A Dirty Dozen with BRANDON JOHNSON from LATE NIGHT SAVIOR – August 2020

According to a recent press release: “After managing to garner over 7.5 million streams worldwide independently, Utah based hard rock band LATE NIGHT SAVIOR recently signed a deal with NEW LABEL ROCK SHOP RECORDS. Their first single, “MONSTER,” was produced by CRISPIN EARL (THE VEER UNION / ROCK SHOP RECORDS) and the video premiered this week on METAL INSIDER. LATE NIGHT SAVIOR will be kicking off their rock radio campaign in America on July 28 and is also slated to be on tour as a supporting artist on the Rock Shop Records International Tour scheduled for the spring/summer of 2021.” We get singer Brandon to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The new song is probably the heaviest song we’ve done so far but fits so well with what we’ve done in the past. “Monster” is a straight up hate filled song that starts with betrayal and ends with accepting the monsters role.  I always say I’m fine being the villain in someone else’s story as long as I’m not the villain of mine and that’s what the song is really all about.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Growing up we were always surrounded by music. I remember my mom would sit next to our fireplace in the living room singing her heart out to the stereo and I could tell how much the songs meant to her. Everywhere we would go we would play the “guess the artist” game listening to the radio, and growing up with that really drove me to love finding more and more music.  My group of friends I had grown up with all played different instruments in school and we always wanted to have a band. I would sit with my friend Jake and break down and learn all the songs we loved from Metallica, Tesla, Guns and Roses etc. Just to show off.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Years ago we got the Queensryche Operation: Livecrime VHS. At the time I had never seen a concert before, live or on video and I became obsessed with it.  I’m pretty sure I wore that video out watching it as much as I did. Even now that album has stuck with me and holds a really special place.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Queensryche, Coheed and Cambria, Killswitch Engage, Nightwish, and Florence + the Machine.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Tuomas Holopainen of Nightwish. I’ve been a huge Nightwish fan for years. I absolutely love that style of music, and the complexity and depth of what he writes is just fantastic.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Hard rock that hits you in the feels! There’s a reoccurring joke about us and Nickelback. Even recording the last album I was given a nickname whenever I had too much Chad voice going on. we came to embrace the comparison tho and ended up covering a couple of their songs as a joke for anytime someone brings it up. “Don’t like Nickelback? How about we play you some!”

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Seeing and hearing how our music has effected others. It’s so amazing to have something you’ve written and means something real to you being sung back to you in a live setting. And hearing how so many people have interpreted the songs to fit their own story is such a surreal  experience.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I would definitely say stick and myself both love to grill and BBQ. I cooked for years in restaurants and different places and really have a passion for good food. Tim is usually the first to start cracking beers and pouring the shots, which is essential. Tyler is the one to grab a guitar. I’m not sure if the drummer is always the first to grab guitars, but that’s definitely the case for us.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

It was when I met Chris Jericho. I grew up as a big wrestling fan and then later was introduced to Fozzy and I loved it. When we did the Next2Rock competition in L.A. he was one of the judges I was really looking forward to seeing. Before the show started he happened to come over and strike up a casual conversation with us about all sorts of things. It was a really cool moment and we found out he’s a super nice guy.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

I’m a big fan of carpentry. I really love working with my hands, designing and building. As sort of a past time I work on tons of projects in my shop but I definitely don’t dedicate nearly as much time to it as I would like to.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

For me it would be recording our first album. I’m really proud of the record but we jumped into it not wanting anything but a way for people to hear our songs outside the show.  we just didn’t take our time to do it the way we should have, given the subject matter of that album. I would love to go over it someday just to do more justice to some of those songs.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I would have to say Operation: Mindcrime again. That album had such a huge impact on me growing up between the Operation: Livecrime VHS and rocking the album with my mom and brothers. It was some of the first songs I tried to really break down and learn how to play along to. I figure if I could sit in any album recording it might as well be the one that really began my obsession with music.

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Category: Interviews