Interview: Mike Perez of No Bragging Rights

I caught up with vocalist Mike Perez from the CA hardcore band No Bragging Rights. We discussed the band’s new full length, re signing with Pure Noise Records, favorite music releases and more. No Bragging Rights are out supporting their fourth full length album entitled, “The Concrete Flower”, available now via Pure Noise Records.
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Q – You guys just finished your set, I personally enjoyed it, but how did you feel about it?

Mike – It felt good, I feel like this was one of our better ones. Sound wise, I mean, that’s for you guys to decide(laughs), but I felt good. The energy really shrunk the size of the place, if that makes sense.

Q – You guys are three weeks into your tour with Senses Fail, Knuckle Puck and To The Wind, how has it been treating you so far?

Mike – Awesome, it’s been great. To be releasing a new album on a tour that’s been selling out almost every night, I mean, you can’t ask for a better opportunity to be playing in front of new people.

Q – “The Concrete Flower” was officially released yesterday, how has the reception for it been so far?

Mike – It’s been great. I’m not sure what other people thought it should be, or what anyone’s expectations were, but it’s been a lot more well received than I thought it would be. It is a little bit different than “Cycles”, but the response has been amazing.

Q – I know you guys have been playing three new songs on this tour, what’s been your favorite to play?

Mike – So far it’s been “Outdated”. Vocally, it’s a very tough one for me to sing, I mean, singing doesn’t come easy for me, so I’m literally singing from my toes to the top of my head. But that one is my favorite to play live.

Q – I wanted to ask you about the song “Fallen Masters”…What was the idea behind the whole Rocky bit?

Mike – Well first off, I wanted to put the Rocky bit on the last album, “Cycles”, but it didn’t fit anywhere. I think we were going to try to do it on “Appraisals And Ommissions but it just didn’t fit, it wasn’t really right for that song. For this one we needed an ending, cause it’s just a sort of outro, I wondered if i should talk at the end of it, but then I thought to myself, no, cause I talk on “Downhearted”. I had wanted to put movie quotes on this album, and I was thinking that the Rocky thing kind of goes with the song, and if it fits that would be so sick(laughs), And I showed Will(Putney), who will straight up tell you if an idea is stupid. I brought up the idea and he said “Oh, alright, let’s see how it sounds.”, so we played the part, and it hadn’t even gotten to ten seconds and he was just like “Yes.”. So we downloaded it and mastered it and it fit, it was perfect.

Q – You guys recently announced that you’ve signed (back) with Pure Noise Records, how has it been for you guys so far since re-signing?

Mike – We were the first ever Pure Noise release. It may sound all lame and cliche, but it’s like coming home, Jake is a friend of ours. We’ve been cheering for Pure Noise even since we left, and we’ve been wanting to come back for a minute, it’s awesome it worked out the way it did. I feel like this is our best album, and I’m really proud that we’re giving it to Pure Noise, I think it’s fitting that they get our best.

Interviewer – I’ve personally always felt like Pure Noise are one of the more honest labels out there, I know that Senses Fail recently signed on, To The Wind has been with them for a while now as well.

Mike – It starts from the top with them, Jake is a real dude, he’s a hard worker and he does things the right way, he literally built up from his bedroom to what it is now. It’s awesome.

Q – What have been some of your favorite music releases from the past year?

Mike – One of my favorites is from a punk band called Masked Intruder, they released a new album called “M.I”, it’s sick, I love punk rock. I really like Sam Smith’s new album, he’s the guy who sings “Lay With Me”, anyways(laughs), he’s sick. Sleeping Giant’s “Finished People”, I kept calling it “Forgotten People” by accident, but it’s a really good album, I love that band.

Q – Is there anything coming out you’re excited for?

Mike – Ignite is recording a new album, I don’t know when it’s coming out, I hope it’s tomorrow(laughs). I don’t know if they put it out themselves or if it was a leak, but they had a song in Hungarian, cause their singer is Hungarian, and it’s so sick. I’ve given it quite a few youtube plays, but yeah, I’m really excited for that.

Q – You guys had Daniel McWhorter from Gideon and Justin Kraus from Shai Hulud on the new album, how did it come about getting them for the album?

Mike – We actually were thinking about having Matthew from Kublai Khan on the album but that didn’t work out. We had Justin in mind previously, he’s in a band we all love, the part was pretty sick. It’s a fast part, and we thought even beforehand that he would be sick there. With Daniel it kind of came out of nowhere. We originally hit up James from Backtrack, but he was really busy and so it didn’t work out. One day we got an email from Will Puttin saying that Dan from Gideon is going to do that part, and we were just like alright, perfect(laughs). So he stopped by the studio, knocked the part out, and it sounds way more sick with him than it does with me(laughs), I hope my version doesn’t come up, it’s pretty weak. He made it sound way cooler. Hearing my voice on it I was just like, “Eh, it’s not that cool.”, but hearing him on it I was like “Yes! The part’s sick.”.

Q – It’s been fifteen years since you formed the band back in 1999, have you guys done anything or plan to do anything to commemorate it?

Mike – I think the reason we haven’t is because it’s a completely different band at this point. I feel like the band from 1999 to 2004 was a different band in a way. I was with my best in high school, we were just a punk band who just enjoyed paying. I feel a little bad because I feel like the band could have gone a little further, I was the one making the moves, and I’m not really a mover. We just played all over southern California, and once that core group left and we picked up different dudes our styles changed. In 2005 we should have changed our name I feel like, Christian has been campaigning that forever, and I think he’s right, in 2005 it became a different band. But as of right now there’s no plans for anything, just keep playing shows(laughs). I have jokingly talked with my old buddies and bandmates about playing some tiny bar show and just play old songs, no one would even know who we were, it would just be for us. I’d like to even just have a band practice with them again, I think it’d be cool to get back on guitar.

Interviewer – Maybe have to re-learn how to play some of the songs…(laughs)

Mike – (laughs) Yeah, but at the same time those songs weren’t that hard, the only hard part was the bass and our bassist was sick, I’m sure he still is.

Q – After the Senses Fail tour is finished, what’s next for No Bragging Rights?

Mike – “Never Say Die” tour in Europe with Terror and Comeback Kid. After that we’ll have a West coast headliner, it’ll only be like ten days, we haven’t really announced anything yet.

Q – Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, is there any last thing you’d like to say to any fans and supporters of No Bragging Rights?

Mike – Thanks for listening, I really hope you guys enjoy the new album, if you haven’t please check it out, just let us know what you think. Come say “what’s up” at the shows.