The Bronx---“Doomed from the start…but, you know, in a positive way.”

“One of the things you learn about and come to appreciate in bands is how important chemistry is. It was kind of doomed from the start…but, you know; in a positive way.”

Backstage at Richard’s on Richards on a recent Vancouver tour stop, the Link caught up with Matt Caughthran, lead vocalist of LA based punkers the Bronx. Matt was humble and candid---not at all what you’d expect based on his hardcore punk vocals.

The quintet, who recently released its third full-length record, the aptly named Bronx III, is rounded out by Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne on guitar and backing vocals, Jorma Vik behind the skins and Brad Magers on bass and backing vocals.

Matt was extremely passionate about their latest effort. “We worked our ass off on it and it’s really good,” he explained. He continued that for the first time, the band felt as if it had complete freedom. “We built our own studio and it was really cool because it felt like the most organic and homemade record we’ve ever done. Everything was done by us from the ground up, going back to the studio itself. And when it came time to write, we kind of took a shoot from the hip, for lack of a better term, approach. You have a tendency to over think everything when you create something, especially if it’s near and dear to your heart. The record’s got a really loose feel to it and it separates itself from the other two records that way.”

Now being from LA, the perpetual question: why name the band the Bronx? “When we started out, we had this grand idea of doing things different and opposite and we liked the way the Bronx just kind of made no sense,” laughed Matt. “We’re all from LA. It made sense to us, but we figured that everyone else would be confused; so it had to be a good thing.”

The good natured frontman took the time to clear up the mystery surrounding El Bronx; an act that won Spin Magazine’s best set at SXSW and is being hailed as somewhat of a side project, but not really. “El Bronx is a mariachi record, kind of like an alter ego of the Bronx. It’s all the members of the Bronx plus one. And it’s all traditional mariachi music.” Doesn’t really seem like something a traditional punk band would be involved in. Matt explained, “growing up in LA, I’ve been deeply affected by Hispanic culture and inspired by it. I grew up in a Mexican neighbourhood and it’s just kind of something that you can’t ignore, especially if you were born there.”

But the real draw to the mariachi music is the challenge. “It would be very lazy of us to not try and push ourselves to deliver original music and the best stuff that we can do. That’s where the idea came from. You live for moments like this when you’re an artist because everything was so inspired; not that Bronx isn’t inspired. But this is like real virgin inspiration. It was an unbelievable feeling making this record, I’m very, very proud of it and I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

The members of the Bronx always try to remain true to themselves and draw from a myriad of influences, something Matt thinks their fans can appreciate. “Fans can tell when something’s real or when something’s forced; or at least when a band is even trying to do something different. It’s frustrating when you hear a band that’s just given up, afraid to do anything different or even try to challenge themselves. I think our fans really understand what we’re trying to do and what the band’s about and they care about that. And that’s what makes music more than music.”

Look for El Bronx is stores soon.