Introduce yourselves and your roles in the band.
Hi, we’re Negative 25 – Nashville based rock duo, self-styled as “pop music for emo kids”. We’re Bradley Anderson (singer, bassist, idiot) and Brett Anderson (singer, guitarist, hater, Matthew Lillard fan edit enjoyer).
Tell us the meaning behind your band name.
No.
Okay, fine. It’s from the movie, the Secret Life of Walter Mitty – in the film, he’s kind of this lost, sad guy looking for a reason to live and goes in search of a missing piece of film for a magazine. The photo in question is number 25 on the negative roll, so Negative 25. BUT, if you think we’re about to tell that same story 800 more times, I don’t know what to tell you – so if you see us tell a different origin story, you know why.
(Editor's Note: The band and interviewer have a pre-existing relationship, so the asking and answering of this question was done in a joking manner).
How would you describe the music you make?
Too cringe for pop, too weird for emo – just unlistenable enough to be something else entirely. It’s kind of like if Hot Topic and Claire’s had a joint going out of business sale, and you’re there having a mental breakdown in the 75% off section.
Negative 25 is your second project together. Why did you decide to scrap your first project and reinvent your sound and style for this project?
We grew up as brothers (as far as we know) in a small town in Florida, and made primarily acoustic music simply because that was the environment we knew. Once we stopped touring on our old band project due to COVID, we finally had time to look up and write the songs that fit who we had grown to be since our childhood.
What is it like working together as brothers?
Mario and Luigi, Cole and Dylan, Liam and Chris, Cain and Abel. What do they all have in common? That’s right. They all make emo music. I think there’s something special about working with your brother, because you can commit all kinds of tax fraud.
Some fans have pointed out that Brett has a tattoo of a banjo on his arm. What is the story behind the banjo?
He had extra money to get a tattoo at the time. Yes, it counts as a write-off. Like I said, the tax fraud benefits here are enormous. Also he used to play the banjo.
Will fans get any banjo content in the future?
I mean, never say never. But, no. Never.
You all gained a lot of traction on TikTok. What goes into the creation of your ideas for videos to promote your band?
Honestly, it’s just keeping an open conversation about what we think our audience might like. We chat everyday about how to better entertain and promote, and it’s really cool and humbling to see people relate and enjoy.
The comment section on your social media posts is one of the funniest places to scroll through. What are some of the funniest comments or messages you’ve ever received?
Once we had a fan with a Garfield profile picture message our account everyday for 100 days telling us we owed them money, along with an update of what Negative 25 song they were listening to that day. I don’t know why we were being shaken down Lebowski style, but I kind of did get used to seeing the messages come through and there was something comforting about the consistency.
You all have played a few one-off shows and joined some bands on a few of their tour dates this past year. What are some memorable moments from those experiences?
Brett signed a man’s nipple by request. Sort of felt like being in a cathedral to me. Something reverential happened inside of us at that moment. I did a few Hail Mary’s.
Do you have any upcoming plans to play more shows or tour in the upcoming future?
We absolutely do. Nothing we can talk about before it’s finalized, sadly, but we plan to play pretty much every stage in America.
Have you had any collaboration experiences with bands or artists in the creation of your music that fans may not know about?
Chris Dudley from Underoath helped out a ton on the creation of our song, “ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?”, and Luke Wild worked on “I Don’t Like Me” from our album. We are working with some cool people for the next year of releases, but can’t talk too much about it yet either.
In this past year, you all have released three singles. Talk about the creation of those songs.
Our producer, John Johnson, usually receives a horrible demo from us – once he peels back the layers of unnecessary distortion, blown out bass, drumming in a different time signature, and the 14 Lil Jon air horn samples I decorate the session with, he can begin. We’ll usually show up in the studio to refine the songwriting, re-record the elements, and do final vocals, leaving our heroic John to fix all the mistakes we made and put the finishing touches of production on them.
These songs are all about our experiences growing up, becoming who we are, and complaining about it.
(Editor's Note: Since this interview, the band has released 2 more singles in 2024).
Should fans be expecting more music in 2024?
I mean, define “music.” But yes. Negative 25 is set to release at least 12 songs this next year. Some of them might even be good.
Negative 25 has been proving in their 3 years making music under this project that they are a force in the music industry. Keep an eye on the band's social media and start streaming their music on a loop to prove that you were listening to them first.
