Interviewed by: Matt Tarrant and Jada Burns Prairie

Edited by Alex Engstrom

Q: What are your names and roles?
A: Braxton, Singer Songwriter, Cam, Drums, Cole, Guitar, Blake, Bass

Q: What are your biggest inspirations?
A: Dead Kennedy’s, Poison Idea, Adolescents, “We kind of get our music taste from a lot of genres, we listen to a little bit of everything”

Q: What was life like before, and after the band?
A: “I feel like it’s been something that’s all around me, music’s just always been my passion.” Braxton replies. “I did a lot of work in production for the last 10 years, and I always admired the people who were up on stage, courageous enough to take that step, [ ] take that creative inspiration that’s inside of them and give it out to the world.”, Cam chimes in. Blake shared his feelings about being the newest member of the band. “I’ve playing for 20 years, playing a lot of heavy metal bands and stuff like that, but I’m jazzed to be jamming some punk rock.” “It was just all natural, we didn’t really have to search for a guy, he was just down. We kinda figured it was gonna be him either way.”

Q: Recent shows, and favorite shows?
A: The band shared their inclusion in the Punk Rock Family Reunion, as well as other gigs. “The cave was so fun, we had trouble with the sound, but it was overall just a vibe.”, Braxton shares. “The crowd was into it, we were pretty locked in, it was awesome. The cave is one of my favorites.” “All of our shows, we like to just get together and have a good time, I can’t think of a show that I came out miserable.” Look out for RED40’s newest album, coming this Fall.

Q: How did you guys form the band?
A: “I met Braxton here in town at the skate park where we exchanged socials and we barely kept in touch for years, that was probably like 2019, we formed like 2023 or 24.”, shares Cole. “I came to one of the first red 40 practices, and I felt like I was out of my league, like I didn’t know what I was doing. But a week later, Braxton invited Cam to come out, and then Cam joined the band.” Braxton opens up about his founding position. “Originally when I started this band it was just me, Josh, and Ethan and we started it, but in the back of my mind I thought we just needed more guys, so I grabbed these two guys (Cole and Cam) after we lost Ethan and Josh unfortunately. It got to a point that it was just Cole, Cam and I, so for a while we were just a three piece. But Blake’s the man, he’s the guy for the job.”

Q: Anything you’d like to share with your fans?

A: ”It’s just so awesome to be able to go out and do your thing, play your art, let out what you’re feeling on stage.”, Cole shares. “A lot of the times when I come to these shows, it’s like I just assume we are all friends you know, we are all just in this shit. Overall, it’s a vibe and a lifestyle that I’ve wanted since I was younger.”, Braxton tells us. “We are all here to enjoy some music so let’s have some fun. Our goal at every show is to have fun, do our absolute best and play our little hearts out.”, Cam shares.

Q: In the earlier days was there support from your hometown community?

A: “There was a fair amount of support, a lot of friends and house parties. The homies are the homies and we are all just gonna vibe either way, and they were all just supportive of the sound and the movement that was going on around us, and it all went up from there.”, shares Braxton.