|
AN
INTERVIEW WITH SILENT CIVILIAN’s Jonny
Santos| by
Christopher Mygrant Silent
Civilian is: Jonny
Santos (vocals/guitar) Chris
Mora (drums) Marcus
Rafferty (guitar) Stan
(bass) World
of Fandom:
With the success of your previous endeavor (Spineshank),
how hard was it not to duplicate the band and its sound yet still be
able to capitalize on your talent which brought you the recognition in
the first place? Jonny
Santos: Well, uh,
here’s the deal. When I left Spineshank, I threw my hands up in the
air and said, ‘That’s it, I’m done. Three records, world tours,
Grammy nomination; I’m not even 30, I did it.’ You know? And when I
realized that I wasn’t done (chuckling), one thing I did was
anticipate that people would expect Spineshank part two and that would
be the first thing that comes to people’s minds, “Oh Jonny Santos
has a new record, it probably sounds like a second hand Spineshank.” You know, I’m not a dummy; I was kind of like, ‘Well, if I was gonna do Spineshank part two, why would I have even left the band?’ Also, I knew, that there’s a process (pauses)…I I I couldn’t come out like that. And I remembered a friend of mine, once upon a time, told me something and his name was Amir Derakh he was the guitar player for Orgy which was really successful several years back, but he also had a lot of success in the eighties with Rough Cut. I remember asking him, ‘How did you do it dude? How did you have two careers? That’s not fair. You’re not supposed to get it twice.’ I go, ‘How did you manage this?’ and he straight up said, “Jonny, I had to re-invent myself. I had to completely go back to the drawing boards and forget everything I knew about the band I was in before and start over again.” And I think that is really important. So I told myself that I didn’t really care about the mainstream success anymore. I really don’t. I told myself that I really wanted to start playing thrash metal again. It’s what I grew up on. I said, ‘I don’t care if I get signed. I don’t care if I get a huge huge record deal. I don’t care about any of that. I just want to have fun and I don’t care if my songs are longer than three minutes and thirty seconds, you know, because the radio won’t play’em.’ I didn’t care and I think that when I told myself that and set no limitations and I just wanted to do this for me and I want to have a great time doing it, I think that was the key ingredient. World
of Fandom: But at
one point, doesn’t the label dictate what an artist or band will do
regardless if that artist or band feels strongly about certain aspects
of their project? JS:
In Spineshank I did. Unfortunately, I was a part of that machine for a
long time. WOF:
A machine. Yes, I guess that would be a good word to use. J.S:
Yeah, I got free of my contract with Roadrunner and when I was
approached by several labels for this project, I said well here’s the
deal. ‘I’m going to do my record and you guys aren’t going to tell
me anything otherwise we won’t do it at all cause I’ve already done
it. I’m not out to prove something to anybody. I’m out there to have
fun now and if you’re not gonna let me do what I wanna do and have fun
doing it, fuck it. I’ll go back and unload trucks all day long. And
Mediaskare, the label I’m with right now, is exactly what they gave
me.’ They said, “Here’s your money, here’s your budget to go make
your record, go make the record you want to make, and we will put it out
cause we signed you for who you are and for the music you write and not
what we want you to write.” And that is exactly what they did. They went
in there and let me make the record that I wanted and, to me, it’s the
best thing that I ever accomplished as a musician in my life. I couldn’t
be more proud of it. WOF:
How has the CD (Rebirth of the Temple) been received in regard to people
buying it and also going to shows? JS:
We made the record and I’m like, ‘Cool man, I don’t really know if
this thing is going to sell or what not’, but we ended up touring (great
tours), the fanbase is a really good portion of the Spineshank fanbase
that know about the project and are coming out. They are lovin’ it. The
record is selling and the next thing you know I am hosting Headbangers
Ball. So like I said, I didn’t really expect any of this, but it’s
just awesome. I feel like I’m having a great time. There are no
limitations of what I can or cannot do. I am very content with my career
and my band. WOF:
It seems you have a very cautious attitude when it comes to record labels. JS:
It’s just sad a lot of artists out there can’t say the same thing. I
feel like we as musicians are used a lot. Half the time the music people
are not music people, they’re numbers people. It’s a product. WOF:
Well, it is a business and it is about the dollar signs. JS:
Oh, of course it is. So many artists fall victim and half the time they
don’t even know. When I signed my first record contract, I was just
happy like, ‘Wow! I got a record deal. I’m gonna be a rock star.
That’s awesome! Oh sure, I’ll wear these clothes, okay yeah.’ They
(the record labels) kind of like basically strip you of your creative
freedom that you would ever have. WOF:
I guess the word naive plays into the equation. JS:
Yes. Extremely. Green (laughing) WOF:
I guess you have already touched on this next subject in a sense, but with
the experiences of Spineshank under your belt, what was the approach taken
when it came to Silent Civilian? By this I mean, what lessons were
previously learned that allowed you not to make the same mistakes or would
now allow you to dictate your own destiny so to speak? WOF:
After leaving Spineshank, what other projects did you embark on? JS:
I was really happy after Spineshank. I went into production and
engineering and I was producing a lot of other bands and helping other
bands achieve their artistic vision. That was really fun. I had such a
great time doing it and I think that’s what got me back to being in a
band again. Seeing these really young kids being really passionate about
their music. That’s when I told myself, ‘Man, that kid still lives
inside of me and I’m not done yet. I’m gonna have some fun here.’ WOF:
You could be perceived as somewhat of a mentor for the aspiring musician
and guide them through the twists and turns of the music industry. JS:
I think with Spineshank it wasn’t so much what I learned what to do; I
think I learned what not to do. That’s the key. Producing, it’s fun, I
get to be in a different band every month (as a producer) and it pays a
helluva lot more than being in the actual band itself, but my passion is
still being on that stage and playing for people and entertaining and
having a great time with three of my closes friends on stage. We’re just
good time metal heads. We get up there and bring a case of beer on stage
with us and hammer it out. That’s what it’s about man - good times. WOF:
Live it up while you can. JS:
Yeah, you know, I know I’m not gonna be able to do this forever. I’m
surprised I’ve gotten away with it this long. I’m thirty years old and
that number in the music industry is a bad
number. WOF:
I guess you are over-the-hill. JS:
For me, I’m like, I feel just as young as I did when I started, but it
seems like these days if a kid is not 18 or 19 years old, who gives a
shit. It’s just really cool that this genre of music doesn't really
discriminate that way. WOF:
As long as a musician is crankin’ out the tunes, their age is secondary.
It is about the music they are generating. JS:
Totally man. Even when I go see Metallica and they start playing shit from
Kill’em All, it’s like they just wrote that yesterday and those
guys are in their mid 40s and they are still hammerin’ it. WOF:
I know once a project is completed and is ready to be released to the
masses, musicians tend to critique their latest endeavor and at times are
not happy with the finished project. Was Rebirth of the Temple one
of those projects where you wished you could now go back and change or
tweak a few things or is what we hear exactly what you wanted us to hear? JS:
There is nothing. I wouldn’t change anything on that record. In other
words, anything I could change about that record would be to put more
songs on it. More bang for the buck. WOF:
I can honestly say you are in the minority in regard to not wanting to
change anything. JS:
Because of the situation I got into with the record label and my producer,
I was able to take the time, actually, and we listened to it for a month.
We got together and asked if anyone wanted to change anything. “Is
everybody happy with this record as of right now?” Two months after the
record was finished, we were doing little tweaks and there, changing
little things, going back for a day and re-tracking some vocals stuff, but
because of the people I am involved with and stuff, it didn’t cost the
band a fucking million dollars to do. I’m so happy with it. I can say
that about every single Spineshank record that we put out… WOF:
(interjecting and puzzled) ...that you were happy with every project? JS: No, that there are a million things that I would have changed. Before those records were even done, I was not happy with a lot of things and I just, obviously, people would step over my head and say, “Nope, that’s how it’s gonna be. We’ve ruled you out on this one.” And it's like, ‘Oookay.’ It even states in my actual record contract (for Silent Civilian) “creative control” belongs to the band. WOF: Fan reviews for Rebirth of a Temple have been relatively positive, but when that not so good review rears its head, how does it affect you? Do you use it as a tool to possibly better the project or ignore it all together? JS: I don’t mind when reviews come in that have constructive criticism. When the record first came out there was a couple of fans out there that were like, “Oh, I’m not into this. I really wish you wouldn’t have left Spineshank.” Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It’s like you know, ‘I’m sorry, if I loose you as a fan, I loose you as a fan, but you know what? In the end, I didn’t make this record, I didn’t start this band for anyone else but myself and I have to kind of like stick to that.’ You can’t make everybody happy and there are people out there that when their favorite band breaks up, there is going to be a certain amount of resentment to whoever moves on. I’ve seen it happen to a lot of bands, but that’s expected. I don’t let it get to me. It doesn’t make me say, ‘Oh well, I have to improve the way I write my songs.’ I feel that’s just unfortunate, but there is nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands. I can’t make people like my band. You either do or you don’t. That’s the beauty of having your own mind. That’s America man. WOF: At this point in your career, would you say there has been accomplishment? JS:
Yes. I have accomplished everything I have wanted to accomplish. At this
point, right now, if I was to get ran over by a city bus I would feel like
I did well. I am content. I am very content. At this point, it’s
Disneyland now. WOF: Now it is all just gravy? JS: Yeah. You know, because I made this record; I made the record I wanted to make. It’s a success to me. I can’t say anymore about it. The band is starting to have the same amount of success as Spineshank without half the battles I had to go through. It’s just an awesome feeling. I’m just happy. You know how many people really truly, in the world that we live in, can go through life and do what they love to do passionately and pay the rent? WOF: Not very many. Well Jonny, it has been a great pleasure speaking with you. Continued success in all your present and future endeavors. JS: Cool man. Thanks a lot Chris. Post Script: I just wanted to add that toward the end of our conversation, Jonny mentioned his daughter which then led us off in the direction of having children and parenting. I mention this because, if by chance his daughter happens to read this, I wanted her to know that her dad is very proud of her and doted on her heavily. |
