Jeff Watters grew up on classic rock. That's why he plays newer, alternative music with Broken. He overdosed on the classics.
"It's beaten through the skull," he said with a laugh. "I enjoy listening to it. But I don't get the fulfillment out of playing it anymore. I like playing the newer stuff. It's a little more challenging."
By newer, he means post-grunge bands such as Tool, Godsmack, and Nickelback, among others. They played even heavier tunes for a while but that changed after Watters developed severe shoulder problems.
"I tore my rotator cuff," he said. "But it turns out, I have severe arthritis and severe tendinitis. I'm right-handed, and it was my right shoulder. So I quit playing for a little over a year. Had physical therapy for eight months. Shots. The whole nine yards."
By the time he healed, Broken's bass player had moved on. The band tried finding a replacement, but Watters said no one clicked.
"We decided Rob [Hall] and Mark [Morris] would just switch back and forth between guitar and bass," he said. "But Rob basically said, 'No, I'll play bass, you play guitar.' We were somewhat reluctant to do it, initially, because we lost the fourth vocal, which really cut down on the songs we play. But the three of us click. We make it work with three people."
That makes it immense, actually. Fans who see Broken can't believe how much power they generate.
"The best compliment we get is, Where's everyone else?" Watters said. "That's the biggest thing. People don't believe it when they come in and hear the sound and turn around and see only three guys up there. We get a lot of compliments on that. It's the three of us, and that's it and that's that. No samples, no MIDIs. It's us."
Watters and Morris talked about Broken with Showcase.
BAND MEMBERS
Bryan Watters, drums, vocals; Mark Morris, lead guitar, vocals; Rob Hall, bass, vocals.
HOMETOWN
West county.
THE INSPIRATION
Broken started by accident, fittingly enough. Morris, a veteran musician (Stone Cold), had just started a new band, but the drummer didn't show up for the second practice. He called Watters, a drummer (Firewater) and longtime friend.
"I had hounded Mark for years about doing something," Watters said. "He called me up and gave me 10 songs to learn. A week later, we got together, and I had all 10 songs down. We went through all 10, boom! It just clicked. That was the start."
STYLE
Mostly new alternative rock, with some older ones mixed in.
SAMPLE BANDS YOU COVER
Godsmack, Tool, Green Day, Blink-182, Buckcherry, Sublime, Oleander, Nickelback.
LAST NEW SONG YOU LEARNED
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day.
FIRST CONCERT YOU SAW
Rush on the "Counterparts" tour in 1994 at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena, says Watters. "It was killer." What he remembers most: "Peart's drum solo."
Morris: "Iron Maiden, Coney Hatch, Fastway, Aug. 13, 1983, at the civic center. I'll never forget it. I'm just a huge Iron Maiden fan, and it was a great time for me to go see a band that really inspired me to play guitar and get going in music. Kiss, AC/DC, and Van Halen were the ones that got me the kick to grab a guitar and get into music. I've been hooked on it ever since."
FIRST CD YOU BOUGHT
"Led Zeppelin, the first one," Watters said. "My dad [Jeff Watters, formerly of Bluescasters] went to Woodstock. I grew up listening to that kind of stuff -- Beatles, Zeppelin, Moody Blues."
Morris: "Destroyer"by Kiss in 1976.
BEST CONCERT
Morris saw Pantera -- before they were big -- at Flash Gordon's in Cleveland. "I got to meet the whole band, and I ended up on stage," he said. "There were only a couple hundred people there. No one knew who Pantera was at the time."
Said Watters: "OzzFest in Atlanta with Ozzy, Black Label Society, Rob Zombie in '02. I had a ton of fun. I was there with my dad and my brother."
WEB SITE
http://www.rockerie.com/thescene/bands/250/
UPCOMING GIGS
Saturday from 6-8 p.m. at the Cellblock as part of Walk for the Big Easy's Hurricane Katrina fundraiser; also at 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. at Denny's Bar in Fairview; Oct. 15 at Hunter Jack's in Girard; Oct. 22 at Otters Pub in Meadville.
