Crobot Band Lead Singer Brandon Yeagley Talks to All Access

Lead Singer Brandon Yeagley from Crobot talks to All Access Music about Nowhere to Hide, the New EP, Radio, and their New Tour.

Crobot:  Crobot EP: 10 Questions by Mark Capuano

Band:  Crobot
Lead Vocalist:  Brandon Yeagley
Label:  Wind-Up Records
Origin:  Pottsville, PA

THE BAND:

Crobot consists of Brandon Yeagley (Lead Vocals, Harmonica), Chris Bishop (Guitar, Vocals), Jake Figueroa (bass) and Paul Figueroa (drums).

Prepare for Something Supernatural

 Crobot Nowhere to Hide Now #15 in the Charts and Still Climbing.  Watch it climb here>>

1.  Just rockin’, kick ass, writing and playing Bad Ass Music!  How can you explain enjoying such freedom and creativity in a day and age that tries so hard to hold everyone back and constrain you?

Answer:

Well, here at Crobot we have a slogan or motto if you will.  It goes a little something like this: “Fuck it!”
We get in a room and jam.  Whether it is in a garage or on the stage, we do this for selfish reasons really.  We genuinely love the shit out of jamming together.   The fact that people dig it puts us in a different city every night amongst likeminded music lovers.  For that, we are forever grateful to be able to do this every night.  The live show is really our bread and butter, too.  Writing is only half of what we do.  The other half of the experience is the live show.And yes, there is an element of constraint there because the songs are already written but still everything just happens.  Some nights, some songs take a different path.  We aren’t trying to be somebody else on stage.  It is all an extension of who we are, individually and as a collective.  It just happens.  No backing tracks.  No auto-tune.That’s true freedom.

2.  I see the band is from Pottsville, PA.  It appears to be a nice peaceful place to live.  But where did Wind-Up Records find you?  Were you found in Pottsville or did you do some showcases in LA or NY to get noticed?  What advice would you offer to younger musicians trying to make it in smaller towns?

Answer:

Wind-Up Records found us by accident on an online video contest to play the Grammy’s.  Shawn Cohen, Wind-Up’s Director of A & R, watched a video, walked away,heard our song “The Legend of the Spaceborne Killer” and ran back to hit replay.

Apparently, they kept a watchful eye on us for a good three weeks to absorb the Crobot experience.  They contacted us and a month later we were showcasing in NYC for the Wind-Up family.   The rest is history.

If there were any advice we could give, it would be to keep doing it.  Keep doing what you love to do.  Get shows.  Keep writing.  Keep practicing.  And if you cannot do any of those things, you should think about them.  Submerse your entire life in what you love and the rest will fall into place.  If not, “fuck it!”

3.  When I first heard “Nowhere To Hide”, I couldn’t stop rockin’! I must have hit reply about 15 times until I actually had to stop.  What is Crobot’s approach to writing such unique music?

Answer:

Glad you dig it!  Really, we just get into a room and jam.  We each have our individual places we dig from for inspiration and that goes into what we do.  From Clutch to James Brown to Sabbath and everything in between, there is a lot that influences Crobot.  Can’t forget the sex, drugs, & booze.  They are definitely key elements, too!

4.  The second I heard “Nowhere To Hide” I new it was going to be a hit.  And now we can see that I was correct as we watch it climb the charts.  How do you guys feel about the success of your new song?

Answer:

It’s a pretty cool feeling.  As every show goes by, we see more and more people that know the words to our songs, especially “Nowhere to Hide.”   So, it is definitely making a difference for us.  We can’t thank the radio stations and fans enough for getting behind it.

5.  The first few times I heard your music, it reminded me of a mixture of today’s technology with yesterday’s sound.  I really got a lot of 70’s Nazareth (Hair of the Dog), Led Zeppelin, Ted Nugent, and Black Sabbath mixed with Sammy Hagar and Sound Garden adding modern technology, concepts and lyrics for the unique combination called Crobot.  Am I way off here or would it be safe to say something along those lines?  Were any of those bands or artist part of the band’s influence?  Please elaborate.

Answer:

Actually, all of those bands influence at least one of us in some way.  We absolutely love Zeppelin, Sabbath, & Soundgarden in particular.  We’re huge fans of sci-fi and mythology and the occult.  So, those things most definitely influence us sonically, visually, & lyrically.  We’re not reinventing the wheel, but we do each bring different influences to the table.

6.  Though the concept seems obvious and most appropriate and relevant, what was your motivation in offering your new music in limited addition vinyl format?

Answer:

Vinyl is the best way to listen to music, especially Crobot.  And, we’re all avid vinyl collectors; so, we definitely put ourselves in the fans perspective.

A limited edition, see-thru Crobot vinyl?   Uh, yeah, gimme one of those.   It looks like it’s from outer-space, man!

7.  I see you posted on your website http://blog.crobotband.com/ and on Facebook your increased MediaBase chart ratings.  How do you feel about the current music rating systems available?  Is there anything you would change or suggestions you would make?

Answer:

Honestly, it might as well be a quantum-physics algorithm.  The shit is Greek to us. We’re just happy we’re charting on something.  Hah! It gives our moms something to hang on the fridge!

8.  So since your music appears to be such a modern version of classic rock, what kind of radio stations do you listen to the most?

Answer:

Well, we kind of all just plug our phones in and play music off of them.  Our FM radio in the van is broken. But, we just found out about this cool little app called TuneIn radio that will let us listen to basically any FM station out there, along with other stations on our phones.  So, we’ll be tuning in to those soon!

9.  What are your favorite radio stations locally and nationally?

Answer:

The ones that play our song and hang out with us.  Hah!

Crobot’s Video Nowhere To Hide

Radio…

10.  Because of your bands style of music and sound, it seems to me that terrestrial radio would have a bigger impact on your music, success, and dissemination these days then much of the modern technology and communication.  Do you find this to be true?  Thoughts?

Answer:

We are all pretty surprised to hear our song made it to Active Rock radio, let alone chart in the top 20.  We consider ourselves pretty different from what you are used to hearing on these stations.  Since we’ve been picking up airplay, we’ve noticed a growing number of Beardos out to see us.  And from what we can see from the last few weeks it has been active, “Nowhere to Hide” is proving to help us gain fans in numbers.

We’re incredibly thankful for all that the stations have been doing to support our new single “Nowhere to Hide” and it is definitely making a difference.