A Dirty Dozen with RICH NGUYEN from BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE – February 2021

According to a recent press release: “BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE (a.k.a. BIAS), the band featuring former KORN drummer David Silveria, has released a six-song EP called Acronym. David is joined in the Orange County, California-based group by bassist Chris Dorame, guitarists Joe Taback and Mike Martin and singer Rich Nguyen. Silveria, Dorame and Taback previously played together in CORE 10, which “imploded” in 2018 after releasing a couple of singles and playing a number of local shows. BIAS made a big splash with its first single, “Pity”, which came out in January 2019. The track rapidly reached No. 23 on the Billboard (BDS) Indicator chart and No. 9 on the Foundations (SMR) chart.” We get singer Rich to discuss new music, influences, and more…

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

We just recently released our debut EP Acronym. It’s comprised of 5 original songs and a cover song, which is “Midlife Crisis” from Faith No More. It was produced and mixed by my best friend Chris Collier. A few of these songs came from my initial audition and the others we wrote all together. Diehard fans of David will hear his signature groove almost immediately. And if you think about it, you REALLY haven’t heard David play for about 13, years. I also think listeners don’t truly grasp the vocal melodies the first time around, as I like to put melodies where they wouldn’t normally be. As you listen more and more, they start to sink in.

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

When I was 12 years old, my best friend at the time got a guitar for Christmas. I came over the next day and he was playing the opening riff of “Enter Sandman” and I was like “Wow – let me try that!” So I picked up his guitar and played it almost right away. It was such a satisfying feeling to be able to reproduce the sound that I heard on the radio/TV that I went home that night and begged my parents for a guitar of my own. They got me one a week later and I started searching for music to learn and play, because at the time I was only listening to rap. I ended up connecting the most with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Pantera.

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

I essentially learned how to sing and play guitar by learning every single Metallica song, from “Kill ‘Em All to the black album. For a very long time it was only that, then I discovered Pantera. So for two years straight I would watch A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica and Pantera’s “Vulgar” Video over and over again. The live performances just blew my mind. Up to that point in life I never knew that someone could make a living playing music and creating art like that.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Mike Patton (Faith No More), Layne Staley (Alice In Chains), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), Jonathon Davis (Korn), and Chino Moreno (Deftones).

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

Probably Chino Moreno (Deftones), cause I love the unorthodox way he structures his vocal patterns and would like to pick his brain on his approach to individual songs.

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?

I would say it1s like a Hard Rock and Metal hybrid. The music is very first gen NuMetal with melodic, modem vocals. I’ve heard a lot of stuff I’ve never heard before, some people say we sound like Sevendust, Adema and Papa Roach. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is an honor, but I don t hear it.

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

Being able to create something from nothing and embody it and being able to express yourself through your art. Also, for me, it’s being able to create music with one of my heroes from yesteryear!

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

Well, David and I have BBQed for the band (pre tour and on tour), Chris, David, and I are the drinkers, and Joe is the acoustic guitar guy ALWAYS!

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

The last time I was starstruck was when I came in to audition for this band and there was David in the room waiting to critique my singing.

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

I still have a day job and I moonlight as a musician. My dream job would be something in finance… I love numbers, math, and spreadsheets.

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?

I am a true believer in ‘everything happens for a reason’. I think that if one thing changed in my past I would not be here at this exact place, in this moment in time. So no, I wouldn’t change a thing. If I could, I would do it all over again the same just to freshen up the perspective a lil bit.

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 love to go back in time and be part of the recording sessions for Korn’s Follow The Leader. That record changed my life and it’s probably one of the most important records for me as it changed my perspective on metal. Also, from what I’ve read and heard from David, it was a just a nonstop party!

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Category: Interviews