PipemanRadio Interviews Gloomchild & Spiderwall at Aftershock 2025

0:04 Hi, you love them too, Yes, that's true. For see why were You young? There's a pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man w four Cy Radio, And I'm here. With Joey Francois from gloom Child and Spiderwall. Nice here at Aftershock. So what brings you to Aftershock? What is cool about this place to be at Aftershock? Dude, this is the coolest place in the world. Man. He's got every band that I grew up listening to performing here. It's a blessing and honor to be out here rocking out with the biggest bands out there.

0:48 Nice and so tell us a little bit. But are your two bands? Yeah, how are they similar? How are they different? So they're similar in a way that we actually are some of the same members from gloom Child. We gloom Child is a six piece metalcore band, and some of our members we decided to start a new band one night on a late junken night and start like a punk type of band. But really we don't like to put ourselves in a box like. We like to make whatever music that that we feel. But yeah, they're really different in a way that's a gloom Child has a big discography out we've been grinding for the last six years, and Spider Wall we just have like a few singles out.

1:28 I think it's cool that you do different vibes because I think people don't realize that just because you're a metal head doesn't mean you like don't like other music. Just because you're punk doesn't mean you don't like other music. It used to be that stupid gate keeper shit. Yeah, but really we did like it. We just been admit it. Now we can actually admit that we like all kinds of music. Oh yeah. It's so healthy for the scene to embrace each other because really all music, it does it, all does relate to each other. I mean, we're all just expressing ourselves and the music that we put out is just a reflection of how we feel. So totally and listen. As an artist, it would be boring if you played the same thing over and over again, wouldn't it.

2:17 I can't even imagine a world where I would have to just play the same thing over and over again. Man, come on, exactly, yeah, exactly. So what do you feel the difference is in your fan base and how people see you based on the different bands. So I would say that Gloom Child, we're more of an introspective. We have a very introspective audience, so we're for like really overcoming your toughest battles, and we kind of share that side of ourselves with our music. And Spider Wall is more of like we're there to just rock out and have fun and really just drink as much beer as possible. Well, there you go. That sounds punk though, yeah, that does sound pump. So who would you say your biggest influence for each band has been?

3:04 So I'd say for gloom Child, our biggest influences are like kill Switch, Engauge, Avenge, Sevenfold, under Oath, spirit Box, just a lot of bands slip not with Spider Wall. We take a lot of influence from indie music actually, so bands like Always and Blink two and stuff like that. So and what started your musical journey? What was that moment that you started realizing you wanted to be a musician. When I was just I want to say, probably two years old, and I saw a piano and my grandma had a piano, and I learned I started playing piano when I was really young, around like two or three years old. So that was when I first realized that when I resonated with music, and.

3:53 So how did the transformation happen through all the years from that to where you are now? Now that's a great quest because without that piano experience, I would have never even got asked to be in a band. Because when I was in middle school, I had a friend who lived across the street and in my neighborhood there was some kids that became my best friends that they needed a keyboardist for their band that was like metalcore, asking Alexandria's style. Like still, it's almost the same solid stuff we do today, except we elevated it over the years. But yeah, around fourteen years ago, we were playing. I was playing bars and stuff when I was fifteen and stuff. So I had to always battle my parents and tell them I'm gonna be at this bar this weekend playing and they, no, you're not, you know, But we had to do it anyways because we booked the shows ourselves, and that that Tampa has a has a really big like metal scene and death course scene and everything. So we've always been inspired by a lot of breakdowns and like mosh pits and stuff.

4:52 So it's funny too, because I'm in South Florida and I cover. I've covered shows up in tam and obviously where I am. I prefer the venues in the scene much more up in Tampa than South Florida. Oh yeah, man, it's such a tight scene in Tampa. Just on my street there's probably like three breweries that have metal shows every single weekend. I love that, yeah, And I just find it's the way the whole scene is like South Florida. It's we still have kind of gatekeepers, and you have spurts of good shows, but nobody wants to come down to us because then they have to go all the way back up.

5:34 I've actually met my girlfriend at a show we played in Miami and we've been dating for two years now. And Dude, I love playing shows out there in South Florida because y'all have those turn up party vibes. Like sometimes in Tampa people just are watching us without any movement, And in Miami or in South Florida, dude, people love to move and start those pits out there. That's what I love about South Florida. I love these conversations because I want to hear the artists perspective doing things. Of course, I'm giving a media perspective, then there's a listener perspective. So absolutely there's always different perspectives. So that's cool to hear because I would think if it was such a great metal scene up there, there would be pits and stuff like that. But what you're telling me is South Faria is a lot more brutal.

6:17 Yeah, man, I mean, dude, I just think people love to like have fun down there in South Florida, man, and in Tampa two we do. But it's one of those things where hardcore and metalcore there's almost like a there's a fine line between like the fan base that the hardcore kids are there to throw down and fucking start pitch, and then the metal core is like more about technicalities and they want to just watch the riffs and really soak all of that musicality. Wow. See that's educational right there, because most listeners think that don't know metal. They think nothing of like technicality or studying musicianship. But you have people say it's just noise, and but there is serious musicianship. Oh.

7:03 I encourage all those people to check out Dream Theater, right yeah, because it don't get more technical than that. I mean, that's one of our big influences as well, So I encourage everyone out there to check out bands like Dream Theater, Tessa Act, all these types of technical metal bands that really push musicianship to the next level, I think for all genres, because there's a lot of other genres now that are taking from metal and trying to turn Like now pop music is becoming metal, and I love that because something like I don't know if you know of like Young Blood and stuff like that. I love Young Blood, yeah, especially I loved them before, but after that performance at back to the beginning, I'm like I would. I talked to all the press and publicity people and we all agreed, like we were blown away.

7:51 Absolutely. Man, that guy is one of a kind, right. He said, besides Ozzy and Sabbath, he was a highlight of his show, and that that dude he showed up and put on that performance and left to go do his own show that night. To me, that's badass. That's badass, that's dedication, that's goals, if you ask me, that's the type of stuff that if you're a hard working musician, you deserve to play two shows in one day and enjoy yourself that way. Because I don't understand when musicians they don't enjoy their jobs sometimes because it's such hard work, and I mean, I do understand it, but also it's one of those things that I don't ever want to become jaded in that way. I always want to enjoy this because my whole life I've been working towards this, and I think that's the thing that separates us from a lot of bands is that we've been working at this for twelve years and we still are fighting for our shot and we're gonna keep fighting for it because we believe in ourselves.

8:47 And that's what it takes, because it takes like twenty years to become an overnight success. Facts like Metallic is a perfect example of that. They ate blowney sandwiches with no bread, slept with three other bands on a floor in a room for like ten years. I think I think every band at this festival has gone through that. Yeah, that's what I love. I respect that so much, and I love that about this because it's a true example of what it takes to do this job well. And that's why you're talking about when joying yourself having fun. If you're not having fun in this business, it's still wrong. Business because everything else kind of sucks. Yeah. Yeah, it's long hours and long yeah, long drives, lots.

9:29 Of rejection, a lot of business. Bull You know, the best part is going and performing and writing the music. If you're not having fun with that, what are you doing? Exactly? And that's what I love about Gloom Child and Spider Wall being in these bands. It's like I'm with my best friends that I grew up with and we still have that love. We never there's not ever a time when we're hanging out where there's not a lot of love involved. That's key too, because how can you go on tour, whether it's a big tour or a little bus with the whole band and spend twenty four to seven with them without killing each other. You gotta be best friends, you really do. Yeah.

10:12 I know that that's not always the case, and I don't know how those bands do it, but hey man. Respect respect, right, It would be so hard, you. Like, sometimes the band and the brand really becomes such a big business that you have to keep it going. Yeah, And dude, you got to do whatever it takes sometimes, and even if you're with people that aren't your best friends, but you' all gonna make it work and that's dedication. Well, it's like Slayer came back last year to do some festivals and carry King's playing here. Carrie hadn't talked to Tom in all that five years that they weren't playing. And none of us would have even known that, right because the way that their chemistry on stages, it's incredible.

10:52 No doubt, no doubt. What else do you want to tell the listeners about your bands and also tell them how they can connect to you on social check everything out. If you have merch by your merch, they can't listen to my show unless they buy band merch. Hey I love that man, shout out Dean Man. That's a great thing. That's a blessing. So gloom Child. You can find us on all streaming services, Instagram, YouTube, I just at gloom Child. Gloom Child music dot Com is our website where you'll find our merch and spider wall. We have a few singles out. Check out Black Pepper Grinder, check out Wardrobe, check out Honeymoon. Those are some of our newest singles that we put out with gloom Child.

11:33 Now we have a big discography. I want to let y'all know we have about five albums you can check out and a couple EPs, So go check out Midnight and Limbo that we put out last October about to celebrate one year, and then Summer's Over we put out three years ago on the last day of Summer in twenty twenty two, and then our newest single grim It's gonna be This is exclusive right here, but we're coming out with a new EP this year or early next year called Gloom Season two. Go check out Gloom Season, the EP that we put out a few years ago. That's it's basically the preface of this of this EP. Cool and is there anything else you want to share that we haven't covered or ray that they need to know.

12:18 No, man, I really appreciate your time, and I hope y'all rock with us because we want to come rock for you and rock with you. Well, you definitely rock and everybody's gotta check you out or they can't listen to my show. And thanks for being on the Adventures of pipe Man. Thank you, Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipement. I'm w for CUI Radio.