All-around Breakdown: Richmond, Virginia's Own Jesse "Jetski" Brinkley Dissects Guardrails' If You Please EP (self-released/Irish Voodoo Records)
Jesse "Jetski" Brinkley (@jetski_brinks) is the frontman of rising Richmond, Virginia/RVA Hardcore Punk band Guardrails. They've been on the RVA Hardcore scene since about November 2020 aligning with the release of their single "Flag of The Enemy." Guardrails' line-up has always included Jetski (awesome nickname, right!?) and a rotating cast of characters, including guitarists Cotie Brown & Jesse McDaries, bassist Corey Dodson, and drummer David Webster. Guardrails are still independent and don't seem to be currently signed with Fullerton, California-based Punk/Hardcore label powerhouse Irish Voodoo Records (yet!) but if nothing else, seem to be closely aligned with their camp.
Irish Voodoo are doing some sort of unspecified 7-inch vinyl/CD/cassette tape re-release of Guardrails' proper debut EP, If You Please, which their Bandcamp page says is "COMING SOON." As recently as June 21st, Irish Voodoo Records' Instagram page shared a rather cryptic image that said, "REMEMBER KIDS, GUARDRAILS WILL KILL YOU" with a caption additionally stating, "News soon 💥 @guardrails.rva." We've been emailing back-and-forth with Jetski himself for the past couple months, who describes the EP as "a concept album on mental illness, suicide, anger, and struggles from inside myself." Jesse "Jetski" Brinkley was kind enough to provide us with a track-by-track breakdown of his thought process behind and the creation of their If You Please EP. Guardrails' If You Please is now available on streaming services with a special vinyl, CD, and tape re-release soon impending on Irish Voodoo Records.
"'Yours Truly" talks about the overall [vibe] of what the EP is about: my struggles with mental health and suicide. I mention in the song about the two times I attempted suicide. I speak on how suicide and mental health isn't always someone "crying" or "begging for help." These types of things have many faces or masks that we use to hide how f***ed up we really are."
"'No Harm, No Foul," I wrote out of anger. I had a lot of anger starting Guardrails. I felt people laughing at me and thinking I'm a joke, among other things. Usually, where most would give up, I told myself that "these things will only make me better." I used a lot of my anger to "sharpen my axe." I think there is a lot of good in negativity, if you look in the right places. The only thing I have to prove is to myself and everything else will just make me stronger."
["'Positivity Through Hate"] (PTH) is about my mental sanity and anger. I have a lot of anger management problems that I, unfortunately, taught myself at young age to keep deep down inside. Later in life, learning that it made me not into the best person, as I was [lashing] out about the stupidest things from keeping so much anger inside. "Positivity Through Hate" is a phrase I came up with to push myself to let my anger out, but to do it in a positive/constructive way. When people talk sh*t, do bad things, etc., use that anger in a positive way and prove them wrong. More so, prove to yourself that you were right all along."
"This song is about falling down and [to] keep pushing forward. Humbly, I've helped a lot of people in my life and some have been great to help and others, have taken advantage of me. Sometimes, you keep getting f***ed over. Sometimes, in life, you keep trying to do the best you can with what you have and things just keep falling apart."
"This song was written about how the things in life we want the most can, also, be the death of you. Sometimes, we know that the choices we make will be "the end" of us or, more so, we are so focused on the things we want that we don't see the repercussions of [our] actions."
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