Fire From The Gods Singer AJ Channer Talks About His Bronx Upbringing, the NYC Music Scene, His Bodega Order & More
The metal band Fire From the Gods might be based in Austin, but vocalist AJ Channer is a Bronx boy through and through. Having Jamaican roots, he and the group blend genres such as reggae and hip-hop with metal and hardcore.
Secret NYC caught up with Channer while on the music cruise ShipRocked where he got to perform while docked in Jamaica on Bob Marley’s birthday. It was truly a full circle moment for him especially as he dubs himself the “Metal Marley.” In this interview Channer talks all about growing up here, what he misses now that he’s in Austin and his deep music roots in NYC which began with his dad as a concert promoter.
Where in NYC are you from?
I was born in The Bronx. I grew up by Creston Avenue and Fordham Road. I was born at North Central Bronx Hospital near Gun Hill. My dad went from Jamaica to England to America. My mom is from Queens, actually, she was born in Queens but lived most of her life in The Bronx.
You’re in Austin, Texas now with your family, what do you miss about New York?
The same thing that everyone always says, I miss bodegas. [Laughs] I miss loud people on the corner, I kind of do, which is wild. When you grow up in New York and they’re going off at 2:00 a.m. you’re like, “Yo, shut up.” But now, I kind of miss that. I miss the hustle and bustle.
I definitely don’t miss the snow. But what I miss is that thing that we have, you know what I’m saying? And every time I talk to somebody from New York, I’m like “I feel mad slow now.” Because people in New York are doing everything. And now I’m going to pick the kids up from daycare, then I’m going to 711 or Target and then I’m going back home.
But you know, New York I miss it. I still got Jamaican food near me right now [in Austin]. I got yard food near me. I got Trini food and African food near me. So I don’t miss any of the things that I grew up with, like culture-wise, I got all of that in Austin though.
Houston is deep with our Caribbean people. I go to Houston a lot because that’s where we write and stuff like that, we have a studio in Houston. Austin has it all, It’s a cool town. It’s small, my kids now are hella Texas and Southern, their mom is Southern too.
Do you have any particular favorite memories from New York’s music scene growing up, did you go to a lot of concerts?
At L’amour, Lamb of God, Atreyu, 18 Visions, straight-up hardcore and underground stuff. Going to L’amour and CBGB’s but the shows that really did it for me were off the beaten path. It was the Ill Nino shows at B.B. King’s right on 42nd Street. That kind of like, “Yo, this is New York. I’m going to a big metal show in the heart of the city.” I’ll never forget those. The Hammerstein Ballroom shows with Slipknot, I was like 17 and just really getting into metal.
I’ve always been to rap shows or reggae shows, my dad hosted them, he was a promoter. It was in CPAC [Nightclub] in Brooklyn. They would be in the back smoking with Bounty Killer. That’s kind of where I got the thirst for being an entertainer and like really embracing the fact that I’m half Jamaican and this is part of my culture. I grew up super Caribbean. There’s definitely the American side, but you’re surrounded and you’re in these echo chambers and just bombarded with home culture being the first generation.
With your dad being a concert promoter, that NYC music scene was ingrained.
Oh yeah, that hustle, that’s how, I learned the business a little bit. I was an intern for booking agents and stuff like that. I was always around entertainers, Busta Rhymes would be in the house. He’d be upstairs in the back with my dad and they’re just hanging out. Bounty Killer would walk in, all these legends, you know? So I was around these guys and they’re just loud and fun. I try to bring that energy, like reggae energy into metal.
Do you have a favorite spot or restaurant in NYC?
I talk about this a lot, I do. Peppers has the best Jerk chicken, and the best fish, Peppers is my thing! I do miss bodega sandwiches, you don’t really get nothin’ like that in Texas.
Ayo, my bodega order was a fifty-cent soda, a pack of cookies, and a turkey and cheese on a roll. Or an egg and cheese on a roll, I don’t do the pork thing. Chopped cheese too, you’re making me miss all this right now!
What’s one of the first things you do when you come back to visit NYC?
Eat, really Eat, I got to get a slice of pizza. There are places where we’ve got “New York” pizza in Texas. It’s alright but nothing beats that crack of the dollar slice.
Well, if I’m going to visit family, immediately I get there, there’s a plate of food. There’s fish, rice, and peas, everything waiting for your boy, you know? I have family in Brooklyn and Jersey City. My stepmom, who’s English she’s in Jersey with my brother and sister.
What’s are some of the biggest lessons you learned growing up in NYC?
Nobody can stop you. You know how we are. Everybody is a one-man army. There’s something that’s deeply embedded in a person from NYC. There’s nowhere like it on earth. Especially with the overlap of culture the way it is and the access to the internet and how people say “Deadass” everywhere now.
We don’t stop. Right? So why would I ever stop? Why would I let things get to me? Things can get to you and life can weigh you down, but you have to just keep going, that’s what I learned from my mom, and I learned that from the heart, from The Bronx.
Keep your head up, keep your head on the swivel, and keep your wits about you. That’s another thing I’ve learned about myself over the course of my career now, don’t be afraid to be who you are. Don’t be someone else just to try to impress somebody.
See Also: NYC’s Monthly Concert Guide
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