Welcome to the debut installment of Cutting Steak, Thommy Browne's (By the Grace of God, Miracle Drug, Love & Trust) new all-drummer Q&A series. In this one, he chats with Bryan Posser (Inclination, Wristmeetrazor, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Wicked Garden, Shame). —Carlos Ramirez
Who are you?
My name is Bryan Prosser.
Where is your home base?
I live in Louisville, KY.
Who are you currently playing with?
I play drums in Inclination, Wristmeetrazor, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Wicked Garden, and Shame. Sometimes I fill in for other bands.
How do you manage to make time for to be in multiple touring/active bands?
It’s honestly not as bad as I thought it would be. Wristmeetrazor and SeeYouSpaceCowboy have the same manager and that really helps with not having to worry about being double booked. Inclination and Shame don’t really tour that much, and Wicked Garden is mostly just local shows.
Can you pinpoint a place in time when you thought "I want to be a drummer"? How did it all start?
I’ve pretty much always been a bull in a china shop in just about every aspect of my life. I guess beating the hell out of drums resonated with me a lot more than trying to pick up guitar or anything like that.
I started drumming in elementary school and my parents got me my first drum kit when I was 6-7 years old.
Did you ever take lessons?
I took lessons for probably 5 years. The first 2 years we’re learning the basics and the last three were learning Latin and cool stuff like that.
Who were some of your earliest influences?
Watching John Theodore from the Mars Volta play was the first “holy shit” moment I ever had watching someone play drums. I’m also a huge drum and bass/house music fan, so I did a lot of deep diving into Jojo Mayer. Also definitely couldn’t talk about influences without mentioning the god of drums, Bernard Purdie.
Is it hard to find work when you are home for long stretches of time? What do you do?
Until very recently I was pretty much doing whatever I could to get paid when I wasn’t on tour. I’d go to a construction job from like 7-2pm, then go help print shirts for a few hours, and then go work a 3rd shift pizza job. Now I’m very very lucky to work as a barista that’s more flexible with me being gone than any other job I’ve ever had. Very thankful to work normal people hours again.
Out of everything you have recorded in the past 2-3 years, what are you most proud of?
The Wristmeetrazor LP is probably the most proud I’ve ever been of anything I’ve done musically. Also the Shame EP from last year has some of the most insane drum parts I’ve ever played. Being in that band has really made me step up my chops.
Tell me about your current drum kit and set up.
For the last couple years it’s been a matter of playing on whatever I can get my hands on [laughs]. Last month I finally got my own kit again. Currently, I’m playing a Tama Starclassic kit (12/14/20 sizes) with a 13x7 pork pie snare. My cymbal setup really depends on the band but more often than not I rock with hi-hats/crash/ride to keep it real simple. For Inclination I’ll use a China and for Wicked Garden I’ll throw a second rack tom in the mix.
Who are some of your favorite drummers to watch live?
Out of current drummers, Mitch from Cross Me is an absolute monster. That dude has so much style and really set himself apart from what you see most drummers in hardcore bands do. Also a big fan of Josian from Vatican, Lincoln from Creeping Death, Matt Izzi from Homewrecker, and the lil' bro Trey Garris (start a band already, idiot).
Some people may not know you love Lagwagon. What is your favorite record of theirs?
Oh man. If I could play in a fat wreck style band I don’t think I’d ever play in a hardcore band again [laughs]. I go back and forth between Hoss and Trashed being my favorite record but currently it’s Hoss. "Razor Burn" is by far their best track.
Do you have a pre-set ritual you go through before playing?
My pre set ritual is usually me running around the venue trying to remember where I left my cymbal bag/water bottle/etc.
Top 5 things that can "make your day"?
These probably change every day, but here’s my 5 game-changers on this tour right now:
- Four band shows/shows done by 9pm
- Sound guys that don’t play deathcore between bands
- Eating a satisfying vegan meal that isn’t fries/Taco Bell
- Starting and ending my day with a peach Red Bull
- Winning $300 playing blackjack on the 3rd day of tour
What do you have coming up in the near future?
Up next is Wristmeetrazor/Safe and Sound for a week in April. After that is the Wristmeetrazor and SeeYouSpaceCowboy full US for most of May. Inclination is playing Sound and Fury and has a couple other cool announcements soon, and Wicked Garden is recording an LP.
Big thanks to my parents for encouraging me to stick with drumming, my partner Alyssa for their endless patience with me almost always being gone, the Carl’s Jr. Beyond Burger for always being there, and anyone who's ever given a shit about one of my bands.
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Tagged: cutting steak, inclination, seeyouspacecowboy, shame, wicked garden, wristmeetrazor
