Welcome our new staff
writer!
Rough Edge Welcomes Brian Connelly To The Ranks Of Rough
Edge Writers
Rough Edge would like to introduce its newest writer, Brian Connelly, to the
ranks of Rough Edge. Everyone at Rough Edge thinks you'll enjoy Brian's
appreciation for heavy and hard music, fresh approach, honesty, and to-the-point
reviews.
Brian is a well-traveled soul having done stints in Connecticut, Alaska,
Vermont, and back to Alaska during his youth. For his high school years,
Brian became an international traveler, hitting spots like Colombia and Austria
which he says is a lot like Germany, only more rude.
Brian's odyssey finally ended in Japan
where he graduated high school with 15 other class mates who shared in common
the fact that they were "preppy, spoiled assholes." After
spending a dreadful year at North Carolina State he is now working three jobs to
save money to move to California to be with the girl of his dreams.
Brian's interest in music started with Pearl Jam after having been subjected to
years of relying on Whitney Houston and The Monkees - we understand that it
wasn't his choice to listen to those two artists. Pearl Jam's "Ten"
was the first album Brian heard where he felt that a band of musicians put
together something where they could be proud of its entirety, where their heart
and souls were used 100%, rather than just for one marketable hit and the rest
being just filler. After getting heavy into the grunge scene Brian
discovered new talent and other scenes not getting much press like metal, real
alternative, and punk. Brian's insatiable curiosity got the best of him:
Brian wondered why those other scenes weren't being discovered? When Brian
found out it was because those bands would have trouble selling singles, he
decided that he would pursue his interest in music based on his personal tastes,
not based on what is acceptable and not acceptable to the masses. Brian's
metal education evolved with Headbanger's Ball allowing him to discern his likes
(Metallica, Helmet, Kerbdog) and dislikes (Pantera, Slayer, Napalm Death).
From there, Brian began delving into his favorite band's influences and other
bands that emulated the sounds he liked.
Heading out of high school and into college, Brian realized there were other
breeds and hybrids of heavy music: hardcore, death metal, extreme metal, and
speed metal. Brian states that Snapcase started it for him as it was the
first time he heard constant yelling and enjoyed it. Brian's open mindedness has
allowed him to get interested in anything from Korn to Coalesce, from Suicidal
Tendencies to Soilent Green, with the list getting larger and larger each day.
Brian counts his first concert that he went to by himself to check out a band
that he'd heard of and wanted to check out to see if they were any good.
Which band you might ask? Fear Factory. Brian states that he was
even impressed with openers Drain STH. Brian hopes if he ever has a
near-death experience, he hopes it's half as thrilling as that Fear Factory
show. At that first show, he got pounded on, smashed, choked, suffocated
... and he was hooked. Brian started attending concerts regularly after
that and lists Deftones, Snapcase, Ugly Kid Joe, Quicksand, Pitchshifter, and
Pearl Jam as some of the more memorable acts he has seen in concert.
When not busy trying to devise a plan to destroy Dawson's Creek, Brian enjoys
seeing kick ass local bands in the close-confines atmosphere of small clubs.
We heartily welcome Brian to the ranks of Rough Edge writers and we invite you
to check out his first contributions to Rough Edge's pages:
Traumatism "Traumatical Pieces" (Gorgans Productions)
Back to RoughEdge.com Features Page
Copyright © 2001 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 06 Oct 2019 11:48:51 -0400.
