Chicago Band The Dread Seeks to Transform Skate Music

Fullerton's first College Web Media Fest sought to mentor musical acts, students and those interested in the entertainment industry. The fest had a line up of 30+ performers from various genres; including Chicago Hip-Hop/Alternative band The Dread, a group inspired by skate culture.After witnessing an energetic performance, I caught up with them for a quick interview as they smoked outside before prepping for their 11 pm show in Downtown Fullerton.How was it opening for Tech N9ne? Amazing. Awesome. Crowd was very receptive. We shut it down. It was fun. He’s a very good guy. He had everyone up. We got the same energy as him.Who are some influences in your sound? The Dread is basically if The Roots and Bad Brains had a kid.Best moment of 2015? Playing in NY, Tech N9ne, Converse All City Chitown Showdown. Getting free Converse.What made your band incorporate punk, hip-hop and alt. rock together? Billa is a hip hop head, while William and Nolan are punk heads. We organically move together. Shelly grew up listening to punk while skating.What does The Dread have planned for the new year? Drop new album, short film, skits and more shows.Check out their most recent track "The Walking Dead" below: [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/230475000" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]