u2018yeah hang on I\u2019ll call you back in an hour, I\u2019m booking flights now.\u2019 Then he hung up *laughs*. So I had to put the whole thing together in LA so we could get the rehearsals going, pull everybody out of the woodwork and get everything going. It came down to two songs and it was like \u2018oh my God\u2019 he just fits in and it\u2019s amazing, I mean the sound is a dream come true, and it is, but that\u2019s just cool this band is. He just came in without any fuckin\u2019 baggage, nothing like that and here we are man, it\u2019s just a breath of fresh air and it\u2019s amazing, it\u2019s just as solid as it can get, and no disrespect to Vinny at all, but we have to be on the road, man, we are road dogs. That\u2019s the problem we had with Vinny.<\/p>\n

So was Johnny your only choice and it just worked out perfectly?<\/strong>
\nNo, no, no, no, no\u2026 I\u2019d gone around the ringer with well-known people that were in and they were out and they were in and they were out and it was just like I don\u2019t want that baggage, I don\u2019t need it, I just want somebody to come in and kick ass, and Johnny was right there at the top of our list of people that I was thinking about, and I asked him what he thought of this and he said \u2018I\u2019ll call you back in an hour\u2026\u2019 and he had his flight to LA, so that\u2019s an indication of the type of guy he is, that\u2019s who this dude is\u2026 he is a consummate professional and also being a dear friend, we wrote each other all the time. Pantera and Type O Negative toured together back in the nineties multiple times and when I say multiple times I\u2019m talking months on end and he just brings such a great vibe to what we\u2019re doing and it\u2019s unreal, I have to pinch myself during the night. Tonight is the third of three warm up shows and then we\u2019re just going to bring it down to Australia, just set my friend, it\u2019ll be fuckin\u2019 badass.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been to Australia a number of times now both with Pantera and Down, do you have a memory of a previous tour here that stands out for you?<\/strong>
\nAhh\u2026 you know one of the first days, I was sitting at a bar and I feel this splatter on my leg, I thought somebody had dropped a beer\u2026 it\u2019s actually this guy standing at the bar and he just flips his fuckin\u2019 dick out and starts pissing right there at the bar\u2026 and I\u2019m going \u2018really? No, you\u2019re not doing that\u2026\u2019 and I was going, well, this feels like home, this feels like Texas, not that we do that in Texas, we get arrested for doing shit like that, but this guy just whips his dick out and starts pissing right next to me man, I had to move to the other end of the bar so I didn\u2019t get pissed on again. So that\u2019s one little anecdote man, that\u2019s pretty amazing *laughs*, I don\u2019t know if that happens all the time in Australia, but I\u2019ve seen it more than once\u2026 it was wild dude\u2026 I like this fuckin place dude, this is killer\u2026 *laughs* that\u2019s one of my favourite memories of Australia.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know man, just going on tours around the whole country, and it\u2019s so big, and there\u2019s just so many different cultures, the English and the Aborigines, just going around and seeing all that man, it\u2019s just something you don\u2019t see a lot here in The United states. The charm of Australia\u2026 you know they called me and said \u2018Do you want to go to Australia?\u2019 I said \u2018With who?\u2019 they said \u2018Killswitch Engage\u2019 I said \u2018OK let\u2019s go\u2026\u2019 now I\u2019m not that familiar with the new Killswitch, but I can\u2019t wait to meet the guys, It\u2019s going to be a fuckin\u2019 blast\u2026 All indications, it\u2019s looking really, really good\u2026 we are primed my friend, we\u2019re getting ready to come and destroy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u2018Revolution Rise\u2019 has been out for almost six months now, and after only three years as a band, in making that had the honeymoon period somewhat passed and you truly felt like a band that had it down second time around?<\/strong>
\nYeah I think we just wanted to make something that was a little bit bigger, badder, bolder, and also something that explored different territories that we didn\u2019t get to hit on with our first one. I thought the first one was really a blueprint of what this band was about. We had been gigging around LA a lot and kind of doing it that was and trying to get a buzz created on the local scene which I fucking hate by the way\u2026 that being said it was well how are these songs going to go down live with these\u2026 you know, LA is very jaded, everybody is a fuckin\u2019 rock star there you \u00a0know what I mean? I\u2019m out here now, well a little further down, I\u2019m in Long beach, but everybody\u2019s just the fuckin\u2019 fake rock star bullshit, and literally we were tearing up audiences for a good six months before we put any of the songs together, they were pretty much in demo form of what became the band. Then I would put different stuff to it lyrically and put my stamp into it and it just evolved into ok now we know everybody\u2019s strengths and weaknesses that\u2019s how you build on something like that. Vinny was a very integral part of that, but to have Johnny come in, to answer your question, having Johnny step in to where Vinny has left off, it brings back the hunger days of where this first started. It even brings back the hunger days of when Pantera started for me, so that being said, it\u2019s all about you\u2019re only as good as your last gig and you\u2019ve got to get out there and kick some fuckin\u2019 ass man, that\u2019s what I\u2019m known for and I\u2019m not going to fuckin\u2019 let you down now\u2026 no way.<\/p>\n

So is it hard or nerve wracking to somewhat introduce something new to the world?<\/strong>
\nSomewhat, but I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s overbearing or that I\u2019ve got something to prove\u2026 this band doesn\u2019t sound like Pantera, for all the people that think it\u2019s going to\u2026 fuckin\u2019 don\u2019t come, don\u2019t come to the show, it\u2019s not Pantera, it\u2019s its own entity and look\u2026 I\u2019ve never played a Pantera song without an original other guy in the band ever, I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m never going to play Pantera but it\u2019s just one of those things where, in the olden days of Pantera it was us against the world and fuck all y\u2019all, you know what I\u2019m saying? Fuck the industry, fuck all that, we\u2019re going to make our music and we built a real solid fanbase out of that, by doing it our way. I\u2019m not comparing the bands at all, but that\u2019s the way I feel personally with this band or I wouldn\u2019t be doing it, you know what I\u2019m saying? I could sit on my couch for the rest of my life, it doesn\u2019t matter, I don\u2019t want to do that, I\u2019ve got a gift and I want to share it and this band\u2026 you steer the course man, you have to reinvent yourself, you have to be out there visibly, you have to be out there in the public eye and give it your all. The only reason I couldn\u2019t do that was because Vinny did not want to fucking tour, period. So other than that dude, I\u2019m on cloud nine, I ready to jump through the phone and ready to fuckin\u2019 rock.<\/p>\n

I truly love that you\u2019re so into it for the right reasons\u2026<\/strong>
\nYeah dude, this ain\u2019t about money, I play in a band because I\u2019m fuckin passionate about music and if you\u2019re not passionate about music, you\u2019re in the wrong fuckin\u2019 place you know? Dude, I\u2019ve been very lucky and at the same time very cautious, so I try and surround myself with very good people, and these guys look, Mark and Dewey, they\u2019re as talented as anybody I\u2019ve ever met, their number just wasn\u2019t called you know what I\u2019m saying? These guys have been through hell and back and now we get a chance to come show you and that\u2019s what it\u2019s about. Both those guys are very talented individuals, and to put that together and put them in there with me and now Johnny\u2026 we\u2019re just going to be unstoppable here and it\u2019s like jumping off a cliff with a parachute on and pulling the rip right at the last minute when you know you have to\u2026 that\u2019s what I get off it. If I get the crowd to give back the energy that I\u2019m showing them then I\u2019ve done my job. That\u2019s my high, that\u2019s what I get out of it.<\/p>\n

Now with Johnny in the band, are you planning on writing new material sooner rather than later?<\/strong>
\nNo, we\u2019re gonna tour man, and then we\u2019ll go in the studio when it\u2019s time. We have tonnes of material, but we have to get this band out, we have to get around and play man, I don\u2019t want to waste another fuckin\u2019 record, and it\u2019s such a goddam good record, I just want to go out and tour on it. I want to take it around the world and piss people off with it\u2026 if they don\u2019t like it fuck it\u2026 if they like it\u2026 even better.<\/p>\n

2014 is underway, but let\u2019s predict the future a little\u2026 so finish this sentence for me, in 2014, Kill Devil Hill will\u2026<\/strong>
\nKick some ass\u2026 now cure that hangover go get a Bloody Mary and you\u2019ll be alright. Take that from a pro that quit drinking\u2026 *laughs*<\/p>\n

Essential information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:\u00a0<\/strong>Los Angeles, CA, USA<\/p>\n

Band members:<\/strong>\u00a0 REX BROWN \u2013 bass, JOHNNY KELLY \u2013 drums, MARK ZAVON \u2013 guitar, DEWEY BRAGG \u2013 vocals<\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong>\u00a0Revolution Rise (Century Media \u2013 Out Now)<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.killdevilhillmusic.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Catch Kill Devil Hill in Australia with Killswitch Engage at the following dates:<\/strong><\/p>\n

FRIDAY 11 APRIL \u2013 BRISBANE, EATONS HILL\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Lic A\/A<\/strong>
\nwww.oztix.com.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SATURDAY 12 APRIL \u2013 SYDNEY, UNSW ROUNDHOUSE\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Lic A\/A
\nwww.ticketek.com.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SUNDAY 13\u00a0APRIL \u2013 MELBOURNE, THE PALACE\u00a0\u2013\u00a018+
\n<\/strong>www.oztix.com.au<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0www.ticketek.com.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

TUESDAY 15\u00a0APRIL \u2013 ADELAIDE, HQ\u00a0\u2013\u00a018+
\n<\/strong>www.oztix.com.au<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0www.venuetix.com.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

WEDNESDAY 16\u00a0APRIL\u00a0– PERTH, METRO CITY\u00a0\u2013\u00a018+
\nwww.oztix.com.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Presented by triple j\u2019s The Racket, Channel V and Soundwave Touring<\/strong>
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