INTERVIEW BY SHELBY BAKER
PHOTOS BY CHLOE MURO
WINNING THE LOSER’S BRACKET is a pop punk duo who has experienced multiple aspects of the music industry. Together they released their debut album Bronze in the spring of 2013, and have two other EP’s under their belts. All of their work is emotionally driven, with some listeners saying it moved them on an expressive level. In addition to creating music, they own their own record label, Running Around Records, with a friend and have multiple artists signed. Their official inception is the summer of 2009, and with multiple band member changes, they are still going strong. Since then, they have had multiple local tours with bands within the area, and have even performed with bands such as CANDY HEARTS and THESE HEARTS. With all of this experience, the pop punk scene may have sight of a new musical hope in the near future.
How did your band come about?
Tyler sold me tickets to his show with his band at the time at the 9:30 Club during the second half of my freshman year. Then, during his sophomore year of high school, that band broke up and Tyler came up to me and said, “Hey, let’s do this band thing,” and that’s kind of how we came about. We’ve had a few other members in the past, but the actual inception was summer of ’09.
How did your band name come about?
Tyler thought of it while in gym class in high school during and a round of volleyball. They were going to be in like, third place in the tournament. Tyler then said to his team, “Don’t worry, we can win the losers bracket”.
On your Facebook you guys asked your fans who they would like to see you guys do a split with. If you could work do a split with anyone you wanted, who would you want to work with?
Any band! I would love to do a split with a big-time touring band, but there are a lot of bands that are around our level that I wouldn’t mind doing a split with. We did a tour last summer with the band FLAWLESS, and they’re cool. I would love to do one with a band called AGES. They’re from Cincinnati. Basically anyone out of Virginia, I want to extend the scope.
What was the inspiration behind the titles Bronze and Leftovers?
Bronze actually came from a joke I made with one of my friends. We were going to do a hardcore band, and we were thinking of calling the band BRONZE because that sounds like a hardcore name. Then Tyler thought it would be a cool album title. Leftovers is all B-sides of Bronze, so literally it was the leftovers of the album.
Which song would you consider your favorite or are most proud of?
It’s hard to say it probably any of the three off Transition. Those three like drained me musically and emotionally. Those three I’m most proud of; it’s honestly a tie.
Are there any Virginia artists you would recommend?
There are a lot. There’s, EXILES and AMONG YOU. They’re cool. I also love CONQUERING ROME and THE GREAT DISMAL. Then I also love a band called INQUIRY. They’re from Richmond and are our closest friends musically. We also run a record label and anyone on our record label I would highly suggest.
