Published: April 15, 2009 9:19 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight April 2009 Edition
Taken By Name
Taken By Name
BOSTON, Massachusetts native Brandon Green has decided to step out on his own to create something that is memorable. He is Taken By Name, and his quest is simple: making music and doing what he loves to do. In this recent spotlight, Brandon lets us in on what he is doing now and what fans can expect from him in the near future.
Isaac: How do you sum up 2008 for Taken By Name?
Brandon: 2008 was weird, in that I had just left my old band, Bushwhack near the end of the year and decided to make Taken By Name my primary music project. I had been writing music for years under the alias of Taken By Name, but 2008 (the last quarter in particular) saw the project really find meaning and get some really good-quality demos produced. I'd call it weird, just because of how the project was sort of make-shift from the start until very recently -- I'm recording all the material myself, while in college and working part-time, so I've been keeping myself pretty busy.
Isaac: Let's talk about the concept behind Taken By Name.
Brandon: Taken By Name sort of started out just as an excuse for me to make music by myself, rather than in a band or with others' input. I just threw the name in as an alias because it sounded kinda cool. Only very recently I figured out what it actually meant to me. When I was growing up and as I grew more and more aware of my surroundings, politics, human nature--reality, basically--I realized that there's a lot of things with the silver lining, the shiny stuff that is covering up whatever's real in those things. Look at top 40 music and you'll know what I'm talking about. Taken By Name is sort of my way of looking into a way through the fake to find something real -- a lot of my songs have to deal with my experiences of finding something real out about my life, or those around me.
Isaac: What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment for 2008?
Brandon: As a musician, that was definitely taking the step to move out of one music and step full force into a new one. I matured a lot as a person for a lot of different reasons, and one of the most important decisions I made was to trust myself musically and leave the old band and take everything on myself. I don't know if it's going to work out at all, but I'm proud of myself for actually doing it.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Brandon: Definitely Trent Reznor--some of my friends say I obsess over him. I just think of him as an absolute creative visionary, and more recently a marketing and technology whiz, and I think that we could all learn a little from him, whether it's how to survive in the music industry, or how to get people to listen to noisy music. David Byrne is also a huge influence, in his offbeat nature. I also have a huge respect for (and am deeply influenced by) soul, funk and jazz music from the middle of the 20th century -- you'll see a pretty big jazz influence in the instrumental "Day Of Showers" (demo is available for streaming on my MySpace page!)
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Brandon: Hopefully, something real. If people are willing to listen. I find that a lot of bands and musicians are either completely fake, trying to be something they're not, or doing something real and powerful but can't find the right audience. I hope to be in that third group, but find the audience. I think Taken By Name is universal enough to hopefully someday transcend that boundary. Based on what I've seen in the industry, I'm going to try a completely DIY approach for Taken By Name, and hopefully that will work out and give a sort of model for other lesser-known bands to come out as well.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Brandon: Oh man that's tough. I'd have to say a three-way tie between Trent Reznor, David Byrne and George Martin. All visionaries and people I look up to.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Brandon: Noisy, funky, strange, powerful, real music.
Isaac: What is your definition for Rock Music?
Brandon: Rock music is whatever you want it to be. It doesn't even need a guitar, bass and drums like it used to. If you're looking for something shallow, go listen to commercial radio. If you want something more, you'll find it--just have to look in the right places.
Isaac: What type of feedback have you received from your previous releases?
Brandon: I actually haven't really had a previous release of my own; per se. Bushwhack's debut album got pretty positive reviews--except that we were an instrumental group, so it was difficult to market that type of music to a wide audience while I was in the band. Early feedback I've been getting for The Unspeakable EP has also been positive, although I've barely begun to scratch the surface with Taken By Name yet.
Isaac: What has been the inspiration behind your latest EP, The Unspeakable, which is self-produced and coming out this month--April 2009?
Brandon: Unfortunately the EP is going to be a bit delayed! I still need artwork, and then it will be sent out to all online markets and so forth. The Unspeakable EP came about when I realized I had some good-quality recordings that I wanted to share. I wanted to share some of these songs as soon as possible, while I went to work on the debut album. Most of these songs are at least a year old--the music for Elliptical Logic was written back in early 2006. There is sort of an underlying concept of communication and not being afraid to say what one feels. "Wind Tunnel" is essentially a breakup song, where I'm not sure if I can deal with this anymore but don't know what to do about it. "The Unspeakable Things" is, to be blunt, about sex, and not being afraid to say anything about it.
Isaac: What can fans expect from The Sleepwalker which is being self-produced and coming out fall 2009?
Brandon: The Sleepwalker is going to be very dynamic. All over the place. "Elliptical Logic" will probably make a re-appearance and be hard funk, and the next track will be drony, psychedelic rock. I have about half of the record recorded (I'm doing everything myself, for the most part) and I'm hoping to have it done and released this year. There is an overall concept of things I've already talked about: trying to find meaning in a very corrupt, musically crippled world, and probably going crazy trying to do that.
Isaac: Where can fans locate you at online?
Brandon: www.myspace.com/takenbyname or look for me on Purevolume or Facebook, take your pick. I'll be putting together a website very soon as well.
Isaac: What can fans expect from Taken By Name in 2009?
Brandon: Hopefully, some records! I'm feeling very confident about the new material and want to share it with as many people as possible, because I do feel that I have some important things to say. I'm also planning the live band, and should have something going in that respect over the summer.
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Brandon: Ahhh, shoutouts. I want to say thanks to my buddies in Bushwhack because even though I'm not in it anymore, that whole experience really helped me develop as a songwriter. And to my lovely girlfriend, who is working her ass off right now and I wish her all the best, since she's inspired me quite a bit.
Isaac: Final words from Taken By Name…
Brandon: Go drink some herbal tea. It's good for you. Way better than coffee. And rock.
