By JESS PEREGOY

jep024@latech.edu

 

If one really thinks about it, every band has that one member who handles all of the band’s business.

Usually, he is charming and charismatic in order to get the band’s foot in the door and onto the stage.

For statuescrybleeding, a Shreveport-based band, the lanky, 6-foot-4-inch guitarist is just the guy you’re looking for if you want a T-shirt, to book a show or, most recently, record your band.

Steven Bradley, 20, a junior business economics major, has been playing music for 15 years.

Bradley turned up the notch and began recording other musicians before setting off on a summer tour with his band from coast to coast.

Bradley said he learned to appreciate music from his family.

“My parents forced piano upon me when I was five, or something ridiculous,” he said.

 “And I just learned to enjoy music from my family. My brother was always in bands.”

Bradley followed his brother’s footsteps when he began to wean himself off the piano and onto the guitar.

“I picked up a guitar when I was in middle school for the sole purpose of becoming Kurt Cobain, and then I picked up drums because I wanted to be Dave Grohl [of Nirvana and Foo Fighters] and sold my guitar,” he said.

Ever since Bradley picked up the drums and guitar, he played in several Shreveport bands until finally solidifying his current project, statuescrybleeding, an experimental metal and hardcore rock band.

“I feel like we’ve come a long way since we started out as somewhat of an experiment/cure for boredom about two and a half years ago,” he said.

“We finally have the perfect lineup where everyone is on the same page and has the same goals, and we are writing music that we all believe in and truly love.”

Statuecrybleeding’s guitarist, Joel Reynolds, joined the band a little over a year ago and said working with Bradley is a privilege.

“Steven is an extremely talented and innovative musician,” Reynolds said.

“[Playing in statues] is a lot like basic training, but extremely fun and interesting.”

Bradley said he agrees the band has provided him with “a ridiculous amount of fun,” but for him the band has meant work and strong relationships with his band mates.

“Most importantly, I love all the guys in the band and consider them brothers,” Bradley said.

“And we have a great time writing music and improving our skills together.”

Bradley does most of the behind-the-scenes work, such as booking and promoting shows, designing and ordering T-shirts and other merchandise and networking online.

“It gets very time-consuming,” Bradley said.

“But it’s all totally worth it to show up to shows and have people seem to honestly enjoy what we’re doing and give us a hug or buy a shirt.”

The band will put all of their effort and time into touring during June through August after releasing an EP, a compact disc featuring a few of the band’s songs, that Bradley will record himself to be sold through online retailers and Louisiana Hot Topic stores, Bradley said.

“We all still have bills so we can’t be out constantly, but this summer we should be living in a van most of the time,” Bradley said.

“We’re finally at the point where we have people all over the country wanting to see us and helping spread the word, so touring is finally something we can really benefit from.”

While not studying for 400-level business classes, attending Union Board events or practicing with his band, Bradley has devoted his spare time to developing his skills and makeshift studio to record both his band and other area bands, he said.

“I started recording stuff just for myself a long time ago, but just recently got to where I have the capability to work with full bands,” Bradley said.

“People don’t realize the amount of equipment that goes into recording and the money it takes to get a decent studio together.”

Since Bradley has collected his equipment, he has written and produced music for both himself, his band, various other projects and, most recently, Tyler Read.

Tyler Read’s guitarist, Brent Skinner, a senior health and physical education major, said, “Recording with Steven was a great experience. We wanted him to do it because he’s our friend, and we knew it would be a good time.”

“Not only is it fun for him to joke around with us; he is very professional and helped us get a good recording.”

Bradley said he hopes his musical ambitions take him to where he wants to go because he knows how important music is in his own life.

“I know that when I was younger going to shows and listening to my favorite bands helped me escape everything and just sink into something I could relate to,” he said.

“So if we can provide that for just one person, then I can die happy.”