Scratch Acid | Brett Bradford | Suckling | Interview

Suckling is a fantastic new band featuring guitarist Brett Bradford of the 80’s noise rock pioneers Scratch Acid. Their debut album was recently released via Australian Cattle God Records.

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The record is Bradford’s first new music in years, and also marks his first new collaboration with Scratch Acid drummer Rey Washam (Ministry, Tad, Helios Creed) since 1986. Also making appearances are Jeff Pinkus (Butthole Surfers / Melvins) and Frank Garymartin of legendary Houston experimentalists Pain Teens. Suckling consists of Brett Bradford on guitar/background vocals, John Paul Keenon on drums, Ezra Reynolds on vocals/organ/piano/cello and Win Wallace on bass.

What was it like for you to get back to the music? You weren’t active for several years now.

Brett Bradford: Yes, ‘Suckling,’ the album has just been released. It was a long time in the making. I don’t even remember exactly when we first went into the studio, but a “memory photo” I posted on Facebook “four years ago” popped up the other day. It was Win Wallace, Rey Washam, and myself working in the studio. Hard to believe it’s been that long. Rey did the ‘Mean A Nine’ track. The photo posted in January, 2019…John Paul had been on hiatus for months before that, so we must have started around October 2018. It’s all a bit blurry…three different drummers, a global pandemic, two years in lockdown. It’s been a surreal clusterfuck, for everyone, worldwide, but the record’s done and we are very pleased with how it came out.

The pandemic was extremely difficult for musicians. I played acoustic guitar for my dog— a lot. Our lockdown started in March 2020, pretty much when SXSW decided to cancel all shows. A month later we gave up paying rent on our rehearsal space since no one knew how long it would last— a wise move it turned out. We didn’t think it would be two years though…WTF. Our music went into a state of estivation during lockdown. The first year was pretty much “nothing.” The next year we started to pick up the pieces with the record. The problem was we couldn’t play shows to make money, so we only recorded sporadically, as we could afford to.

At first it was very difficult not having anything to do and being at home all the time. Now it seems very difficult to get everything done that I need to do, and I wish I could just stay home and play guitar for my dog.

How did the project come about? Tell us where you first met Win Wallace, John Paul Keenon Orozco and Ezra Reynolds?

In 2012 Max Brody, who for 15 years played drums with me in Sangre de Toro, Areola 51, and Insect Sex Act, moved back to Seattle to be with family. For the next two years, I was bandless.

I was playing in Sangre De Toro when I met Win Wallace in the early 2000s. Back then he played bass in Gorch Fock – an amazing band with two drummers, two or three guitars, at least one bass player, and a very animated vocalist with a trombone. Their shows were always a spectacle— once they played a nautical themed show and constructed a huge pirate ship on wheels, just for that show…crazy shit like that! At one point, I was invited to play a show with them because they did a Scratch Acid cover, then again for a Sangre de Toro cover. I also learned a few of their songs. I was a guest guitarist two or three times. Win’s song writing impressed me, and his style was not too dissimilar to David Wm. Sims of Scratch Acid, which made it easy for me to work with.

When Max Brody moved years later, what was Sangre de Toro / Areola 51 / Insect Sex Act (really one long-lived, evolving band, composed of me, Max, and a string of bassists), dissolved. Win was the first person I thought of asking to start a new band with. I asked— but he told me he was moving to L.A. to further pursue his art career. I bided my time waiting for the right bunch of guys. To me, that is the most important aspect of being in a band— not only should they have mad skills that work well with your personal style…if they’re going to be your family, you better pick people you love and respect. People who, aside from the music, you like to be around, enjoy collaborating with, and probably most importantly people who you can peacefully navigate through disagreements and differences.

Two years later I got a call from Win. He told me he was moving back to Austin and we should start that band we were talking about. Win asked his friend Bob Mustachio to play drums. We were an instrumental three piece that Bob dubbed ‘Obsessive Repulsive’. Win and I never really cared much for that name, but we went with it. He was a great guy and drummer, but he had a lot of irons in the fire— two other bands, and doing lights and visuals for The Black Angels. We developed many of our early songs with Bob, including ‘Ninth Life’ which is on the Suckling album. Then we recruited Ezra Reynolds to play organ and vocals. I’d worked with Ezra, as guest organist, in Areola 51 and Insect Sex Act. Bob was always busy with his other projects, and I think he preferred the three piece, instrumental version. It was a tough decision. As much as we liked Bob, Win and I felt it wasn’t going to work.

A drummer named John Paul Keenon was suggested. I had never heard of him. Just two days later, I coincidentally found myself sitting at a picnic table with friends at a popular local biker bar and rock establishment called The Lost Well. Sitting at the same table, a guy was introduced to me as John Paul. “You don’t happen to be a drummer…?” I asked. I liked him immediately. He was super chill, laid back, smiled and laughed a lot. It turned out we had many common friends but had never actually met. It also turned out that he was an incredible drummer who had worked with some very notable outfits including Sean Lennon. He has a fluid, free flowing style— uniquely all his own. It clicked, and he joined the family.

We wanted a new name…which actually took much longer than finding a drummer. Somehow, every name we came up with was already taken. One day at practice, Win proposed the name “Suckling”. Band: “Suckling???” “Really??” “The first four letters are Suck.” Win: “It’s not taken.” I later bounced it off my old Scratch Acid buddy Rey Washam, who responded, “That’s “the worst” band name ever” —that pretty much cemented it for me. If he hates it, it must be good. Should anyone have a preconceived notion that we suck, that notion will be quickly dispelled once they hear it. Even if it’s not someone’s cup-of-tea, no one can credibly say it sucks. An unweaned child or animal. Well, that’s how we all started.

There’s also Rey Washam part of the record (Scratch Acid drummer since 1986). Then there’s Jeff Pinkus (Butthole Surfers/Melvins) and Frank Garymartin of legendary Houston experimentalists Pain Teens being guests on the album.

I met Rey around 1980 when he and I both happened to join a late incarnation of Chris Wing’s punk band— Sharon Tate’s Baby. That morphed into Jerryskids. When that broke up around 1982, he and I fell in with the two David’s—Sims and Yow—and became Scratch Acid. Scratch Acid has never officially disbanded, has had two reunion tours, and we all remain great friends to this day.

As I mentioned earlier, John Paul went on hiatus not long after recording the first songs. He had a string of personal misfortunes and setbacks that demanded his full attention. The rest of us completely understood. It was just bad timing. Life is like that sometimes. We had to keep working on it though. Not knowing when he’d be able to get back on the horse, John Paul gave us his blessing to recruit a drummer to fill in for him.

It turned out to be two stellar drummers. Rey Washam did two songs— ‘Mean A Nine’ and another song for a future release. The days I spent working on Rey’s songs are especially dear to me since it was the first time since 1986 that we had done anything like that. Our good friend Frank Gary Martin of Pain Teens fame volunteered for Unemployment Beach and Anatural Correction. Both did an outstanding job and we are very grateful for their gifts.

I might add— recording three different drummers and kits, months apart, over a couple years, for the same record, is—to say the least—a pain in the ass. Our recording engineer Cris Burns did a remarkable job of making it sound seamless. One music reviewer who recently wrote about the album, but obviously didn’t read the credits, recently went on about how Rey Washam was incredible, even on the songs he didn’t do…so I guess we pulled it off.

Some time after that, John Paul came back and recorded the rest of the tracks. Afterwards, he decided to move to where he’s happiest— way out west to Terlingua, TX. It was sad for us and we miss our friend. On the bright side, we now have Joey Hook in the band. I’ve known Joey for years and Win has known him even longer. In fact, I asked Joey to play when Win and I were first looking for a drummer. Unfortunately, he was leaving for the University of Edinburgh for a degree in acoustics. In hindsight, it seems more serendipitous than unfortunate. It just worked out that when he returned from Scotland the position was vacant, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a sound scientist in the band. We can’t wait to put Joey Hook on a record and share him with the world. That’s what we’re working on now.

Besides drummers, we had some other great guests on the album. The song ‘With A Little Bit Of Spit’ screamed at us to add a horn section. Chris Burns, being a popular hub for Austin musicians, set us up with a great trio: Rick White on trumpet, Joey Colarusso on sax, and Ken Mills on trombone. Ezra wrote an arrangement for them. They came in, rehearsed it a couple times, tweaked it here and there, and man…so fucking good, with a lip-splitting trumpet solo to boot!! I am so glad we decided to spend a little more time and money to do that.

Even with the horns, we felt that song still had a section that was lacking flavor. It just so happens that Chris Burns is not only a skilled sound engineer— he’s also the driving guitar for Austin’s legendary Pocket FishRmen. “Hey man, this part needs some meat. Wanna do a guest solo?”…and it was brilliant.

The song ‘Ninth Life’ is long, solemn, and melodious with classical undertones. We recorded a simpler, just-the-core-band, version of it in 2017 with engineer Jason Morales at his studio The Bar-B-Que Shack on 16 track analog tape…in fact, we recorded a whole album with him before this one that isn’t quite finished, but that’s a story for a future release. I love the version we did with Jason, but I always wanted to give those classical undertones elements that we just couldn’t get on 16 tracks. Ezra added a grand piano and cello. I added an acoustic guitar. Win’s friend Tracey Grimsley added a beautiful background vocal. Then there was Jeff (J.D.) Pinkus…

I met that rapscallion when he was 17 years old. He had just joined The Butthole Surfers, who were playing with Scratch Acid at the Danceteria in NYC, 1985. Over the years we became fast friends. When Sangre de Toro was looking for their third bassist Jeff stepped in. After writing songs with him, it was apparent that the band had changed and we became Areola 51. That band was short-lived. He wanted to go all in on his other band at the time, Honky, and he did— and they were great. I’m still very fond of the works he and Max and I created in Areola 51. It was weird, heavy, and just plain strange. Sometimes, oh… every fourth year or so, I’ll pull those songs up and have a listen.

When Suckling was thinking about maybe having some non-drumming guests, Pinkus’ name was mentioned pretty quickly. These days he’s doing a one-man, psychedelic banjo show. Should any of you ever find yourself in the same place and time as that act, I highly recommend you do everything in your power to catch it. It’s something else…like taking a hallucinogen, but you don’t need the next day off to recover. I asked him if he’d play some trippy banjo on a song, sent him the files, and he sent back the banjo solo on ‘Ninth Life’. It’s a beautiful melody, and different, which was exactly what we were looking for.

Where was the album recorded and what can you tell us about the production?

The album was almost entirely recorded and mixed at Ameripolitan Studios. It was owned by renowned country singer-songwriter Dale Watson and located in his backyard here in Austin. Dale has since moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Cris Burns is Dale’s sound engineer, and they had a deal whereby Cris could record other bands at Ameripolitan. It was small, but well constructed for sound and well equipped; however, after the Covid 19 lockdown began we had to go in and work individually because no one was comfortable having a bunch of people crammed together.

So, for reasons previously mentioned that we had no control over, production was staggered over three years with multiple setups, sometimes using different equipment, and multiple guest musicians. We (mostly Cris Burns) did our best to maintain continuity, often after several months, but there were a lot of variables to account for. All of those factors made for a brutal recipe when it came time to mix. It seemed to take for-evv-verrrrrr. Win, Cris and myself wrestled with that…Cris was the tie breaker if things got contentious. We really worked hard on this stage and Cris did a great job of making it sound cohesive and consistent. I had no love for mixing this, but I do love the results. The final mix was sent to Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Mastering who is the master of mastering in Austin, Texas.

I wish there would be more written about Sangre de Toro. Please tell us how this noise unit got together? Where did you originally meet Max Brody and J.D. Pinkus? What about Areola 51 and the Insect Sex Act?

The saga of Sangre de Toro, Areola 51, and Insect Sex Act actually began with another band in Fort Collins, Colorado. This covers 24 years, so I’m going to burn through this as best I can. When Scratch Acid broke up in 1987, I went back to school to study Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University, and soon found myself in a band with other students called Great Caesar’s Ghost. Our drummer, Lantz Barbour, was the program director for the college radio station, so he had info on all touring bands coming through Colorado and he booked us some amazing shows. We were students, so we didn’t take ourselves too seriously as a band, but Lantz had us opening for: Mudhoney, Blood Circus, Killdozer, Tad, Cows, Crime And The City Solution, Babes In Toyland, Jesus Lizard… We made a cassette, did a couple short tours and broke up as people graduated.

Great Caesar’s Ghost’s bass player, Rich Horne, moved to Austin after graduating in 1992. Six months later, I graduated and moved back to Austin. Drummer Jeff Williams, a friend from Fort Collins, also moved to Austin. The three of us started Sangre de Toro. We made a CD called ‘Booglejasm’ and a single—’Resplendent’—in 1995. Jeff moved to Fort Worth, and Rey Washam suggested that Rich and I get Max Brody to play drums. Max was actually the sax player in Rey’s band at the time, Euripides Pants. Then Rich moved.

Max and I picked up his friend Stan Johnson to play bass; we recorded ‘Hold Yer Breath’ in 1997. Randy “Biscuit” Turner of Big Boys sang a song on that one. Max had an unfortunate falling out with Stan and Stan reluctantly left. I’m still friends with him. I saw Stan play in his band Obnosticon last week. They are phenomenal— hard, super tight, post-prog rockers.

Julian Peterson of Brown Whörnet took over on bass. We recorded ‘El Pee’ in 1998, released posthumously, and digitally, many years later in 2014 on Max’s site, Max Brody World, which I think has pretty much all of our works together. Julian left.

Jeff Pinkus came on board, and it altered state into Areola 51. We recorded and released a self-titled CD in 2001, and ‘Double D Sides’ in 2006-ish, which was also released digitally on Max’s site in 2014.

Pinkus left to focus on Honky. Jason Craig of the Pocket FishRmen took his place and we picked up Richard Alexander on vocals. The latter was a guest vocalist with Areola 51 and more of an engaging story teller than a singer. The sound was again completely different and we re-named it Insect Sex Act. We released a CD, ‘A Fist Full Of Panties, For A Few Panties More, Or Once Upon A Time In Your Panties’ in 2012. Then Max went back to Seattle, we disbanded, and I had two years off.

While doing some research I also need to mention names like Specimen Box and Light Screamer. Tell us about that.

Yes, these are all things that I was either the guest guitarist or guest soloist on. Specimen Box – Four Walls is a collaboration created by Larry Boothroyd of Victims Family which was 10 years in the making and features an incredible number of notable rockers doing 60 second works. I soloed on a piece with We Are The Asteroid, which is composed of Frank Gary Martin (Painteens), Nathan Calhoun (Butthole Surfers) and Gary Chester (Ed Hall).

Light Screamer is a band from Örebro, Sweden. I met one of their guitarists, Tobias Erikson, online…years ago. He seemed to know more about Austin post-punk bands than anyone in Austin. They actually came here a couple of times and played during SXSW, So I got to know them well. They asked me to do a solo for a song called ‘Dawn’ on their latest album, ‘Reap’. Win Wallace also does the art for their records.

I more recently did a guest solo on a MC5 tribute album by Joecephus and The Jonestown Massacre. That album will also host some ridiculously incredible guests; I can’t name names, but I was even surprised at who will be on this album. I think it will be released later this year.

Then there’s a 2014 record you did with Stu Spasm and Victor Poison-Tete. What else did I miss?

The other projects you mentioned with Stu Spasm and Victor Poison-Tete are collaborative projects put together by Max Brody in his home studio that I played guitar on. I’m also on his Taxi Crab Nebula project with Mike Scaccia, Adam Grossman, Rey Washam, Randy Biscuit Turner, Jason Craig…Max has done a lot of projects.

What currently occupies your life besides Suckling?

Suckling takes up most of my time. Now that the album is out we are working on releasing our short film / music video for the song ‘Sisyphus,’ which stars all members of Scratch Acid in acting roles. It’s pretty funny…We’re waiting to premiere it on a platform large enough to generate a lot of hits, so the algorithm takes notice. We’ll see how that goes.

I also play in another band called Jefferson Trout— It’s a bunch of old Austin punk rockers, fronted by Buxf Parrot (The Dicks) and Dotty Farrell (Punkaroos) on vocals, me and Todd Kassens (Shoulders) on guitars, my old bandmate Jason Craig again on bass, and Travis Garaffa (The Service Industry) on drums. We mostly play Buxf’s songs from his various bands over the decades. We recorded an album last year that should be released later this year.

Aside from writing and playing music, I love to fish, hunt, or just be out in nature as much as possible. I like most people, but humans kinda suck. In Fall and Winter I go deer hunting in South Texas…by myself, for days at a time. I sleep in a 4’X6’X6’ wooden box. There is no electricity or water. A hole in the ground is my toilet. It’s fairly primitive. I don’t really care if I take a deer or not, it’s more about seeing all the wildlife around me, being a part of that, and not having to talk or listen to anyone for days, except I do call my wife Laura each night to check in. In Spring and Summer I go fishing at a National Wildlife Refuge in Northeast Texas. The lake is surrounded by old-growth oak forest and there are eagles, otters, waterfowl, alligators, et cetera. It’s a magical place.

During the pandemic I started learning Korean—because what else is there to do, right?—which led to me and my wife’s latest hobby: watching Korean rom-com-dramas on TV. Laugh if you must, but some of them are really brilliant. Some of them are very well written, cast, and acted, with creative stories and cinematography. Those filmmakers really know how to get the viewer emotionally invested. And some of them, just as with any art form, are totally lame, ridiculously stupid, and an insult to moderate intelligence. A little research is necessary, but when you find good ones they are highly addictive. Extraordinary Attorney Woo was our gateway drug. Then we moved on to Hometown Cha Cha Cha and Crash Landing On You. Now we are strung out and probably should seek help, but don’t really want to.

I also started acting about five years ago, following in Yow’s and Washam’s footsteps. The very first casting call I answered, I landed a small, but recurring, role on AMC’s The Son. My very first scene, on my very first day acting, the production placed me three feet away from Pierce Brosnan. It was a large set with lots of actors, but it was just me and James Bond standing together on one side of the room. A very dream-like experience would be an understatement…he said, “Hi, I’m Pierce Brosnan.” I said, “Oh…I know sir. I’m Brett Bradford.” “Been acting long?” he asked. I replied, “Actually, this is my first scene ever.” He then gave me a long look and replied, ”Huh…” I did several scenes with him for two seasons, he was super nice and encouraging. It was a great experience. I’ve been on productions since, but not of that scale. Austin is no L.A. or N.Y.C., so it’s a tough town for an actor, but I take opportunities when they arise.

“Touring with Scratch Acid we didn’t care so much if we slept on floors”

Are you planning to play some gigs?

We play gigs locally fairly regularly. It is yet to be seen if we will tour. I guess that all depends on how well-received the music is. For me, touring is much different than when I was twenty something. I now require some degree of comfort and hygiene. That is to say, touring with Scratch Acid we didn’t care so much if we slept on floors, or that the van smelled of stink foot and fast food farts and no one had showered for days. Basically, we just needed to make enough gas money to get us to the next town. Twenty something years later the reunion tours were quite comfortable. It all boils down to getting paid enough to have a bed, a shower, and pay the bills when you get home. If someone wants to set us up with that, we’d be more than happy to get this show on the road.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. 

Of all your questions this is the hardest. I can’t decide if it is because I don’t have favorite albums, or that I have too many. I’m hesitant to say. I think if I wrote out some of my favorite albums, I’d probably immediately be disappointed with my selections, thinking of others I like better, so I’m not going to play the favorite game. I would say that to be one of my favorites, I would have to really like almost every song, it would have to flow well from beginning to end, hold up over time, and would have to strike me in some emotional sense. I will tell you one that fits that definition just because it was the first one to pop into my head— Elliott Smith ‘XO’. That album is genius. Is it one of my favorites? I don’t know…It’s fairly depressing as well.

Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

It’s sad and embarrassing to admit it, but I can’t seem to keep up with music like I used to. Suckling hasn’t toured and I, for the most part, don’t go out and see bands unless I’m playing. Any spare time for music is usually spent working on my own. I know, it’s lame. By the time I hear something I like, it’s probably dated. For instance, today I accidentally discovered Amyl And The Sniffers on YouTube, who I thought were pretty cool, but it’s not new. I can tell you of two Austin bands that Suckling has played with recently that not many people know about. I mentioned Obnosticon earlier. They have some previously released songs that are…okay, but their line up has changed with a new superb drummer and an equally amazing additional guitarist. I can’t wait to hear their next record because this incarnation of the band kicks ass on steroids. The other band is called Lazer Fire, which has two ferocious guitarists who exchange finger shaving solos back and forth on top of a beef fat rhythm section that is so tight it’s waterproof. Hysterical lyrics will make you laugh too. Keep your ears peeled for them.

Thank you. Last word is yours.

I would just add— thank you Klemen for letting me share this with people, and thank you everyone out there who has allowed my music to touch your ears. It’s my honor and pleasure.

Klemen Breznikar

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Headline photo: Suckling | Photo by Natalie Cass

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