Born and bred in the Utah music scene, Bad Luck Brigade have already checked off a major bucket-list milestone: a coveted slot at Salt Lake City’s biggest music festival, Kilby Block Party.
“It’s a goal of every young band in Utah,” says frontman Kyler Low. “Definitely very full circle.”
Bad Luck Brigade is a six-piece powerhouse that refuses to be put in a box, blending elements of punk, rap, jazz, and funk into a sound that pushes the boundaries of genre. Having landed supporting slots for major names such as Hippocampus, Joey Valence & Brae, and Killer Mike, the group have been cementing themselves as the next big thing to break out of the desert. We ask the boys about their experience coming up in such a music scene.
BLB: “It's tight, it's super tight knit. [...] Everybody kind of feeds off each other, and it's not incredibly clique-y. Like everybody loves each other and tries to uplift one another, and it's a tight community.”
Following in the footsteps of The Backseat Lovers, trailblazers in the Utah music network, the boys give a shoutout to Josh Harmon and his band for the influence they’ve had:
BLB: “Have to kind of give thanks to The Backseat Lovers for getting everything kicked up. In 2019 when that really started, they were, like, bringing things more into light, and then it was easier for more bands to also follow up in that upstream. They definitely elevated the scene.”
Speaking of getting things started, we ask the boys how they all found each other, and how Bad Luck Brigade came to be.
BLB: “We were doing, like, a rapper and DJ duo with some backing tracks, and people were assholes to us about that. They were like, ‘They're not like playing any of their instruments, not making their music,’ but like, we produced everything. So it was just like, ‘Oh wait, we play everything, let's assemble a god squad.’ And now we have the god squad.”
Back in February of this year, the group released their first full-length album, titled ‘NOTHING.’ But the music is quite the opposite: it’s a little bit of everything. We ask the band about the recording and creative process for this project, especially as a group with so many cooks in the kitchen.
Kyler gestures to Matu, their statuesque guitarist with long black hair who has been quietly cool thus far, appearing mysterious behind a pair of round black sunglasses. “We added this dude as our guitarist. I think he shines a lot on this. He's an excellent composer, lots of, like, older funk-soul influence that we really liked.” He then turns to his right. “And then Ronan wasn't in the band, he was just like a homie. But he plays horns, and we sent him the lead single on the album, and he sent it back to me within like five minutes, with a horn solo at the end of it. I was like, ‘Dude, honestly, you should probably just be in the band.’ He fucks too hard. He forced me into a six-piece.”
The group have said that their motto is “BRAVADO, INTENSITY, & INTEGRITY.” We were curious about how these 3 pillars came to be and how the boys work to exemplify them. Kyler tells us,
KL: “I mean, so like, we're oozing with swagger, right? It’s just… there's so much fake bullshit. It's really tough, especially like being a younger band coming up. [...] It's about sharing what we've all got, you know. And then intensity, like, we just give 100% all the time. We described ourselves earlier as reasonably disciplined. Like we do what we need to do, we want to have fun, but we hustle.”
The boys all chime in in agreement. Ronan adds, “With integrity, too, like… you’re not making lyrics about stuff that hasn't happened.” Kyler builds on the thought, “Yeah, it really pissed me off when, like, a rich Mormon kid is rapping about shooting people, because like, you're not doing that. But everything that I've ever put to the mic is, like, something I saw or lived, right?”
On the topic of things that Kyler and the boys are putting to the mic, we ask them what some of their favorite lyrics they’ve written are.
BLB: “I know the rules, so I know where I can break them. Or, or… Trying to catch me like a greased pig, trying to grab me by my nuts and watch your fingers slip. Yeah. You gotta be a little raunchy.”
Based on those lyrics alone, you might be surprised to find out that one of their biggest influences is Ms. Lauryn Hill. However, the magic of Bad Luck Brigade not only lies in their raunchy lyricism, but also in their genre-defying production. They tell us that some of their other influences include D’Angelo, Mac Miller, Thundercat, and Rage Against The Machine. Some strikingly different sources of inspiration, but all of which you can absolutely hear in their projects.
Similarly to how so many of their different influences blend so well into their work, we remark on the fact that the six of them mesh incredibly well despite there being so many of them. The band laughs in agreement. We ask them about some of the best advice they’ve been given, that helps them achieve this level of synchronicity as a group.
BLB: “Dude, our mentor, he's a keyboard professor – he told us very young, at like 15 years old, like, just be on the scene. Good things happen if you're just on the scene. Like, I don't know, fear of rejection is just the lamest shit ever, you know? Because I mean, we're all just getting old gonna die one day, it's like, let's fucking try. Trying is cool. Being good and pleasant to people always helps. People like you, they're gonna invite you to things, you're gonna meet people. Treat the staff good, always treat the staff good. Treat everyone good.”
We remark, “I love that you said ‘Trying is cool.’ because I feel like there’s been a resurgence of nonchalance.” Kyler responds, “Shoot it with a gun. It’s pointless.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
You can expect a lot more BLB in the future. We ask the band what’s next for them, and they tell us, “We wanna tour a lot. BLB worldwide. We wanna play Flog Gnaw. We’re probably a few years away from that, but, that’s the goal.”
In a few years, when the boys are on the Flog Gnaw stage, you can come back to this interview and say you knew them way back when. In the meantime, you can check out their discography HERE and keep up with the band on socials to be the first to find out where their next upcoming shows are.