December 21, 2025 • 22 mins
Fueled by raw energy, cranked guitars, and unapologetic attitude, Vengent Strays delivers a sound that hits like a shot of adrenaline. With gritty swagger and an anthemic punch, the band channels classic rock power through a modern lens. Known for electrifying live shows and arena sized hooks, Vengent Strays is here to remind the world what real, genuine rock ‘n’ roll feels like—loud, wild, and dangerously fun.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It really is about sharing stories. But the question is,
as the listener of podcasts, what kind of story are
you willing to digest today in this moment of now.
That's why we give you a choice on ero dot
net A R r oe dot net. Enjoy your exploration.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You're doing good, doing well?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yeah, how are you doing? Fantastic? Looking forward to sharing
a conversation with you, because I think that you know
and I think that we're falling witness to this. We're
on the brink of a great rock movement in this
country and around the world, and it's it's going to
require people like, oh my god, do you not see?
I mean, it's everywhere. Even when I was listening to
a classic rock station today, it was like going, you
know what, these guys are ripe for vigent strays. They're ripe.
(00:40):
They they need to cross that line that combines new
rock with classic rock and really start building this platform. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
My hope is just that the younger generation we'll really
get into it and like this style of rock will
excite them.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, I do know what you mean, because I spend
music for high schools and middle schools, and the thing
is is I know what they're requesting. I know that
they want the hard rock because they they want a
head bang, they want to jump around, and I think
they're going to be a wilder crowd than the generations
that we've come up with.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, yeah, that's what I hope. Man, that'll be awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
What was it like to put the everything together with
Passion on the Run, because we're talking about a piece
of music here that really does stick to you, and
that does that doesn't just automatically happen.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Uh well, yeah, So I guess writing the song so
Vengeance Strays, I guess the way we formed so the
singer and myself, I'm a guitar player. My brother Thomas
were twin brothers. It don't look anything alike. Such a
weird thing, but we were in an eighties tribute band
called Stay Tuned, and we played just all eighties rock
(01:50):
songs from Motley Cruz, bon Jovi, Winger, Docing, Poison. We
did some even like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran, Duran
poppy stuff too.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
But we did that for, believe it or not, fifteen years.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So we formed that band in junior high school and
then we kept going with it. But we did that
until this year twenty twenty five. We wrapped it up
in August, and then that band turned into Vene and Strays.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So the point of that was in twenty twenty four,
my brother and I were.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Deciding maybe we should start writing original music. We noticed
we were drawing crowds and putting on fantastic shows and
people were honestly just fans of the band, not just
the tribute show, but they were there to see us,
and we were like, man, imagine if we were playing
our own music doing that, And that's kind of where
the birth of writing songs and everything that you know
(02:46):
for the band started. And we recorded a couple songs
in twenty twenty four, several others in twenty twenty five,
and then fast forward to September where we rebranded and
we had to.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Pick a song to put out first, and we chose Passion.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
YEP.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
That one was written honestly our bass player London, had
a lot of that song already kind of ironed out,
and then we just changed it and made it more
Guns n' Roses esque, if that makes.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Sense, but see, it totally makes sense. And that's one
thing I love about music is that something that hit
you while driving in the car, writing a bus, or
just being out and about can come on and grow
like this has where you know when people say, well,
yeah it was, it's been in the making for several years.
Of course it has. That's what makes the classics.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Right, right, Yeah, So we just thought that one had
the most grit, the anthemy chorus, Oh.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Thank you. Yeah, that's the goal.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I mean, we want our band to kind of be
known for the arena hooks, and I feel like we
have the opportunity to introduce a guitar hero type sound again.
You know, you don't hear guitar solos a lot anymore,
and if you do, I feel like there's a soul
and it's great, But then it's just kind of like,
(04:02):
I don't know, the rhythm sections and the verses and
whatnot don't really highlight any cool guitar parts.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And my goal with this is to kind.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Of be like, you know, the next Slash or ne
No in a sense, and introduced that vibe to younger kids,
because that's why I wanted to play Man, because I
heard Eddie and Randy and stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
You know, that's second people would always say, so you
went to van Halen last night. Well, I went to
Eddie van Halen last night. Did anybody else show up?
Because I mean nobody. I didn't watch anybody else but
him on that stage.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, man, And then edwould just effortless, you know, it's
just so easy, and he'd smile the whole time.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
But you know, you're looking for those guitar heroes and
when you've got this video that you've got and it's like,
when I saw that guitar, I'm going, oh, I know
what they're doing. This is an image. They're branding that
guitar into our minds right now, which is saying that, look,
pay attention to the guitar because it's going to take
you somewhere.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, that's quote. You caught that, man. Thanks Man, that
makes me excited. Yeah, we really want our influences.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Man. For my brother and me, believe it or not,
it's wwe and kiss two things. And still to this day, man,
we're connected to the wrestling world.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
And you know, I sure.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
If you're familiar with it, but people with wrestling, man,
it's storytelling. Yeah, And I feel like for us in
our band, you know, if we can tell that story too,
and we really craft our show that way too.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
You know, we're about the music, but we're also about
the show.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
So yeah, yeah, showmanship. I mean that that's the thing
that I grew up on when we bought that ticket
for six dollars compared to one hundred and twenty five
bucks that we fork out. Now, I mean I want
some showmanship up on that stage, and that's a you
watch your videos. Holy crap, dude, why amn't I seen
you live? That's the question I'm asking myself.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Oh, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, man, that's the goal is to kind of use
that as like a catalyst to almost make people want
to go see it. And we're definitely excited to get
more out too. We have several songs that are done
and just we're just kind of waiting to get through
the holidays and whatnot. So because the algorithms, when you know,
if you don't see the timing right to get missed.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Am I wrong to think that each one of you
in the band, It's there's such harmony going on and
there's such a great flow of all instruments being represented.
In my creative mind, that's telling me that you guys
all communicate. It's not like dude, just drop me your track.
That's all I wanted to track. But you guys are
really working together and sharing your points of direction.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Yeah. No, and that's what makes the band a band.
I mean, for the longest time, my brother and I,
it's always kind of been us, and it took us
a long time to really find a group where everybody
adds value and everybody wants to add value.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That's the thing too.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
We've had guys in the past and the Tribute band
that are talented and whatnot, but they just didn't want
to contribute.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
They wanted to be mirror of an employee.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
And that's cool too, you know, but I feel like
for a band to really work, it's gotta be you know,
every tire on the vehicle has to have air in it.
You know, if you have one flat tire, you're not
going to climb the mountain. But yeah, I mean, everything's
very collaborative. And the biggest thing too, is, you know,
(07:23):
just no egos, Like the goal is to just put
out a good song or whatever we have to do
to do it, man, let's do it well.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
We totally when this is way back in nineteen seventy seven,
we made ourselves sign a blood contract that you know.
We sat there and we did the teenage thing where
you cut your arm and you sign it. And that
whole entire thing was if we stop being friends, the
band stops. And so that's where everybody invested in that.
And what we would do if we were up on
stage and we were getting tired and somebody wasn't participating,
(07:51):
I would look at Bart in the eyes and just
kind of point to my arm where I knew that
I cut myself, and all of a sudden, everybody straight
they understood that language.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Wow, that's powerful, man, that's cool.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Now, how did you deal with the transition of cover
songs into original material? Because I can still hear my Bandriverers,
Tony and Gary saying, you are so full of crap, dude,
we need to stick to the stuff that's putting us
inside those homes and at those parties. Do not put
your your new music forward. I said, you're wrong, we
need to go forward. So how did you deal with
that when you started introducing newer songs.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Well, what was interesting is we were very torn about it.
Like you said, I mean, money, you know, gets thrown
at you. So we had to finish we wanted to
get this done earlier this year, so January was the goal.
And then we had so many shows booked and they
kept coming. We kept saying yes obviously, so we had
to finish out.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Our tour per se.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
But we kind of my brother and I said, okay man,
we gotta you know, you know, shit, or get off
the pot.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
And it's intimidating.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I mean, we were nervous about it because we're comfortable
doing what we've been doing and it works and it
does well and you know, so it's like now taking
the risk. And as we all know, change is hard
and it could take time and it could be uncomfortable,
but that's where you grow and that's where.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You get better.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And so anyway, we just decided like, this is it.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
We got to do it. So I think it was
in we headlined the Viper.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Room and oh my god, wow did the whiskey of
Go Go before that too? And then I was like,
okay man, these are these are the last shows and
we're not going to make it a big deal. We're
not going to advertise ooh we're doing the final show
with the We're just going to simply say, hey, we've
changed our name. And we are now, you know, introducing
Vengeance Trays. And so we got our logo made. We
(09:45):
named the band too. That's the other thing. We didn't
have a name.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
We were taken forever trying to figure out naming a
band is one of the hardest things ever.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Said, Oh, I can't imagine the internet searching you guys
had to do. Does anybody have this name yet? What's
going on? I mean the thing too.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
If you're called you know, the Strays, there's seven thousand
of them, so we had to put Vengeance in front
of it.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Spelled wrong, so it's one of one.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
So is that the reason why my spell check is
going freaking crazy when I type in your name when
I'm sitting here writing up things, because it's telling me
wrong spelling, wrong spelling, So you butt heads.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
That's awesome. It's funny, man.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
And then it's funny because you look at like bands
like def Leppard, you know, lip Biscuit, Motley Crueman, they
are spelled wrong too, but it just looks cool, so
it's funny. But yeah, anyway, the way we got the
name was Thomas and I, like I said, inspired by kiss.
We decided let's look through their catalog and just go
through lyrics and see.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
If anything hits us.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
And I'm a fan of the eighties kiss era yep
with culic and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
And anyway, we were off the record Hot in the Shade.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
There's a song hyde your Heart and there's a lyric
that says Tito looks for Johnny with the vengeance saying
the gun, and we decided we were like, oh, maybe
vengeance and the gun could be.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
And then we were like, I don't know, it's a
little long on a marquee and typing that in and
social handles and whatnot. And then it was my cousin's
eleven year old daughter who's a big hockey fan and
she wears Violent Gentlemen and they're an apparel company that's
tied to the hockey world, and she wrote vengint g
e n t like gentlemen, and we were like, oh,
(11:28):
maybe we're vengeance gun or like guns, and they were
playing around with it, and then we started with vengeance fuse,
vengeance wrecked, you know, vengeance flaws or whatever, and then
my brother picked Strays and they're like, that sounds the best.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Let's just go with it. So that's pretty much how
that happened.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So now when you say that you got into Kisser
in the nineteen eighties, that that is that's no makeup correct.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Yeah, so I was. I was a fan of Ace
and the og Line at first.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Then when I discovered those records, I kind of just
fell in love with that. Yeah, you know, obviously we
were an eighties tribute too. I really loved the hair
and metal scene and stuff. I thought it was fun
that when I was in high school, that was like
my my favorite style of music.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
And nobody in school was listening to that.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But meeting you know, said the teachers maybe, but but.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, I just love Bruce is playing a lot.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Oh Bruce. Oh my god, that is so funny you
say that, because when I met Bruce Kullik, it was
it just it just blew me away because it was
in Charlotte. It was nineteen eighty six. And what happened,
and this was the ass in me coming out, is
that they say, Okay, you're gonna you're gonna go backstage
and you're gonna meet the band. They come walking out
for a meet and greet. Dude. Because I grew up
(12:42):
in the in the kiss makeup days, and I stood
out there and I went, why am I wasting my time?
Why am I in? And and now that I look back,
I'm going, you were a butt head. You should have accepted.
But I mean, I still had a great time with
Jean and Paul and it and even Bruce and Bruce
had the greatest damn stories.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Oh my god, that's funny. You know what's funny?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Man. At one of our eighties tribute shows last year,
we played in Vegas and Bruce came to it, and
I guess Bruce has been keeping cabs on me as
a guitar player, and I just thought that was insane,
you know, it was just like so surreal. But but yeah,
he told me some very cool stories about even the
(13:22):
Carnival Soul's record and yes.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, just he's a really nice guy man and just
so great. Uh. He played that night. We ended up
we were opening for Chris Jericho and his are you kidding?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Yeah? So, uh it was cool. He has an eighties Kiss.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Tribute band called Quarantine and yeah, so Bruce and Eric
were there and Bruce played a couple of songs.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Eric did one too, and it was it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Please do not move We're back with Jacob from Venchin
Strays coming up next. Hey, thanks for coming back. Ve Strays,
v E N G E n T Strays. We're back
with Jacob. So do you learn from Bruce and that
age of music in the way of saying, okay, I
realized that that Vincent Strays is here right now, but
(14:09):
I need to find myself a future guitarist. I need
to watch as well and kind of keep a tab
on them, because it really I'm seeing so many things
come together with the music industry today because back in
the eighties and nineties, it was about, well, the contract
said that we couldn't work with this label and that
can't work with that label on that list. So no,
so everybody wouldn't get together because the label said so.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Right, I've noticed that, I think, I mean, the power
of social media. You know, it's good and bad obviously,
but it's really shifted the industry because labels need social
media and the fans really dictate what happens now.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I mean, if if an eight year old kid.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Gets two billion views overnight, that's what labels are, you know,
gravitating towards right, So which, like I said, there's good
and bad too that I feel like our band we're actual,
you know, and I'm not just anybody to stop. But
there's a lot of newer, younger bands where you can
tell they're learning how to be a band still and
learning how to be musicians, where like, you know, this
(15:09):
is our job. I mean, we've all been three years,
you know, we all have crazy credentials and you know,
have worked with a lot of very repugable, well known names,
and I think it just helps our band, you know,
being seasoned and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Well, one of the things that I'm loving about what
Vincent Strays is doing is the fact that I'm so
tired of this thing called the hairbands, and so when
I'm seeing so col connected to your name, I'm going, yes,
that's what they are, that's what they've always been. But
now you guys are going to step forward and say
we're leading the way.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah, that's the goal. Man.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I really think everybody's so focused on being the next
them versus the first you. And what makes every wrestler,
guitar players, singer so powerful is their uniqueness. I Mean
there's billions of people that this before us and after us,
but there's never another you, and the people that can
learn how to embrace that. It's almost a superpower really,
(16:09):
and the reason why we love Paul.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
And Jean and whatnot.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
I mean, there's there's not our Aussie right, like there's
no there'll never be another Assie, you know. And I
think for us if we're really just trying to be ourselves.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And my brother has such a.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Unique tone vocally too, where he doesn't have the bashi baki.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Thing going on, which isn't bad. I mean I'm not digging.
I love that stuff, but like it makes us sound different.
I mean, he has a more modern edge to it,
you know.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
And then my influences man range from so many different things.
I used to be the guitarist for the show America's
Got Talent. I'd have to play with the contestants, and
I mean I was playing Katie Perry brum Mars, the Temptations,
Cherry Underwood. I toured in a country band, and I
mean I've played all styles of music, and we grew
(16:59):
up listening to everything. I mean, rock has always been
what I gravitated towards, obviously, but I'm a fan of
it all so and I think it helps with when
it comes to songwriting and stuff so you don't get
stuck well.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And one of the things that you guys are really
mastering in a very quick way is the fact that
Vincent strays is. We've talked about the guitar, we talked
about the vocals, but it's also about the attitude that
has to show up in those videos because if we
don't think you're cool and look cool and live the
lifestyle that we want to live, and it's like, Okay,
these guys are doing it. Oh my god, I gotta
follow them hit hit like like like like follow, follow, follow, follow.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Yeah, that's cool, dude, thank you, Yeah, that's that's that
rock star.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Or my brother's got it, dude. It's so funny.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Man.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
He cracks me up. Every time we were doing anything.
It's like he just turns it on and it becomes
this this character and I feel like I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
In the audience, you know, watching them do it. So uh,
it's so cool, man.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Having That's a refreshing thing too, man, is having My
brother has a very front man, like a coming kind
of presence to him when he's on stage, and he
knows how to conduct a crowd, and I feel like
that's even something that's non existent now with a lot
of newers. So I've been seeing that come back more,
the frontman energy, and it's it's refreshing to get that again,
(18:15):
you know.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, because it's so important.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Well, it was Gene Simmons that that quoted to me. Hegoes,
He says, if you don't think that you're worth a
billion dollars, then why should anybody else? And I went,
you just changed my life, dude, you just changed.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I always say too, I see a lot of people
or whatever, and you know it's like, would I pay
two hundred dollars to go see them live? Maybe not,
you know, but I my goal is when you ask
yourself that with vengeance strays, you'll say, I'll pay three.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, you know, I gotta I gotta know what you
what your merch looks like, because I mean people, I mean,
especially here in the Carolina's people are buying merch from
all over the nation. And when you ask him about
what's going on, to say, oh, it's somebody that I
found online. I was streaming over on Spotify. So your
merch is not just a California thing, dude. People all
over the nation are buying us. So where can they go?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Well, vengeance trades dot com. I do have sour news
at the moment.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
We're relaunching our merch so there's nothing available right now,
but in about thirty forty five days top so what
we're hoping we're gonna have a brand new line of merch.
So we're excited about that, and you'll be able to
get everything there. So Vengeance Trades dot Com is kind of,
you know, the stomping ground to find everything if you're
not a social media person, but you could search us
(19:34):
on there too. We have a lot more on the way.
We're gonna be dropping a live music next year. We're
very exciting. Yeah, yeah, So we've been just kind of
waiting for the holiday season to die off and make
a game plan for us too, but we're gonna hte hard.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
We have two shows this week.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Tomorrow, we're playing the Santa Ana Observatory and then the
House of Blues in San Diego on Friday. We're supporting
Letter Kills. They're like at two thousand and orp tour
kind of band.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
They have more.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Rock influence, you know, to like the hardcore stuff that
they do, and it's very cool.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
You're still setting up your own stage yeah, yeah, I mean,
but I enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
It's like what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
We have our own team, and it's been the same
team that I've had since junior high school for the
most part. So it's funny that we've all our sound
guy learned how to be a sound guy, well, I
learned how to be a guitar player together in a sense,
and we've been doing this for so many years.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It's turned into a little family. Honestly.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Our drummer and bass player are the new additions so
to speak, because they came in in twenty twenty four
with the Eighties tribute. But yeah, our whole team has
been it's like family. I mean, so we have it
all down with science. We're very proud of our production
and whatnot and.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Our efficiency too.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Wow wow.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
The goal is to just make it grow, and you know,
we'd love to share our music with everybody, obviously, and
we're going to do that, but the goal is to
have to resonate to where people believe in the band
and believe in us and uh yeah, and then we
just kind of ride that wave as long as we can.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
You know, I love it.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
You got to come back to this show. Anytime in
the future. And I do mean that, and working with
Jody and stuff like that. I mean she she just
opens up the door where I get to sit here
and be with you guys as each single is is
really brought forward so that we can get people to
start talking about the singles. And then we say, oh,
by the way, you know, like six months ago, you
just did Passion on the Run, tell me what's going
on with that one? And so when I swear to
God that once we start talking about your history and
(21:35):
how those listeners were part of that. Now they're part
of the band as well. Yeah they're the fame.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Cool. Well, dude, that's awesome, ole and Jody's amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
It goes, you know, without saying and then it's in
her last name best But dude.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
You're awesome too.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Man. You're asking great questions and making it a lot
of fun and I love it so thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Well, come back anytime the door is open, dude.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, I would love that. Man, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Will you'd be brilliant today?
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Okay, yeah you too, thank and yeah, so we'll definitely
do this again in a couple of months. I'll'll give
you the Easter egg that we have something dropping, so
it'll be fun. I'll have Joey reach out and we'll.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Make it happen.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
We'll do it, we'll do it. Thank you, sir, Thank you,
It really is about sharing stories. But the question is,
as the listener of podcasts, what kind of story are
you willing to digest today in this moment of now.
That's why we give you a choice on ero dot
net A R r oe dot net. Enjoy your exploration.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You're doing good, doing well?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yeah, how are you doing? Fantastic? Looking forward to sharing
a conversation with you, because I think that you know
and I think that we're falling witness to this. We're
on the brink of a great rock movement in this
country and around the world, and it's it's going to
require people like, oh my god, do you not see?
I mean, it's everywhere. Even when I was listening to
a classic rock station today, it was like going, you
know what, these guys are ripe for vigent strays. They're ripe.
(00:40):
They they need to cross that line that combines new
rock with classic rock and really start building this platform. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
My hope is just that the younger generation we'll really
get into it and like this style of rock will
excite them.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, I do know what you mean, because I spend
music for high schools and middle schools, and the thing
is is I know what they're requesting. I know that
they want the hard rock because they they want a
head bang, they want to jump around, and I think
they're going to be a wilder crowd than the generations
that we've come up with.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, yeah, that's what I hope. Man, that'll be awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
What was it like to put the everything together with
Passion on the Run, because we're talking about a piece
of music here that really does stick to you, and
that does that doesn't just automatically happen.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Uh well, yeah, So I guess writing the song so
Vengeance Strays, I guess the way we formed so the
singer and myself, I'm a guitar player. My brother Thomas
were twin brothers. It don't look anything alike. Such a
weird thing, but we were in an eighties tribute band
called Stay Tuned, and we played just all eighties rock
(01:50):
songs from Motley Cruz, bon Jovi, Winger, Docing, Poison. We
did some even like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran, Duran
poppy stuff too.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
But we did that for, believe it or not, fifteen years.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So we formed that band in junior high school and
then we kept going with it. But we did that
until this year twenty twenty five. We wrapped it up
in August, and then that band turned into Vene and Strays.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So the point of that was in twenty twenty four,
my brother and I were.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Deciding maybe we should start writing original music. We noticed
we were drawing crowds and putting on fantastic shows and
people were honestly just fans of the band, not just
the tribute show, but they were there to see us,
and we were like, man, imagine if we were playing
our own music doing that, And that's kind of where
the birth of writing songs and everything that you know
(02:46):
for the band started. And we recorded a couple songs
in twenty twenty four, several others in twenty twenty five,
and then fast forward to September where we rebranded and
we had to.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Pick a song to put out first, and we chose Passion.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
YEP.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
That one was written honestly our bass player London, had
a lot of that song already kind of ironed out,
and then we just changed it and made it more
Guns n' Roses esque, if that makes.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Sense, but see, it totally makes sense. And that's one
thing I love about music is that something that hit
you while driving in the car, writing a bus, or
just being out and about can come on and grow
like this has where you know when people say, well,
yeah it was, it's been in the making for several years.
Of course it has. That's what makes the classics.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Right, right, Yeah, So we just thought that one had
the most grit, the anthemy chorus, Oh.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Thank you. Yeah, that's the goal.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I mean, we want our band to kind of be
known for the arena hooks, and I feel like we
have the opportunity to introduce a guitar hero type sound again.
You know, you don't hear guitar solos a lot anymore,
and if you do, I feel like there's a soul
and it's great, But then it's just kind of like,
(04:02):
I don't know, the rhythm sections and the verses and
whatnot don't really highlight any cool guitar parts.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And my goal with this is to kind.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Of be like, you know, the next Slash or ne
No in a sense, and introduced that vibe to younger kids,
because that's why I wanted to play Man, because I
heard Eddie and Randy and stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
You know, that's second people would always say, so you
went to van Halen last night. Well, I went to
Eddie van Halen last night. Did anybody else show up?
Because I mean nobody. I didn't watch anybody else but
him on that stage.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, man, And then edwould just effortless, you know, it's
just so easy, and he'd smile the whole time.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
But you know, you're looking for those guitar heroes and
when you've got this video that you've got and it's like,
when I saw that guitar, I'm going, oh, I know
what they're doing. This is an image. They're branding that
guitar into our minds right now, which is saying that, look,
pay attention to the guitar because it's going to take
you somewhere.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, that's quote. You caught that, man. Thanks Man, that
makes me excited. Yeah, we really want our influences.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Man. For my brother and me, believe it or not,
it's wwe and kiss two things. And still to this day, man,
we're connected to the wrestling world.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
And you know, I sure.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
If you're familiar with it, but people with wrestling, man,
it's storytelling. Yeah, And I feel like for us in
our band, you know, if we can tell that story too,
and we really craft our show that way too.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
You know, we're about the music, but we're also about
the show.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
So yeah, yeah, showmanship. I mean that that's the thing
that I grew up on when we bought that ticket
for six dollars compared to one hundred and twenty five
bucks that we fork out. Now, I mean I want
some showmanship up on that stage, and that's a you
watch your videos. Holy crap, dude, why amn't I seen
you live? That's the question I'm asking myself.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Oh, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, man, that's the goal is to kind of use
that as like a catalyst to almost make people want
to go see it. And we're definitely excited to get
more out too. We have several songs that are done
and just we're just kind of waiting to get through
the holidays and whatnot. So because the algorithms, when you know,
if you don't see the timing right to get missed.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Am I wrong to think that each one of you
in the band, It's there's such harmony going on and
there's such a great flow of all instruments being represented.
In my creative mind, that's telling me that you guys
all communicate. It's not like dude, just drop me your track.
That's all I wanted to track. But you guys are
really working together and sharing your points of direction.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Yeah. No, and that's what makes the band a band.
I mean, for the longest time, my brother and I,
it's always kind of been us, and it took us
a long time to really find a group where everybody
adds value and everybody wants to add value.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That's the thing too.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
We've had guys in the past and the Tribute band
that are talented and whatnot, but they just didn't want
to contribute.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
They wanted to be mirror of an employee.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
And that's cool too, you know, but I feel like
for a band to really work, it's gotta be you know,
every tire on the vehicle has to have air in it.
You know, if you have one flat tire, you're not
going to climb the mountain. But yeah, I mean, everything's
very collaborative. And the biggest thing too, is, you know,
(07:23):
just no egos, Like the goal is to just put
out a good song or whatever we have to do
to do it, man, let's do it well.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
We totally when this is way back in nineteen seventy seven,
we made ourselves sign a blood contract that you know.
We sat there and we did the teenage thing where
you cut your arm and you sign it. And that
whole entire thing was if we stop being friends, the
band stops. And so that's where everybody invested in that.
And what we would do if we were up on
stage and we were getting tired and somebody wasn't participating,
(07:51):
I would look at Bart in the eyes and just
kind of point to my arm where I knew that
I cut myself, and all of a sudden, everybody straight
they understood that language.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Wow, that's powerful, man, that's cool.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Now, how did you deal with the transition of cover
songs into original material? Because I can still hear my Bandriverers,
Tony and Gary saying, you are so full of crap, dude,
we need to stick to the stuff that's putting us
inside those homes and at those parties. Do not put
your your new music forward. I said, you're wrong, we
need to go forward. So how did you deal with
that when you started introducing newer songs.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Well, what was interesting is we were very torn about it.
Like you said, I mean, money, you know, gets thrown
at you. So we had to finish we wanted to
get this done earlier this year, so January was the goal.
And then we had so many shows booked and they
kept coming. We kept saying yes obviously, so we had
to finish out.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Our tour per se.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
But we kind of my brother and I said, okay man,
we gotta you know, you know, shit, or get off
the pot.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
And it's intimidating.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I mean, we were nervous about it because we're comfortable
doing what we've been doing and it works and it
does well and you know, so it's like now taking
the risk. And as we all know, change is hard
and it could take time and it could be uncomfortable,
but that's where you grow and that's where.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You get better.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And so anyway, we just decided like, this is it.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
We got to do it. So I think it was
in we headlined the Viper.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Room and oh my god, wow did the whiskey of
Go Go before that too? And then I was like,
okay man, these are these are the last shows and
we're not going to make it a big deal. We're
not going to advertise ooh we're doing the final show
with the We're just going to simply say, hey, we've
changed our name. And we are now, you know, introducing
Vengeance Trays. And so we got our logo made. We
(09:45):
named the band too. That's the other thing. We didn't
have a name.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
We were taken forever trying to figure out naming a
band is one of the hardest things ever.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Said, Oh, I can't imagine the internet searching you guys
had to do. Does anybody have this name yet? What's
going on? I mean the thing too.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
If you're called you know, the Strays, there's seven thousand
of them, so we had to put Vengeance in front
of it.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Spelled wrong, so it's one of one.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
So is that the reason why my spell check is
going freaking crazy when I type in your name when
I'm sitting here writing up things, because it's telling me
wrong spelling, wrong spelling, So you butt heads.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
That's awesome. It's funny, man.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
And then it's funny because you look at like bands
like def Leppard, you know, lip Biscuit, Motley Crueman, they
are spelled wrong too, but it just looks cool, so
it's funny. But yeah, anyway, the way we got the
name was Thomas and I, like I said, inspired by kiss.
We decided let's look through their catalog and just go
through lyrics and see.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
If anything hits us.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
And I'm a fan of the eighties kiss era yep
with culic and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
And anyway, we were off the record Hot in the Shade.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
There's a song hyde your Heart and there's a lyric
that says Tito looks for Johnny with the vengeance saying
the gun, and we decided we were like, oh, maybe
vengeance and the gun could be.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
And then we were like, I don't know, it's a
little long on a marquee and typing that in and
social handles and whatnot. And then it was my cousin's
eleven year old daughter who's a big hockey fan and
she wears Violent Gentlemen and they're an apparel company that's
tied to the hockey world, and she wrote vengint g
e n t like gentlemen, and we were like, oh,
(11:28):
maybe we're vengeance gun or like guns, and they were
playing around with it, and then we started with vengeance fuse,
vengeance wrecked, you know, vengeance flaws or whatever, and then
my brother picked Strays and they're like, that sounds the best.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Let's just go with it. So that's pretty much how
that happened.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So now when you say that you got into Kisser
in the nineteen eighties, that that is that's no makeup correct.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Yeah, so I was. I was a fan of Ace
and the og Line at first.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Then when I discovered those records, I kind of just
fell in love with that. Yeah, you know, obviously we
were an eighties tribute too. I really loved the hair
and metal scene and stuff. I thought it was fun
that when I was in high school, that was like
my my favorite style of music.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
And nobody in school was listening to that.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But meeting you know, said the teachers maybe, but but.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, I just love Bruce is playing a lot.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Oh Bruce. Oh my god, that is so funny you
say that, because when I met Bruce Kullik, it was
it just it just blew me away because it was
in Charlotte. It was nineteen eighty six. And what happened,
and this was the ass in me coming out, is
that they say, Okay, you're gonna you're gonna go backstage
and you're gonna meet the band. They come walking out
for a meet and greet. Dude. Because I grew up
(12:42):
in the in the kiss makeup days, and I stood
out there and I went, why am I wasting my time?
Why am I in? And and now that I look back,
I'm going, you were a butt head. You should have accepted.
But I mean, I still had a great time with
Jean and Paul and it and even Bruce and Bruce
had the greatest damn stories.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Oh my god, that's funny. You know what's funny?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Man. At one of our eighties tribute shows last year,
we played in Vegas and Bruce came to it, and
I guess Bruce has been keeping cabs on me as
a guitar player, and I just thought that was insane,
you know, it was just like so surreal. But but yeah,
he told me some very cool stories about even the
(13:22):
Carnival Soul's record and yes.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, just he's a really nice guy man and just
so great. Uh. He played that night. We ended up
we were opening for Chris Jericho and his are you kidding?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Yeah? So, uh it was cool. He has an eighties Kiss.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Tribute band called Quarantine and yeah, so Bruce and Eric
were there and Bruce played a couple of songs.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Eric did one too, and it was it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Please do not move We're back with Jacob from Venchin
Strays coming up next. Hey, thanks for coming back. Ve Strays,
v E N G E n T Strays. We're back
with Jacob. So do you learn from Bruce and that
age of music in the way of saying, okay, I
realized that that Vincent Strays is here right now, but
(14:09):
I need to find myself a future guitarist. I need
to watch as well and kind of keep a tab
on them, because it really I'm seeing so many things
come together with the music industry today because back in
the eighties and nineties, it was about, well, the contract
said that we couldn't work with this label and that
can't work with that label on that list. So no,
so everybody wouldn't get together because the label said so.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Right, I've noticed that, I think, I mean, the power
of social media. You know, it's good and bad obviously,
but it's really shifted the industry because labels need social
media and the fans really dictate what happens now.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I mean, if if an eight year old kid.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Gets two billion views overnight, that's what labels are, you know,
gravitating towards right, So which, like I said, there's good
and bad too that I feel like our band we're actual,
you know, and I'm not just anybody to stop. But
there's a lot of newer, younger bands where you can
tell they're learning how to be a band still and
learning how to be musicians, where like, you know, this
(15:09):
is our job. I mean, we've all been three years,
you know, we all have crazy credentials and you know,
have worked with a lot of very repugable, well known names,
and I think it just helps our band, you know,
being seasoned and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Well, one of the things that I'm loving about what
Vincent Strays is doing is the fact that I'm so
tired of this thing called the hairbands, and so when
I'm seeing so col connected to your name, I'm going, yes,
that's what they are, that's what they've always been. But
now you guys are going to step forward and say
we're leading the way.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah, that's the goal. Man.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I really think everybody's so focused on being the next
them versus the first you. And what makes every wrestler,
guitar players, singer so powerful is their uniqueness. I Mean
there's billions of people that this before us and after us,
but there's never another you, and the people that can
learn how to embrace that. It's almost a superpower really,
(16:09):
and the reason why we love Paul.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
And Jean and whatnot.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
I mean, there's there's not our Aussie right, like there's
no there'll never be another Assie, you know. And I
think for us if we're really just trying to be ourselves.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And my brother has such a.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Unique tone vocally too, where he doesn't have the bashi baki.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Thing going on, which isn't bad. I mean I'm not digging.
I love that stuff, but like it makes us sound different.
I mean, he has a more modern edge to it,
you know.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
And then my influences man range from so many different things.
I used to be the guitarist for the show America's
Got Talent. I'd have to play with the contestants, and
I mean I was playing Katie Perry brum Mars, the Temptations,
Cherry Underwood. I toured in a country band, and I
mean I've played all styles of music, and we grew
(16:59):
up listening to everything. I mean, rock has always been
what I gravitated towards, obviously, but I'm a fan of
it all so and I think it helps with when
it comes to songwriting and stuff so you don't get
stuck well.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And one of the things that you guys are really
mastering in a very quick way is the fact that
Vincent strays is. We've talked about the guitar, we talked
about the vocals, but it's also about the attitude that
has to show up in those videos because if we
don't think you're cool and look cool and live the
lifestyle that we want to live, and it's like, Okay,
these guys are doing it. Oh my god, I gotta
follow them hit hit like like like like follow, follow, follow, follow.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Yeah, that's cool, dude, thank you, Yeah, that's that's that
rock star.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Or my brother's got it, dude. It's so funny.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Man.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
He cracks me up. Every time we were doing anything.
It's like he just turns it on and it becomes
this this character and I feel like I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
In the audience, you know, watching them do it. So uh,
it's so cool, man.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Having That's a refreshing thing too, man, is having My
brother has a very front man, like a coming kind
of presence to him when he's on stage, and he
knows how to conduct a crowd, and I feel like
that's even something that's non existent now with a lot
of newers. So I've been seeing that come back more,
the frontman energy, and it's it's refreshing to get that again,
(18:15):
you know.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, because it's so important.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Well, it was Gene Simmons that that quoted to me. Hegoes,
He says, if you don't think that you're worth a
billion dollars, then why should anybody else? And I went,
you just changed my life, dude, you just changed.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I always say too, I see a lot of people
or whatever, and you know it's like, would I pay
two hundred dollars to go see them live? Maybe not,
you know, but I my goal is when you ask
yourself that with vengeance strays, you'll say, I'll pay three.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, you know, I gotta I gotta know what you
what your merch looks like, because I mean people, I mean,
especially here in the Carolina's people are buying merch from
all over the nation. And when you ask him about
what's going on, to say, oh, it's somebody that I
found online. I was streaming over on Spotify. So your
merch is not just a California thing, dude. People all
over the nation are buying us. So where can they go?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Well, vengeance trades dot com. I do have sour news
at the moment.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
We're relaunching our merch so there's nothing available right now,
but in about thirty forty five days top so what
we're hoping we're gonna have a brand new line of merch.
So we're excited about that, and you'll be able to
get everything there. So Vengeance Trades dot Com is kind of,
you know, the stomping ground to find everything if you're
not a social media person, but you could search us
(19:34):
on there too. We have a lot more on the way.
We're gonna be dropping a live music next year. We're
very exciting. Yeah, yeah, So we've been just kind of
waiting for the holiday season to die off and make
a game plan for us too, but we're gonna hte hard.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
We have two shows this week.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Tomorrow, we're playing the Santa Ana Observatory and then the
House of Blues in San Diego on Friday. We're supporting
Letter Kills. They're like at two thousand and orp tour
kind of band.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
They have more.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Rock influence, you know, to like the hardcore stuff that
they do, and it's very cool.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
You're still setting up your own stage yeah, yeah, I mean,
but I enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
It's like what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
We have our own team, and it's been the same
team that I've had since junior high school for the
most part. So it's funny that we've all our sound
guy learned how to be a sound guy, well, I
learned how to be a guitar player together in a sense,
and we've been doing this for so many years.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It's turned into a little family. Honestly.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Our drummer and bass player are the new additions so
to speak, because they came in in twenty twenty four
with the Eighties tribute. But yeah, our whole team has
been it's like family. I mean, so we have it
all down with science. We're very proud of our production
and whatnot and.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Our efficiency too.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Wow wow.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
The goal is to just make it grow, and you know,
we'd love to share our music with everybody, obviously, and
we're going to do that, but the goal is to
have to resonate to where people believe in the band
and believe in us and uh yeah, and then we
just kind of ride that wave as long as we can.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
You know, I love it.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
You got to come back to this show. Anytime in
the future. And I do mean that, and working with
Jody and stuff like that. I mean she she just
opens up the door where I get to sit here
and be with you guys as each single is is
really brought forward so that we can get people to
start talking about the singles. And then we say, oh,
by the way, you know, like six months ago, you
just did Passion on the Run, tell me what's going
on with that one? And so when I swear to
God that once we start talking about your history and
(21:35):
how those listeners were part of that. Now they're part
of the band as well. Yeah they're the fame.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Cool. Well, dude, that's awesome, ole and Jody's amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
It goes, you know, without saying and then it's in
her last name best But dude.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
You're awesome too.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Man. You're asking great questions and making it a lot
of fun and I love it so thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Well, come back anytime the door is open, dude.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, I would love that. Man, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Will you'd be brilliant today?
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Okay, yeah you too, thank and yeah, so we'll definitely
do this again in a couple of months. I'll'll give
you the Easter egg that we have something dropping, so
it'll be fun. I'll have Joey reach out and we'll.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Make it happen.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
We'll do it, we'll do it. Thank you, sir, Thank you,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.