We were lucky to catch up with Bryce Warmouth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bryce, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

This is a question that I feel very strongly about. My easy answer is yes, I had a fire burning in me to play music all throughout High School. I simply was nervous to hear what everyone around me would think. I wish that I had begun my musical journey at the point the my passion for it started. To have been able to lay a lot of the artistic groundwork at such a young age would have helped exponentially. That being said, when I really sit on this question, I quickly find myself realizing that the timing of everything was too perfect. I don’t believe I would be playing music with the same group of guys if I started any earlier and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Bryce Warmouth. In 2018, I began writing songs with my brother Zach Warmouth, and our two friends Alex Jakovina and Zach Potkanowicz. My brother was the one who really coordinated all of this. Over the course of his life, he was in and out of bands but was saving the name “The Broken Relics” for whoever came along and made him feel like this was the right band for him.

When I was 17 or so, I made it my goal to pick up the guitar again after quitting it when I was 10. Very quickly did I realize that I was in no way shape or form going to be as good as Zach was. That being said, where I did find enjoyment was the act of writing songs. I loved putting Ideas on paper, writing stories, and talking about life. My first interest in songwriting stemmed from Ed Sheeran, and even though I am not the biggest fan of his music, I watched one interview and his views on writing and his passion for making music were intoxicating. Writing music felt like a psychological study of myself. After graduation, I found myself down in Athens, Ohio without many friends and decided to take a bus trip up to Zach who was located in Columbus. That day I pitched him a VERY early version of what would become our first single “Don’t Look Back”. I offered it up to him and said something along the lines of “Hey man, I know you guys have been making music, you’re welcome to use this if you want to” and very quickly he responded, “Well why don’t you and I just put something together”. A couple of nights later we went and saw J. Roddy Walston and the Business at Express Live with one of Zach’s long-time friends and bass player Alex Jakovina. That night I witnessed Zach tell Alex over the roar of a crowd “I’m putting this new thing together you’re going to play bass on it”. Alex just nodded in approval with zero convincing needed. In the back of my mind, I believed everything was happening too quickly but it ended up being a good thing because if I controlled the timeframe, It never would’ve happened due to fear.

We needed a drummer. Zach had known a drummer in the area but at that time he wasn’t really ready to commit to it (don’t worry he ended up in the band). Our search didn’t really last long because I immediately thought of a kid who was on the drumline at our High School. I had known him for about a year before I left for college, where we would get a group of guys together every so often and play guitar. Cue in Zach “Potsie” Potkanowicz. My brother and I drove up to our hometown of Youngstown, Ohio to meet with Zach a few weeks later. Again, it felt right and took no convincing for either party.

Finally, we had The Broken Relics. In the time passing our sound grew and so did our family. We began to add instrumentation to our recordings that would have been hard to duplicate with four people all while Potsie’s desire to play guitar and keys grew. The drummer I spoke of earlier, his name is David Walters. The stars aligned perfectly, we brought David on and Potsie got his wishes to play guitar and keys. David is the cherry on top of the family.

We are currently planning on rattling some floorboards in surrounding states in 2024.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Local art is just art with a label. Far too often we see people who are hesitant to go see a local band due to the lack of national hype around them. Instead of pregaming at home, go grab a beer and check out a local opener. Go buy a local artists work and hang it right in your living room, it’s one of a kind. As artists we are trying to create value for listeners and consumers , but in reality only the public can create that value.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect is just the fact that I have had the opportunity to make something entirely unique with help of my best friends. We do quite a bit in preparation, marketing, writing, etc. all for a 45 minute set sometimes. We have learned to appreciate the pre-show and post-show activities. Sometimes the best part of being in a band eating a cheap Dominos pizza and playing Mario Cart after a show.

Contact Info:

• Website: WWW.TheBrokenRelics.Com
• Instagram: @TheBrokenRelics
• Facebook: The Broken Relics
• Linkedin: BryceWarmouth
• Youtube: The Broken Relics

Image Credits
Dan Mitchell Jess Laicy Lance Rosko