A Fate Like Yours
by: Captain Awesome

 A Fate Like Yours. Interviewed by Cinz

A Fate Like Yours… How did the name originate? Who decided on the name? How long did it take before you all agreed on a name you were all happy with?

Well we actually started off as a “nameless” group, you know the type that would get together for band practice purely because we enjoyed what we were doing. As we decided to take our music a step further we realized that a name was kinda necessary! It was literally an afternoon where we sat brain storming different names and Ryan suggested A Fate Like Yours, we were sold! After checking on Google to make sure it wasn’t taken by some other famous group we were like “Ok let’s do this sh*t!” and A Fate Like Yours was born.

Introduce yourselves and what your role in the band is?

For those of you who have seen us play you’ll know we’re a pretty awesome 6 man band. We’re headed by 2 out of this world vocalists, Brad Morrison and Shon Larsen. Our ear shredding guitarists are Greg Daly and Ryan Daly (We figure being a cool guitarist must run in the family!) The bass is ruled by Dean Branson and our drummer is the very talented – Leon Van Rooyen, you seriously need to hear this guy play!

What do you all do for a living?

Greg (19) – I’m in my first year of Chemical Engineering at WITS University, yeah yeah pretty impressive I know! Call me if you’re interested in one of the “smart” guys ;)

Dean (20) – I’m studying Marketing through Vega College

Leon (21) – This may come as a shock to some but I’m actually studying Accounting through Monash, who would’ve thought an Accountant would be spend his spare time playing for a Metalcore band!

Shon (19) – Well it’s a sad story actually… I’m currently unemployed with 2 kids, a wife and a rabbit to feed… Any donations will help and be greatly appreciated!

Brad (19) – I’m currently doing a TV Presenting course through SABC Studios

Ryan (20) – I’m the Assistant Manager for a company called S.D Electronics

What inspired you to start making music?

There are a number of different things that inspire each of us. All of us enjoy listening to well written metal music and it gradually developed into a love for making some of our own. The role models we have in the SA music scene are incredible and the metal fans make creating and performing our stuff an unforgettable experience, being on stage is like a high and drives us to want to put together more and more material.  Greg was under the impression that chicks dig guys that can play guitar, his theory is yet to be proven true! Dean has the motto “metal for life” which says it all! Brad was drawn in by the passion you feel when you’re in a crowd moshing to a band up on stage and he wanted to re-create that passion for others. Shon joined the rest of us at a band practice and was instantly hooked, we all knew Brad needed a wing man! Ryan can pretty much thank his mom for blasting blues and rock ever since he was a kid, growing up listening to great artists fuels the want to be just as great, or at least try! We’ve just found that when you’re doing something that you love, you’re automatically inspired.

For your adoring female fans… What is the relationship status of each member?

Well firstly we have to say that we really do have some amazing female fans that make each and every crowd way more fun to look at! Secondly, we’ll let you ladies know that you are in luck here, except for Ryan (who loves his girlfriend very much) we’re all currently on the market! ;) Phone numbers are always readily accepted

Who writes your songs (lyrics and music) and what inspires you?

Brad and Shon are the ones that put together the lyrics and when it comes to the music we have a pretty shared role of each adding elements that we like to our songs. We find it’s important to keep our minds open to the ideas put up by each of us. We all have great material to add and our combined efforts are what make our music. The lyrics are largely influenced by life experiences, we find this adds a much greater meaning to our songs, something people can relate to.

Who are your major influences and why?

There are a number of bands, both local and international, that have influenced where we have chosen to take our music. The major ones are Facing the Gallows, Kill the Messenger, Miss May I, As Blood Runs Black, All Shall Perish, Bring me the Horizon and Between the Buried and Me. Each of us has been driven by the mastery these musicians posses and the passion with which they share their extraordinary skills.

How often and where do you hold your band practices? How long do they generally last for?

We generally get together once a week for a 3 hour practice at our drummer Leon’s house. When prepping for gigs or recordings we’ll often meet about 3 times a week just to make sure we’ve got things as perfect as we can have them.

Assuming I have never seen A Fate Like Yours, how would you motivate me to come to one of your gigs?

Greg – I’m gonna be there, that’s enough of a reason to pull through ;)

Brad – I’d ask you politely to join us and if that didn’t work I’d try bribing you with something! Haha

Dean – Be there for brutal breakdowns. Enough said.

Shon – We are more metal than your mom’s kettle!

Ryan – We always have an awesome time and the more people we have there the better! You’ve gotta see us to know the passion we have for what we’re doing

Leon – We normally play alongside pretty awesome bands, so if you’re in the scene then coming to one of our gigs will be well worth it

How would you describe your music? What genre would you classify it as?

Elvis with distortion! (Metalcore/Deathcore/Thrash)

List the venues you have played at and/or festivals you’ve performed at?

We’ve played at the following venues:

• Black Dahlia (Boksburg)
• Sundowners (Alberton)
• Cool Runnings (Fourways)
• Random House Parties
• Boston Rock Lounge (Edenvale)
• The Asylum (Edenvale)
• Full Moon Lounge (Pretoria)
• Foxies (Randburg)

Favourite venue to play at and why?

Sundowners Alberton definitely has to be one of our favourites. They have an amazing stage with awesome sound, it’s only R12 a draft, the people that party there are the sh1t, the bands that are booked there are always good and there is a great vibe at every event held there.

Least favourite venue to play at and why?

We can’t say we have a “least favourite venue”. Every gig we play is an opportunity to do what we love and we’re always grateful to the venues that host us. There have been times where some nights have just been a letdown with regards to the sound equipment and event organization but we’ve still embraced every chance we’ve had to share our passion for this music.

Your biggest achievement or challenge as a band?

Currently our biggest challenge is trying to make it big in the South African metal industry. We’ve only been together as a band for the last 7 months so we know we’re still at the early stages but we feel we’re ready and are hoping for a big break!

What do you do for fun – when you’re not gigging?

Ryan – Chilling, playing soccer or Play station and my girlfriend J

Brad – Partying, having a good time

Leon – I like drinking beer…

Dean – Making music, chilling, playing guitar

Greg – I’m addicted to porn! LOL

Shon – The 3 B’s baby! (Booze, B1tches and Blunts)

Any person you’d like to be for a day? Why have you chosen this person? How would you spend this day?

Shon – I’d like to be a porn star for a day, do I need a reason why?? (Kidding!)

Brad – I think it would be awesome to be Carmen Electra so I could feel myself up :P

Greg – I’d be me. Duh! I’m awesome!

Ryan, Dean, Leon – Lol yeah I’d be Greg for a day but then I’d probably spend all my time looking at myself in the mirror. Hmmm…. What a waste!

Pick-up lines… J We’ve all used them/heard them… What are your favourites, or the ones that have worked for you guys (or earned you a **** slap)?

Dean – “Hey babe, let’s do 68. You go down on me and I’ll owe you 1” (Definitely slap material!)

Ryan – “Hey baby, how about a pizza and a bang? (NO!!!) What’s wrong? You don’t like pizza?”

Shon – “Can I please have a picture of you? (Why?) So I can show Santa what I want for Christmas”

Greg – “Is that a mirror in your pocket? ‘Cause I can see myself in your pants”

Leon – “If I flip a coin what are the chances of me getting head?”

Brad – “F*#k me if I’m wrong but isn’t your name Susan?”

Where can your fans hear your music and/or find out more about you all?

You can find us on

• Facebook (www.facebook.com/afatelikeyours)
• MySpace (www.myspace.com/fatelikeyours)
• Make Some Noise (www.makesomenoise.co.za/a_fate_like_yours).
• Our gigs are often available on the SA Music website (www.SAMusic.co.za) and you can SMS “SAM AFLY” to 35010 for a listing of our registered upcoming gigs.

How supportive are your friends and family regarding the band?

All our friends and family are really supportive. We love you guys!

As a band, what are your goals?

Our goal is just to have as much fun as possible and to make the best music we can for ourselves and for the people who love our genre.

Any upcoming gigs we can look forward to in the near future?

We currently have 2 confirmed upcoming gigs - Death Fest and Slam Fest. We’re not too sure about dates just yet but all our gigs are regularly loaded on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/afatelikeyours). We are all actually pretty busy with exams at the moment and with the World Cup coming up we are planning on taking this next month easy.

Any final thank you’s, random statements, or things you’d like to share with us?

We’d like to send a big thanks to Make Some Noise and Cindy Bigwood for organizing this interview and the constant support. And then to ALL our fans, a massive thank you! You guys are legends!

  Save to del.icio.us

Would you like to comment?