By Christine Natanael
LINKS:
Melodic, synth-pop oriented punk from the candy-colored sunshine-y locale of Long Beach, California, with a post-hardcore edge and a goth storyline—this is what neophytes I Am Ghost brought to the table with their 2006 release, via Epitaph, titled Lover's Requiem. But, I Am Ghost was not a band that had begun in your normal fashion of kids meeting at school, or wherever, and forming a band kind of way. The band members had a lot of help from the internet, as opposed to the old-fashioned placing an ad in the local music paper. They had barely known each other a few months, had just gotten the EP, We Are Always Searching, recorded, and were spreading it around by burning copies and passing it out for free. They were using MySpace as a main marketing tool, when after a very fortuitous show opening for Tsunami Bomb, I Am Ghost had the good fortune to get snapped up by the good folks at Epitaph. The label re-released the EP, and a year later saw them showcasing their beautifully conceptualized rock opera, Lover's Requiem.
Now, 2008 sees some growing pains with band line-up changes, and finds them hard at work on the follow-up to that stunning debut. Singer Steven Juliano sat down and answered my seemingly long list of email questions to get the scoop for you, the readers.
CHRISTINE NATANAEL: How old are you now?
STEVE JULIANO: Ugh, I get asked this so much, and it's so funny to me. I think I really do piss off alot of interviewers and mags because I never give out my age, or where I exactly live. I just feel there are some things left private. I am not some old dude hiding his age, I am actually pretty young. I just don't really care to tell anyone.
CN: Where were you born?
SJ: I was born in San Antonio, Texas and lived there until I was about two years old. I then moved to Santa Cruz, California and grew up there until I was almost 18... and I now reside in Los Angeles, CA.
CN: What were you like as a child?
SJ: Everything was about art and comic books. I was obsessed with drawing and spent most of my childhood in my room drawing my own made up comic book strips and creating cool characters. I was a pretty quiet child. I had a lot of friends, but the whole party thang wasn’t really for me in junior high or high school.
CN: What is your earliest memory of music?
SJ: Ha ha... It was actually Michael Jackson. When Thriller came out I was barely old enough to talk, but I had the little white glove and started to break dance and get into music. I think it was the first album I ever had in my room. To this day, I never thought back then I would be singing in a rock band. Never in my dreams.
CN: Did you study music in school or are you self-taught?
SJ: When I was a kid I was in a lot of musicals and plays, but kinda stopped after I turned 12 or 13. I took a few months of singing lessons a few years back... It was every Saturday for a few hours and I learned so much about how to really sing... and sing correctly. I learned in the first ten minutes that I was not a singer. I had to really work at it.
CN: When did you know that music was in you and something you absolutely neede in your life?
SJ: It started when I moved to Los Angeles and started to intern and go to college, and the long drives on the freeway. When you’re stuck in a car for a few hours each day in traffic, music becomes your savior. That’s when I really started to buy a lot of music and started to really get into a lot of rad bands.
CN: When did you make the decision to actively pursue music as something much more than a hobby, and how did your family, etc., react?
SJ: As soon as we got signed to Epitaph and the touring began, that's when I knew this could be some bigger than I expected. The tours were so long that I couldn’t keep my current job, so the band became my job. It was so scary at first.
CN: What were your favorite bands in high school/college?
SJ: Growing up, it was a lot of metal/rock bands like Guns’N Roses and Metallica, and as soon as I graduated high school, that's when I found the Suicide Machines and punk hardcore bands like Rancid and Goldfinger and Sick Of It All. It was such a huge gap from metal rock to this fast aggressive fun stuff.
CN: Who are your musical influences, past and present?
SJ: I sang a lot to the first Suicide Machines while in the car, and Goldfinger and Green Day. I think I learned alot from those bands. People see me and think, "Oh Steve, what's your favorite goth bands..." and to be honest, I don’t listen to too much goth. Maybe more Japanese goth rock bands like Malice Mizer, but that’s about it.
CN: Tell me about your background in animation, comic books, and toys.
SJ: I started to intern at Hanna Barbara in Hollywood about a week after I graduated high school. I was taking college art classes at the same time. Then I started to work for Disney for a while, then moved quickly to the TV show "Tales from the Crypt" on HBO. I think I was only like 18 or 19 years old and already working in the movie industry. I kept pretty busy working on TV and films until I signed with Epitaph.
CN: Tell me about how much MySpace had to do with the early formation of the band itself and the marketing/DIY exposure of I Am Ghost. How vital is it still to the band today?
SJ: Myspace
was how I found each member of IAG. It was how Brett from Epitaph even
heard about us. The internet is like a double edge sword for bands, where
it can create you and make you famous but also destroy your band as well
by all the illegal downloading that goes on now. A lot of bands now are
breaking up because they can't support themselves or their families.
CN: You knew that you had something popular with your
EP, We Are Always Searching and with the short exposure via the
Take Action! And Warped Tour stops that your did. Were you prepared for
the reaction to Lover's Requiem when it was released?
SJ: Well, the label and our fans at the time had huge expectations for the first full-length, and in the back of my mind I knew it was a little too much for a band who had never toured before and got signed after only 4 shows. I knew from day one that it was going to be an uphill battle to win over fans. I'm not stupid, and I told everyone that you have to give us time to grow and learn and figure out what we are really about. We lost a few members recently because we got signed so fast. I really didn’t know anyone in the band... maybe a few months, then BOOM! We are signed to a popular label and everyone is talking about us. I was scared because there was no way in hell we were gonna do what people said we were gonna do in a short time. I mean, one day I do believe we will be pretty popular, but for now, its a growing process.
CN: Can you tell me the true story behind Kerith and Brian Telestai leaving the band? It seems to have been acrimonious. Was it really over faith issues?
SJ: It was a lot of issues, and that was just one of the problems. It was one of the biggest problems, but there was for sure a lot more. I really hate to keep pulling them into the limelight since they have been out of this band for almost a year now. All I can say is that when you’re in a band, and in the same bus or van, not everyone is going to agree on everything, and it’s everyone’s job to figure out how to work things out and compromise on certain things. When you are not willing to compromise and it becomes all about ME, ME, ME, ME... then there is a problem. We compromised for a year straight for them. Guys in this band changed their entire attitudes on who they really were to make certain people in the band happy, but then it became fake and the fighting started.
CN: When writing Lover's Requiem, you stated that you had storyboarded the entire plot of the album before a single song was written. Are you taking the same approach with the new album?
SJ: Not really. We did the epic rock opera musical type thang, and while it was great experience, it was something that we really did not want to do again. I think this new album is still I Am Ghost. I think this is what I Am Ghost should have been since day one, and it just took us a few years to figure this out. We will always have that big epic sound in our music, but this time around I’m not singing about dark angels and vampires.
CN: You are friendly with Klaryssa Korol from Chamber of Echoes, and I know that her song, “My Beautiful”, was on your demo for the new CD. Is this a final track, and more interestingly, will Klaryssa be joining you on the road to re-create Kerith’s vocal parts and Brian’s keys, as sort of a two-for-one package?
SJ: No. We LOVE Klaryssa, but certain things in her life made it impossible for her to do more than help us out on demos and play a show live. We just feel that I Am Ghost is us five dudes... and while we will have keyboards and possibly a girl singing on the album, it’s not going to be the 6th member.
CN: What would you say influenced the formation of your songs most on the new record: news, politics, popular culture (or lack thereof), or interpersonal relationships?
SJ: I have
never been the guy singing about ex-girlfriends or how someone broke my
heart, even though I have had that happen to me a few times. I tend to
just create stories in my head and write from that. I just get more excited
writing stories than about news or the goverment or girlfriends.
CN: Tell me about some of the cuts on the new record:
song titles and themes.
SJ: Well, we have about 13 brand new songs recorded in demo format, and another 5-6 coming soon. I can't really say too much more than that.
CN: What do you feel is the boldest song on the new album in terms of emotional and lyrical content? Why?
SJ: There is a song called, "This is War", and every time I listened to it, it gives me some goosebumps. But, the reasons will be known soon enough when it comes out.
CN: Which do you feel is the boldest song on the new album in terms of creative and recording process? Why?
SJ: Hmmm... there are a few. Ha... just really can't say too much since they are still just demos. When they are recorded with our producer and it comes out more clearer, I will know.
CN: If you had the chance to sit down and interview anyone, living or dead, who would you choose? Why?
SJ: My grandfather. He was such an amazing man, and taught me everything. I would love to ask him more questions about his life...
CN: Which of your musical influences would you most like to meet (or have met, if they are deceased)? Why?
SJ: Well,
I have already met Jason from The Suicide Machines, and I sat with him
one day and just told him how much his band changed my life. It was crazy,
but my old band had a chance to open up for them. It was amazing. These
people are just like you and I, and he was for sure excited to hear how
much his music meant to me.
CN: Who is your favorite author? Why?
SJ: Stephen King no doubt. I have read almost every book hes ever done.
CN: Who is your favorite director? Why?
SJ: Hmmm... Frank Capra--famous director from the 40's and 50's. He just was an awesome story teller.
CN: What is your favorite horror film? Why?
SJ: Lost Boys, even though it really isn’t too scary.
CN: How many horror movie posters do you own? Which is your favorite?
SJ: At one time I had at least 8-10 horror posters up on my wall. My favorite was my original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie poster from the early 70's. It was still in almost mint condition. Now its in storage somewhere.
CN: How many Living Dead dolls do you own?
SJ: About ten now...
CN: What’s
in favored rotation in your iPod? Why?
SJ: I just got an iPod for X-mas, and as of now the only
thing in it is our demo trax from the new album. I listen to it while
working on lyrics and so on.
CN: What is your greatest fear?
SJ: ... to live in fear.