Interview: Aaron Abraham Gives Up the History of Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Bread is one of the newest young punk rock acts to hit the scene. Coming straight out of Jacksonville Florida, Whole Wheat Bread calls their unique sound "Dirty South Punk Rock". They have opened for veteran punk acts such as GBH and Rancid and they have also worked with hip-hop starts such as Lil' Jon and MURS. I recently caught up with Whole Wheat Bread's guitarist/frontman Aaron Abraham backstage at the Warped Tour where Abraham talked to me about the band, living in Jacksonville Florida, his love of roti and what's like to be a part of WWB!

Associated Content: How long has Whole Wheat Bread been together? When did you guys first get together?

Aaron Abraham: The band came together in Jacksonville Florida, in 2002. Our first show was actually sold out! We opened for a hip-hop group. We have always been into hip-hop but we also grew up listening to punk rock. We grew up listening to both sounds and integrating both sounds into our style of music.

AC: What was it like growing up in Jacksonville?

AA: Well I moved there with I was in the 9th grade. All I can say is it is very, very southern! It has definitely played a part in the style of music we play. Our music does have a southern edge to it.

AC: How did you get on the Warped Tour and why did you guys want to be here?

AA: We are currently on tour with GBH and we are on a break from the tour. We will actually be back in LA later this week...we had the break and we were going to be hitting California anyway so we sent an e-mail to Kevin Lyman (Warped Tour founder) about playing the tour and he said yes. This is a great place to network and it's the ultimate place to win new fans!

AC: How did the band become affiliated with rappers Lil Jon and Murs?

AA: He actually contacted us through My Space! We covered a couple of his tunes on our EP. He wanted us to do some music on his "Crunk Rock" disc. After that happened we asked if he would be down to work with us on our stuff...he even got on stage with us when we opened for Bad Brains. Murs also hit us up on the internet. We got together with him and we actually recorded an acoustic disc with him as the Invincibles. We are not sure when it will be out but it does exist!

AC: The band has gotten a chance to tour with and open for some heavy weights in punk rock including Rancid and Bad Brains. What has that been like?

AA: It has been great! The GBH shows have been dirty punk rock shows...really intense! With Rancid and Bad Brains... it has been cool to work with and tour with bands that you have grown up listening to.

AC: Has race been a factor in the bands career so far?

AA: It can work for you or against you...its funny, on the one hand its punk rock so it's about standing out but when you stand out too much...some folks who show up to the club before we play think it's a gimmick. Once we start playing and they see the band they get the fact that we are the real deal!

AC: D.H. Peligro (drummer for The Dead Kennedys) used to say that because he was a Black punk rocker he felt that sometimes he had to "rock" nine times harder than the average white punk rock kid. Do you feel any sense of that?

AA: Yeah...sometimes it feels like we have to prove ourselves or we have to go the extra mile but again, once people see us on stage and hear us, the get that we are for real!

AC: You have played a few Afro-Punk shows on the east coast put together by James Spooner (director of the Afro-Punk documentary). What has that been like?

AA: The thing about those shows is everyone working behind the scenes is Black! The bands are Black or at the very least have a Black frontman or woman and the audience members are mostly African American! The scene is becoming more diverse everyday and it's a good thing...plus the Afro-Punk festivals usually take place in New York, and I can always find a place that sells roti when I am in NYC, HA!

AC: Roti?! You mean the Trinidadian bread?

AA: Yeah! I was born in Trinidad and I love roti. No matter what town we play in I always try and find the closest store or restaurant that sells roti!

AC: Excellent! What's next for Whole Wheat Bread after the Warped Tour?

AA: We have a new disc coming out called "Hearts of Hoodlums". It will drop October 7th. We will do a club headlining tour and then after that we will be on the road with Suicidal Tendencies!

Become a "bread head" this fall and check out Whole Wheat Bread when they hit your town...and don't forget to bring some roti!