They define their style as “One Direction meets The Beatles with a twist”. As fascinating as the definition sounds, the boys have some serious business to do in the music industry. BRO4 is a New Jersey based boy band comprising of four brothers CaseyJones, Levi, Skyler and Madison.
Music finds way in their bloodline. The brothers took up singing from their father who too had a band with his brothers. BRO4 first garnered attention when they performed at White House Easter Egg Roll. They even received a shout out from Jimmy Kimmel.
CelebMix got a chance to interact with them via telephone interview. Check it out below:
You guys have grown up together and have been singing since you were quite young. Can you please tell us how did you start and how was it like growing up and embarking on a musical journey together?
Casey: We started when we were really young. We shared a bedroom. We were such close brothers and we kind of had the same interest in same things.
Our dad used to have a ‘family night’ that we used to do on Sundays. We called it ‘Karaoke Night’ where we all would gather in the living room. He’d play songs and we’d all then sing.
After a couple of years of doing it, we really started our singing. We picked up our instruments, really dedicated a lot to music. We thought, “Why don’t we do this together and form a group?”.
You guys have been on music scene for years now but you garnered major attention only after White House Easter Egg Roll. How did that event come about and how was the overall experience?
Casey: We were invited to the White House on Saturday as our managing team let us know. Wednesday after that Saturday, we were just sleeping, we got a bunch of texts from friends and family who contacted us and said, “Hey, you were on Jimmy Kimmel last night”. We were at home, watching Friends.
It blew our minds as no one saw it before hand, nobody knew and it’s been a roller coaster ride for the band. It’s been like crazy.
How has been your life after that event? Have you experienced any change?
Casey: It has been kind of crazy. Not much has changed but we are getting more recognized outside. We are getting more calls for playing shows and interviews.
A lot of people are wondering who is this big boy band that is coming up.
Levi: Mainly, it’s just about the opportunities that changed once we did this show and people got to know why we did this show.
You guys sing and write songs. Plus, you all are instrumentalists as well. What part of process is most fascinating, for each of you?
Levi: I think each section is different and interesting in its own right. When we are performing, we get super high from fans who sing the songs back. The studio is a different place as in the studio, you get to be creative and we write in the studio, it’s kind of hard and a different thing.
Casey: Even though we are very close brothers and close friends, we all have our favorite part of the music business and each person has a point where it’s their favorite thing to do and where they come out and do their thing.
Madison: I am kind of on board with Madison. Both playing and the creative part are equally matched. There are different experiences. I do want to add that when we go out and perform, meeting with fans is what we always try our best to do, going out to crowds and talking to reporters, people who actually want to meet us. It’s a different kind of connection, how we inspire people and give our message out.
We are also a part of an anti-bullying campaign. We have a message in our music and also out of it. It’s something everyone goes through, that I personally struggled with and my brothers were there for me.
We want to be a kind of backbone to people. Everyone goes through it and there is nothing to be embarrassed about. So, sending out that message is definitely a big part of the what we do.
When we listened to your song Bruises, we did get the message of bullying. Towards its culmination, there is a message that no one deserves to be treated that way. How did this whole campaign come about?
Levi: This is something that Maddy has personally dealt with for a while and we too have dealt with because he would come home and tell us about it. We would cheer him up in practice but just to know about the situation and also knowing that people are going through it. Everyone knows that somebody was getting bullied and mostly, everyone gets bullied at some point of their lives. Seeing that, we thought that it is quite important and that we should write a song about it and put it out.
People tagged on to the song and could relate to the lyrics of the song more than we originally thought was going to happen. It’s got a life of its own. We continued because we realized how many people were affected.
It’s important that they know (people who have been bullied and are being bullied) that they are not alone. They can always come to YouTube, Instagram or Facebook and talk to us.
Earlier, you mentioned that connecting with fans is quite an important part of what you do. So, now that you might be meeting fans, has there been any memorable fan moments?
Madison: We actually have gotten messages through Instagram and Facebook mostly from the same fans telling us that we have helped them through our music mostly through Bruises.
Casey: Almost every show that we play, we try to sing as many songs as possible but we try to get our message not even about bullying but about everything in general because a lot more is happening around in the world and we just try to make sure that there is a positive message behind the music.
A lot of people don’t have the voice, we can say things that a lot of people cannot voice. We are in a limelight where we can talk about things and every time, there is always someone who comes up and says we are touched and we have learned something from your music. The fact that standing up and talking about people who don’t have a voice and that they don’t have a way to be heard, it’s a relieving thing for a lot of people to hear.
That’s one of the reasons why we keeping pushing forward and keep doing what we are doing.
Your bio mentions BRO4’s style as “One Direction Meets The Beatles with a twist”. Can you please elaborate a bit on it?
Levi: One Direction was the boy band so we get the association there. The Beatles are a phenomenal group, it’s weird to be compared to them but they are super group, they played instruments just like we do. We kind of do both the things so we know where the association comes from but it’s pretty much that we are doing our own thing and they did their own thing. That’s an awesome comparison but that’s where it came from.
We do fun stuff, hopeful stuff, play instruments here and there. We get in the front and play cool stuff.
The best comparison for somebody to give is when they ask what do you guys play and we say listen to the music and make your own assumptions. We re-write the music that comes to us when we sit together in the studio and we just write. When we sit, we don’t think that let’s make it sound like One Direction, we have our own sound; it should be something original.
Don’t you think that this “association” with One Direction and The Beatles restricts you to showcasing your individuality or does it empower you?
I don’t know if it empowers us but it’s definitely flattering . We appreciate it.
Would you like to tell us about your future projects?
There are whole lot of stuff that we are not allowed to talk about yet. We are in the studio every single day and new music is definitely coming very soon. Whether it’s EP or an album, it’s looking more like an album right now, everything is coming together. We are playing a lot of shows this summer. We are going overseas, we will be going to the west coast.
Keep checking for updates on our social media. Whenever we are allowed to share details, we put it out right on FB and Instagram. It’s a crazy journey and just the beginning of everything.
We are just four brothers from New Jersey doing crazy thing.
We have got some rapid fire questions which we would like each of you to answer individually:
1. Favorite Style Icon (Music)
Casey: Led Zepplin and Adam Levine
Levi: Michael Jackson because of all he did for music and pop culture. He made such an impact on so many great artist and is still doing so til this day.
Skyler: Brian McKnight – Because I love the soulfulness and the meanings behind the music.
Madison: Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars.
2. Favourite season
Casey: Spring. Perfect mix of heat and cold
Levi: I love falls colors and weather, but something about summer gets me. The parties, the fun, the beach. Schools out and everyone’s down to just have a good time.
Skyler: Summer
Madison: Summer. I love the heat and party type vibe.
3. Favorite Movie
Casey: Aladdin and Whiplash
Levi: The Notebook and Beauty and the Beast.
Skyler:13 Hours
Madison: Aladdin. It’s a classic with beautiful and exciting music.
4. Dream Travel Destination
Casey: Los Angeles. Felt like that’s where I belonged since I was a kid
Levi: China. Just because I’ve heard it’s such a great crowd and a massive population of people that love American music and they have so many different foods that would be pretty dope to try.
Skyler: Italy
Madison: Hawaii, where it’s summer all year round and the parties never stop
The group have released a new single called Sorry Not Sorry. We wish them all the luck for their future endeavours.
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