Why? Well the answers are different for each individual
band for me. Some I draw lyrical influence from
Pantera, Nothing Face, and Chimaira. And for others I
pretty much admire the shit out of what they do. Lamb
of God and As I Lay Dying are big ones for me and I
know it’s somewhat obvious but try as I might I cannot
stop sounding how I do. The music made by the aforementioned bands speaks to me, moves me, and inspires
me to try and add my twist to our beloved metal genre.
DDR: Before getting on stage and performing, what is
going on in your mind? Are there still pre show jitters?
Lucas: That actually depends on how much I have had
to drink haha! Here’s a fun and little known fact. I quit
drinking just about every other month so sometimes I’m
sober as a judge on stage and I’m feeling every bit of
nervousness and every eye on me and other times I’m
feeling amazing and know I’m going to get up there and
ear rape everyone in the crowd. At any given level of inebriation I find myself at I try to keep things in perspective. It can be very easy to get intimidated and let selfconsciousness run wild but heavy music has a very specific audience it’s not like we’re playing R&B. usually
people aren’t at the bar if they didn’t come to head bang.
That realization helps. For me being a front man is a lot
like being an actor playing a role, yes it is me but it’s a
persona I’ve developed in my mind so I’d say that I am
mindful of being in character while on stage, but despite
the anxiety, once we’re on stage performing things are
actually quite Zen for me. Luckily I know the lyrics well
enough now to where I can nearly recite them without
thinking so that frees me up to move around on stage
like a toddler with ADD who hasn’t had their Ritalin.
Performance is important to me granted sometimes I do
not perform how I’d like to. I try to keep myself from
getting too neurotic on stage because it can be quite
crippling
what they want?
Lucas: I think it’s absolute crap! Anyone who has ever
been to a show knows damn well that there’s set rules in
the pits, and those rules are enforced by a very devout
group known as head bangers. Throwing blows is unacceptable, if someone falls pick them up, If you see someone throwing blows knock the shit out of them and send
them on their way (if you see someone hardcore dancing
do the same haha). It’s all about mutual respect and releasing negative energy in a positive way. The problem is
people are more accustomed to twerking and bumping
and grinding so moshing looks scary. For any venue that
is truly concerned about moshing I challenge them to
tally up the number of injuries, assaults, and rapes that
take place at Rap Concerts and Raves and compare
those numbers to that of metal shows. I’ll bet they’d be
surprised.
DDR: What are your hopes for B.A.D.? Where do you
see yourself and the band 5 years from now?
Lucas: My hope is that we can grow from a local Houston act to a regional band and hopefully a national act. It
is well known that the days of having a random record
executive show up to a gig and sign you right after you
get off of stage are dead and gone. These days the DIY
method seems to be the way it works and that method
takes time. My ambition and hope is to make this something I can quit my day job for and feed my family with.
DDR: What can your fans plan on seeing from B.A.D. in
2014, is there anything in the works you can share?
Lucas: We have a new song “Man Driven Machines”
that we’ve begun to play live and countless other new
ideas in the works. If you’re a fan of B.A.D. first we
thank you and secondly you can expect an EP probably
in late March or early April with some of the songs
DDR: We see a lot of venues nowadays controlling pits you’re familiar hearing. As far as shows are concerned,
and stopping fans from becoming part of the energy of we’re looking to branch out to the rest of Texas and the
the music, do you feel the pits should be stopped and surrounding states so keep your fingers crossed for us.
controlled, or do you feel fans should be allowed to do