(ARTICLE) BRAD GILMORE – THE CHAMP IS HERE

Written by: Niki Jones of Houston TREND

There are people who watch things happen, while others make things happen. There are the people who go to parties and the people who are the party. It’s one thing to want to be “THE MAN” and then there’s actually being “THE MAN”. At 20 years old musician and radio host, Brad Gilmore has not only noted himself, but rightfully so, earned his belt of being the Entertainment World Champion, making him, in his eyes, The Man. “Ric Flair said, to be the man, you have to beat the man. I was trying to beat the man,” says Brad.

Hailing from Friendswood, TX, Brad also known as Lord Trillmore, has been dominating the Houston underground social and media scene heavy. Hosting his own radio show with his crew, Peachez and Twenty Eleven band member, DJ Motai. As well as hosting many social events around the city, including more recently a new Monday night spot, The Debonair Lounge at Café 4212.  A social affair, where local talent get the opportunity to showcase their talents, in a laid back atmosphere. “Still to this day, the first one I hosted was the most fun Monday night I’ve had in my entire life,” Brad tells. Brad was brought on as a co-host with Tay Mitch, the Debonair Lounge creator. “Tay is one of the smartest, most intelligent people I have ever talked to. He has a vision and he knows what he’s going to do. He’s like a puzzle piece master. He knows how to put every piece together to make it look the best and I think that’s where he shines and I think Brad Gilmore was that last piece that he had to put in there to make that whole concoction. It’s a nice balance of turn up and chill and you get to see Tay Mitch the “Duke of Debonair” and Brad Gilmore “Lord Trillmore” the Entertainment World Champion.”

Many know Brad to be the clean cut, smooth, bouffant wearing  jokester but in actuality, Brad tries to keep it more chill than trill at times, expressing that he grew up a bit shy and still is sometimes. “I was a shy kid. I was really shy and I think that’s kind of why I wanted to get into stuff, like entertainment, either performing or hosting. In a regular situation where it’s a bunch of people, its awkward and you don’t know what to do because everyone is in control, but when you get on stage and get a microphone in your hand, all of a sudden you become the center of attention and I wasn’t shy or awkward any more. It’s still like that sometimes today after I get off the stage or whatever, I go back to being quiet. There’s two sides to Brad Gilmore. There’s Brad Gilmore, the person that people know, the twitter handle, the loafer wearing, Ric Flair’n, good hair having, entertainment world champion and then there’s Brad Gilmore, the grandson, the son, the uncle. Most of the time I don’t even like going out if it’s not something that I have to go to. I would rather go to see my grandmother and spend time with my nephews. That’s the other one, but he’s shy, so he doesn’t come out that much. People don’t really know that he exists, but he’s there,” tells Brad.

Not only does Brad host events, he’s also a rapper or as he calls himself an “Entertainment Engineer.”

“I don’t consider myself a rapper. I’m an entertainment engineer. I think people have preconceived notions of what a rapper is and I don’t like it. When I tell people that I rap, I feel that sometimes it’s not taking seriously, but when they see the performance it’s a completely different thing.” Says Brad.

His band, Twenty Eleven, is composed of five members, including Brad, Tre Yancy, Corbin Dallas, DJ Motai and Avery “Ave11” Davis. “I knew the drummer/producer Avery from the time I was six, but everyone else I kind of met through the music program in high school,” says Brad. Twenty Eleven dropped their first official project “20 Summers” this past August and the eight track mixtape features a few other rising Houston underground artists, including Roosh Williams, Onehunnidt and Kyle Hubbard. “We’re different. I grew up on Country music. Dallas grew up on Gospel. Tre; R&B and Rap, Avery; classic rock and Tyler; techno and The Fast & The Furious soundtrack [laughs] and etc. and when you bring those five things together and you have something not like anything else in music and I think that’s why Twenty Eleven is so unique because not only do we look different we sound different. We have a pop kind of feel to us mixed with hip hop, but we have little bit of Rock, some Soul, R&B and Hip-Hop is our core foundation,” tells Brad.

With his older sister acquainting Brad to hip hop, he developed a love for rap and eventually started on a path leading him into what he now lives to do. “My sister was the one who really put me up on game because she was always playing a lot of stuff in the car, so I heard a lot of Lil Flip, Ludacris, Paul Wall, T.I a whole lot of Eminem and even Kid Rock,” recalls Brad. Also with the help of his #OTOSFAM and rapper/producer Stockz, he has been able to groom his rapping abilities. “He was like you have something, you just have to hone it in. He worked with me a lot and I owe a lot to Stockz just in general, but for that particular thing he taught me a lot. He is the type of guy that studies rap, flow patterns and voice inflections and I learned that from him. Before I was just writing and didn’t really think too much into it, but he showed me I could put my real life on wax and it’s probably more interesting than something I was trying to make up.”

Aside from being a part of Twenty Eleven, Brad hosts his own radio show every Monday, The Brad Gilmore Show: On Demand, exclusively on iTunes, with his co-hosts Peachez and DJ Motai. “It started out as a radio show with Twenty Eleven, but then they decided that they didn’t want to do it anymore, but I did because I like being able to talk. It started off with just me doing the show and then I was like I should have a DJ, so I looked inside the family and got DJ Motai and then I saw a movie called Private Parts about Howard Stern and his career. He had a co-host, who was a woman (Robin Quivers) and I thought that would be a great thing to have. I had met Peachez from an organization called The Hive Society, which was led by Joseph Boudreaux,  and I called her to do the show and she came on and it was like right when we went live on air, I said something and she snapped at me and I was like this is going to be great. She’s almost like a sister to me and we have that set chemistry. Before I use to do things intentionally to draw it out of her, but now we just get on each other’s nerves naturally,” says Brad.

The Brad Gilmore Show provides an outlet for underground artists to gain exposure and promote their music, as well as an array of topics. “I get to interview people I never thought I would. We don’t only do underground artists. I get to interview legends like ESG, Chamillionare, Killa Kyleon, Slim Thug, Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) and we even got to interview the RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. That’s probably what I like most about the show now, not only getting to talk to people who I grew up listening to, but actually getting to talk to people who have interesting stories. I like finding those interesting things in people when I talk to them,” tells Brad.

Brad attributes everything that he has accomplished in his life thus far to his family and band of brothers, and the impact they have had in his life. “Without Twenty Eleven, I wouldn’t be doing anything else that I’m doing. It forced me to meet all these people and to network and that’s why the radio show came about, how my writing with Dayandadream.com came about, much love to my Dream Team! A lot of these things my name is on there. Brad Gilmore is the name on these events that’s when I go to work, but with Twenty Eleven, it’s not work to me. I love being with those four other guys and we rag on each other every day and get to make music at the same time. If you told me I could only choose one thing and everything had to go away, it would probably be a hard decision, because I love everything I do, but I have to go with the people who were with me, when no one else was fooling with me.”

Its clear that Brad Gilmore is running in a lane of his own, accomplishing so much at such a young age and being able to work in the business of wrestling, a sport that he’s loved since he was young and being able to work beside famed wrestler, Booker T, but also explains how working in the business brings him out of his shell too. “I also come from a world of professional wrestling. I work with Booker T, Six-Time World Heavyweight Champion & WWE Hall of Famer, in his promotion here in Houston, ROW, Reality of Wrestling. What I’ve learned from that business is every character such as The Rock, Stone Cold, and Booker T himself all became so big because they were essentially being themselves, and they just turned the volume all the way up. I’m always Brad Gilmore, it’s just when I’m out and about I turn up, and tap into that character.”

Radio host, event host, business man, emcee, the list goes on because he does so much and Brad can also add acting to his repertoire. “I just filmed a scene for a movie with DJ Young Samm called Live Love Laugh. I enjoyed it, it was comedic role and I got to improv a lot which I love. It was a nice experience. I never thought I would be in a movie, or acting at all. It all started from wanting to be the center of attention, and to try new things. It’s weird because being the shyest person in the room, being the center of attention is the best thing for you because you get to control everything.”

The passion and determination that Brad puts into wanting to be on top is remarkable. There’s no competition, there’s no comparisons, there’s only one. Brad is a champion and he’s clutching his belt with an iron grip. “I believe in the law of attraction; if you want something the universe is going to give it to you. Right now I’m 20-years-old and I’m the wrestling business, the business I’ve always wanted to be in. I do music and radio. I’m getting to do all of these things that I never thought I would as the shy Brad Gilmore; who had a bowl cut and use to go by Bradley.”