Jeremy Talley Of The Bled was able to stop in and give us some insight on the bands future, his thoughts on previous records and answer some questions for our Scene Daddy readers, let's dive right in!

Ryan: What were your musical influences growing up that got you into music that you became synonymous with?

Jeremy: I think I just really connected to the energy of punk rock, bands like minor threat, black flag, and the misfits etc then NOFX kind of took that same energy and fused it with really rich melodies and kind of a sarcasm and angst that brought me in. From there I kind of naturally gravitated from those bands into hardcore before it was broken up into a bunch of subgenres, but when I started hearing bands like Poison the Well, Converge, Refused, I was hooked. I’m not sure I hear all or any of those bands directly in what I do but that was definitely the punch bowl I was subconsciously dipping into when I was but a wee lad with a guitar. 

Ryan: Which first shows can you remember going to when getting into the local Arizona scene?

Jeremy: I went to shows at first just to see bands from my high school, there was just this really sweet wave of awesome bands in the Tucson scene at the time (shout out to Jason’s Cat Died, and Spill Blanket). But basically I just remember seeing kids from my school who were a grade or two above me, get on stage and do what I had been doing in my garage with just my guitar, and it blew my mind and opened up a world of possibility for me. I went from being this kid who had learned some tablature and picked out a few Metallica riffs, to just obsessively consuming local music and punk rock. 

Ryan: What are your aspirations as a musician, what do you hope people take away when hearing your music?

Jeremy: I try not to over-romanticize what it is we did as a band and certainly not personally as a musician, haha. So I guess I’m just stoked when people share a memory of seeing or hearing our band. I have those bands and specific records that are super nostalgic and take me back to a really great time in life. So when anyone let’s me know that we could somehow be that time capsule for them, then that is super rad and mind blowing. 

Ryan:What is the most rewarding aspect you've found when listening to your own music, like what positive feelings do you take away from hearing yourself?

Jeremy: There isn't a really specific element that I can pinpoint and be like oh I love that about my songwriting. I guess I am proud that we were able to make music that had enough melody to bring an open minded listener in just far enough to hit them with some weird breakdown shit that only a handful of bands were doing at the time. But I get really stoked when anyone tells us that we were that bridge that brought them into listening to heavier music. If we could be that buffer between senses fail and converge, I’ll take it haha. 

Ryan: What’s the greatest piece of advice given or could give to a fellow musician whether they're just getting into the scene or thinking of returning?

Jeremy: Write music you are stoked about and share it with your friends. Passion and sincerity will shine through. I would also say to do your best not to burden your art with a barometer of success/failure. I feel like so many bands get started these days and they obsess with putting out a record and getting on a tour. Just be a band and let that play out before you start regarding it as a career choice. 

Ryan: So The Bled has been picked up for Riot Fest, Furnace Fest and has a venue show lined up, can we look forward to possibly more shows from The Bled?

Jeremy: It’s incredibly difficult for us to exist as a functioning band, nor is it a priority to ever become so again. We’re regarding these three shows as an opportunity to get together and have some fun for a couple weekends. And I think that’s the right approach moving forward. I won’t say these are the last shows we’ll ever do but we haven’t discussed booking anymore and we aren’t planning on it at the moment. 

Ryan: What is your favorite record you've had the pleasure of working on during your career?

Jeremy: Every one of our records was a completely unique experience, we never recorded at the same place or with the same person twice, as we wanted each record to have its own vibe. I have fond memories of working on all four. Pass the Flask has stood the test of time with our fanbase, and usually made up the bulk of our live sets but it wasn’t written to be a record. In other words we never set this allotted bracket of time to write those songs with the vision of them all being our debut record. 

When we signed to Fiddler, those just happened to be the songs we were playing in front of our friends at local shows, and Beau was able to capture all the chaos and harness it into what became Pass The Flask. When we recorded Found in the Flood, I remember just being creatively exhausted by the time we got 9 songs into the writing process. 

We put everything into the first 9 tracks and needed a tenth so we rewrote a song that we had in our back pocket from a lesser known recording. But I remember really pouring everything into those songs, I would say it was our most ambitious album and took some balls to follow up Pass The Flask with such a weird record. Silent Treatment was much less labored creatively for us, the songs felt more in our wheelhouse and kind of balanced out what we liked between the first two records. And Heat Fetish was just so much fun because the band had been overhauled and it was exciting to be working with musicians who brought a fans perspective into the writing process, and beyond our engineer, we produced that record ourselves and we’re able to put out a record that was representative of everything that we liked about being this band. 

Ryan: Any potential for new music or possibly represses of previous albums?

Jeremy: Who knows, and most likely. 

Ryan: Favorite guitarist?

Jeremy: I love Ben Weinman. Beyond his skill as a musician, and his obvious propensity to tear down any creative barriers, I love the way he puts it all on the line in a live setting and his ability to adapt to any style you put in front of him. I’m also a massive Johnny Greenwood fan for many of the same reasons. 

Ryan: Are there any odd or strange road/show stories you can remember that you can recollect?

Jeremy: yes, you can find a few of them over on our Instagram page (@thebledaz) authored by the late (tardy not deceased) great James Munoz himself. 

Ryan:  Pass The Flask turns 18 this year on July 29th, any memories crafting this album with Saosin's Beau Burchell producing? 

Jeremy: I remember the first day, pulling up to the gated fence of world class audio. Beau came out and let us in so we could park the van. I remember being very nervous and excited , as it seemed like a lot of money and belief was being dumped into our crappy little hardcore band from Az, and hoping something cool would happen so that it didn’t feel like we let everyone down who was taking a chance on us. Luckily some cool shit happened shortly after. 

Ryan: Differences in social media now in the modern age compared to the good ol days of MySpace?

Jeremy: I’m not gonna spiral into all the differences between generational social media platforms, but to state the obvious, social media was not being used as a tool or a business model for your band in the MySpace days. It became that really quick, and now it is an entire foundation and can make/break a band's perceived level of success. Not much to criticize as it just is what it is for lack of a better cliche. 

Ryan: The Bled has been an entity in the scene for over 20 years now, being formed in 2001. Any parting words for fans who have kept up with you while active and even in your inactive years?

Jeremy: Hell yeah, thanks to all the people who have supported this band whether it was from the beginning, or not. You seriously gave me and my friends a fantastic ride for a decade straight. And to have people still care enough to want to see us play these random songs that we wrote fresh out of high school, is really cool and completely humbling. Thank you.