Interview: The Sword’s Bryan Richie works hard to sustain the Austin music scene

If you’ve spent any real time in the Austin music trenches, you know the difference between hype and longevity. Bryan Richie has been on the longevity side for over 20 years. Between his work with The Sword, Spaceflight Records, and his electronic outlet Galactic Protector, he’s watched the local ecosystem evolve through boom cycles, venue shakeups, and the streaming era’s slippery slopes. We caught up with him to talk about staying busy, supporting artists the right way, and why Austin’s scene, while ever-changing, is far from dead. Richie is gearing up for a European tour this year while celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Sword’s triumphant debut Age of Winters, and will release the sequel to his 2019 solo record on February 24. We caught up with him to discuss the upcoming release and why the Central Texas music system still matters and how every bit of fan support is crucial to making it all happen. 

The Cosmic Clash: You’re a busy man. Between The Sword, Spaceflight, and now the continuation of your electronic project, Galactic Protector. Do you like staying this busy, and how do you find the time for everything?

Bryan Richie: I do like staying busy. Things sometimes just kind of fall how they fall. I hadn’t done anything with the solo project in a long time, and some things came into play that made sense for me to revisit it. It all came out real quick, and I was off to the races again on it. And then the Spaceflight stuff. Brett keeps me really busy. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on. I really enjoy that. I enjoy working with other bands and helping them see what they can do and what we can do for them. Then The Sword stuff – Age of Winters turned 20 this year. Warp Riders turned 15 last year. We did a big tour. It’s just never a dull moment, and I’m feeling very grateful to continually be able to do stuff like that.

TCC: So Galactic Protector released their debut in 2019 – Why revisit it now with Passionate Virgo?

BR: Yeah, it’s been some years. I got asked to play a show. The show fell through, but everything kind of came about from that, being asked to do that one thing. I was like, I’ve got some stuff. I could put a little effort into this and get this wrapped up pretty quick and push it out. So that’s kind of what I did. I’m always creating music, just kind of idly, even if I’m bored or whatever. I’ll have the DAW open and just sketching out things that no one will ever hear or won’t become anything – just me playing or messing for fun.

TCC: After the Used Future cycle, The Sword went on hiatus. After COVID and the Primus tour in 2021, there was no Sword. How were you feeling about your musical identity then?

BR: I joined the band when I was 23, so it was the only thing I really knew. Touring, writing records, hopping in the van, that was my life. Before that, I’d worked at a Microsoft call center, but playing music was what I did for years. For it to suddenly not be part of my life anymore was very strange. It took a little time to fully come to grips with that. It was sad, and I think it was sad for everybody involved. But I was lucky in the sense that I had Brett in my corner right away. He was immediately like, “Hey, I’m working on this Alex Maas record, come play bass.” Then it was, “Hey, I’m doing this, come play on it.” He kept pulling me into things. I also got involved with Otis the Destroyer, and that helped a lot. There was definitely a moment where I considered just getting a city job in Taylor and doing something totally different. But ultimately, I’m really glad we’re playing music again. I love Sword songs. I love playing them with those guys. They’re some of my favorite dudes, we’re basically old homies at this point. We weren’t home more than four weeks at a time for years. It was nonstop. In hindsight, maybe a break was necessary. We had our heads down barreling forward for 15 years. Taking our foot off the gas and coming back with more adult perspective helped.

TCC:  We’ve talked about Spaceflight a lot. Stuff like that is needed in Austin as the high cost of doing business becomes more challenging. How do you think people can keep supporting the scene and its musicians, both old and new?

BR: Buy a shirt. Buy a record. Those are the highest-margin items that go straight to the artist. Streaming is great. Telling people about it is great. But getting a ticket sold and a T-shirt sold makes a real difference. We live in an instant world now. When a record drops, people want it at midnight on their phone. Back in the day, you waited to go to the record store. That experience was different.

TCC: What’s the first record you remember waiting to buy?

BR: I didn’t wait in line, but I had to wait to buy In Utero. My parents weren’t going to let me buy it. We were on a school trip to Dallas, and the hotel was attached to a mall with a record store. That’s when I got it. That one was special.

TCC: Is there anything about the Austin music scene you’d like to see change?

BR: If there was more water for everyone to drink. It’s not even getting to quit your day job to do music full-time, it’s getting a few more bonus bucks to make the grind less grueling.

TCC: Is there any moment in your music career you could redo?

BR: Yeah. 2006. Houston. Blackest of the Black Tour. Opening for Danzig. We’d just gotten our booking agent. We asked him for tickets to see Danzig in Houston. He said, “Want to open it instead?” Of course we did. We get there, the Astros are in the World Series. None of our friends came. I’m playing a brand-new Fender bass with factory strings. One song in, I break a string, which almost never happens on bass. No backup. No help. I walk off stage and watch the band finish without me. Ironically, the Danzig set was not good, but it was legendary. He was not happy that Houston hadn’t shown up because of the Astros. He let everyone know.

TCC: What gives you hope for the future of being a musician in Austin?

BR: Bands like Grandmaster. They’re approaching it as a multimedia experience. There’s real creativity there. There are still so many awesome players and so many opportunities to see great music. That’s encouraging.

Passionate Virgo releases on February 24 with preorders available now on digital, CD, and vinyl. All information is available via the Galactic Protector Bandcamp.

You can also find preorders for the 20th anniversary remastered edition of The Sword’s Age of Winters via the band’s Bandcamp.

Featured photo courtesy of Spaceflight Records 

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