Interview: The Brevet talk latest single ‘Locked & Loaded’

The Brevet recently released their new single and video Locked & Loaded. Set in a surreal backyard party gone mad, the video posits vocalist Aric Chase Damm, drummer David Aguiar, and guitarist John Kingsley amidst a seeming dance-off amongst the partygoers who may or may not really exist.In addition, the band has announced a headlining tour across the States. With a handful of warm-up dates through ski towns such as Durango, CO’s Animas Theater (April 3) and Park City, UT’s Canyon Village (April 7), they will kick of their national tour at Anaheim, CA’s Parish Room HOB on April 14th and circle the country, including stops at NYC’s Mercury Lounge (May 11), Los Angeles’ Bootleg (March 23) and ending at Napa, CA’s Bottlerock Festival (May 27).

Currently working on new music set for release later this year, The Brevet released their second full-length American Novel last year which was a compilation of their three critically-hailed previously-released EPs. Check out Locked & Loaded below!

We managed to catch up drummer David as he talks about the band’s latest release and more!

So with Locked & Loaded, the track has a more aggressive feel to it than your previous tracks such as Embers and Moving Mountains, what made you go down this route?

Between all of us, there are a ton of influences that shape The Brevet’s songwriting. While writing “Locked & Loaded” we were listening to a lot of Kaleo, Kings Of Leon, Alabama Shakes, NEEDTOBREATHE. I’m always inspired by session drummers like Paul Mabury and Jay Bellerose, and John (lead guitar) is a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. “Locked & Loaded” was an idea Aric already had brewing, and was written shortly after John joined the group. John brought a ton of musical influence and knowledge to this one, really giving it the edge we were looking for.

The music video for Locked & Loaded has a few actors and dancers featuring in it, how do you go about getting these actors and dancers to feature in the video?

We’ve had the pleasure of working with the almighty Sarah Wilson Thacker and Ryan Broomberg for a few years now. They’ve been super helpful in not only directing some great stuff, but also getting professionals they know to come out and do these shoots with us. Between their crew and ours, we always get great turn outs for these videos. For the “Locked & Loaded” video, we had a full day planned of drinking, hosing each other down and dancing in the sunshine, so it wasn’t too difficult to find willing participants!

Your music has appeared in the likes of 90210 and American Idol, how does an opportunity like this happen?

It’s all about writing the right music, working with the right team, a little bit of luck, and a lot of patience. We’re very excited that, despite it’s change in sound, “Locked & Loaded” has still managed to make it’s way toward appearances on some cool stuff. Last year, a live performance of “Locked & Loaded” got on as part of an Apple ad campaign: Today at Apple, and this coming Monday 3/26, “Locked & Loaded” will be appearing on the FOX series, Lucifer.

You have a new album coming out this year, what have you done differently recording the album than your previous full-length American Novel?

The “Locked & Loaded” process I mentioned earlier was the way we treated the whole album, in varying degrees. There were more of us involved in this album than before, and we took our time writing it. That’s the great thing about having our own studio down here, is that we can spend a little more time experimenting with new sounds and ideas, without the looming hourly studio rental fee.

Has living in Orange County and away from the big city of LA shaped the sound of The Brevet you hear today?

I’m not sure… being this close to LA is definitely helpful for what we do, and we spend a lot of time up there. Aric is the only OC native, the rest of us come from other parts of the state/country, so I guess the music reflects where we each come from, in a way. In terms of what our fans hear, we feel like most anyone can relate to our music, regardless of where they’re from.

How did your last tour go with Magic Giant and will you do anything different to this in your upcoming tour?

It was incredible! Magic Giant has some great fans and a kick ass crew, so we had a blast in every city. For the upcoming tour, we’ve got some great bands supporting us, and new stuff to play. We’ll be playing longer sets for this run also, so that means we can take our time, roll out the new songs, light things on fire… ha! (kidding)

Are there any movies or books that inspire you to write music today? What have you watched or read recently that totally blew you away?

Most of our inspiration comes from being around music, and all that we encounter day to day with our families, cultures, friends, daily life at home and on the road.

On this last tour, I found a used paperback copy of “Grapes of Wrath” for 99 cents at a gas station. I picked it up and read it as we drove the same-ish route: Westbound alongside Route 66, into California, and up 99 Freeway into the Central Valley. Didn’t quite blow me away, but it was an exciting way to experience that story! Who knows, maybe our next song will be about picking peaches…

If you could add a unique instrument to your band, what would it be and how would it change your music style?

Our very own John Kingsley has got a few tricks up his sleeve. We’ve already taken advantage of his mandolin playing, and incorporated the pedal steel into our live set. And I know he plays the banjo really well, so I’m hoping to see that come into The Brevet’s arsenal someday.