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Interview with
GRIFFIN TAYLOR
and
JEREMIAH PUGH
from
VENDED

(3rd March, 2025)

Interview with Dave Bruce

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Check out the full transcription below

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VENDED: From Basements to Global Stages

It’s always a pleasure to chat with up-and-coming bands that are making waves in the metal scene, and today, I had the chance to speak with Jeremiah Pugh and Griffin Taylor from Vended. Fresh off the plane and soaking up the Australian sun, the band is in town for Knotfest, sharing the stage with heavyweights like Slipknot, A Day to Remember, and Within Temptation.

The Journey Begins

Vended’s story started back in middle school when guitarist Cole Espeland approached Griffin Taylor with a simple question: “Want to be in a band?” Taylor’s response? “Sure, why the hell not.” That moment sparked the creation of a group that would evolve over the years, adding members along the way—Simon Crahan on drums, Jeremiah Pugh on bass, and Connor Grodzicki on guitar.

“Simon really pushed us to start writing music and to find our sound,” Taylor shared. “From there, we grew as musicians and as people, and eventually, we got our full lineup together.”

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Finding Their Sound

Unlike many new bands eager to hit the stage immediately, Vended took a different approach. “One of the biggest mistakes young bands make is rushing to perform before they truly find their sound,” Taylor explained. “We wanted to take our time, experiment, and figure out who we are before stepping into the spotlight.”

That dedication to honing their craft paid off. In 2023, they released their debut album, which received an overwhelmingly positive reception. “We put our hearts into this record,” Taylor said. “It’s been amazing to see people connect with it.”

The Performance Bug

Despite their initial reluctance to perform right away, Taylor always knew he was meant for the stage. “I was that kid who loved singing and performing. I did choir, barbershop quartet, even show choir—but I hated that because of the dancing,” he laughed. “Eventually, the band took a heavier direction, and once you cross into metal, there’s no going back.”

Pugh, on the other hand, grew up dreaming of something different. “Honestly, I never thought I’d be doing this,” he admitted. “But being here now, getting to play in places like Australia—it’s insane.”

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Knotfest and Beyond

Being part of Knotfest is a huge milestone for Vended, and the excitement is palpable. “It’s surreal to be on the same bill as Slipknot,” Taylor said. “Playing alongside legends is an honor.”

The band has a busy year ahead, including a U.S. tour with Bury Tomorrow and While She Sleeps. “We’re going to be on the road a lot this year, supporting the new album and getting our music out to as many people as possible,” Pugh said.

Final Thoughts

As our chat wrapped up, Taylor reflected on their journey so far. “It’s all about hard work, patience, and finding who you are as a band. Playing gigs is fun, but if you want to make this your life, you have to put in the work behind the scenes.”

Vended is a band with ambition, talent, and a clear vision for their future. If their trajectory so far is anything to go by, they’re set to carve out a lasting place in the metal scene.

Catch them at Knotfest and keep an eye out for their upcoming tours—this is just the beginning for Vended.

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Follow VENDED
Website – Instagram – Facebook – Tik Tok

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Check out the full transcription below

Sylwia: Hello guys. It was difficult to catch you. So I’m happy we get to talk finally. hi. You’re in Australia already, right? Are you enjoying the weather? It’s a bit hot today.
Griffin Taylor: I’m in love honestly, like I’m loving the weather. We have snow in Iowa. We’re coming here from snow. So like it was freezing cold and honestly, I, me personally, I’m getting real fucking sick and tired of being in dry climates, like really dry weather. But I’m just happy that there’s some form of heat and a little bit of humidity. Like that’s, it’s great on my sinuses and you know what, I don’t like the cold. I’ve never liked the cold.

Sylwia: Yeah, it’s, you know, coming from Europe, I’ve lived in places where we would get minus 25 degrees in winter. So. You know, moving to Australia is quite an upgrade if you ask me.
Griffin: Fair, very fair. It’s like the difference between going from like Canada all the way to LA.

Sylwia: Can you just briefly introduce yourselves and tell me more about the band? How did it start? How did you make it happen in 2018?
Griffin: Well, first off I am Griffin Taylor. I am the vocalist.
JJ: I’m JJ the bass player.
Griffin: Vended started many many years ago back in middle school with me and Cole our guitarist He came up and asked if I wanted to be in the band and I said sure why the hell not and so me and him Started it together He is, he and I are technically the founding members. Him more specifically because he popped the question.

Sylwia: And you said yes.
Griffin: Yeah, and I was like, yeah, sure, fuck it. And so we started, you know, doing band practices and playing some covers in his basement. Started getting more and more members. Eventually we got Simon in and Simon pushed us to start writing music as well as, you know, trying to find our noise. Eventually we then got JJ and then from JJ we then got Grodd and hence then it’s been the five of us and we have been going around kicking ass and taking names, writing as much as we can and learning more and more about ourselves and then eventually wrote our very first album just last year.

Sylwia: Yeah, you did. that’s, you know, it got a very warm welcome. Clearly you’re doing very well and you’re going to be basically another amazing metal band coming from Des Moines, Iowa.
Griffin: Yeah, we’re trying. That’s what it is about.

Sylwia: You mentioned that you started to discover your sound and all of that. Well, that’s a good question because Simon the drummer who’s not here with us today, he initially wanted to be an MMA fighter and you started singing at a school choir.
Griffin: Yeah, Simon wanted to be an MMA fighter, initially wanted to go to college and actually learning business and stuff like that too. And then he eventually was just like, you know what, let’s do this. For me, yeah, no, had well, it’s in it. You also got to take in mind like that kid shit of like, I want to be like a police officer type shit. There was there was one that me and a friend of mine constantly joke. He constantly makes fun of me in like in a very wholesome way. He was he was there was one time where I was like, I want to be a florist. But yeah, but in school I did choir, I did barbershop quartet. There was one year where I did show choir and I fucking hated it because it was dancing and singing at the same time. yeah, no, and like singing has just been a massive, massive part of my life, like singing, performing and doing intricate things has been like a huge part of my childhood and my adulthood.  I mean, there are times like when there were times that that my parents remember me with a little fucking cane doing a meal bamboo from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and dancing to step in time, which yeah, I really, I just loved, you know, performing and singing and doing, you know, little weird stuff like that. Just a kid’s thing, basically. Yeah. And then eventually, and then eventually my band was like, we’re being metal, we’re doing hard shit. And I was like, okay, cool.

Sylwia: That’s the line, once you cross it, you just can’t go back, basically. Yeah. All right, cool.
Griffin: Then I guess I’m sending monkey memes to my fucking band. Ape mode. Yes.

Sylwia: Talking about performing, you say that you always loved doing that as a kid, but when you started the band, you guys actually decided not to do gigs for a while. Why was that?
Griffin: Well, the main reason why we didn’t want to do gigs immediately. This is a conversation that I’ve had with many people. It’s great advice that I like to give people is that the… the most common mistake that beginning bands make is that they immediately want to put themselves out there. They immediately want to go and start performing and doing gigs and stuff like that. From what I’ve learned, just from conversation, and lessons and stuff like that, is that immediately trying to put yourself out there actually cripples you because not only does that shit kind of stick with you forever, but also the best thing that you can do is to really, really put yourself into the mindset of who are we and what are we talking about and what is our sound. Getting into the workshop, really looking over the blueprints, finding all of the members’ inspirations and really trying to build yourself to what do we want to look like, what do we want to be and what is our branding and what is the message that we’re trying to speak about.

Sylwia: Essentially how you want to present yourself before you actually step on the stage.
Griffin: Exactly. And I mean, we went and did our very first show, fuck, what was it, like 2019, 2018, some shit like that. And then lockdown happened. And, you know, that gave us more, it was a double edged sword is the way that I like to describe it because not, because we were like, you know, had to isolate and be away from, you know, people that we loved, but it also gave us time to really hone in on our art and our craft and hone in on ourselves and our personalities and who we were as people and as brothers and as band members. And it gave us time to really find our noise, find our sound, and really, really perfect our craft.

Sylwia: That’s definitely a great advice. I think that many small artists who are trying to be where you are right now will appreciate. as you say, many bands I know personally will just play gigs every week.
Griffin: Yeah. they’re like, like playing gigs and doing stuff like that. Like that’s all fine. That’s all well and good, but it’s a dopamine rush. It, it, it, lasts like five seconds because you know what, you know the saying your time flies when you’re having fun. but if you really want to make it, if you really want to stand out, if you really want to, you know, make this your living you’ve got to take that time to really just go in and just be in the workshop, in like scanning the blueprints, really fucking trying A and then trying B and then seeing what works. It all takes time because not only does it help the band and it helps the art and it helps the music, but it also helps the it also helps the work ethic. Because you go from learning about, you know, how to be a band and how to, you know, write music and how to do all the artsy fartsy stuff. And then comes the challenge of learning how to tour, learning how to be, learning the, what’s the word that I’m looking for? Ethics of like being at a gig, being at a venue and like, a bit like the sort of kindness or what’s the word that I’m looking for? basically just like the ethics of like being at a gig and not getting in the way of other bands that are playing there and also the people that are working to make this happen. And also then comes touring out of state and all around.

Sylwia: Talking about touring, guys, you are in Australia for a good reason. You’re playing at Knotfest starting basically tomorrow, Friday. So Jeremiah, how does it feel for you to be playing with bands like the biggest names on the scene Within Temptation, A Day to Remember, Slipknot as well?
JJ: It’s really, really cool. I’m too young to listen to A Day to Remember and stuff like that. But I mean, I know the one Warped Tour song, I guess. But I mean, like it’s really, really cool. And especially to travel out of country and be in Australia someplace we’ve never ever been before. And growing up a place I’d never, ever thought I’d ever be at.

Sylwia: So it’s your first time in Australia ever?
JJ: Yeah.

Sylwia: That’s amazing. And what’s next for for Vanded, what are you guys planning?
Griffin: We have a US tour coming up in April with Bury Tomorrow and While She Sleeps and we’re just going to be touring really, really hard for the rest of this year to support our new album.

Sylwia: All right, well, that’s perfect. I think we have to finish just as you said, Griffin, time flies when you’re having fun.
Griffin: Sorry, I tend to ramble and my…Whenever there’s a word that I’m trying to look for, my brain just kind of stutters a bit.

Sylwia: That’s fine. You know, that’s perfectly fine. I think that whoever watches this podcast will have a lot of fun watching it. And they will also find a lot of information that they would love to hear, especially for artists, you know. Yeah. So thank you guys. Enjoy your time in Australia. Get some sun.

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Knotfest

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AMNPLIFY – DB