Interview with Nathan Gray of BoySetsFire

We had the pleasure of interviewing Nathan Gray of Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses, and BoySetsFire over Zoom video!
In support of the new record, Rebel Songs, melodic alt-punk band Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses has just announced a 20-date US tour with BlackGuyFawkes. Kicking off on February 25, 2022 in Providence, RI, the tour winds its way west making several stops out to Milwaukee, WI (3/7), Chicago, IL (3/9), back east with a show in Brooklyn, NY (3/16), and ending in Philadelphia, PA on March 18th.
With nearly two years absent from the road, the prospect of upcoming tour dates thrills frontman Nathan Gray. “It’s the connection that I am most excited about,” he smiles. “Any time I am not on the road, there is an intense void in my life because being on stage is like my personal therapy couch. There is a very palpable energy exchange that happens within live music. It’s very symbiotic - I need my audience as much as they need me! Not being able to tour for so long was a real challenge for me to stay above the darkness mentally - that’s why I wrote the album that I did!”
Refusing to allow this confinement due to COVID to block his creativity, Gray and band turned inward to music and created one of their most anthemic and passionate albums to date. Fired up by both the isolation as well as in response to the division caused by the previous administration, they created a stellar album of fists-raised rallying cries.
While the tempo and delivery of his current music may not be as aggressively rapid as his output of his hardcore roots in BoySetsFire, the passion and conviction is still very much alive in the alternative Rebel Songs. The 12 track album was produced by Brian McTernan (Thrice, Hot Water Music, Circa Survive) and radiates the roaring renegade energy that the title suggests.
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[@jeff7764]

BSF and Nathan Gray have been a huge part of my life since 1999. I met them at a show in San Diego in 2003 and to this day I’ve never met a bunch of nicer guys! His new iron roses LP is phenomenal

[@MelBlossom]

Great interview! Thank you so much!
💖🐾🗡️

[@BringinitBackwards]

Thank you so much Mel!! That really means a lot 🙏 So happy you enjoyed the interview!

[@SyluxGaming13]

Great interview. Nathan is such a down to earth guy. Really respect his outlook on everything 🤘

[@BringinitBackwards]

Totally agree! Thanks for the kind works Cloud! 🔥

[@shakashaka2833]

This man’s voice, music, & incredibly loving compassionate yet assertive philosophy in the diy scene, and unwavering courage & love to express it literally saved my life growing up.
Heard of them in the initial records comps and catalogs, ordered their his bands ep and album in the snail mail! His music and him as a person formed me in so many ways.
Remember reading about them in a zine from initial records too where their message was expressed.
They came to emos in Austin and it was such transcendent experience. Hearing his solo & latest material is soothing my heart even now as I am finally gettting proper health care for the first time in my adult life.
Up to recently I likely hadn’t heard his unmistakeable spiritual cleansing voice in over a decade.
And here we are and is further elaborating and picking up where he left off again with the same powerful message and admittedly a sophistication that only shows when someone has truly decided to walk courageous through the world yet was able to reconcile the rage and transform it into unstoppable love, compassion and joyful acceptance of the inherent dignity of humanity.
A divinity and dignity not in the least dependent on fragile foundations such as political, ethnic, or religious foundations. It is common sense in the most spiritual pragmatic real life way.
At the time of hearing his music I was very much involved in the Christian indie, emo, punk scene.
And while the message of transcending the world and Christs love through art was an incredible experience for me in that scene, I would still see the ignorance of mainstream western materialism, bigotry snd prejudice subtly makes itself visible.
Around this time I left the scene all together and sought out Zen, Taoism, and the world of the naturalist health crowd. Folk music and indie that was aligned with healing, nature, and messages of love. I just wanted to be a normal ordinary human who loves and accepts people and makes groovy and passionate music that uplifts humanity.
At that time I did not sense it in any of the diy scene as much, and everything was sounding to some extent the same. Each genera seems like it had its own dogma and rules.
Something I never experienced in the world of the true diy of No Idea records, Hot Water Music, Initial records Louisville and Midwest scenes with Chamberlain and doghouse records. That was what was real to me!
As the millennium rolled on radio rock to indie/emo punk it all fell off for me. I wanted quiet peace, maybe even just the sound of bowls resonating and peaceful world folk styles of music and prayer. Lived always away in nature and with my select friends.
Some of us though went back and listened to old Bsf eps and his song “fall from grace” had me in tears and the child who grew up listening to his voice saw him as a compassionate big brother who assisted me to find my true self and to love who that I am is today and continue to grow from there.
Now sitting in this modern world after this last decade and his voice is fresh alive and current. I actually want to get all the vinyl, tapes, cds and really re discover him through interview like this.
Everything he said here is like a sense of completion to all his prior work and message. Again even after a while I just lost the anger and wanted to finally come to completion with a lot of important messages he had at that time.
And here he is and I am and the sense of joy, vulnerable Integration and continuance of self compassion and uplifting yet non dogmatic message, well it’s some of the most Christ like message that I can imagine. Empathy and humanity are not sourced from ideology, it is from us being our best most beautiful self, the inherent beauty of humanity will always win in through all the trends, he is a timeless minister of peace without any idealogy required. Will continue to explore his music again, his talks and to
learn about his life and message.
He has arrived at such significant stage of life here and now and it’s like meeting back up with your favorite child hood friend and long lost family. From the bottom of my heart much gratitude!

[@BringinitBackwards]

Thank you for sharing your powerful story and for watching this interview! It's amazing to hear how much his music has meant to you over the years. If you don't already, I hope you'll consider subscribing to our RUclips channel. What are some of your favorite songs from him or his bands?