Brick + Mortar — No compromise

Their bio describes them as “Former middle school lunchtime enemies,” but nearly a decade after their formation as a band, Brandon Asraf and John Tacon of Brick + Mortar have the kind of rock solid friendship only surviving the rollercoaster ride known as the music business together can provide.
“We were discussing whether our relationship would be different and how different it would be if we would have met when we were 25,” said Tacon, drummer for the duo which lands at Sunnyvale in Brooklyn on Aug 26. “I was in a couple metal bands when I was in high school, but it was never anything as real as what Brandon and I are doing now. We’re definitely on this journey together and we’ve been through a lot of s**t but we’ve got a lot of respect for each other so I guess that’s why it stood the test of time.”
Heading into the 23rd date of a summer tour which wraps up in their hometown of Asbury Park, NJ on Sept. 10, Brick + Mortar are supporting their Dropped Again EP, which only saw the light of day thanks to a clerical error on behalf of their former label. A situation like that is often par for the course with young bands who get locked into the system and never get to truly see the light of day. Asraf and Tacon have seen more than their share of struggles, but they’re still standing.
“We got f**ked so hard and we came out on top,” Asraf said. “We got f**ked by old managers, f**ked by labels, and we came out on top, so I don’t need to be nice or lie about anything anymore. I’m not an asshole and I’m not gonna act like I’m the best or we’re the best or that we didn’t make any mistakes ourselves, but I’m certainly not gonna be extra nice to everybody if I don’t have to anymore. We tried to play ball before and give people the benefit of the doubt.”
It didn’t work for the childhood friends, who still stuck by their guns in order to make their form of alternative rock which is backed up by memorable live shows in which they are living up to the oft used but rarely realized adage of leaving blood on the stage.
“You can never have too much integrity,” Tacon said. “We could go the easy route. We could write music like all our peers, we could dress a certain way to prove a point, but we prove it by always trying to recreate ourselves musically and by giving it our all in our live show and hopefully that translates to people that are listening or watching and gives them some inspiration in their life.”
After all this, it’s no surprise that the duo wears everything they’ve gone through as a badge of honor.
“One hundred percent,” Asraf said. “It’s the Game of Thrones mentality. For all intents and purposes, we should have just given up so many times and we didn’t. We, probably more than most bands, wear that as a badge of honor. All we have is the fact that if you knock us down, we’re gonna figure out how to do it.”
In the process, the past and present has built an armor around the band that makes them untouchable. It’s almost as if nothing can break them apart, and as they continue to make music and tour, they epitomize the true spirit of rock and roll more than most bands who hold that distinction close to their heart. And in true punk spirit, don’t lump Asraf and Tacon in with the other “rising stars” of the genre.
“There’s too much of the cool guy antics that I hate and I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with anything like that,” Asraf said. “The first thing they buy is a 500-dollar pair of jeans.”
In other words, it’s style over substance. Brick + Mortar aren’t buying into that scene.
“What we do is not because we want to become rock stars,” Tacon said. “It’s just such a big part of us. If I didn’t have music, I don’t know what I would be doing or who I would be. I don’t know anything else. I suffer from self-doubt just like everybody else that’s trying to be a human being and trying to live. If I didn’t have music, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I can’t picture myself without it.”
Asraf agrees when it comes to his vocation, saying, “I don’t really have a choice in the matter,” before adding the true definition of what the band is.
“You know when you’re 15 years old and you tell yourself that you’ll never be a bitch, no matter what, that you’ll never deviate from what you think is right, that you’ll be Batman, you’ll make the sacrifice and do the right thing, no matter what?” he said. “That feeling is what we, as a band, represent. I know that if I die tomorrow in a terrible accident or something, that split second before I go out, I know that what I did is what I wanted to do and it was honest. You can’t buy that and I think someone needs to represent that 15-year-old kid who’s idealistic and thinks he or she can do it in an honest way without compromising.”
Brick + Mortar plays Sunnyvale in Brooklyn on Saturday, August 26. For tickets, click here
For more information on Brick + Mortar, click here

