The Infected Interview Elder Brycen of Golden Plates, on the release of “Oxytocin”

“I am Elder Brycen. In my head I’m the personification of abandonment issues, in my heart I’m David Bowie’s bastard child, if you ask my friends I’m the glue that brought them all together, if you ask the guy who calls himself my dad I’m sure I’m a huge disappointment, I think my mom is proud of me for some reason, I’m my bartender’s favorite customer, and I’m the roommate that makes way too much noise at 3 in the morning.

Then again, Elder Brycen is literally a stage persona. I’m not a cult leader in real life. I’m just a mild mannered sound engineer/lighting designer. But on the stage and on the internet, I am on a holy quest to make it feel like it’s your birthday for just a little bit, even if it’s the sad birthday where your dad beat the shit out of you because you got a B- on your report card, or when you told your stepmom you don’t like tomatoes and didn’t want them for dinner on your birthday so you weren’t allowed to eat anything but tomatoes for a month straight, it’s still your birthday. Happy birthday, darlin, we love you very very very very very much.

Most of my strength is focused on cutting through the noise. 40,000 artists upload music to Spotify every day. At least a few thousand of those artists are talented, and most of them will never be heard. I’m constantly finding tons of unknown artists with a killer sound that have like, 7 monthly listeners. I interview the best ones on my podcast, I Like Your Style with Elder Brycen.

The source of my energy is the strength of Jesus Christ. Just kidding. He allegedly died for your sins, I’m just dying for your entertainment, which is way cooler. I think mitochondria is where energy comes from? I dunno, I pretty much run on whiskey and LSD, as well as the thought that maybe if my music can make one person’s day just a little less shitty, I’m doing something right.

I asked some friends what I should name my new band when I was living in my co-workers hobby closet on a camping pad, shortly after moving to Utah. Someone snarky said “Golden Plates”. I thought it was brilliant. I recorded a 4 song EP in that closet with a broken guitar and a 40 dollar microphone. Here I am, dozens of imaginary bandmates later, with a new single. Oxytocin!

I was arguing with a friend about whether or not I would upload my consciousness into an upgraded clone body, and if that would still technically be “me”. I claimed that the electrical impulses and chemical receptors that make up “us” are no different than binary code, though slightly more complex, and that transferring consciousness was no different than transferring a photo to a thumb drive. Everyone got mad at this answer, so I wrote a song about it.

I would like people who listen to the music to experience the entire gambit of human emotion. There’s so much to experience and so many people never even leave home. Watching Anthony Bourdain on TV is nothing like living like him out in the universe. And there’s a time and a place for relaxing at home with Netflix, but it’s not a lifestyle. At the same time, you can’t take any of it with you. It’s fleeting.

Thanks to the Rona, I have only had the joy of performing this song in my apartment on Instagram Live. I can’t wait to play it in person for people. It’s a killer live track, with a message; Quit worrying about temporary shit. Your brain chemistry is tricking you into almost everything you do that’s self-destructive.  There is always a way out of a shitty situation if you can get over your fears.

My day job is also in the music industry, so I was double boned. It’s been great for songwriting and creating, but I may have forgotten how to be social. There’s a lot up in the air, but no matter what happens, it’s not like we’re not all going to die eventually, anyways, so make the most out of what you can. Still, we’re missing out on some things. I miss giving out sad handies behind the Wal-Mart in exchange for a 6’er of Hamms and half a pack of Pall-Malls.

Yes, my tastes are changing, but I have and will always hate ketchup. Every moment is an opportunity to not eat ketchup, and you should capitalize on that by doing anything else you set your mind to. Musically, my tastes have evolved a ton over the years, but I still love the things I loved a decade ago. Interestingly enough, the older I get, the more I appreciate older music.

In this world, there is a struggle between the individual and the collective. Artists and innovators marching to the beat of their own drum doesn’t always jive with everybody, and it doesn’t have to. Be yourself, and don’t apologize for being who you are, unless you’re a kid diddler or murderer or the kind of person who doesn’t return the shopping cart at the grocery store or the person who’s greatest accomplishment in life is the geographic location where their  parents condom broke and thinks that anyone born anywhere else doesn’t deserve the rights that they do. Those people should apologize for being who they are, even if it’s the fault of how they were socialized.

Then again, I too want to be loved. It’s a big deal to everyone, but you can’t force it, and you can’t worry about the haters as the kids say these days. If you are authentic, not everyone is going to be into what you’re about, and that’s ok. Focus on the people who are.

I have not seen the ending first hand, but I’ve read enough history to know how it ends. There’s really only a handful of stories to tell, the details and characters change but the story is the same, in fiction and nonfiction, and the night of long knives is approaching if something doesn’t give.”

A big thanks for Elder Brycen of Golden Plates for the interview. For more, check out the Golden Plates website at https://www.goldenplates.net!