It’s less than an hour before showtime, and things are getting messy backstage for Vended. Singer Griffin Taylor is standing at the bathroom mirror, overalls hanging down from his waist, smearing a black stripe across his eye sockets. His shaved skull is painted white and he’s splashing droplets of blue make-up across his face, inevitably the hitting walls next to him. Tonight is the second of two sold-out nights here at the Intuit Dome arena in Los Angeles, where Vended are opening for Slipknot and Knocked Loose. Remnants of the band’s make-up routine are everywhere: smeared on doorknobs, in the sink, on the bright yellow couches in their dressing room, and in every handshake with visitors. Griffin refers to these stains as “the Vended Virus”, and it’s been spreading.
“I don’t ever stop hearing the complaining about leaving messes in the bathrooms,” he says, flicking more droplets into the air. “But it happens and I try my best to clean it up as much as possible.”
