Header photo credit: Damien Capps
Sofas usually don’t play a part in a standard recording setup. But when Elder Bright singer/guitarist Braden Willis cleared his living room to track their debut EP, those pieces of furniture became makeshift acoustic baffles, barricaded around the drums. That’s just the kind of scrappy DIY ingenuity that defines the Wilmington band, never interested in doing things the expected way.
Two years of road-testing songs in and beyond state lines sharpened the group’s material. After months of work (and some life chaos), For Those Found In Liminal Spaces… was finally released in July 2025. They caught my ear with their “indie rock meets post-hardcore” sound, but truly piqued my curiosity when I saw prolific producer Kris Crummett had done the EP’s final mastering. I needed to know more.
Throughout our chat, Willis reflected on a journey that took him from writing “shitty songs” in solitude to finding his musical family and earning praise from industry veterans. While other bands might coast on a debut’s success, they’re already deep in the weeds of their next project, not willing to rest on their laurels.
What got you obsessed with music as a kid?
Braden: I was always listening to music growing up. My father plays guitar and piano and has a good ear for things. But when I first saw Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Going Down” music video, I was like, “This is my music.”
As funny as it is to say, I grew up on Guitar Hero. That exposed me to a bunch of music I hadn’t heard and gave me an outlet to feel like I was playing on a stage for people. Those were the two things that really pushed me to be a musician.
When did you start writing songs? How has that process changed over the years?
Braden: I was writing shitty songs not long after that. Obviously, I’ve improved, but I would say the process remains mostly the same. I was never the guy to learn other people’s songs; I’d rather sit down with a guitar and noodle until I find something that sounds cool. Either I’ll put that away or record it on a voice memo.
Sometimes, you get stuff that works, and other times you don’t. A lot of the songs on the EP were little nuggets that I had around COVID that got built into a full song. Even just two or three notes can be enough to inspire something complete. What I enjoy is building the structure of a song and finding out how these building blocks go together. I want to find ways to make my music interesting without repeating too much. How can I put this song together in a way that makes sense?
Lyrics are weird. They usually come last for me, unless I have an idea that I’ve set on. Usually, it starts with a theme or a phrase that stands out. And if I can get at least two lines that have some kind of message underneath, then I try to expand on it.
Tell me about how Elder Bright came together.
Braden: I’ve always been interested in writing songs. I’m 30 now, and I’ve been doing it my whole life, even though this is the first project I’ve released content for. I took a few years to write material by myself, with the goal of it being a solo project that could be performed with friends or whatever. Then I started looking for musicians to play with. [laughs]
I guess I’ve always had an affinity for being in a band. I ended up finding the guys through past connections, and we’ve all meshed really well.
How would you describe your sound?
Braden: Post-hardcore is probably the genre that I gravitate towards most. I always like to ask people what we remind them of or what genre they think we are, because it’s kind of hard to place us at times. We have some indie pop influences instead of just straight 2000s post-hardcore. I guess we have some emo elements, but that’s not like our whole thing.
Image credit: chewing.glass
It’s melodic but with a heaviness to it, rather than something more noodley like Midwestern emo.
Braden: For sure. I’m a solid guitar player, but I’m not the greatest shredder. When I started this project, my goal was not to overdo it; I just wanted the rest of the instruments to do their thing. I can start with a pretty basic riff, but then our bassist, who’s very much a technical metalhead, will write a much busier groove that elevates my part. He gets to the shreddy stuff while I get more of the catchy melodies.
What was your process of going from writing the EP to recording it? Did you do it all yourself?
Braden: A lot of the demos were tracked myself. All the songs on the EP, except for the last one, have been played out for the last two years. We know these songs pretty well and got to experiment with them to figure out how we wanted them to sound on the recording.
We recorded the EP in my living room. Just cleared everything out, except for some sofas, which we barricaded around the drums. Our guitarist, Jesse, is very technical when it comes to recording; I’m more of the big-picture guy. Once we got the sound where we wanted it, we did drums, guitars, and bass. Most of the work was done over a weekend at my house.
Later on, we added stringed instruments and vocals, which got sent off to be mixed and mastered by someone else.
What was the timeline from that weekend of recording to releasing the EP?
Braden: We recorded back in August or September 2024 with the goal of it coming out around March, alongside a mini tour up north. That didn’t happen, which was fine. It worked out for the best. Mixes took a little bit because the guy we sent the recordings to was on tour. Life also got a little crazy, so we figured it would come out when it was ready.
That approach was for the best because we got to play more shows, be in front of more people, and build a little more hype behind it. I think that led to more listeners than we would have had if we released it in March.
What has the response been like for y’all?
Braden: You put these things out and you never know how they’re going to go. This has definitely been the most reception we’ve got in terms of the amount of people that have checked it out. Everyone has had positive things to say.
We had Kris Crummett (Dance Gavin Dance, Sleeping with Sirens) master it. I sent him a message after it released, thanking him for working on it, and he was like, “It’s a great EP!” He didn’t have to say that, so that’s another thing that makes us feel like we’re on the right path.
Other than that, we’ve had a lot of people from across the region, check us out, share it on the socials and all those good things. We’re super stoked about the reception that we’ve got.
Image credit: Shanna M. Rogers
Now that the EP is out, what does the rest of your year look like?
Braden: We’ve been playing out a lot this year. We don’t want to kill the draw we have, so we try not to play one area too often. Right now, we’re taking a bit of a break from shows to start recording again. That way, when we start getting back into show, we’ve got some stuff piled up.
I think a lot of bands get stuck thinking, “Let’s release an EP and ride that for a while,” instead of going out and making new stuff. We have a lot of demos sitting in the pipeline that we’re going to record. We’ve got two singles that are going to come out in the future. It’s on to the next thing, you know?
There are some regions in North and South Carolina and Virginia that we haven’t hit that I want to, but we’ve hit most of the major markets. We’ll definitely play more shows there, but before we go back, I would like to have new songs or a new set list. That way, when people come back, it’s not the very same thing.
Who are some of your favorite local/North Carolina bands?
Braden: We love all the bands we’ve played with, which is so lucky to say. Weymouth and Moving Boxes are fantastic. Tourneforte and Windley have helped us a lot in the Myrtle Beach scene. And Hymns of Blasphemy is a great Myrtle Beach band that’s a lot heavier than us.
There is so much regional talent that gets overlooked. It’s hard to choose your favorites, but that’s a good problem to have.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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