ing lyrics into a mic still running inside and at
passerby on Broad Street. Witnessing the chaos of a band destroying instruments, climbing
amplifiers and hanging from the rafters won
Williams over instantly.
“I had never seen anything like that — it was
like I was watching something revolutionary,”
said Williams. “The singer said, ‘Some people
call us The Chariot’ and threw his microphone
on the ground, and I knew what I would be
doing for the rest of my life.”
It helps that the band has prior experience
playing live and touring, with four of six members having previously served in Gadsden
metal act JEROLYN, which toured the Southeast and worked with bands like No Bragging Rights, Gideon and Stray From the Path,
among others.
INSIGHT
“We got to play with bands that were signed,”
recalled Williams, which acted as a spur to buy
better gear, write better songs and build a
strong live show. “If we wanted to keep playing shows with bands like that, they had to
like us — you have to be on their level.”
Williams and guitarist Rob Green are quick
to point out that VEDA is a very different experience from JEROLYN, in part due to new
members like Green and guitarist Tony Brauer — that’s right, three guitarists — bringing
in their own toolboxes of riffs and tricks, and
songwriting decisions that step out of convention.
When drummer Brad McCollum breaks out
a dance beat at the end of “Brisingir” or Jessie Ballard finger-taps a melody on his bass
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