Retro-metalheads 3 BRAVO have a debut album out, with the band hard at work, upon all new music! The band discusses this music, plans ahead, and much more, in regards to shows, touring, etc.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
3 Bravo was formed in June of 2022. Dennis approached me and Josh, both his sons, and asked if we would like to get together to record some of the original music we’d jammed together over the last 20 years and write some more. We wanted to share our passion for hard rock and heavy metal with the world.
Dennis has been playing guitar for about 47 years, beginning when he was 13 years old after seeing his first KISS concert and wanting to be cool like Ace Frehley. He has been in several bands over the years, both just for fun/jamming and in his younger years, touring and trying to “make it.” One of his high school bands, Crystal Rush, has recorded a couple album as they reunited to get their music down on a CD & leave a legacy.
Josh, our vocalist and drummer, has been playing since he was 9 years old. He has played in several local bands with a focus on heavy metal/metalcore/death metal. One of the bands he played, Behold the Requiem, was joined in music by me on bass.
I have been playing bass for 26 years. Initially, I started out on drumming, but found that bass was a more natural fit for me. I’ve been in and out of bands since I was 15 years old. Even when I was in the Marine Corps, I found some fellow musicians where we covered a bunch of Metallica and Pantera when we weren’t deployed or training.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
3 Bravo is a little bit of an interesting story. So, when our dad approached us, the name of the group text was 3B since it was three Bowdens/boys. I wanted to start up our social media to begin hyping up our music a bit, but we didn’t have a name and we were a little stuck and finding something. Well, since I was in the military in the past, the phonetic pronunciation for the letter B is bravo; my squad in Iraq was designated MAP 3 Bravo (Mobile Assault Platoon, Bravo squad). It was a sign that we should stick with that in my mind, so I floated the idea and it stuck.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based in the Ogden area in Utah. The scene for hard rock and metal is pretty good in Utah, which may surprise some since there are a lot of Mormons in the state, but every show we have gone to has been jam packed whether a solid local act or a touring band. Most hard rock and metal shows sell out their venues for the bigger acts. One of the acts tearing it up in the hard rock side has been Citizen Soldier.
4. How would you describe your style?
We are what I would call more retro-metal. While we incorporate some modern hard rock and heavy metal elements in our music, we like to play a much more classic style in our genre. We bring some blues elements into what we do, especially in the hard rock styled songs. While we do enjoy some of the more extreme metal sub genres, we wanted to pay homage to the sounds of the 80s with bands like Iron Maiden, Queensryche, and Judas Priest.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Our debut album was released on May 5, 2023, titled Upheaval. It is a 9-song album that fills in a nice range of what you get in hard rock and heavy metal. What you will get is storytelling, lead guitar shredding some solos, some progressive rock/metal elements (especially on drums), and an exploration into the human condition with some of the emotional topics we hit on.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Absolutely! We are currently wrapping up a few more songs for our second album, Divine Wreckage, which we expect to release in early 2024. We are also in the process of working on an EP dedicated to my son who passed away in June this year. We also have hundreds of riff ideas recorded over the years and a long list of lyrics to see if we can match to those riffs. We expect to release at least three to four more albums going forward.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Right now we are looking for a drummer to join so that we can play live shows. As talented as Josh is as a vocalist and drummer, doing both at the same time with his vocal range is a challenge. We are considering using his recorded drums on a backing track until we can find a drummer, but we prefer to have that live drumming element. From there, who knows what may happen. We will definitely be playing locally, continue to put out music and video, so if we can get enough support in other areas, we very well may end up touring.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
One of the things I would love to do for my dad is get us into a festival. In his time, he never really got to play the big crowd and he left his last band when we were kids to take care of us. I would love to be able to get him in front of a roaring crowd someday so he can finally see that dream.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We are on pretty much every streaming service: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, etc. You can find us on BandCamp as well. Our merch store is www.3bravomerch.com, where we also have our CD available.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
We are not “today’s” metal, so to speak. You are going to get a little bit of diversity and it will have that old school sound. We play what we want, we write what we want, and that’s how we roll. We aren’t owned by a label, so we explore ballads, progressive elements, blues, etc. We just write what we do and love it.
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