Review Fix chats with Worth Taking’s Jerod McBryer, who discusses the band’s new album “Hangman,” as well as the band’s origin and creative process.
Review Fix: How did the band get together?
Jerod McBryer: The band officially formed in 2011 when I moved to San Francisco. We had a few folks come in and out since then, but have really solidified the line-up in the last two years.
Review Fix: What’s the standout song on Hangman? How was it written?
McBryer:Â Right now, I’d have to say “Different Now.” It being track 6 on the record, it corresponds to step 6 in the 12 Step Program. It’s the half-way point and I think it’s a really interesting point to dig into. It’s all about reflection and how you have to look backwards in order to look forward.
Review Fix:Â What’s the band’s creative process like?
McBryer:Â Well, I’ll write a skeleton of a song and then Chris and Chase will help me flesh it out. If you hear any demos from the songs I write, you’ll realize just how much they bring to the table.
Review Fix: Why does Pop Punk still matter?
McBryer: Pop Punk still matters because people are asking if it still matters. I think the worst thing for music is for it to be ignored. If it’s still polarizing and people are still talking about it, it still has some value in society, regardless of how small the subset. That said, I don’t even know if we fit into the mold of what Pop Punk really is. However, that’s the quick and easy term to describe the bands that inspire us and we are happy to keep making this kind of music.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
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