Songs of Freedom: Resurrecting Rock ‘N' Roll Rebellion w/ Five Times August
The Life Stylist
Luke Storey
4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 July 2024
⏱️ 99 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I’m excited to jam both figuratively and literally with one of my new favorite artists, Brad Skistimas, aka Five Times August. Brad’s unique, truth-forward approach to music and songwriting is one I’m particularly drawn to. What sets Brad apart is his fearless dive into protest music during the COVID era – with powerful tracks like the viral “Sad Little Man”.
In early 2021, Brad began releasing songs that critiqued regulations and political figures. Despite censorship battles on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, his messages resonated deeply, garnering millions of views. His album, Silent War, reached impressive ranks on Amazon and Apple Music charts. In 2023, with Baste Records' support, Brad continued his mission with Ain't No Rock And Roll (a song I’ve listened to on repeat), challenging mainstream artists to speak out against tyranny.
In this episode, Brad shares his unique approach to songwriting and recording, which sets him apart in the music industry, and gives us a live performance of Ain't No Rock And Roll. We explore the cultural shifts in rock and roll, examining why the genre – once a symbol of counterculture – has seemingly aligned with harmful mainstream narratives.
Brad opens up about the importance of artists speaking truth to power and the potential redemption for those who supported controversial vaccine campaigns. He also delves into his spiritual journey and how it influences his music, from finding a resonant church community to integrating his beliefs into his lyrics.
We’ll also touch on broader themes like the formation of new countercultural movements within the arts, the importance of building supportive communities outside mainstream systems, and the silver linings of recent challenging years. Brad’s perspective on reconnecting with authenticity and diversity in the arts offers hope and inspiration. Get ready to explore the evolution of an artist who’s unafraid to speak his truth and challenge the status quo.
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MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
(00:00:08) Brad’s Songwriting Evolution & Path to Becoming a Protest Artist
(00:24:34) Live Acoustic Jam Session & Brad’s Music Production Process
(00:39:33) Vaccine Propaganda & a New Counter Culture in Music
(01:04:01) Moving On From COVID & the Power of Spiritual Communities
(01:20:51) Building Supportive...
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right I got a question for you. This should probably be at the end of the conversation, but I'm a wild card. |
| 0:16.0 | All right, Brad, if you were locked in a room, voluntarily, let's just a social experiment, if you were locked in a room for seven days straight, |
| 0:27.0 | and there's a nice cozy bed in there, you could relax, no torture or anything like that, |
| 0:32.0 | but there was one artist playing through a |
| 0:35.7 | sound system for 24 hours a day for that seven days and you could not turn it off |
| 0:41.0 | what artists would that be different songs yeah the whole |
| 0:46.2 | catalog oh geesh that's a tough one the music I have the most of at home is like the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel. I like catalogs of music, so it'd have to be a pretty expansive catalog, I think. |
| 1:11.0 | I think the Beatles have like 270 songs. I don't know. I don't know it'd be hard I'd want |
| 1:17.4 | something calming that I could listen to after a while but that's a tough question. |
| 1:23.3 | I don't know. |
| 1:23.8 | I guess I'll just, I think I'd go with the, |
| 1:27.4 | I think I'll go with Michael Jackson actually, |
| 1:29.9 | because I'd get up and dance at times |
| 1:33.1 | then it'd be some calming ballads in there |
| 1:36.6 | I'm gonna go with Michael. |
| 1:39.2 | I was I was intuiting |
| 1:41.8 | that it would be the Beatles before you even mentioned them as one of your top artists. |
| 1:46.0 | Because of course when I thought of that question I was like what would I pick? |
| 1:49.0 | And I'm like, I don't know. I mean, I feel like any artist would start to wear on my nerves that I thought well maybe |
| 1:55.1 | classical or something but then that could make me go insane. Yeah yeah I |
| 1:59.9 | think I would it would be a tie between Michael and the Beatles probably because they're the like two earliest influences on my musical life that |
| 2:11.1 | made me want to pick up a guitar and be on stage and it'd have to be that but I feel like |
... |
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