The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Bram the Bard of Wizard Tattoo

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I guess I’d say I’m a music maker. I take songs that are banging around in my head, organize them a bit, record them, and then share them. I’ve found it to be an addictive but cathartic experience.

I got into playing music at an early age. My mother put me in piano lessons when I was eight, and when I was older, I played percussion in my high school marching band. I got my first guitar when I was 16 and played drums in a garage band with some friends covering songs by Nirvana and Metallica. When I was in my mid-20s and 30s, I played guitar, bass, drums, and/or keyboards in a few different classic rock cover bands around Southern Indiana. We mainly played songs by ZZ Top, The Allman Brothers, The Doors, etc.

Listening to and playing music has always been a big part of my life. Recording and releasing music was just the next logical step.

Describe your first musical memory.

Embarrassingly enough, my first musical memory is of listening to Kenny Rogers when I was around six or seven. I’m pretty sure I got into him because of watching the Gambler movies, but I had several of his tapes on cassette and would listen to them on long road trips with my family. It was the first music that I remember listening to outside of whatever my parents would put on, and I still think “The Gambler” is a cool song. I don’t care what anyone says!

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I have a lot of fond memories of playing in classic rock cover bands in dive bars around Southern Indiana, but I’d have to say my best musical memory is going to see an Indianapolis punk band called Sloppy Seconds when I was in junior high. I had some older friends that got me into heavier music and they took me with them. It was my first real show without an adult and it’s still one of the greatest experiences of my life. No other concert has topped it since.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

The recent event with our Supreme Court overturning abortion rights is very concerning, and it’s really tested my belief in this country and what it stands for. I never thought that we’d take such a giant step backward like this and it’s scary to see it happening.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I honestly don’t know. I started recording music because I wanted to get the songs that were stuck in my head out. Hopefully, my music will keep progressing and improving, and I’ll get better at expressing myself with more complex arrangements and better performances. I don’t know what the end looks like, but I bet it will be pretty cool.

How do you define success?

If just a few people listen to and like my music, I’ll consider it a success. That’s all I need.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I absolutely loved the first three movies growing up and that last one soured how I view them now. They’re making another sequel too which I think is criminal. Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’ve got three new songs that I’ve written for Wizard Tattoo that I’m excited about recording and releasing as part of a full-length album next year. My wife and I are also working on an ’80s synth-rock project that’s different than anything I’ve ever done before.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To connect people with one another. I think art is the purest form of communication that we have. Words are a clunky way to express ourselves, but you can listen to a song or look at a painting, and really connect with how someone felt when they created it and what they truly were trying to say.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Going to shows with friends, spending time with my family, and just chilling in a hammock with a beer in my backyard

https://www.facebook.com/wizardtattooband
https://www.instagram.com/wizardtattooband/
https://twitter.com/thewizardtattoo
https://wizardtattoo.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/wizardtattoo

Wizard Tattoo, Wizard Tattoo (2022)

Also known for his work in Rat King, Indianapolis-based Bram the Bard would steps forth with the self-titled debut EP from Wizard Tattoo, which, yes, is about a wizard tattoo. An apparently evil one at that. Bolstered by the jazzy flourish of “A Wizard’s Lie,” the four-tracker offers gritty fuzz and melodic experimentation in the sense of seeming to feel out where it wants to go while relying on an underlying foundation of songwriting and narrative.

It’s been out since last Friday, so yes, the internet has already foisted heaps of hyperbole at its feet, but that will happen. Constantly. As you approach, think of Wizard Tattoo as an initial salvo more than a fully-developed end product and you might be able to get more of a sense of where Mr. The Bard might ultimately take the project, laying claim as the songs do to garage doom, a bit of more extreme sludge rock on the righteously titled “Wizard Knife Fight (At a Bar)” (where else?) and atmospheric organ cinematography on the closer “No Return.”

If Bram is in it for a longer haul, there’s at very least no shortage of directions laid out here along which the band might move forward.

That’s the deal, here’s the art, info, links and audio via the PR wire:

Wizard Tattoo Unleash Enchanting Self-Titled EP

Wizard Tattoo is an Indianapolis based rock band by multi-instrumentalist Bram the Bard that summons catchy riffs with progressive and heavy elements. Wizard Tattoo is the self-titled debut concept EP which tells the story of a man who starts hearing a dark voice shortly after getting a tattoo. Throughout the four tracks, listen to his musical journey of delusion. Is he really becoming a wizard or is he just going mad?

Purchase digital album: https://wizardtattoo.bandcamp.com/releases

Bram the Bard comments:

“Wizard Tattoo is a culmination of influences from classic rock to doom metal. It takes two played-out concepts “tattoos of wizards” and bands with the name “Wizard” in their name and mashes them together. It’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek but came about from a midlife crisis that I went through during the pandemic. I think everyone gets to a certain point in their life where they evaluate their accomplishments, choices, and their very existence. Some people push through and keep going, and others end up self-destructing. Unfortunately, our protagonist in the EP chooses the latter and goes off the deep end. It’s a journey, and I hope everyone comes along for the ride!”

Conjuring up a storm, the title track delivers a captivating heavy doom sound with distorted guitars and groove rhythms. Transitioning into a spellbinding progressive bridge of orchestration and electronics, the narrative of Wizard Tattoo emerges through the eerie atmosphere. ‘A Wizard’s Lie’ ventures into realms of jazz influences with non-standard time signatures and intricate guitar leads, interspersed with necromantic manifestations of heavy fuzz. Bringing a touch of magic to the barroom brawl, ‘Wizard Knife Fight’ explores in greater detail the actions of the protagonist with a touch of humour and epic guitar riffs. Accompanied by the soft patter of rainfall, a bewitching acoustic guitar and folk harmonies divines a serene but sombre mood.

Wizard Tattoo is not your conventional fairy tale. See what happens when ink goes wrong in this not-so-enchanting story of dark sorcery, told through dynamic guitars, ghostly vocals and genre-crossing instrumentation.

Credits:

All music by Bram the Bard
Mixed and Mastered at Garage Fire Recordings, Indianapolis, IN
Album artwork by Zi F. Tam

Track-list:

1. Wizard Tattoo
2. A Wizard’s Lie
3. Wizard Knife Fight (At a Bar)
4. No Return

https://www.facebook.com/wizardtattooband
https://www.instagram.com/wizardtattooband/
https://twitter.com/thewizardtattoo
https://wizardtattoo.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/wizardtattoo

Wizard Tattoo, Wizard Tattoo (2022)