Joseph: Hey there, John. First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to sit down and do this interview with me. Second, I want to thank Rusty for letting me step in as a guest for his platform. He interviewed you last year, and I think that having someone outside of the band interview you is a really great idea. I have interviewed many bands, usually in person or on the phone, so this is going to be a first for me: interviewing through e-mail. This is an odd concept to me, so bear with me. I’m sure that we can make it work. Also, Rusty interviews by trading e-mails back and forth, creating a conversation, but time is very precious in my life, and since I work 7 days a week, usually 14 hours a day, I don’t think that we will be able to have that luxury. So I will have to unfortunately do this my way, by blasting you with all my questions up front. Perhaps we can tailor the end result to sound like a conversation. Maybe not. We will just have to see! Let’s start with your band, am.psych. What exactly does ‘am.psych’ mean and how did the naming of the band process unfold?
John: I’ve always wanted to be asked this question, man. This is super exciting. Well, I’m pretty sure that the most common assumption is that it’s short for American Psycho, which is pretty alright. I mean, it’s a great book and all. The actual full name is “Amphetamine Psychosis”, which is a sort of psychological disorder caused by excessive use of amphetamines. The name came up as a discussion between David Manning and I. I had an ex who had a pretty serious drug problem that was focused mostly in the area of amphetamines. I was hurting really badly at the time and wanted to make a statement in a very public and “cool” way that what she was doing was bad news (from my perspective). So, we decided to get our hands on some software and start making music that we could slap the name onto. As it stands, we’ve got a line-up that all agree on a fairly clear-cut drug-free mentality. We’re all in very monogamous relationships with our alcohol. The booze would get mad if we cheated on it with other subtsances.
Joseph: How did you arrive at the current sound of am.psych, which is a perfect balance of electro-industrial and hard rock music?
John: Thanks for compliment, for starters. I think, as with most music projects, the final outcome sound is determined by the contributing tastes of the musicians involved. In the past, I struggled between wanting to make 80s synth pop, classic coldwave industrial, or more of the post-2000 sort of stompy industrial. I think that a lot of the influences I had in mind played through, but you can also absolutely hear Rusty’s more classic metal style in the guitars and Dan (Clark)’s more traditional rock sensibilities playing through in the final mixes. We maintain a really great equilibrium in terms of what we contribute, and nothing gets green-lighted until we’re all happy.
Joseph: Your vocal style is forceful and sinister, while at the same time maintaining melody and a beautiful darkness. What is your background in singing, and what did you do to help you develop this singing style?
John: Ha! Well, for starters, I have no actual training other than the brief vocal coaching Dan threw at me while I was in the recording booth. My singing background is based, I guess, on me being a huge music fan who can’t stop singing along in the car. I definitely have my list of vocalists I love. Guys that I wish I sounded more like, that sort of thing. In the end, obviously, I picked up pieces of each along the way. My quick list would be: Chris Randall, Chris Cornell, Raymond Watts, Tim Skold, Nivek Ogre
Joseph: You have played a number of live shows, having the chance to open for some great acts, headline your own shows and participate in some awesome festivals. Which ones stand out to you as the most memorable, and what shows would you rather forget?
John: Well, the WTII Minifest was up there. Top five, for sure. We played a Skinny Puppy pre-show at The Rave in Milwaukee during their “Greater Wrong of the Right” tour. It was a pay-to-play gig, but even still, we went on in the bar at the same time as Otto von Schirach going on in the main hall. Nobody left during our set. The bar was packed with people and they went nuts for our set. That was pretty killer. Opening for Chemlab, USSA, and Skeleton Key in Milwaukee was also about as good as it gets. It’s hard to say. We’ve had so many great opportunities and played with some many awesome people. I think we’re really lucky. As for stuff I’d like to forget… The two years or so of shows when we started out were pretty bad. We played with a band that put little to no effort into promotion, but always made sure they got paid out first. I can’t mention any names, because that’s catty and unprofessional. Heh.
Joseph: Last year I had the chance to catch your live set at David Schock’s WTII Minifest at the Abbey Pub in Chicago, and we actually had a bit of time to hang out and talk. One of the things I took away from the festival was the overwhelming sense of family and community amongst the musicians, promoters and fans. Is this an inherently Illinois/Wisconsin thing, or do you feel like this camaraderie can be brought to a national level, or better still, and international level?
Joseph: Let’s get right to the heart of why this interview is happening: The Electronic Saviors 2 compilation that Jim Semonik just released on Metropolis Records, and the subsequent benefit show that David Schock of WTII Records is putting on in Chicago that you are performing at. First, what led to your participation in the compilation to begin with?
John: Well, after we released our EP on WTII, Dave (Schock) got to work on promoting it to everyone he knew, etc. Jim got his hands on it and was really into it. I hadn’t met Jim at the time. He promoted the EP and pushed some sales for us. Shortly thereafter, he asked us to contribute a track to ES2. We handed him, “My Enemy”, which I’ve often said is the best song I’ve ever written, lyrically. When we played at WTII Minifest last year, we got Jim onstage with us for, “Reload”. There’s been a bromantic love affair between am.psych and Jim ever since. I mean, the guy is amazing. The comp is for an awesome cause. When Jim himself asks you for a track to put on a comp that thousands of other bands are submitting tracks to, only hoping to maybe snag a spot, you throw him the best thing you’ve got. We did, I think.
Joseph: How did you wind up getting included at the benefit show?
John: Oh, thank Christ. This is an easy question that I don’t need to ramble on about: Dave Schock is an awesome label operator, that’s how. We give him our A game, he gives us awesome show opportunities.
Joseph: I myself have had more than a few family members affected by cancer, and I am watching a friend deal with the affliction as it attacks her young son’s brain. It is a heartbreaking and helpless feeling to watch someone go through it. What are your personal experiences with cancer?
John: When I was in High School, my family had a tough couple of years with cancer. We lost my aunt, my mother’s youngest sister, when she was only in her mid-late thirties. Shortly thereafter, my mother lost an uncle to cancer as well. Seeing a human being suffer like that is one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced.
Joseph: I could go on and on asking you questions, so I will wrap it up with this question: what is the future of am.psych? I hear a full-length album is in the works. How about touring?
Joseph: Rusty likes to play the word association game in his interviews, so I guess I will have to comply to make it fit within his branding. So here it is: The Lightning Round! Five quick statements and you provide a wordy answer to them. Only I’m going to change it up a bit and turn the words against each other, sort of like a battle or a deathmatch. You tell me who wins and why. So here goes:
Joseph: PC vs. Mac
John: I used to say Mac, but… PC (built by my Australian and I)
Joseph: Bart Pfanenstiel vs David Schock
John: Both are such amazing guys, but I’ll go with who I know better: Dave.
Joseph: Matt Fanale vs. Brian Graupner
John: Damn. These are all tough. Brian’s doing me a solid soon, so he gets it.
Joseph: Playstation vs. Xbox
John: PS3 to play Borderlands with my Aussie while we wait out the immigration process, Xbox 360 for everything else.
Joseph: Boxers vs. Briefs
John: …Boxer-briefs?
Joseph: Thanks again, John. I hope this was as fun for you as it was for me!
