Plague Vendor’s gritty brand of rock was birthed by four friends with a predilection for dark tones and instinctual playing in their hometown of Whittier, California. The name was inspired by a Mexican folk tale that members Brandon Blaine (vocals), Michael Perez (bass) Luke Perine (drums), Jay Rogers (guitar) had read, with the first written songs recalling narrative elements of the story. Early shows were raucous and treacherous, making it clear that Plague Vendor was peddling something formidable.

With a number of house parties, club gigs, and warehouse shows under their belts, Plague Vendor quickly became synonymous with wild nights, bad decisions, and good times. Fearless front man Brandon Blaine channels the kinetic energy of a brooding, young Nick Cave on stage, with bassist Michael Perez, guitarist Jay Rogers, and drummer Michael Perez providing the pummeling instrumentation.

Now fully fleshed out and poised to release their inaugural album, ‘Free to Eat,’ on Epitaph, Plague Vendor embrace multiple sensibilities at once, veering rapidly from aggressive thrash to melodic introspection, compressing the range of human experience into ten rapid-fire, in-your-face songs. Everything was recorded live in the studio, using only two or three takes with no overdubs. A shadowy, dark vibe flows throughout the tracks, and for Blaine, the words are important. The songs say something worthwhile, revealing subconscious interpretations of the musicians’ experiences and ideas.