We had a quick chat with The Bronx frontman Matt Caughthran and guitarist Joby J Ford before they took to the stage at Slam Dunk North, both as Mariachi El Bronx, and then later headlining the Impericon stage as The Bronx. We covered all the important issues – festivals, potential new albums, and persuading the Queen to come to their shows.
How are you guys doing? Looking forward to headlining a stage later on?
Matt: Oh yeah, we’re stoked. We soundchecked about 11 this morning and it was great. We came in hot. It’s gonna be good.
You’re doing two sets today, with The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx. How do you find doing both in one day?
Matt: It’s good. It’s pretty cool, it’s spaced out well, so we have a show at 5pm and then one at 9.45pm, so it’s cool. We’re a little shot coming in off the flight, we’re a little upside down, but playing twice a day is fun, we love it.
Joby: You just have to do it. it’s better than sitting around all day.
And I guess the two things are very different.
Matt: Oh yeah, they are different. It’s unique. That’s why we wanted to have two bands.
Did you just get here last night?
Matt: Yeah, we got here last night. We flew into Belfast in the morning. We’re going back there after Slam Dunk and playing Dublin and Belfast.
Why the Irish shows?
Matt: Because we don’t really go there a lot. They’re Bronx shows, which we haven’t done in a long time, so since we’re doing a bunch of Bronx stuff over here at the moment, I figured we might as well do some Irish stuff too.
I’m excited to see you play. It’s been a while! The first time I ever saw you was when you and Avenged Sevenfold supported Lostprophets.
Matt: Oh yeah, that was right here. I remember that night. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen happened – someone stole Lostprophets’ straighteners and they got chased out. Some serious hair straightener issues.
Joby: My first hair straightener incident.
Matt: My last hair straightener incident.
What can we expect from the show tonight?
Matt: It’s gonna be cool. I think people are gonna be going nuts all day long, so I think by the time The Bronx hit the stage people are gonna be delirious and ready to explode. In theory. I mean, I know that’s where I’ll be.
What have you got coming up after the Irish shows?
Matt: We’ve got more Irish shows in the States. We’ve got a Flogging Molly tour with Mariachi El Bronx, and then a bunch of festivals, and stuff like that. Then we’ll write a record, probably, and then tour again.
When are you thinking of writing the record?
Matt: We’ll probably start writing stuff over the holidays and New Year. That’s usually a good time to start.
Have you got any idea of how it’ll sound?
Matt: No idea! Nope. It’s a blank canvas. I’m already exhausted. I think we’ll probably do a Bronx album and a Mariachi album, but we’ll see what happens.
Any extra things you want to add?
Matt: I would like to meet the Queen one day. I feel like I need some sort of new English experience. We’ve done Reading and Leeds, we’ve done the metal festivals, we’ve been to every nook and cranny in England. I feel like we’ve spent enough time with the peasants, and now it’s time for some royalty. We put the Queen on the guestlist for every show.
Next time I go to one of your shows, I’m gonna say I’m on the guestlist as the Queen, and they’ll let me in.
Matt: Walk like Brad Pitt, get treated like Brad Pitt. I think we’ve done our time with everything else. I just want in to Buckingham Palace. I want in. I want to be knighted.
I think it might happen. It just occurred to me: is this your first Slam Dunk?
Matt: This is our first Slam Dunk. They asked us before and we froze them, like you would with a beautiful woman. We said, “Not yet baby. You gotta work for this.”
LAIS MW