From Partying to Parenthood: Eyes Set To Kill on Music, Aftershock 2026, and Growing Up

0:05 Hey, you're listening to Adventure on W4CY Radio. This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventure's Pipe Man W4CY Radio, and I'm here with. Eyesight's Akil. Nice. My name's Alexia. I'm Brandon. And I'm Anissa. Very cool here at Aftershock. Actually, it's not very cool. It's very hot. Okay. It is hot. But we are at Aftershock. And so is this your first time playing Aftershock? It's our second time, but first time with Brandon.

0:45 Oh, okay. That's cool. My first time. We played in 2014 was our first time. See, that's a while ago. A couple years ago. Yeah, I've been doing them since the beginning, too. But they all, like, swirl around your head, right? Everything you do, it's like... I'm impressed that you can remember when it was. Because I wouldn't. The only reason I know is because... I mean, sorry. The last interview we did, Caleb was. I said, 2013? He's like, no, it was 2014. And I was like, oh, okay. Oh, so you did your preparation for my interview. So, yeah. So I was kind of prepared. Nice. So.... What's first you guys i want to ask what you see different now compared to then and you what's it feel like to be here at aftershock what was it what's it like out there for you.

1:38 It was a lot of fun the there's just so much like energy everybody's that feels like the crowd like they treat each other well it's not we've played shows and stuff before where it's Not like that, you know? It's like everybody's genuinely just out there to have a good time and taking care of each other. And you can be whoever you want. Yeah. You know, just you do you. Yeah. No outsiders. Yeah. And for you guys, what's it been like in 2026 compared to 2014? 2014... I didn't have a baby. Now I have a baby. And I think I'm going to bring her here so she can experience all this.

2:21 Nice. So it does feel a little different because I feel like we party a little more back then. And now we're just like here to have a good show, enjoy some bands, even some like bucket list bands for me. I was really excited for some. I want to hear what those are from all of you. Me and Brandon are obsessed with Finch. Yeah, we just saw Finch, and they sound so good live. They're so awesome. I have been a fan of Coheed and Cambria since I was in high school. I have a dragonfly tattoo on my arm that I got pretty much right after I turned 18, and that was for Coheed's first album. It had a dragonfly on the cover, so I'm really excited to see Coheed later.

3:07 Nice. I was going to say the stage that we're playing, the point stage, we were really excited to play that stage when we found out all the bands that are playing are like bands that we grew up listening to in like middle school and high school, like Under Oath, Finch, Senses. Veil, Alexis on Fire. I've never seen them. I'm excited to see them. But yeah, so it's cool to like be on a stage with bands that we kind of like looked up to growing up. Yeah, it's cool. And since it's failed, they're pretty cool. But to the point of what I was saying to you before, I was really blown away by them because I've interviewed them several times throughout the years, and they were naming off the festivals and what year. And I wouldn't have been able to do that. I was impressed by that. Because it does all swirl in your head after a while. Especially, think about it, 12 years since you played Aftershock. There's a lot of shit that happened in 12 years, you know?

4:09 For sure. But what's cool about this festival, well, I like the vibe with the trees and everything. It's kind of like welcoming and cool. And then in here, this is definitely different than 2014, this media artist lounge in here. And to the point of what you were saying before about the partying, I always laugh because that drip bar always has a long line, not the bar bar. Like, more people come for the drip bar than the bar bar. That's a sign of exactly what you're talking about. More having fun, doing your thing, and less partying and becoming stupid. Well, I think.

4:51 A lot of the bands here, you know, have been doing it for a long time. And it's like a lot of us are 40s or older. And 20 years ago, all the bands were 20 years younger. Exactly. Yeah. We've learned. Everyone has families now. Well, I don't, but. You guys do. So, I mean, you have to be a good role model now for your kids. So it's like no more partying. Yeah, you do see a lot of bands that are here and like their family and their kids and stuff came with them. A lot of times. And I think that's so cool. Like I was up on stage yesterday for Sublime. And right next to me, under the inflatable dog, was a kid sitting there watching the show from the stage, blocked by the inflatable dog and just having a great time.

5:44 I think it's cool because. These days, like you were saying, it's multi-generational to come to these things. My dad would have never came here. And I wouldn't have wanted them to. So it's like kind of cool. You go out there and you see people with their kids, their grandkids, and just we're all together for one purpose, the love of the music and the love of each other. Because there are no outsiders here. Yeah. And that's what's cool. We are the role model for the rest of the world. That's my opinion. Like, think about it. If the rest of the world was more like us in here, we wouldn't have all these stupid problems and we wouldn't have any leaders being able to divide us either. We would just all love each other for who we are.

6:29 You do you. Yeah. And that's kind of it. That's the way it should be. That's what music does. Music unites people, you know? And, uh, I think that's why it's so important to teach your children, you know? And like, especially when they try to take it out of schools, arts out of schools, you know, music, some of the best therapy there is. Like, I know. It's cool to see like moms watching us because they're like introducing their daughters to us. And I'm like, that doesn't even look like your daughter. But like they're sharing that they're like of our band or they have a connection with the music and they share that with each other too. It's cool to see families be that way and have that connection instead of in the old days when it's like, Parents don't even understand why their kid's listening to whatever.

7:24 So.... Turn that noise off. Yeah, yeah. You know? And you gave a good point, too. Like, it's like, that's how I am as a parent. It's like, they are human beings. Like, listen to them. Maybe they have an idea. Maybe they're smarter than you. Most of the time, kids are smarter than adults. Because we're a bunch of idiots. So one story, good or bad, in your whole musical journey, all three of you, what would that be? Are you looking at me? She's looking at you.

8:05 I'm drawing a blank. I have one. The first thing that comes to my mind is this was at a Warped Tour. This was when I was originally in the band, and I just remember signing a baby with a Sharpie. And that was just a really surreal thing to me. It was like, did I just sign a baby? But, I mean, that was a long time ago. Not many people can say that. Yeah. That's like Talladega Nights. Wasn't he, like, signing a baby's head? Yeah, totally. Oh, I was going to say, for me, it was. Probably when my eye exploded from headbanging. Holy shit.

8:46 I had a blood clot behind my eye. I didn't know. And I was getting headaches on tour. This was 2000. When was this? 2010? Ish? 2010. Maybe 2010. I don't know if you know this story. Did you know about this? Well, we were on tour. We played a festival in Colorado. And the next day, we were going to be jumping on a tour with.... Who's that band? Nonpoint? Nonpoint? The band from Florida, Nonpoint with Isaiah?

9:28 I think so. I think that was the name of the band. But anyways, we had a few shows, just headliners on the way to a tour. Okay. and I was getting, like, really bad migraines and headaches, and I just thought I was, I don't know, maybe dehydrated, or I was getting, like, a weird feeling, like, around my nose, but anyways, long story short, we were playing, we were on our last song, and I was, like, headbanging, and then I felt up, like, I heard, like, a popping noise, and I felt a popping noise behind my eye, like, almost like my eye popped out. Yeah, that's not a good noise. Which kind of in a way it did, and I looked in the mirror after we played, like I ran to the green room, and I was like, I don't look, this looks, like my eye looks weird. Something's wrong. But we still drove that night, and I woke up with a black eye. And I didn't know what was going on. Wow.

10:19 I was like, did someone kick me in their sleep? But anyways, I went to the urgent care and they were like, you have a blood clot behind your eye. They were like, it might be a tumor or something behind your eye. But anyways, I had to go to, oh, we were in Missouri. And the city we were in had the best optometrists, best eye doctors. In the nation. Really? So they were able to, like, do, like, emergency surgery. And they had, they, I could show you a picture. It's really gruesome. I'll show you later after this interview. But anyways. It's better if she shows it to me. Yeah.

11:00 You didn't know about this? I had an eye patch for a while and they were like, they also didn't know what it was. They were like, it's like a freak accident that happened. Like anyways, the blood was like pushing my eye forward and they had to like break like my tendons and like my nose so that there could be room for like, so. You're truly a badass, but yeah. So that story definitely is one that I will never forget from being on tour and just going too crazy on stage. That's the reason people should see you guys live right there. That's metal. Totally. For sure. And, like, you never know when it might happen again, so you want to be at every show. What were you going to say?

11:45 Oh, nothing. Just that it was traumatic. It was. Because she's my sister, so I was, like. I felt helpless. Like, I couldn't... I wanted to help her. And then there was also a point when, like, they took her to the back in the hospital... And all you hear is screaming. She's like, like, it sounded like someone was being murdered. And that was my sister's voice. It was just traumatic for everyone. More you. They had to do surgery on me, like emergency surgery. So they couldn't like fully, they couldn't put me under. And they. Yeah, you have to be awake. They couldn't numb me.

12:25 They would try to, like, numb my area as much as they could, but, like, I could feel them when they, like, broke my nose and, like... They basically had to break her nose to make room, make space for that blood to flow again. Yeah. Yeah, that's really... That's freaking wild. Like, I wonder if anybody else that's ever happened to headbang. I know. I know. You might be the only one ever. I mean, I'm not proud of it. You should be. You should be proud of it because you got through it. Here you are. And, like, it makes you a badass.

13:06 Okay, fine. See? So, speaking of the sisters, I always wonder how you do that in a band because I could never be in a band with Any of my siblings. I'd kill them. Are you close with any of them, or are they all kind of. I'm close-ish, but we're also different. Oh, okay. And that's the point. But, you know, a lot of siblings, like, even when they're close, my kids, they would probably kill each other, too. They want to kill each other at family get-togethers, but they're really close. I think since we kind of grew up.

13:48 Doing everything together and taking care of each other. Uh, it was just, it felt natural to start a band together too. See, that's pretty cool. Now, did you, did you have to decide who was going to do what? Like, cause I've heard that with a lot of siblings in bands. It's like one of them had to acquiesce and play a different instrument. I feel, I feel like it naturally happened. I started learning guitar, and then she started learning bass. And then we actually both started to form our own bands separately. But then it didn't work out for either of us, so then we just.

14:28 See, the one cool thing about being siblings is at least you know whether you like them or not, you can 100% trust them, which isn't always the case. Yeah. You know? And you know each other, so you can kind of talk to each other differently than other people can. Yeah. Yeah. And how do you come in? Oh, go ahead. There's some times when we, you know, in the office, do you watch the office? Yeah, yeah, yeah. When, like, Jim looks at the camera, when he's, he's like, it's his way of saying, like, I know you're thinking. What I'm thinking. Yeah. I feel like we have that kind of look with each other. Kind of like twins. Yeah, yeah. It's twins are definitely like that. And how did you come into the mix?

15:11 So I originally started in I Set To Kill. It was probably like 2005. I'm bad with time, but it was somewhere around there. And I Set To Kill had already been like a pretty well-established band in the local scene, like where we lived in Phoenix at that time. It was just insane. There were a lot of bands blowing up out of there that are still, you know, playing and doing everything today anyways. So I was familiar with I Set To Kill. I was in a different band at the time. We had played some shows together and basically half of the band at that time left the band. And so they needed a new screamer vocalist, um, a new drummer and another guitar player.

15:55 Yes. Yes. So then, I mean, I, I think I went to like one band practice just to kind of, you know, audition and see how it went. And, um, and then that's what happened. So yeah, just kind of all being around each other in the local scene and, you know, they had members leave and I just, I wanted to jump on because, you know, at that time I said to kill was, uh, just really big in the local scene. I was like, man, this is an exciting opportunity, you know? Yeah. And then we pretty much started touring like after I joined the band. I love it. So now what are you going to do next? That's a great question. Well, we're, we've been working on an album, um, this year, just kind of piecing songs together and, uh, Um, we have a handful of songs like written and recorded and, um, I don't know when we'll be able to get stuff out to listen to, but, um, we're excited about that.

16:51 December. We're playing a tour. We're doing a tour in December. Nice. And we're playing, it's called the guilty pleasures tour. Um, and it's going to be all songs that we're playing are all going to be fan favorites. Nice. I said to kill from past records. So that'll be fun. I think that's a great idea. So now, speaking of guilty pleasures, what are each one of your guilty pleasures? Anybody? Anybody? Anywise. I will say, like, I don't get sucked into it often, but I can be a sucker for reality TV. Like.

17:33 Not in recent years, but I used to like get super into like Jersey shore and the bachelorette. And I've just lots of different reality shows. I don't know. It, it kept me interested, but I, I don't watch as much of that anymore. You know, what's funny about Jersey shores. I'm from Jersey shore and it didn't become like that till after that show. Yeah. Cause those people weren't even from the Jersey shore. Um, And, like, you remember Angelina, the one that they kind of bullied off? Yep. Well, I was doing a gig one time, and I was hanging with her. I interviewed her, but then we hung out the rest of the night. Nothing like those other people tried to paint her eyes. And that's the funny thing about the reality shows, is, like, they're not really reality at all. They're scripted, too. Like, even the music shows, like, I got a couple people on The Voice...

18:29 They were put on The Voice. They didn't get on The Voice. Really? Yeah. There's one that, in particular, that you'll never see a blind audition because there was none because the chairs weren't working, so they just put her on the show. Mm-hmm. You know? And it's all, like, image with that. Like, she had an image, and it was like, that's what they focus on. And the winner, I know her, too, of that season because she's from our town. She had just gone on tour with fallout boy. Oh yeah. They're kind of a big deal. That's why she won. Cause they actually changed the rules of the voting so that like she would get a lot more votes because they were all like buying the singles and stuff like everybody in the bands and their followers.

19:19 So yeah. But, uh, It is interesting. I know somebody that was on The Bachelor got kicked off because, or voted off because she wouldn't say what they told her to say. They said, you're going to say this? Nope. Voted off that night. Yep. But I think that is part of the addiction because it is still created as dramatic and everybody can relate to it too. It's true. It's still a story to obsess over. Exactly and we need like nowadays we need stuff like that to obsess over opposed to something that you can't really relate to you know like you can really relate to some of that stuff even though it may be a story we probably all live that every day So that's why we love it, you know?

20:12 So you guys should start your own reality show. Yeah, we should. Sure. I don't know what kind of drama we could start. Yeah, I don't know. I don't feel like we are really that dramatic anymore. It would have to be scripted. They'd have to say like, hey, you should do this or you should say this. I was on the Vanilla Ice project because he's a friend of mine. That was, it was his event that was at with Angelina, but, and we were, Do you know that show? Like, okay, he does these construction jobs and redoes these houses and stuff. And we were digging up concrete, and it was styrofoam. And then they bring the real people in to do it, but they're not the ones on film.

20:59 Yeah. So it really is happening. It's just not the people you see. Doing it that's happening. It's happening. Yep. And then we staged a thing where he was riding a bulldozer through the house. We were riding a bulldozer through the house, and he walks in and starts yelling at everybody because we just drove a bulldozer. Through his house. But it's entertaining. That's what it should be. That's what music is. That's what live shows are about. I think live shows are about entertaining people. It's not just the music. We could sit at home and listen to music. you know but we come here for the vibe the atmosphere the togetherness and to get entertained anything else you want to tell the listeners and uh tell them your socials how to check out your music and they have to buy your merch or they can't listen to my show.

21:51 Nice uh instagram i said to kill official um what else is there tiktok. Estk what's your most embarrassing tiktok Our most what? Embarrassing TikTok. Do you have an embarrassing one? No. Oh, well, that's good. But they're funny. We have funny ones that we make. So what's your favorite? Maybe, I don't know. One that you did of our, of like now and then, like it showed our, it showed us from like, I don't know, 20 years ago. On MySpace and stuff, and then it flashed forward to us now.

22:36 Nice. Because it's just crazy. You don't really think about how the years went by. It goes quick, doesn't it? Yeah. Like, I can't even imagine that. I don't even imagine 20 years ago. Like, it's like, it's wild. And speaking of MySpace, I wonder if Tom's going to be our friend still when it comes back. Top eight. There you go. Back to the top eight. Can't get rid of the top eight. It's got to be at the top. Prepping for your new MySpace account. We did a lot on. I know in the early days we promoted so much on MySpace. It was great for artists. You guys did more.

23:18 Of it than I did. We would book tours through MySpace just talking to promoters. Mostly Nisa and our other singer. We would come from one venue to the next and We'd be like, we have to be back on MySpace to talk to the fans. We were obsessed with it. It was a good way to promote artists. It was like the beginning of the artists connecting with the fans directly. 100%. I think it's pretty cool. I'm really curious of what it's going to be like when it comes back. It should be retro. It should kind of come back retro, just like it was. Like, you go on and your profile's still there. Yeah.

23:59 You see some of the people walking around here, and they look like one of the profiles now. But they're younger. That's funny. So it's like the whole resurgence. Well, that's everything. That's music, too. That's why you have somebody like Limp Bizkit headlined tonight. That's a resurgence of another time. So cool. I think it's, we were talking about it last night, I think it has a lot to do with that the younger, younger kids are like, they want something real because so many bands are using formulas now and, like, not being real about it. Yeah. You know? Yeah. So, like, let's bring back the time when it was real. Yes.

24:40 I could totally see that. Yeah. There you go. So, you guys rock. Yeah. Thanks for being here at Aftershock. Thank you. Thanks for hanging out and having us. It's been fun chatting. Hey, my pleasure, and I love hearing that. Thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Man on W4CY radio.