CRUSHER Magazine: punk/metal/hardcore/industrial: Feature: Count The Stars

      . Why? Because somebody was late with the guest list, and I had to sit outside, freezing my ass off, while 16-year-old kids with no ID were sent home dragging a string of profanity behind them. At least I was entertained. Fortunately, I eventually got to sit down with Kasarjian, an energetic young chap – who kind of looks like that Jason Biggs fellow from American Pie – who’s very open about his musical taste and isn’t afraid to take a few shots at himself.
     While Kasarjian loves the hardcore bands he’s opening for, he won’t deny his love for a few acts that many in the CB audience would give a swift kick in the ass if they had the chance.
     “I have so many guilty pleasures,” Kasarjian said. “I will admit we listen to that Avril Lavigne CD all the time. She writes some catchy songs, you know?”
     Finding out the band loved Avril Lavigne had me asking “Really?” a few times, wondering whether or not he was being sarcastic. In the end, I believe people should be able to listen to whatever the hell they want to without being stigmatized but there’s just something about the peppy little “punk” princess that makes me want to shove rusty nails into my eyes and ears.
     What was even more troubling was the fact that the band is going to do a couple songs on an Avril Lavigne tribute album. I’m not really bothered by the band deciding to do the covers but by the fact that Avril Lavigne is getting a tribute album. After one damn CD? My little conspiracy theory of the government controlling popular music as a form of mind control is starting to sound a little more reasonable. Kasarjian said they were going to add more rock to the songs they covered.
Kasarjian admits he also respects Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabas for his songwriting and bravery.
     “You need some big balls to play by yourself on acoustic guitar, opening for hardcore bands, so he has our utmost respect,” Kasarjian said.
     Lyrically, Count the Stars may not be too far from the pop-punk scene that Dashboard has helped popularize. The songs from their debut album, Never Be Taken Alive, deal with topics such as breaking up with girls, life on the road, family and fighting with friends – over girls. But Kasarjian said Count the Stars don’t necessarily fit in with that style.
     “I guess parts of the album could even fit into kind of an emo-ish thing, but – honestly, we’ve been called indie, emo, punk, pop, power-pop, I mean, who knows,” Kasarjian said. “I figure everything’s kind of blending in anyway so, a little of everything.”
     Adam Manning, lead guitars, said a lot of people think all their songs are about girls. He said fans often ask if the song, “First Time,” which is about the band’s first time on the road, is about losing virginity.
     Kasarjian said the songs that were written about girls were actually written about one in particular.

     "It was definitely a tough year. The reason I really got so mad and bitter about it was just because it was like, I would get led on, led on, led on and then just dropped. And this happened many times. And the only outlet I really had, at that point, was drinking and writing songs, and occasionally I ran out of money to buy beer,” Kasarjian said.
     But, 19-year-old-Kasarjian said his relationship woes finally seem to be over thanks to a steady girlfriend. If the relationship does last and Kasarjian is feeling good and sober, the next album ought to be interesting, if not a complete 180.
     The Albany-based band, which formed when Chris was in high school, may have the lyrics in common with your garden-variety teenage pop-punk band, but the sound features harder guitar, faster drums, and raspier voices. At least a decent number of patrons at CBGB’s seemed to appreciate it. Fans jumped up and down every time Manning or Kasarjian would leap with drummer, Dave Shapiro’s beats or when bass player, Clarke Foley took a swig of water and spit it out into the smoky CBGB atmosphere. Some girls didn’t even mind being sprayed by Foley’s concoction of bottled water and saliva.
     Manning said that even when the band plays with acts that are a tad more hardcore, the audience seems to accept them.
     “Hellfest has like 130 hardcore bands and we played that,” Manning said. “And everyone liked it.”
As opposed to the hard rock and metal of Hellfest and the night’s headliner, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Count the Stars have opened for poppier bands such as American HiFi, Taking Back Sunday and – again – Dashboard Confessional. Even though they’ve opened for the popular bands, Kasarjian said the band hasn’t even come close to “selling out,” as so many bands, that decide to spread their name beyond 150 fans, are so often accused of.
     “I think the word “sell-out” is the most over and misused thing ever. I think if I started wearing Pepsi t-shirts onstage, then I’d be a sell-out. As long as our music stays the same, I don’t care who plays it or what channel plays it. Selling out would be changing your music to make a profit and honestly, we don’t. We sleep in the van. We don’t get hotels. So, we’re doing this for the love of music.”
     Kasarjian said, joking, that if he were to “sell out,” he would do it promoting Dr. Pepper (Who’s owned by Coca-Cola). He loves the stuff.
     Besides one day being the world’s most famous Pepper, Kasarjian said one of his dreams is to someday help out a young band the way groups such as the Glow Skulls have helped them.
“I definitely want to help the smaller guys,” Kasarjian said.
     He pointed out that not only are they the smaller guys on this tour but they are also literally small guys.
     “We got screwed. We definitely got screwed,” said the five-foot-six Kasarjian. “It makes it hard to meet girls, but I found a short one. I’m all set.”
     Even though Count the Stars got the short – er, dull end of the stick as far as height goes, Kasarjian said the band has been blessed with their audiences.
     “It feels good to have the album out now,” Kasarjian said. “I had the whole front three rows of people that knew every word.”
     I guess there’s nothing like hearing a band live. At least that’s what Kasarjian thinks. On the album, which was completed in a couple takes, he wanted to keep the sound true and natural as much as possible.
     “I guess you could say the motto of the album is performance over perfection. I think a lot of albums nowadays focus way too much on making everything perfect and not heart,” Kasarjian said. “There were some times where, you know, I was singing my heart out. You could tell I might be a little off pitch but it was there. The feeling was there. So I think we just wanted to completely come out the way we wanted to come out, which is raw.”
    The album’s rawness is in debt to the crappy relationships and depressing situations that Kasarjian was going through at the time. But now that the album’s out, the band is touring, the fans are hopping and the girlfriends are stable, Kasarjian and his mates are in a state of sunshine and lollipops.

“I would say everybody’s life in this band is perfect. Honestly, I have everything I want. I’m on tour with my best friends. I have a great girlfriend. I have an amazing album – er, an amazing label. I have an album that I’m really proud of … I think, pretty much, we’re going to tour for a year and a half, and make another album and do it all over again.

	COUNT THE STARS by Codell Rodriguez	LINKS: countthestars.com
	Chris Kasarjian, guitarist/vocalist, of Count the Stars, sat at the bar at CBGB’s with me on March 7th, overwhelmed that he played the legendary club with Roger Miret and the Disasters and the Voodoo Glow Skulls. Unfortunately, I had to wait until everyone was finished playing to interview the band because I was more than half an hour late.
. Why? Because somebody was late with the guest list, and I had to sit outside, freezing my ass off, while 16-year-old kids with no ID were sent home dragging a string of profanity behind them. At least I was entertained. Fortunately, I eventually got to sit down with Kasarjian, an energetic young chap – who kind of looks like that Jason Biggs fellow from American Pie – who’s very open about his musical taste and isn’t afraid to take a few shots at himself. While Kasarjian loves the hardcore bands he’s opening for, he won’t deny his love for a few acts that many in the CB audience would give a swift kick in the ass if they had the chance. “I have so many guilty pleasures,” Kasarjian said. “I will admit we listen to that Avril Lavigne CD all the time. She writes some catchy songs, you know?” Finding out the band loved Avril Lavigne had me asking “Really?” a few times, wondering whether or not he was being sarcastic. In the end, I believe people should be able to listen to whatever the hell they want to without being stigmatized but there’s just something about the peppy little “punk” princess that makes me want to shove rusty nails into my eyes and ears. What was even more troubling was the fact that the band is going to do a couple songs on an Avril Lavigne tribute album. I’m not really bothered by the band deciding to do the covers but by the fact that Avril Lavigne is getting a tribute album. After one damn CD? My little conspiracy theory of the government controlling popular music as a form of mind control is starting to sound a little more reasonable. Kasarjian said they were going to add more rock to the songs they covered. Kasarjian admits he also respects Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabas for his songwriting and bravery. “You need some big balls to play by yourself on acoustic guitar, opening for hardcore bands, so he has our utmost respect,” Kasarjian said. Lyrically, Count the Stars may not be too far from the pop-punk scene that Dashboard has helped popularize. The songs from their debut album, Never Be Taken Alive, deal with topics such as breaking up with girls, life on the road, family and fighting with friends – over girls. But Kasarjian said Count the Stars don’t necessarily fit in with that style. “I guess parts of the album could even fit into kind of an emo-ish thing, but – honestly, we’ve been called indie, emo, punk, pop, power-pop, I mean, who knows,” Kasarjian said. “I figure everything’s kind of blending in anyway so, a little of everything.” Adam Manning, lead guitars, said a lot of people think all their songs are about girls. He said fans often ask if the song, “First Time,” which is about the band’s first time on the road, is about losing virginity. Kasarjian said the songs that were written about girls were actually written about one in particular. "It was definitely a tough year. The reason I really got so mad and bitter about it was just because it was like, I would get led on, led on, led on and then just dropped. And this happened many times. And the only outlet I really had, at that point, was drinking and writing songs, and occasionally I ran out of money to buy beer,” Kasarjian said. But, 19-year-old-Kasarjian said his relationship woes finally seem to be over thanks to a steady girlfriend. If the relationship does last and Kasarjian is feeling good and sober, the next album ought to be interesting, if not a complete 180. The Albany-based band, which formed when Chris was in high school, may have the lyrics in common with your garden-variety teenage pop-punk band, but the sound features harder guitar, faster drums, and raspier voices. At least a decent number of patrons at CBGB’s seemed to appreciate it. Fans jumped up and down every time Manning or Kasarjian would leap with drummer, Dave Shapiro’s beats or when bass player, Clarke Foley took a swig of water and spit it out into the smoky CBGB atmosphere. Some girls didn’t even mind being sprayed by Foley’s concoction of bottled water and saliva. Manning said that even when the band plays with acts that are a tad more hardcore, the audience seems to accept them. “Hellfest has like 130 hardcore bands and we played that,” Manning said. “And everyone liked it.” As opposed to the hard rock and metal of Hellfest and the night’s headliner, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Count the Stars have opened for poppier bands such as American HiFi, Taking Back Sunday and – again – Dashboard Confessional. Even though they’ve opened for the popular bands, Kasarjian said the band hasn’t even come close to “selling out,” as so many bands, that decide to spread their name beyond 150 fans, are so often accused of. “I think the word “sell-out” is the most over and misused thing ever. I think if I started wearing Pepsi t-shirts onstage, then I’d be a sell-out. As long as our music stays the same, I don’t care who plays it or what channel plays it. Selling out would be changing your music to make a profit and honestly, we don’t. We sleep in the van. We don’t get hotels. So, we’re doing this for the love of music.” Kasarjian said, joking, that if he were to “sell out,” he would do it promoting Dr. Pepper (Who’s owned by Coca-Cola). He loves the stuff. Besides one day being the world’s most famous Pepper, Kasarjian said one of his dreams is to someday help out a young band the way groups such as the Glow Skulls have helped them. “I definitely want to help the smaller guys,” Kasarjian said. He pointed out that not only are they the smaller guys on this tour but they are also literally small guys. “We got screwed. We definitely got screwed,” said the five-foot-six Kasarjian. “It makes it hard to meet girls, but I found a short one. I’m all set.” Even though Count the Stars got the short – er, dull end of the stick as far as height goes, Kasarjian said the band has been blessed with their audiences. “It feels good to have the album out now,” Kasarjian said. “I had the whole front three rows of people that knew every word.” I guess there’s nothing like hearing a band live. At least that’s what Kasarjian thinks. On the album, which was completed in a couple takes, he wanted to keep the sound true and natural as much as possible. “I guess you could say the motto of the album is performance over perfection. I think a lot of albums nowadays focus way too much on making everything perfect and not heart,” Kasarjian said. “There were some times where, you know, I was singing my heart out. You could tell I might be a little off pitch but it was there. The feeling was there. So I think we just wanted to completely come out the way we wanted to come out, which is raw.” The album’s rawness is in debt to the crappy relationships and depressing situations that Kasarjian was going through at the time. But now that the album’s out, the band is touring, the fans are hopping and the girlfriends are stable, Kasarjian and his mates are in a state of sunshine and lollipops. “I would say everybody’s life in this band is perfect. Honestly, I have everything I want. I’m on tour with my best friends. I have a great girlfriend. I have an amazing album – er, an amazing label. I have an album that I’m really proud of … I think, pretty much, we’re going to tour for a year and a half, and make another album and do it all over again.