Deception Of A Ghost's Bryan Sain talks to us about how his band got started, how they felt about getting signed with Bullet Tooth Records and whats new when it comes to their music both new and old.
1. Tell me how did the band decide on naming yourselves Deception Of A Ghost?
Well, before we were Deception Of A Ghost, we were Sever The Tie. We signed a small record deal a few years back with Forsaken Records out of Greensboro, NC when the band name was still Sever The Tie. There was a band on Solid State Records named Sever Your Ties so for conflict of interest we had to change our name. Deception of a ghost was the name of the last song on our unreleased E.P. at the time and we couldn't think of anything else so we said, ok, let's just go with this.
2. Can you give me a brief summary as to how the band got started up until this point?
Buddy, Kyle, and myself have been best friends for years. They're brothers and I met them through music and we all played local shows in different bands together and started hanging out outside of music. I moved off to Raleigh to join a band and was out there for about 8 months touring and what not and I got a phone call from the old drummer who I was also friends with. He basically said dude I'm getting married and I don't want to tour anymore and you know, that whole married life conversation. So he asked me if I'd fill the spot since we were all good friends already and I said of course. So I moved home, tried out, and we went from there. We picked Scott up a little over a year ago when our vocalist quit and he's been killing it. One of the best dudes I know and so experienced with touring and drinking and all the fun stuff haha. And recently, we've added our homie Chris "Spacholypse" Spach to our lineup on bass. Rad ass dude with rad ass tattoos.
3. Do you remember what you were doing the day you guys got word about getting signed to Bullet Tooth Records?
I don't really recollect anything specific, I just remember sitting at home and getting a text from Buddy saying Josh (Bullet Tooth owner) was interested and was typing up a mock contract to send us. At the time the label was still called Trustkill Records. I don't really think it hit me until we actually signed it and what I really remember is drinking Andre Champagne for 3 weeks straight every weekend and getting stupid drunk and just partying. We celebrated for almost a month I guess because we're small town dudes and it was just surreal. The same guy that put out a lot of greats and changed the underground scene in the early 2000's was signing us and we just said fuck it, let's party for a month. And I'll never know why we drank Andre Champagne. We haven't drank it again to this day. Weird.
4. Who are some of your musical influences and non-influences?
As a band I'd say anything musical. We all listen to everything and I think each person brings their own mix of musical taste to the table. And life is probably our biggest influence on writing. Just whatever we're feeling as of late or emotions, all that plays a part. As for me personally, I love everything from metal to r&b. It all mixes pretty well in the end for having such wide varieties.
5. What are your songs about and what themes do they cover? Can you discuss the song writing process?
Our first record was about being yourself and never letting someone tell you that you can't be who you are or that you can't do anything you want to do. And about being positive. I guess that was the "theme" but our old vocalist was going through some things and he really hit the nail on the head for exactly what he felt then. It was real stuff and it was really who he was. A positive dude who had to overcome a lot at a young age. This new record, "Life Right Now" is absolutely what it says. It's fast, aggressive, heavy and doesn't stop. This record is about a lot of things, partying, a shitty government, money and how it's just fake green paper, not giving up, probably a little bit of heartbreak, but it's all positive still. It's about to how to still be happy and let go. There's too many negative messages today in and out of music and none of us are negative. We're all real dudes and we're not gonna sing about shit that we don't go through. And I think we're all glad it's not all about love and depression cuz fuck that noise.
6. Tell me about your time in the studio how was the vibe?
The vibe was awesome! Jamie King is a close friend and has been for a while and he did our first record as well. We laughed constantly and learned so much. We threw around some ideas for producers and we decided on the King again. We tried some new things in the studio with Jamie this time and it was amazing. He did some new things that he'd never done on the engineering side, as did we on the tracking side and it all turned out great. We had most everything written and had been doing pre-pro for every song before
entering the studio, which is a huge help. Some things changed during our recording process but it was all for the better and Jamie is an awesome listener and producer, but still gives you the freedom to do and try your own things. Then we sent the record off to Joey Sturgis and he mastered it and it sounds phenomenal. We couldn't be happier working with
both Jamie and Joey.
7. "Life Right Now!" is your title choice how come and what can you tell me about this release?
"Life Right Now" was chosen becuase it represents everything our songs talk about as well as our personal lives. A government on the rocks, relationships, being a real person, the economy being pure shit, living for yourself and partying because it's Thursday night, I could go on forever. And not just these topics in general, but our views on them. The way we or the listener perceives life right now.
8. How do you think this release differs from your previous?
Our last release was very carefully written. I think we felt like since it was our first record we had to tip toe around and I mean we still wrote what we wanted at the time but we had some member changes before we were signed. So half the record was written with one bass player and one vocalist and the other half was written with a different bass player and a different vocalist. So we tried to compromise with the situation and do the best we could while touring in between. As soon as we started to think of writing a new record we knew we wanted faster, more aggressive, heavier the whole time. Just relentless. We didn't have any boundaries on this one. We had a lot of anger built up within us. Not as a band, but I think each individual had some things going on personally and we were all pissed at the music business or at least I was. Not at any one person or the label but just because you eat shit so much. None of us ever expected to make a ton of money, which we don't, but even to do it just because it's your passion is a constant battle. Promoters shit on you, clubs shit on you, you're broke, and it's a tough business to be in. Especially when you're a small band on a large scale of successful bands. So instead of bitching about it because it does no one any good, we wrote a record. But in the end, we all love it, I love it, and we'd never change anything we've been through or our passion for music. You just have to vent sometimes haha.
9. What inspired the album title? Is it a concept album?
Like I said, just life itself and who we are. We love to party, we love fast cars and even faster women. Touring all the time, the craziness of everyday life and the emotions you go through daily. Hanging with your friends or whatever it is people do. That is life right now. As far as a concept album, no. I wouldn't say so. It has meaning, but it's not a story or series from a previous album. The two records have no relation in that aspect. I think concept albums can be cool, but this is not one.
10. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
To write the record we wanted and hold nothing back. To say whatever we wanted. Be it lyrics, music, production, whatever. We just wanted to have the sound we wanted and put a record out that meant something to us and showed people who we are. I think if you can accomplish that in songs without actually explaining to people word for word what you mean, you have succeeded in that aspect. And obviously to top the last record. Second release is usually the most important in our opinion and we wanted to blow the roof off.
11. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
The guitars used some new things I know. I can't really talk nerdy to you about it because I don't know anything about any of that stuff, but I know they used the new Axe-Fx. I'm sure there were some other processors and preamps they used that were from the year 3000 that I'm not mentioning haha, but seriously, I couldn't tell you. As weird as this sounds, I used a Zil-bell one time, and for the first time ever on this record. Most drummers have Zil-bells, I never have for whatever reason. I think Jamie actually had some new gear as well on the engineering end but again, I'm so clueless on that stuff, forgive me.
12. When did you start writing for this album? How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous Deception Of A Ghost albums?
We started writing last summer pretty seriously. We had written one song before the summer and half of it had vocals, but we eventually scrapped it. We had about about 3 songs finished by the end of summer. We were touring all summer on and off so Kyle would record while we were home for a couple weeks and then on the road we would listen to everything and talk about changes and if we liked the song enough to keep it and so on and so forth. We basically wrote all the way up to the day before we went to the studio. The writing process was actually very different from the last record. Kyle, one of our guitar players, wrote everything, where as the last album we wrote as a group. He pre-pro'd guitars, bass, drums, everything except vocals. Then at practice we would learn everything and I would tweak drum parts and put my own fills in and change small things, but I would say 80 percent of what he wrote was used. When he wrote a new song he would e-mail it to everyone and we'd all text back and forth and put our 2 cents in and go from there. He did a fantastic job and we were all surprised. It was very smooth and I think Kyle has always loved writing and there's always been "that guy" that he couldn't write comfortably around, so he just said fuck it, let me take a stab at it and it worked.
13. Did you feel any pressure for a follow-up?
Not at all. If anything, we were ready to do this record a year ago. We knew what we wanted to put out as soon as "Speak Up, You're Not Alone" had been out for about 6 months. Not that we weren't happy with it, I just think as a band you grow musically and you get chemistry and that takes time. And with members in and out and all that stuff when we finally talked about a new record everyone was on the same page. And so we knew then what we wanted to do.
14. What are your expectations for the CD?
I'd say we want to get to the next level. And by that I mean touring full time and doing this as a career. We all love music and want to share it with the world. As far as sales, sure we'd love to triple what the first one did but with the way downloading is, you never know what your numbers will look like. I think if you're a band with a demand for your music, you'll sell records regardless of piracy. You might not go platinum, but you'll produce numbers. And that's what we want. Not for money reasons or any of that shit,
but becuase it means kids are into it. If you can sell records in this day and age then you have a solid fan base that want to support you.
15. What are your upcoming plans in regards to touring?
We have a headlining tour that starts next week! July 6th in Oneonta, New York. We're stoked on that. It's with our boys in Thoughts In Reverse and Dead Ocean. It's East Coast and should be a blast. Check that out, come out, party, hang, buy new merch, hear new songs, all that stuff. And after that we have some plans in the works for early fall and the record coming out so it should be busy for the rest of the year!
16. What more can we expect to see from you guys this year?
New music video hopefully within the next couple months, touring the new record the rest of the year, and who knows what else. New Rock Band songs. I'm not even sure what's going on at this point with everything in the works but stay tuned and keep up with us and come out to some live shows and hang out! Talk to us, buy us beers, drink our beers, whatever you wanna do. We live in a van so we're easily enthused haha.
17. Anything else you'd like to say or add?
We would like to thank Natalie's World for this interview and taking the time to check us out. Thanks to anyone that reads this. Check us out on facebook and twitter!
Facebook-facebook.com/deceptionofaghost
twitter-@doagnc
Look out for us on the Flawless Victoury this summer and our new record "Life Right Now" to drop this summer! Thanks again.
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