In the final interview of our series from the VFW show in November 2024 in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, we speak to Braxton of Enkased, Shred Bundy and MANY more bands about his influences, his friends, the scene and his favorite moves in the pit!
ECZ: Who are you and what bands do you play in?
BRAXTON: What up I’m Braxton, I play in like a trillion bands…I play in a band called Enkased, Shred Bundy, Wise, and a few other bands coming soon that have no names yet.
ECZ: Let’s start off by talking about your newest band Enkased. How did you guys come about? How did you collaborate, and how did you guys come up with the name?
BRAXTON: Enkased formed from different members of other bands in the scene- Apsara, Wise, and Diztort. Our singer Jordan came up with the band name when we were at a bar he said he thought of Enkased with a “K” in it and that sounded really sick! From there we collectively knew we wanted the band to have a 90’s groove metal sound like Sepultura, Machine Head, Soulfly, Fear Factory and incorporating different genres with bands like Snapcase and VOD. It’s just fun to do stuff with homies and to make music together. We all have a sense of camaraderie towards one another.
ECZ: That’s great to hear. You mentioned your musical inspirations from a sound perspective, but what are some guilty pleasures that are out of the ordinary for you?
BRAXTON: It’s not even a guilty pleasure freaking creed is goated! Godsmack and Nickelback- growing up you think that stuff sucks, but the older you get, the more you appreciate it and realize how goated it really is. Staind is also really fire for me. People make fun of it, but the song structure in Godsmack is dope! The first two-three albums are so good and are for sure going on my spotify wrapped.
ECZ: Godsmack and Creed are goated for sure! What other genres or bands got you where you are today? What was your gateway into the scene?
BRAXTON: Around 2009-2010 I had a bunch of punk homies. Jason Brooks-he lives in Colorado now, but we had a band together back in the day. He got me to go to shows with him. He always had punk and metal patches on from what I remember. We went to The Vault in Temecula and saw Narcoleptic Youth. Bands like Agent Orange and other punk bands like that back in the day. I was already into surface level punk, thrash, metal, Numetal, but it wasn’t until I started going to local shows and experiencing what the local scenes were all about, that really got me involved. Places like Temecula, Murrieta, San Bernardino, backyard shows that’s what really got me. To be able to experience all those shows in our local scene, I haven’t stopped. It’s been about 15 years now.
ECZ: I love it! You’re always showing love to IE, what does the IE mean to you? What do you want to see progress more for the Inland Empire scene?
BRAXTON: I remember 2017 when Shred Bundy started and California Killcore EP first came out with our genre, some of the guys in the band lived out in Temecula and I would always rep Temecula, 951, and Riverside County. That was a death sentence! You said you were from there and people would make fun of you. Around 2016-2018ish the IE wasn’t booming like it is now. I was always repping the IE and I was always made fun of. Shout out to Jeff from D1 Booking, he would always book us every week. Whether it was at The Void in San Bernardino or at a random spot, he always showed loved to us and other local bands in the scene. The same bands would get booked together and we got to know each other well. Now it’s so satisfying to see people rep the IE hard! Sure there’s people that weren’t around and then Covid happened. It’s cool though, I’m not going to throw shade, I appreciate people repping the scene now. I want the IE and the scene to continue growing and progressing in the right direction. I’m grateful the IE really made me, straight up. I see a lot of the same people around, being active and helping out. I’m glad that the scene’s booming.
ECZ: Definitely agree with you a thousand percent. I’m glad it’s getting the recognition it deserves. last question to wrap up this interview, I always see you out there going hard in the pit, what’s your favorite mosh move?
BRAXTON: Yo shout out to Brad! He called it the windshield wiper, It was funny. I do this thing with my arms. I’ve got crazy wingspan. The stick man is fun. I call it the stick man. I’m always wearing cowboy boots so before every show I like putting the boot and plate emoji like “who’s gonna eat these boots?!” Lol. You have to do spin kicks, but I’m also like a punk and metalhead at heart. Side to sides, pogos, and circle pits are all cool, but I just like moshing in general you know. If you see a bunch of circle pitters let them cook. If you see a bunch of dancers let them cook. The mixing of both is where you have fights. Before it was really integrated, they used to be two totally different worlds. I remember I was the metal guy at the beatdown shows and you couldn’t really mix in. You would get mopped out. You had a 37 year old with a Throwdown hoodie on trying to fight kids lol. Mosh etiquette is a thing for sure.
It’s always a great time catching up with Braxton and seeing his bands perform live! Make sure you catch Enkased starting February 20th-23rd. See the location and where to buy tickets on all socials listed below.
Support Braxton’s bands on:
IG:http://instagram.com/enkased.ca
http://instagram.com/shredxbundy
*Disclaimer: All text copyright El Corazón Zine 2025. Do not duplicate without expressed permission and fair use*