Brian Opens Up About Coping With Success, Divorce, & His Need to Make Get Hurt

Poor guy. Great article and very respectful. listening to the songs feels haunting now knowing what inspired the lyrics.

Tbh, the band don't actually seem that close though. Like, the interviews are mainly done with Brian or with the others in the background. Kinda sad when a band are pretty much only together because its their employment.

I'm not sure they are only together because of their employment. The guys don't hate each other up on stage and just doing it for the money. They obviously respect each other as musicians and the craft that they create. Benny and Alex were both at the last Molly and the Zombies show so they can't be too upset with the guy.

riversedge wrote:

Tbh, the band don't actually seem that close though. Like, the interviews are mainly done with Brian or with the others in the background. Kinda sad when a band are pretty much only together because its their employment.

It's like that in interviews with any band. The lead singer is always the main focus.

Actually when you read even the early interviews; Brian has always been saying that they are all very different. That they are a group of people that differ on many, many levels. And the <only> very thing that keeps them all together is their music.

I've read couple of times (and it could be seen from online interviews) that they are actually pretty different personalities. So I'm not that surprised.

I don't want to say that they are in Gaslight only because of the money they can get from it now, but yeah they all have some side projects and side lives now.
It's never black or white you know..

riversedge wrote:

Tbh, the band don't actually seem that close though. Like, the interviews are mainly done with Brian or with the others in the background. Kinda sad when a band are pretty much only together because its their employment.

Not sure where this is going. They spend months and months sharing a tour bus, and now you want them to go to the movies together every weekend. What level of insight do you want into what they do or don't do together in their spare time?   

Judging a band's relationship based on who gives interviews doesn't make sense to me. It's based on who the press/interviewer wants to talk to, and also, who in the band is comfortable talking to press. And then on top of that, who actually has the time to talk.

I think the original question over whether they are as close as they used to be is valid (I mean we know that they almost broke up and I'm sure the divorce, while it's admirable they are still going on and put it behind them, put some strain on the relationship between Brian and Alex.)

That being said, the above posters are right can't judge that off of interviews. You can get a better idea based on how they interact with each other on stage, seem to just be going through the motions, etc. However, I'll also add that is still just educated guessing and the only people who know what's going on are the members themselves. It's their business, but I don't think its out of line for fans to question it at all. I mean we all want them to go on for as long as possible, correct?

I've only seen them live once but knowing something was definitely wrong in Brian's personal life (not bragging here cause I did not know anything, it's just for the fact that I noticed he had not been wearing his wedding band for a while) it actually surprised me how much Brian and Alex L interacted onstage at Clifton Park. I think they really like what they pull off musicwise and maybe they're good enough not to let personal issues come in between. Maybe Alex supports Brian, who knows! The good thing is it looks like they still feel comfortable onstage and that's enough for me. How they manage their personal relationship backstage is none of my (our) business, IMHO.

I'm not sure where this conversation went but anyway, I'm just glad Brian finally addressed his issues and that he clearly seems to be doing better and figuring himself out. I noticed something was up with him around that short east coast tour in the fall of 2012 and then as we all know things just got worse. I noticed his wedding band missing last fall, but hey, its not my business, ya know. I think with the nature of the lyrics of this record, he was smart to just come right out and say it before others said it. It's not hard to figure out after a while, so at least he had the chance to say it himself when he was ready and on his terms.

Really great interview. I'm sorry to hear about his divorce and the tough times he's been going through. I'm grateful that he's open enough to write songs and share his story with us. One of the elements that first drew me to the band was the stories and personal lyrics that resonated with me. I love the new album and I pray that things just get better and better for him and the band.

I was more shocked by the personal trainer revelation!

Finally got a chance to read this today. Really great article -- and one that explains a lot about the album. It's nice to get some insight into what's driving him these days.

Steve70s wrote:

I was more shocked by the personal trainer revelation!

Ha. Me too.

Enjoyed reading that, Nice one for sharing it

That was a nice and insightful read, thanks for linking it. Time to give the record another listen.

nice read.

as far as bands being BFF's with each other, who cares. I get the impression they are all kind of different and probably wouldn't be hanging out together on the weekends anyhow, but I am sure that's the case in most bands. It isn't really relevant.

I remember last year when Brian tore that one guy a new butthole on this site, there was a line the original post by the troll about a possible friction with bandmate(s) and Brian but it was still "business as usual". Looking back, that actually seems partially true to some degree I guess.

Good interview to coincide with the release of this album though.

SirBrad wrote:

nice read.  

as far as bands being BFF's with each other, who cares.  I get the impression they are all kind of different and probably wouldn't be hanging out together on the weekends anyhow, but I am sure that's the case in most bands.  It isn't really relevant.

I remember last year when Brian tore that one guy a new butthole on this site, there was a line the original post by the troll about a possible friction with bandmate(s) and Brian but it was still "business as usual".  Looking back, that actually seems partially true to some degree I guess.  

Good interview to coincide with the release of this album though.

I think it's also relevant to note that Alex L. has publicly acknowledged that Brian helped save his life by inviting him to join the band. As Alex has said in interviews, he conquered serious addiction issues through playing music. Again, this is all a matter of public record and I only mention it because it suggests a very tight bond between Brian and Alex. One would think that's the type of bond that can withstand quite a bit.

This article is so helpful. I've been sharing it with everyone I know who is disappointed with the new album.