Rachael-O-Rama #16 brings us one of the most gripping rock bands today, The Bronx. This Los Angeles based band has been murdering the stage since 2002 with front man Matt Caughthran at the helm. Matt will be the featured guest on this Sunday’s TNN Radio show at KX FM from 1-3 with yours truly, but here is a little bit of insight from our latest conversation with him.
TNN RADIO started following The Bronx a while back with on-air play with the release of their uber-hit “Rib Cage.” Since then, it’s been quiet the journey.
On March 24th we lived like kings with the news that The Bronx is releasing a new album with new merch in tow and releasing tracks every month. Luckily, yours truly is a childhood friend of Matts and we were able to get the inside scoop on the new album and one of the coolest album marketing ideas we’ve heard of recently.
Using a homing beacon and spy pigeons on lease from the government, we were able to track down Mr. Caughthran through his busy schedule for promoting this new album. Little did we know he was right there on the other end of the phone waiting for our call like the good friend he is. He told us, “We put a lot of thought into our promotions and we wanted to do something special, especially since we recorded the record in 2019. Since we had time to think about what the most creative way to do this when the time comes. We wanted to release this as a singles collection as well as the traditional, full-length album and we have a big following in the vinyl community, we’re big record heads. It just felt really cool to put together a super exclusive box set.”
Matt explained that “they” meaning the actual band themselves, got the wood boxes, stained them, screen printed everything, put on the mirrors, branded everything and put them all together themselves! This really is a box set made through the blood, sweat and tears of the entire band. This only adds to the fan appreciation and shows us just how awesome these guys are!
The top of this amazing handmade box is actually branded with the new album logo that looks like the bands name dripping with paint. Knowing the hilarity these guys can get in to, I had to ask what else they tried branding with their logo. Of course the first answer was , “toast” followed by more wood and the thought of possibly a shoe or some kind of faux leather, the list is endless, really. Matt did make it a point to tell me that “No one has tried it on their bodies so no humans or animals were harmed in the making of The Bronx products”.
He was excited say that they are probably taking the brander on tour with them in case any great ideas pop up while they’re away… no word on when that tour will be but we think he may have let a future surprise slip so let’s keep this our little secret. As for right now we will have to be patient with only September’s Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas listed as their only upcoming show.
The Bronx will be releasing a song a month but the album will be released this August 27th so those that were able to grab one of the now sold out, coveted 400 wooden box sets as previously mentioned will be getting a new 7” every month even after the August album release. Fingers crossed that The Bronx will have something special for those of us that weren’t able to grab a box… maybe some Bronx branded toast?
Matt said that their 400 boxes selling out in around three hours was exciting for many reasons but, “it was a really good day because we’ve been waiting so long to announce the record and release the new music and show everyone what we’ve been up to and it was received really well. Obviously, the boxes selling out was great but the most important thing was that people really liked the song (their first release off the new album, White Shadow) and they’re excited about the record and our new label, Cooking Vinyl really helped us get all this together.”
Matt went on and said that they can’t wait to get back to playing live because it’s a big part of what they do but they want to make sure everyone feels safe first and the dates are ready to be set in stone so they are only focusing on a handful of gigs for this year and looking to tour next year in 2022.
The first single White Shadow features a collaboration with artist Jeremy Dean. Upcoming artist collaborations include Estevan Oriol, DABS MYLA, Tim Armstrong, Craig Stecyk and more! With all the hard work these guys have poured into this new album, The Bronx VI is sure to be a mega sensation.
Here’s there track list that keeps on giving for the upcoming ten months for The Bronx VI:
1. White Shadow
2. Superbloom
3. Watering the Well
4. Curb Feelers
5. Peace Pipe
6. High Five
7. Mexican Summer
8. New Lows
9. Breaking News
10. Jack of All Trades
11. Participation Trophy
Matt will also be the featured guest on this Sunday’s TNN Radio show on Laguna Beach’s own KXFM radio station interviewed by yours truly and radio industry kingpin, Jimmy Alvarez so to hear even more exciting info and breaking news on the band, be sure to tune in from 1-3 pm PST.to listen:
TO TUNE IN
KX FM
One thing is for sure The Bronx fans are some of the most hard-core fans in the industry and each song they release is a testament to the intensity and genius of the band so who can blame their fans for going bananas over their music. Two words: they rock.
