There’s a burgeoning indie scene in Charleston, SC that’s started garnering attention nationally with a bunch of talented bands coming out of the historic town. At the forefront of that scene is Hearts & Plugs artist: Brave Baby, who released their sophomore album, Electric Friends, last year to much acclaim (and just released on vinyl on February 15th!). The band brings an eclectic, transcendent brand of indie rock built around pop music with slight psychedelic leanings. The attention the band has gathered has landed them on national tours including spots in the nationally recognized Communion Music showcases. We caught up with guitarist/vocalist Keon Masters to ask him about an album that has influenced him as a musician, an album that was the catalyst for Keon, pushing him to wanting to create music on his own, and a large part of his musical journey.
Keon Masters of Brave Baby’s influential album: Green Day‘s Dookie.
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I remember being 10 years old in the back of my moms Honda listening to Dookie on my cassette Walkman waiting for my brother to get out of basketball practice and this wave of awesome, sarcastic angst that I never knew I had came over me, and at that moment I forever fell in love with that feeling. If you give it a few listens it’s easy to understand why this album sparked that kind of emotion in kids and teenagers across the country. I grew up in the suburbs of Charlotte and it wasn’t particularly rural and it definitely wasn’t urban and at the time, for me anyways, there were no current representatives in pop culture or the media that I could seek insight from until I came across Green Day’s masterpiece. Granted, it was about six years after it was released, but records find us when they find us. The Internet was young and music file sharing was years away, so for me to find something that could stir my emotions to the point where I felt like they were my songs was huge. It opened up the musical door for me and I felt like I finally had an understanding of what I was looking for when seeking new music. If you scan the track listing on Dookie your jaw would drop. “Welcome to Paradise,” “Basket Case,” “When I Come Around,” “She” and others. All great, great, great songs. I was a little embarrassed to pick Green Day for this interview cause I thought some people might scoff, but fuck that, this record is straight fire. Beginning to end. Not to mention it could be in the argument for one of the greatest album covers of all time. ” – Keon Master (Brave Baby)
