190 Proof Interview with Bridge To Grace; Lead Singer David Garcia Discusses Fireball Whiskey, Beer Pong, and Whiskey Dick

Winning over hoards of fans since since early 2012, the Atlanta, Georgia-based hard rock quartet, Bridge To Grace, is gearing up to release their self-titled debut in the spring of 2015. Their second single, “Bitch,” hit radio in January and ever since, the guys have been touring in preparation for the new album’s launch. We recently caught up with lead singer David Garcia to have some fun with our alcohol-fueled interview “190 Proof.”

Tell me about your 21st birthday (18 if not American).
Garcia: Some close friends decided to throw me a house party. All I remember is 22 shots of Jäger, some Bacardi, a double shot of Cuervo, a DJ in the living room, disco lights, miscellaneous drunken drama out in the driveway around sunrise, a couple switched partners (permanently), a garage door had a lawnmower through it, and a horrible taste of Jäger coming up mid-afternoon…. I think my friends later ended up getting evicted from that house. Successful 21st I’d say!

Preferred drink, if you had to put it down on a rider for the whole band?
Garcia: My band loves Fireball Whiskey… I almost want to cringe just hearing myself say those words… Only because a bottle somehow manages to surface in the RV on the daily. Realistically I would say put two bottles on the rider, but I’d rather live to see tomorrow.

What’s the worst (or best) dive bar you’ve ever gone drinking to?
Garcia: We had a night off while touring in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last year and some good friends ended up taking us to some local place with karaoke. Not much character to the place and just kinda bland overall…. 3 pitchers and a few shots later, the karaoke started. We turned this place from zero to porn star karaoke hibachi in minutes! Christian went in hard with R. Kelly, the remix to “Ignition.” Even picked up some backup dancers mid-song. I went all Batman on top of a table with Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose.” Justin took everyone way back with Blind Melon’s “No Rain.” And Alex somehow blew the place away when he decided to sing Linkin Park’s “Bleed it out.”

We then proceeded to tear the place down with a full band karaoke version of “Jump Around.” All of the sudden people were throwing beer everywhere, women were getting naked on top of the bar, making out with each other, and Chad Kroger from Nickleback randomly walked in with handles of whiskey, and we were all calling our moms to bail us out of jail the next morning. Just kidding, the last part of all that never happened, but what started as a crappy hole in the wall turned into a badass, crazy party by the end of the night. And of course we have no clue what that bar was called.

Best [worst] drunk band story? Go!
Garcia: Played a show in Lubbock, Texas. We were given shots called “crack pipes.” Afterwards. we woke to a plastic bucket full of pee on the RV and Christian covered in Alex urine. Apparently Alex forgets there’s a toilet in our RV while roaming unconsciously with a full bladder.

What are your thoughts on drinking before or while performing?
Garcia: Personally, I don’t like to drink before performing. If it were a little bar band/day job I could see nothing wrong with it. I’d rather be at 100% while singing. Of course there are times where a shot of honey whiskey might be helpful to take the edge off if the nerves are kicking. But I’d rather reward myself after the job is done.

Do you go hard every night or only periodically?
Garcia: Definitely periodically. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a few drinks some days, but if I went hard all the time I wouldn’t have made it to the tour. I like to keep my alcohol habit career-oriented as well.

Whiskey dick, fact of fiction? Maybe you’re mattress monster and impervious to it, if not, tell us your most embarrassing whiskey dick story!
Garcia: It really depends on the amount of consumption really. But yeah, ladies, If you feed us overly large amounts of alcohol, especially whiskey, the only thing large your gonna get is disappointment. Unless for some reason your idea of a good time is slipping Viagra in our drinks so you’re left with a satisfactory “solid” passed out drunk guy. Which in that case, is fully acceptable.

Favorite drinking game?
Garcia: “Ring of fire” the card game. Sure way to get hammered extremely quickly. Or beer pong. Either way, alcohol always wins.

Do you like to write with some drink in you?
Garcia: I think it really depends on where my head is at. Sometimes it really opens my mind to let the crazies out. It can be good or bad. I don’t need it to write but sometimes it’s interesting to go back and read what the alcohol got out of me.

Best drink to travel with?
Garcia: Water. Cause sometimes the human body doesn’t like functioning off pure Fireball Whiskey.

Check out the song “Bitch” here.