08: Camp Trash
Levi and Keegan Bradford, brothers and bandmates in Camp Trash, tell us which fifth wave emo bands they could outrun.
I’m Arielle Gordon, a music journalist and (very) amateur runner. Running Up That Hill is a newsletter in which I try to connect those two things by interviewing folks in the broader music world about their running habits, tips, and tricks.
For avid followers of Emo Twitter, 2020 ended with one pressing question still unanswered: is Camp Trash even a real band? The Florida quartet quietly amassed a following online, teasing concert videos and photos from recording sessions just frequently enough to leave their existence in a state of perpetual mythology. But their 2021 debut EP, Downtiming, finally put an end to the guessing, with four tracks of pure power pop nostalgia. Downtiming, with enough gleaming guitars to soundtrack an entire season of The OC, feels like a manifestation of the band’s public personas: equal parts self-deprecating and sentimental.
Camp Trash makes writing a timeless hook feel effortless. But Levi and Keegan Bradford, one-half of Camp Trash, describe running as a more formidable challenge. For Running Up That Hill, they talk about their father's impact on their love for running, their exercise goals (“to look hot as hell”), and which emo band they could outrun in a 200-metre dash.
When did you get into running?
Levi: Seventh grade. Keegan’s and my dad has always been a runner, so in my absolutely fraught quest to be more like my dad (I don’t recommend it), I started running our neighborhood. I fell off the habit in college because I did my freshman year up in Chattanooga at a Presbyterian school (I also don’t recommend it), and the school was on Lookout Mountain; my weak ass couldn’t handle the hills. Then, on April Fools Day 2017, my little baby boy, Norman was born. He is a 100lb golden retriever who just loves being outside. I started running regularly again as a way to get him exercise. Really, we’re both energetic animals who need to just run and get out our energy.
Keegan: My dad has been a runner my entire life. As a kid, I started biking with him on his runs, but for whatever reason I didn’t start running with him until high school, after we had moved from Buffalo to Florida (motivated at least in part by my father’s desire to live somewhere he could run year-round). It’s the only form of exercise I genuinely enjoy for itself.
Can you describe a typical (or average) running schedule for you in a given week?
L: I run every day with Norman. First, I do a tiny run with him (he’s a wimpy baby but he’s my wimpy baby). Then, I drop him off at home and keep running. It might seem like a lot, but because running too much isn’t great for anyone, I adjust the length I run to not wreck my legs.
K: It varies greatly. I’m a deeply inconsistent runner, often accidentally taking up to a month off if I “get busy”—I’m just now at 30 learning to make consistent time for it, and how much more I enjoy it when I do carve out the time for it and don’t just run “when it fits.” My typical schedule is 3 or 4 days a week.
Do you try to run on tour? What’s that like?
L: I do, and it’s hard to fit it in. But I get overwhelmed by being around people too much, so I use it really as a way to be by myself for a bit. It’s super nice and energizing to take a break. I’d recommend it, even if it’s not running. Forcing yourself to have time to reconnect your brain to your body is great. It helps the world seem interesting again.
K: I haven’t toured or been on the road in that capacity, so I guess we’ll see. I like running new places: it’s a fun way to explore and wander around corners I might if I was headed somewhere specific.
What’s the longest distance you’ve run?
L: 13.1 miles.
K: 10.2 miles. I get easily bored—I tend to try to run very fast to pack in as much exercise as I can in under an hour (which is obviously terrible running mentality). But I broke 10 miles last year: from my house to the St. John’s bridge and back.
What’s the run you’re proudest of?
L: See, the previous question, because I did it partially drunk. That morning, I’d woken up wicked hung over. Jordan (my partner) and I had to study, so I popped a few naproxen and we went to a coffee shop. One of the owners is really nice to us, and he brought us a jug of mimosas to have while we studied. We drank the whole thing; I think we each had three mimosas. Later, when we went home, I went out for a run. I was into the podcast Slow Burn at the time, and I just got sucked into it. After a while I checked my distance and I was at like 12 miles, which was the longest I’d run up until then, so I just pushed for the half marathon. My body ached for three days. I don’t recommend it.
K: I ran 6.66 miles exactly in under 8 minutes/mile the other day.
Do you have any running goals?
L: I purposefully don’t. I found that setting goals for myself only stressed me out. I had to abide by timelines or measure my progress. It always turned out that I’m not as impressive as I thought I could be. My dad says it’s not about how fast or how far you run, it’s about getting out there and just doing it. So that’s how I look at it. It helps me not get burned out because I’m allowed to go however far I want, however slow I want to do it. Oh wait, no, I think my goal is to look hot as all hell. That’s really it, strike all that other stuff.
K: A half marathon soon and a full marathon by the end of the year. I really want to clear those distance thresholds that I feel have been my ceiling.
What do you listen to when you run?
L: Podcasts: My Brother, My Brother and Me, 5-4, You’re Wrong About, Still Processing
Music: When I’m feeling hyped and I’m running fast: Cloud Nothings, Archers of Loaf, Say Sue Me, The Flaming Lips
When I’m feeling contemplative and I’m running slow: Waxahatchee, The Weakerthans, The Microphones, Beulah
K: I really won’t run if I can’t find my headphones. It’s what makes it fun. I listen to a lot of hardcore and metal when I run—-stuff that I don’t typically listen to around the house or while I’m working. My favorite running album is Distributed Denial of Self by Beast Jesus, a great hardcore/nu-metal band from the Philippines. I like running to Vein, Slant, Sunami, Nuvolascura, Dissect, & various and sundry youth crew and beatdown bands. Also, the Top Secret Topshelf Running Club Spotify Playlist.
What’s on your mind while you run?
L: I intern in a public defender’s office right now (graduating law school next month, hopefully doing public defense full time), so I spend a lot of time thinking through cases. I do juvenile defense so it’s a lot less legal arguments and a lot more strategy for getting the judge to have some mercy on a kid. But, I’ll be honest here, there is a significant portion of my mental space on my runs that’s taken up with wondering if I look hot or not. My relationship with my body and my self image are constantly evolving, but right now I’ll admit it’s a lot of looking at myself in car windows.
K: A lot of band stuff, honestly. It’s a good time to listen to demos and/or mixes of things we’re working on—think about the sequencing, if an individual song is trying to do what we want it to do, if I still like all the lyrics, etc. It’s also time I get to listen to new music and think about it, something I used to do on my commute, but since COVID, that liminal space has disappeared and I’m always listening to music now, but usually in the background as I do other stuff. Running gives me that space to just listen.
If you could go on a run with any musician, dead or alive, who would it be?
L: John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. No question. I love running and talking, and he seems like literally the perfect person to do that with. He used to post about running a lot more, so I wonder if he’s still doing it regularly. But god, I could run for hours if I could talk to him about music or weird trees we pass.
K: John Darnielle, who I know Levi said too, but he’s an insanely passionate guy with very niche interests and a desire to learn how to be more compassionate to the people around him, which is a great way to be in the world. And for similar reasons, probably Josh Ritter, also.
I know you’re working on LP1 -- did you have the time to run while writing or even recording the album? If so, was it helpful creatively?
L: Yeah I ran a good amount while we were in the studio. Recording days can get long and monotonous depending on which part of the process we’re in. Plus, I am not well equipped to handle long work days. Running helped me take a break, be by myself, and come back reinvigorated and more creative.
K: Like I said, a lot of my notes for the mixes come together while I’m running--I’m not above making notes or texting the band as I run. I like to hear it loud while I have nothing else I’m doing besides putting one foot in front of the other, trying to hear what other people are going to hear and if what we’re intending to do with each song is coming across. Bryan is the primary songwriter; I do a lot of cowriting, arranging, and structuring of the songs, so I think I’m much more intense about all the tiny details than the rest of the band, haha. I like having that space where nothing else is happening and I can try to hear what is working and what isn’t.
Recently Home Is Where challenged Camp Trash to a fight. This newsletter is strictly pacifist, so as an alternative, I ask: which contemporary emo bands (perhaps f*fth w*ve) could you beat in the 200-metre dash?
L:
Home Is Where
Guitar Fight from Fooley Cooley
Worst Party Ever
Ogbert the Nerd
Oolong
Jail Socks
Taking Meds
Oso Oso
Khaki Cuffs
Dogleg
Glass Beach
See Through Person
Short Fictions
Insignificant Other
GILT
Origami Angel
Equipment
Floral Tattoo
Pool Kids
GWUAK
Great Grandpa
Commander Salamander
Harmony Woods
Just Neighbors
Awakebutstillinbed
Retirement Party
Charmer
Woolbright
The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
Hot Mulligan
Niiice.
Stars Hollow
The rest of Camp Trash
K: Great question. Which contemporary emo bands are older than 30. Let’s start there.
Follow Camp Trash, Levi, and Keegan on Twitter.