BRAINWASHED PHILADELPHIA, PA
Brainwashed are an old-school style hardcore band out of Philadelphia, PA that should be on your radar if they aren’t already. This band got started in October of 2023 and have already played about 25 shows. Their self-titled debut came out in June of 2024 and their “Bloodbath” EP came out this past September. The band consists of: Christian Debuque (vox) Joey Ross (guitar) Travis McKayle (guitar) Jared Whalen (bass) and Kei Kiatpreecha (drums)… Members of Brainwashed have also been in: Minefield, Impact Driver, Luxe (Joey), The Bad Ups, FLPSDE, Spirit Flaw (Travis), Sunstroke, Spirit Flaw (Christian) and Freezeheads (Kei). This interview took place in late October with their singer Christian. Shout out to Ray Mock (@ParallelOfDeath) & Vinny Barreras (@VinnyBarreras) for the live photos. Lead photo graphics by: @GhostBongo
IE: Hey Christian… The latest from Brainwashed is called “Bloodbath” and almost immediately upon listening it was obvious that the band had made a lot of progress since your June 2024 debut. What has transpired over the past year with the band to push everything to the next level and from a band member perspective do you guys all see the progress as well?
Christian: I think our first release was testing a lot of different ideas and seeing what worked. We knew what our influences were but the direction was slightly unfocused. The first EP was testing the limits of our sound and “Bloodbath” is trimming everything unnecessary off, in my opinion. The second time around we knew exactly what direction we wanted to head in, how we wanted to record it and we were more in sync with each other than ever. Everyone was just firing on all cylinders this time around and I think that shines through in a live recording.
IE: For someone who has never heard Brainwashed before can you give us a couple of FFO (for fans of…) references that you think line up well?
Christian: I always want to say more obscure bands like Government Warning, Out Cold, Caustic Christ… but the truth is we’re ultimately just pulling from Minor Threat, Negative Approach & Agnostic Front with maybe a touch of modern flavor.
IE: “Bloodbath” opens up with an intro that leads into the track “Dead Ends” which I look at as a hardcore punk diss track of sorts. Can you talk about the feelings you are trying to get across in this song and is it aimed at anyone in particular?
Christian: Ha, yeah I guess it kind of is a diss track. I think that there’s a pressure to appease a certain kind of hardcore enthusiast (lots of mosh parts, tough guy posturing) or to get the approval of any number of local promoters so that they put you on whether you’re good or not. I think this is just a raw expression of wanting your music to be acknowledged on the merit of the music itself without having to kiss anyone’s ass to get them to give you the time of day.
BRAINWASHED @ COMMON BEAT MUSIC, PHILADELPHIA, PA SEPTEMBER 26, 2024. PHOTO BY: VINNY BARRERAS
IE: The lyrics throughout “Bloodbath” for the most part are dark and bleak. I do like the way they are written as they are easy to grasp and are not written in a way where it is completely left open for interpretation. How do you usually get in “the zone” with putting lyrics together?
Christian: Hardcore music is aggressive and I may rewrite a song a couple of times to capture the essence of what I’m really mad about. Hardcore is also better when it’s simple. So trying to distill complicated feelings into simple lyrics can be challenging but that’s always my goal. The right words usually come to me at any given moment which then helps me shape the rest of the song. There’s no real reason to it… just sort of happens that way.
IE: From a hardcore lyrical standpoint what are some bands and frontmen/women where you love reading their lyrics and can totally relate to their message?
Christian: George from Blacklisted. John Brannon-always. Rob Watson from Pure Disgust. Ian Mackaye was probably the first time I felt like lyrics were speaking directly to me. Outside of hardcore, I always admired Evan Dando’s (The Lemonheads) way of packing a lot into simple lyrics. I’m definitely forgetting many more but those are the immediate ones that come to mind.
BRAINWASHED @TRANS-PECOS, QUEENS, NYC MAY 3, 2025. PHOTO BY: RAY MOCK
IE: What can you tell us about the very first Brainwashed show?
Christian: Our first show was at Foto Club (RIP) in Philadelphia. I think our debut EP was only out for a couple weeks at that point. We played with The Berserk, Lottery and Target Scammers. Every band was awesome. If I recall, we were really tight. We had obsessively practiced those songs for over 6 months. Sparsely attended but we still gigged our hearts out.
IE: Who are the other members of the band and can you give us an interesting fact about each of them?
Christian: Joey is a chef and plays in 2 other active bands. Travis is a mason and also plays in two other active bands. Trav and I have known each other for my entire life… we were neighbors for the first years of my life and stayed friends/played music together over the last 32 years. Kei is an incredible musician… he teaches drums for a living and gigs as a jazz drummer outside of the band. Jared is usually a guitar player but we needed a bassist so he stepped up and honestly shreds.
IE: You are an illustrator and run a biz called Ghost Bongo. Was being an illustrator something you wanted to do since you were a little kid and is it your full time gig or is it more of a freelance type of thing? Have you worked with other people from the hardcore scene and what kind of services do you offer?
Christian: Yeah, I always wanted to be an illustrator. Probably since seeing a Garfield comic strip. It’s something I do outside of my full-time job. I take on whatever I have time to do but I’ve worked with a few hardcore bands… No Model, Velocity, Gouge Away come to mind. I did the art for both of our EP’s. I’m really open to whatever when it comes to other hardcore bands. As long as they have a clear idea of what they want or are cool letting me run with the design in whatever direction it takes me.
BRAINWASHED @TRANS-PECOS, QUEENS, NYC MAY 3, 2025. PHOTO BY: RAY MOCK
IE: Who came up with the name Brainwashed? Does it have any specific meaning or did it just sound cool?
Christian: I actually had the name before I asked anyone to be a part of the band. I was listening to Crumbsuckers “Life Of Dreams” and I wondered if there was any band of note named Brainwashed and turns out there isn’t really! I figured I didn’t really care if the band name was very searchable or if there were 20 punk/hardcore bands named Brainwashed in the last 40 years. I even got the blessing from the frontman of a Chicago-based hardcore band named Brainwashed from the mid-2000s (S/O Diego). I just wanted something that sounded classic and simple that (maybe) wouldn’t get us a cease and desist.
IE: What are some of the up and coming bands from your area or just in general that you have either played with or want to play with? I noticed you have had some weekenders with No Model and Demonstrate.
Christian: No Model and Demonstrate are near and dear to us. We adore them and if you haven’t checked them both out you really should. But other than them… Early Grave is awesome. I really fuck with Identity Shock and Grand Scheme. We’ve played a couple shows with The Tarrys and Search Warrant… both bands are great with great people in them. Lastly, keep your eye on Sunstroke… word on the street is they’re cooking up something big.
IE: Anything else you wanted to add before we wrap this up? Thanks for your time.
Christian: Our next shows are with Alienator at the Meatlocker (11/10 in Montclair, NJ) and Common Beat Music (11/11 in Philadelphia) and anyone close by should come through! We might be slowing things down for a while but we’re still aiming to write and record some new songs soon so stay tuned.
BRAINWASHED @ COUSIN DANNY’S PHILADELPHIA, PA NOVEMBER 11, 2025. PHOTO BY: VINNY BARRERAS
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