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OurTownRadio The Best Independent Artists
Maximillian: Long time friends.
Alex: Chill Nerdy Friends
Maximillian: Alex and I have been friends since we were 5 years old. Around 13 years old, Alex taught himself how to play guitar. I already knew how to play piano but taught myself how to play bass and eventually drums. We’ve played with other friends here and there over the years, each with their own unique playing style; but at its core, The Isolated Brigade has always been us two. The music we’ve been releasing this year are songs we’ve written either together or separately.
Alex: More organic. Max and I have known each other since kindergarten, so we basically grew up together and learned our instruments around the same time. We’ve had others in this band come and go, but we’ve been the most consistent since day one.
Maximillian: The band consists of Alex, who is the lead guitarist with some vocal work, and myself, who plays bass, drums, and sings.
Our bass player moved to another state so unfortunately he is unable to continue playing with us but whenever he comes back, he’ll be back on bass if he wants to play again.
Maximillian: Since Alex and I started playing as teenagers, we have developed a better understanding on the sound we actually want. I feel most musicians, especially at a younger age, fear no one will like their music so they try to write to please others. Now, we are at the point of wanting to write what we want and if people like it, that’s cool and we appreciate it.
Alex: Since we’ve started when we were beginners, our music has gotten more advanced and complicated. It’s always been Rock oriented but now the sound is exploring different genres and influences.
Alex: I don’t remember half of it. But the “Isolated” portion came when we first created our band and just went under the name “The Isolated.” It was inspired by a song from Alter Bridge who was and still is a big influence. It felt like it kinda fit our group of friends that played music together. The “Brigade” part came later after changing our lineup…
Maximillian: I remember the details. I let Alex name the band. Originally, we were just called The Isolated due to Alex being a big fan of Alterbridge. Eventually, our bass player suggested adding the word ‘Brigade’ afterwards because he’s a fan of Les Claypool and Claypool had another band called “Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Frog Brigade.’ Plus, the words Isolated and Brigade sound really good together, in my opinion, so it worked better.
Maximillian: Personally, I’d just say hard rock. We’ve had people tell us that our sound is both punk and grunge that you’d hear from the 90s. I can agree with that statement personally as I do enjoy punk music and Alex enjoys grunge. What makes it uniquely ours is we know what we want and are now at the stage where we will play what we want. Given it’s more genuine, people can relate to the music more, at least in my opinion.
Alex: Rock for sure, with influences from Hard Rock, Metal, Alternative, Grunge, Punk and even some Prog Rock/Metal. We try not to restrict ourselves to one specific genre, so that’s what makes us a bit different.
Maximillian: We aren’t easy to approach. Alex is, in general, a quiet person and I have a constant look on my face that people may think says ‘leave me alone,’ but if you came up to us and chatted, we’d engage heavily in conversation.
Alex: That our next song will sound like our last one.
Alex: Mostly riffs I think from both of us. Guitar feels like the main driver for most songs.
Maximillian: For me, it usually starts with a riff and then I go from there. Either I’ll have my guitar, bass, or piano in front of me and mess around until I play something I think might sound good. Once I get the guitar idea down, I’ll record it, then add a bass line, and then drums. I’ll listen to it for a bit to see if I can get a vocal melody and eventually add that. Once that’s all done, I sent it to Alex so he can make the guitar sound better (I am nowhere near as talented on guitar as Alex is).
So an example walkthrough of one of our songs. Can You Feel It Coming, which we just released, is a song where I had the chorus immediately, both on instruments and vocals. I could not think of a verse riff for a long while. I tried a couple riffs but they did not flow well at all. Eventually, I just started playing more organically and it finally came together. I showed it to Alex and asked him to help transition it into the bridge/solo and he figured it out pretty much instantly. So we help each other out when one of us gets stuck.
Alex: Some are more melancholy and introspective, while others tell a whole story. Each feels like it has its own feeling.
Maximillian: For me, I tend to write a lot of lyrics about not conforming with society or pretending to be someone you’re not to just fit in; however, all our songs releasing this year all have different themes/messages based on whatever I thought was interesting.
So for a few songs: Touch Me with Shame: I always wanted to write a song about a prostitute because of Roxanne by The Police and Trick of the Light by The Who. Sky Gypsy: our old bass player asked me to write a song about a a plane called Sky Gypsy, which was a plane in the Doctor Who show, Torchwood. I could not figure out how to write about a plane so I transitioned it to be a song about kamikazee pilots during World War II. Anthansia, yet to be released, is also about how lonesome living for eternity can be, which was also influenced by Doctor Who.
Maximillian: Devil in Disguise because it’s the first song that Alex, our old bass player, and I wrote together. Alex made the rhythm of the song while I created the vocal melody and lyrics. We wrote it a long time ago and are now finally releasing it this year but it’s about being young and doing whatever you want and blaming others if life doesn’t go your way; however, in the end when it’s too late, you realize your life is the way it is because your own mistakes, not because of others.
Alex: It’s hard to pinpoint one song, but probably one that we’ve played for years but will be releasing later this year is called Devil in Disguise. Feels like it sums up how all our songs bring some energy but also can change up and get laid back.
Maximillian: For me, there’s a few. My favorite band of all time is The Who. I always enjoy their raw emotion and bombastic instrumentation. I’m also a big fan of King Crimson, Danny Elfman, Primus, The Police, Dead Kennedys, and a lot of bands that did something different at the time. There’s a whole bunch of bands I listen to regularly but the ones I named are my most influential.
Alex: There’s a few that we both agree on like Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, and Black Sabbath. That’s like where we all started. For me, growing up was Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and The Beatles. While more recently, I’ve been heavily into King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Alice in Chains, & Arctic Monkeys. It’s a never ending list of influences and we take influence from each band.
Well with other musicians we’ve played it, it was always a battle of ‘I don’t want to play what you write so I’m not doing it,’ or they would try to change the song from what it originally was supposed to be. With Alex, our old bass player, and myself, we went ‘let’s write whatever we want’ and that’s what we’ve been doing. We do offer each other ideas for songs. For example, Wrath was a song that was completely written by Alex. I gave him a few drum ideas but he wasn’t feeling any of them. I asked him what he wanted and he showed, to the best of his ability since he isn’t a drummer, of what he wanted to go for and I went with it. My stance has always been that if it is your song, you tell me what you are looking for and I will do my best to do what you ask. Of course, I’d like it if others did the same for my music, which Alex does.
Alex: I don’t know if anything is challenging. More recently we’ve been able to demo full songs of our own and show the group. However, even if something isn’t finished, we get help to kind of fill in the gaps from the other.
Maximillian: A song we are releasing in October called Dancing with Wolves is probably our weirdest song releasing this year. I wrote it because I was listening to Danny Elman’s Big Mess and Primus’s Pork Soda and thought to myself, ‘I can get weird with it too.’ I sang the song completely in a growl voice with some lighter backing vocals. None of our other songs have growl vocals throughout the entirety of the song. I do hope people enjoy it. The plan is to have a music video release with it so hopefully that happens. Nothing super fancy, just a bunch of my friends having fun with a silly script.
Alex: Feels like they all have weird backstories, but one of the more recent ones that I wrote, Wrath, came from trying to come up with a song where Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age collaborated with each other. While coming up with the song, I was heavily into Humbug by Arctic Monkeys that Homme produced. So musically, I tried to go for a more eerie yet desert rock sound that they had on that album. Lyrically, it was inspired by Dante’s Inferno and other mythical punishments from Greek mythology.
Maximillian: For me, it’s finished if I feel the song isn’t dragging or boring me. If a song bores me, I don’t bother to finish it until I find a way to make it something I actually will enjoy playing. Alex and I have written a couple songs that we felt were okay but decided to shelf because they were not all that fun to play and were not catchy or engaging enough. It happens to all of us with songwriting.
Alex: For me, mostly when the lyrics are done. The music usually always comes first so once that is set, it’s pretty much ready once the lyrics are set and it’s time to record. Otherwise, it feels like you could constantly change something in a song.
Maximillian: Honestly, I’m not big on performing live. I’ve been playing on stage since I was about 6 or 7 years old. I don’t like having attention on me and would prefer to be in the background. With our current band dynamic, I’m drumming and singing so I can at least semi-hide behind the drumkit so that’s nice.
However, I do enjoy seeing people enjoying our music, even when I can be very critical of my own work/talent. It’s nice seeing people move along to what you wrote or even sing along. It means a lot, and even though I’m not a fan of being on stage, I do sincerely appreciate the people who’ve come to watch us perform and enjoy our music. I can’t express enough how much it means me.
Alex: Now just getting to play new songs that we haven’t played yet live for anyone. We haven’t had a show in a while, but it’s always exciting to just hangout with loved ones and listen to music.
Alex: In recent memory, we had a show for my and a friend’s 30th birthday back in 2023. It was special because that was the first show we had in years and also it was the first time my fiance got to see us perform. We played a few songs live for the first time and overall it was just fun celebrating a birthday in that way.
Maximillian: Alex and I are pretty reserved individuals. I don’t express emotion much so the one show we did not too long ago, I think Alex was trying to get a rise out of me. He introduced the band and purposely left me out. He shot a look at me, to which I assume he was seeing my reaction, but I pretty much stayed stone faced. People found it funny.
Alex: We just try to relax as much as possible. Getting up on stage always feels nervous but exciting. So I just try to relax by talking to my fiancé, friends, and family just as if we’re hanging out.
Maximillian: Pacing pretty much. Being on stage makes me uncomfortable but when you listen to famous musicians, you learn the majority of them are also terrified but still want to put on a show. So I try my best to remember that and think to myself ‘just do it, you’re already here so you can’t back out now.’ I also tell myself, ‘you’re doing this for Alex,’ since he’s the one who wants to play shows more.
Maximillian: I can’t say I have one. I just think it’s neat that people enjoy our music and want to hear us play. It’s flattering. So I’ll leave this question to Alex.
Alex: I don’t know if I could picture us playing anywhere but our home of Chicago. Riot Fest always feels like it attracts our vibe and the same crowd. This year’s lineup feels like it’s everyone that influenced me at one point so it would be awesome to not only play alongside them but to play to a home crowd at that level.
Maximillian: When the audience is into it, I feel more comfortable. Alex, our old bass player, and I have only done 1 show in the last 2 years because of scheduling and our bass player leaving the state. At that show, we performed Can You Feel It Coming as the encore. We never performed that song minus maybe practicing it twice. When I looked up into the crowd, I saw people moving along to it. I had some people come up and say how much they enjoyed that last song and it meant a lot to me.
Alex: If you see someone jumping around or moving to your music, it makes you want to move around more too. So the more we can give that energy to them, the more they can give it back so it becomes an endless loop of pure adrenaline in your soul.
Maximillian: We haven’t done a tour so I’m not sure yet. When I would play bass on stage in the past, I would have to bring and wear my purple suit, suspenders, and a red bowtie. I can’t really do that playing drums so if I ever do a show playing bass again, I’ll bring out that old purple suit and red bowtie.
Alex: Guitar duh. But I did recently get a Quad Cortex by Neural DSP. I’ve been eyeing for years but was finally able to pull the trigger last month. It’s crazy what it can do so I’m excited to bring that everywhere.
Maximillian: August 15th, we released Can You Feel It Coming. I mentioned it above but the inspiration mostly stems from the feeling of dealing with anxiety. Anxiety can be pretty brutal for some people and others have a hard time understanding why. Hopefully the lyrics I’ve written can explain it a bit better. Brown Cow, the song before that, Alex wrote the music. I wrote lyrics that is a twist on Jack and the Beanstalk where Jack is the one swindling the bean seller so he’s overselling why the bean seller needs the cow.
Alex: In July, we released Brown Cow. Musically, it came from messing around with the octave pedal that I had at the time. At the time, it just felt so much heavier and wanting to use it came from listening to Jack White and Tom Morello.
Maximillian: In general, what’s exciting about recording is meeting sound engineers and working with them. I have to give a massive shoutout to Rob Ruccia from Uptown Recording Studios and both Mike Penny and Matt Mercano from Sonic Palace Recording Studio. Those 3 are the ones who recorded all of our 2025 songs. Each brought in their ideas, opinions, & unique sound, and I appreciated that. We could not have done it without them.
For example, in Touch Me with Shame, you can hear me say ‘Here I come,’ as a backing vocal at the end of the chorus. That was Matt’s idea and I would have never thought of adding that. Mike helped us with our Dancing with Wolves song because I personally wanted him to help engineer it. He had me singing into two separate microphones to catch different sounds of my voice. I thought that was really cool of him to suggest and do.
Plus, they worked with how we had to record. For 5 of the songs, the instruments are all done by Alex and me. Alex would have to record a scratch guitar while I did scratch vocals, then I would have to jump on drums to get that down, then I would jump on bass, then Alex would get all the guitar stuff down, and finally I would jump back into the vocal booth to finish recording. It’s a weird process but it’s how it works for Alex and me and each of those 3 sound engineers understood and made it possible.
I rambled a bit here but I wanted to bring attention to the amazing work that Rob, Matt, and Mike did with us.
Alex: For Brown Cow, we actually recorded an earlier version years ago. So, when we recently met up with Rob Ruccia again to record new songs at Uptown Recording Studio, that was one that we dug back up and made changes to.
Maximillian: I hope that people enjoy what we write. That’s all I can ask for. Like, it’s very heartwarming when we receive a message from one person saying how much they loved one song and then another person messages us saying they like a different song. So to everyone who has listened or will listen to our music and you enjoy it, thank you, sincerely.
Alex: There’s so much coming out the rest of the year and each song carries its own feeling so I just hope every listener gets their own take from each one.
Maximillian: Alex and I have been talking and agreed that after October, we will do shows. We’ve been asked to play shows but have unfortunately had to declined due to busy schedules. So for those who have been asking for us to perform, it’s going to happen, please stay tuned.
Alex: We’re going to work on a music video very soon for a release later this year. We’re also in talks to do shows again, possibly later this year, so we’re excited for everyone to keep an eye out for that.
Maximillian: I couldn’t say honestly. All I can hope for is that Alex and I will continue to write and play music together like we have been since we were teenagers. That’s honestly all I can ask for. There’s really no other guitarist I want to work with when it comes to the songs I write. Alex always knows exactly what I’m looking for.
Alex: Just keeping up with what we’ve been doing the last year: recording music and consistently releasing it. Will hopefully do shows more consistently as well and just doing that forever until one of us dies.
Alex: My wedding in Oct of this year has been taking up most of my time so feels like I don’t have much time right now for much. But outside of that, love spending time with my soon to be wife, family and friends. One thing that Max and I also had in common outside of music was love for professional wrestling, especially WWE. We’ve gone to shows together and watched many events throughout the years. It comes from growing up together and just building similar interests organically.
Maximillian: Alex definitely enjoys wrestling more than I do but I get a kick out of watching it from time to time. We also enjoy playing video games here and there as well. My hobby has always been music though, even since I was 5.
Maximillian: Well I’m a big fan of The Who so working with them would be neat. After that, I’d have to say Primus or Danny Elfman because they could help me be more comfortable being weird with the music we release. Plus I really enjoy their music and would definitely want to hear their ideas/input.
Alex: There’s so many. I feel like the saying is true that you shouldn’t meet your heroes cause they’ll disappoint you by either not agreeing with you or shattering your idea that you had of them. But it would be cool to work with Dave Grohl. I just feel like he could produce something of ours and get the best of it due to his experience but also because we were just hugely influenced by bands he was in like Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, and Them Crooked Vultures.
Maximillian: You’re your own worst critic. Also, not everyone is going to like your music but to those who do, it’s worth doing it for.
Alex: I think to just keep at it. Today’s world is influenced by social media a lot and I don’t think that’s our world naturally so getting all advice about maintaining a presence has been helpful.
Maximillian: Movie soundtrack, I’m not sure. Probably an action movie. I feel most of our music can be heard in a Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game. When we released Touch Me with Shame, a curator on Spotify found it and put it in a Tony Hawk Pro Skater playlist. I was really flattered by it. When we were recording it, the sound guy even said, ‘this song makes me want to skateboard.’ And yes, I grew up playing the Tony Hawk games and still play them to this day. I think the soundtracks on those games influenced my song writing a bit.
Alex: I feel like we would fit into the Singles soundtrack from 1992 a lot. That movie had a lot of bands that influenced me and ultimately got a similar sound too. It was a movie really about musicians for musicians. So sticking something like Touch Me With Shame in there would have totally worked.
Maximillian: Even though I might not look up into the crowd or engage much on stage, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate everyone in attendance. I really do appreciate everyone who wants to hear our music.
Alex: Secretly, I’m a little bit naive.
Maximillian: Our goal to release 1 new song every month for the year 2025 is still going. Hopefully for 2026, we can record some more music or at least play some more shows. I’ll leave that one up to Alex on what he would like to do.
Alex: Just thanks for all the support, this year especially. We hope you’ve been enjoying the new material and hope to hangout a show together very soon.
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