Unsigned Spotlight: Bless The Dead
Bless the Dead was established in April of 2013. 5 guys from Georgia from different well recognized local Atlanta bands completes the project to date.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
-Noah Welborn-Lead Vocalist
-Mike Christian (aka Chucky)-Bass, vocalist
-Allen White-Guitar
-Jon Gray-Guitar -Keith Graham-Drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Bless The Dead?
Noah Welborn-Vertically Challenged
Mike Christian-OCO
Allen White-Ingrain
Jon Gray-Vertically Challenged
Keith Graham-American Lesion
We are all local to Atlanta and had convo for many years about jamming together.
How long has the band been around?
April 25, 2020 will put BTD on the map for 7 years.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
We have never changed the name. Bless the Dead comes with a tribute/action thought in a way to past music influence, friends, family, and occurrences of life. We are a positive band of living for the day, and having as much fun as possible.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
We all do our part in the songs as far as writing goes. That is what we love most about this project. Everyone brings there thoughts/riffs/grooves to the BTD haven and things develop over time. Lyrically Noah puts pen to paper and works with Mike on the delivery. At times we have thrown topics we would like to see develop on paper in a hat and draw for opportunity. The biggest thing we hope fans gain coming to our shows and listening to our music is a damn good time, and looking between the lines to find the good in things.
This world is hard, cruel, and so amazing in the same breath. We feel if you take it to serious and get caught up in that grind, you will miss some really awesome things. We do our best to not hold back, sleep as little as possible, and live as hard as we can. As far as the future, the objective of the band gives a good platform to go however we would like. Hopefully it’s always in good spirits and finding a way to deal with things that are tough at times.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
We all have deep roots loving bands like Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch, Motörhead, High on Fire, Sevendust, and Down to name a few. We all have a search for newer bands that can be put in this department. We like it more raw with full of emotion. It’s something that is lacking at times today.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
I would say that everyone in this band to date has been living/listening to tunes, and playing music to a certain extent since we can remember. It’s probably as much being a part of shows and being around the music community that keeps us going. We love the relationships and camaraderie so much.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect ...
There’s some 12oz curls happening on nights of some shows for sure, hahah...Other than that, stretching for sure. There has definitely been some broken bones in this band over the years. Warming up is key for any musician but there’s not a lot of back stage time for our shows to this point.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Opening for any of the national acts to date. We always feel its an honor to open up a show for bands that have busted there ass to have a stable draw in any city. We appreciate there fan base as well because if it wasn’t for them, there would be no shows in general. So with that being said, we want to start the night off right. Last year we signed to Sliptrick Records and our latest album ‘The Boars Nest’ has earned us a 10 day tour to Ukraine/Baltic States in the late fall. That will probably be the a biggest thing past playing for many nationals across the country.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Down, this band would be amazing as we love the sound and we love Phil!
Clutch, some of the band have met the guys, and they just seem so chill and have such a good time at shows.
Motörhead, its Lemmy so enough said.
Sevendust, there hometown greats and have such a great sound/feeling at there shows. Seeing that on consecutive nights would be insane!
Pantera, not just because there Pantera but shows with that kind of energy are hard to find these days. Some festivals with 40 bands don’t have that kinda feel back in the day.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Live/love/party with the ones you care about any chance you get. Raise a glass with music in the air, all while holding every second like its your last. Go to your friends shows, and be good to ya women. BTD is very lucky with our support system and family life, as our ladies put up with all our crazy ideas, and need for playing some tunes!
https://www.facebook.com/BlessTheDead
https://www.instagram.com/blessthedead13/
https://www.youtube.com/user/deadandblessed
https://www.reverbnation.com/blessthedead