Nothing Tastes the Same

The Status: Que

2008-11-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

photo credit: ben grant's myspace
the status on myspace

It’s like this:

I was scheduled to interview this band I had never heard of called the Status. Their name gave off too many bad vibes, but I figured I would give them a listen before I wrote them off as a generic emo band. I mean, you never know who’s going to end up famous these days.

Rey, the publicist, sent me a download of their album, and I tried my best to let it stay afloat in the ocean in my head. Not only listening to the music, but also listening for that unique style a band with this more emotional direction needs to stand out from all the rest.

Though their songs are catchy, the band hasn’t hit their full potential. Maybe songs like the title track to the album, So This is Progress, play off a well written melody but other songs do not compare. With not only the lead singer/guitarist of the Status, Ben Grant, bellowing out lyrics, but also Anthony Raneri from Bayside was donating his voice to the song, “So This is Progress.”
It seems as though the track was written to be the bands first single, and you could tell by the beat’s high energy with the strong orbital vocals from either gentlemen in duet.

In all, the album wasn’t too bad, but decent.

When the day came for the concert on October 8, I was in such a rush to find a new date after my girlfriend dumped me, that I ended up late to the show. Rey told me that they were to take the stage around 8pm, so when my date and I got to the venue it was only 7:33. As soon as we make our way to the ticket office, I could hear those power pop guitars crunching away at the eardrums of every fifteen-year-old kid with his mom -- the Status was already playing. I quickly asked the kid at the ticket office for my press passes, but he took my ID and couldn’t find my name on any of the lists. This day was killing me, and I already had to pay $10 for parking with a spray of some ‘PimpShield’ on my windows from one of Detroit’s local bums.

I was close to nothing in cash, and needed to get in the show.
I rang Rey.
“It’s Ian,” I say.
“What’s up, man?” he says. “Are you going to the show?”
“Yeah, that’s the thing, dude,” I begin. “They said I’m not on the list.”

Rey calls me back about seven minutes later saying that the tour manager, Steve, is on his way to find me. I tell him he’s already gotten me inside the venue.

We stood on the right where the equipment was, and watched the Status move back and forth, pacing across the compact area that was considered a stage. They had a lot of action going on with their facial expressions, and not as much with their body movements, yet when they rocked out on a song like “The Wake of What’s Been Done”, they got into it. I won’t say their stage presence wasn’t good because they don’t know how to keep up with their own music, but it was more so just as well could have been due to that elbow room they didn’t seem to have enough of. Other than that, they sounded great live. Just like their CD, until Ben had to replicate Anthony’s vocal part on “So This is Progress.”

Their set ended, and I approached Ben coming off the stage with an amp in his hands.
Sounding like a tool, I said “Need any help?”
“No thanks,” he says. “We’re cool, man.”

I felt a chill go down my spine as if I was just written off as some fanboy, but I took the initiative to introduce myself as the person who was going to interview him that night.
“Okay cool,” he says in a surprised way. “When did you want to do this?”

We set up the interview for 8pm, and when it came time to conduct the interview, we had to find an electrical outlet for my laptop. First heading to the basement, and getting stopped on the way by security along the way, we found that the lower floor back area was just the other half of St. Andrew’s, The Shelter. There were about six people down there, hanging around and making racket.

I walked into the men’s bathroom, small and cluttered with a sink and a toilet stall, along with a urinal in the middle of everything.
“Well, I’m sure the bathroom is quiet,” I say. “I see a place for my laptop on the head of the toilet.”

We make our way to the second floor, and that security guard at the stairs stops us again.
“You can’t go up there,” he says, trying to be stern, but by the look of him he couldn’t be more than a year or two older than I. He wasn’t very intimidating.
“Come on, man,” Ben says to the kid. “We have to do an interview.”
“You need to get permission from the tour manager if you want up there,” says the security guard.

We finally get to the second floor of St. Andrew’s, after having another run-in with Steve and him giving me the “you again” look.

The space is quiet and rich. There is a stage that cuts on an angle in the corner of the room with a couple amps sitting on the floor next to it. We set up on top of an amp, and I give my lady friend the camera to record the interview.

I begin the session by asking a very obvious question for any band, but what can I say? I didn’t know anything about them.

“So tell me about the Status,” I say. “How did you guys become a band?”

“We started out just as friends,” he begins. “Andy plays guitar and does backup vocals. Him and I just started hanging out, writing songs. We both came from other bands growing up, and then our bands just broke up. We started playing, and it was very casual. Then we got the other guys and started doing local shows.”

“Where you come from, is it hard to find people who share the same interest in creating the same style of music as you?”

“Well, probably the only reason this band is a band is because it was so easy. Like when there were no arguments or band drama, it was easy; Andy and I get along, Danny, the bass player in the band and my brother, we get along already. Our

Ben and I got into discussing music in general. Both of us agreed that Weezer’s new material was nowhere near Rivers Cuomo’s full potential, as well the parallel between bands of older age to new; Radiohead, the Beatles of our generation?
“I would definitely agree with that statement,” Ben begins. “I’m really big into Radiohead. Thom Yorke is a genius; he has great ideas and is really creative. I think that’s what was so unique about the Beatles at their time. Back then they were trying to be unique, and I think that’s what Radiohead does.”

Interview: Bayside's Nick Ghanbarian

2008-10-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Music is not defined by good looks, hair products, or by the numerous sexual encounters an artist has. By generating a natural feeling everyone can share, an artist has the ability to make music a more genuine experience to any listener. Take Bayside for example – full of the raw intensities of life in every lyric, supported by bittersweet melodies and catchy guitar, Bayside is more for the music hungry ear than any teeny bopper act out now.

With a recent run in on the phone line, I had the chance to speak with Nick Ghanbarian – the good-lookin’, string-slappin’ bassist of Bayside. After emailing back-and-forth their publicist, Rey, and awkward salutations (“Hi, Nick? This is Ian Cruz, I guess I’m supposed to interview you today. So just act comfortable.”), the interview was finally underway.

Q. So what is Bayside; Who are you, and what do you contribute to the band?
A. I play bass. My name is Nick, and I’ve been in the band for about 4 years at this point. We are a band that is based out of Bayside in Queens, New York. The band has been around since 2000, actually. We’ve all kind of come together in the past from different bands, or mutual friends. It’s been the four of us since 2006, I would say. We’ve just been writing together, and we just released our fourth studio album last Tuesday, called Shudder.

Q. I guess you already answered this next question. When did you join the band, and was it your smooth bass lines, or good looks, that got you the position?
A. (haha) I’m not sure. I joined the band in 2004. It was about August or September, and the Silences and Condolences album was already out, which was the first album we did for Victory Records. I think more-so than good looks, or even skills, I think that because I had been in bands before, and had some kind of experience playing in bands in Long Island. I had just gotten to know Anthony (vocals/guitar), and didn’t have tryouts or anything; he just asked me if I was interested. I started learning the songs, and a couple months later I was in the band. But I’ll go with looks; just say it was my looks.

Q. Do you enjoy playing bass in Bayside, or was there something else you wanted to do in life?
A. No. I mean, I’ve been playing since I was thirteen or fourteen. I’ve been in all kinds of bands with friends from school, or whatever. Music has definitely been what speaks to me the most in life. I’ve never been big enough to be a hockey player. That’s another one of my passions in life – hockey. But I’m only 5’8” and 178 lbs; I’d be a midget out there on the ice. I don’t know, though. There are a lot of things I appreciate in life that I would like to learn how to do. I’ve always wanted to cut people’s hair, or be a masseuse. I think things like that are interesting, and maybe one day I’ll get a chance to learn some of those things.

Q. You just released a new album, Shudder. It’s more aggressive than some of your previous albums. What can we expect from Bayside in the future?
A. You know, everything seems to come back to fan’s perceptions of us. We’ve always steadily grown, and I think that gives us the opportunity to grow with our music and fuse some new ideas into the music. I think all of our albums sound the same to me, as it all sounds cohesive to Bayside; it all sounds like the same band. So I think that we all started bringing our own individual influences in slowly, and kinda do some more experimental things. We’re not sounding like the Mars Volta or anything like that, but we’re just experimenting with something in the range of Bayside. If we keep things sounding the same, I think we have the right to take some chances and I think with this album we’ve reached the point where we feel comfortable. We’re growing as musicians still -- and as song writers – and I think we’re all comfortable with each other where the melodies and songwriting really come together. Especially on this album, and I think we’re most proud of that. The future again – it’s really how this album is perceived. We know it’s the best we could do, and it’s the best we have done. But who knows what people really think of it? So far it’s been out 4 days, and it seems like it’s going well. It steadily climbs, and the fan base grows. The next album will have a little more wiggle room to grow as musicians; it’s a really great feeling.

Q. This next question kind of coincides with what you were just talking about, like when bands try new things the fans may retort, saying the band sounded better with a different sound that may have been on an older album. What would you say is Bayside’s most definitive album?
A. That’s so hard. In my opinion I’m really not sure. I know in the fan’s opinion it’s definitely our self-titled album. Including our new album, that was about three albums ago. But I feel that there are more defining songs. Maybe our self-titled was more successful than The Walking Wounded, but I think songs like “The Walking Wounded” is how I would like our band to be remembered – songs like that. But for all I know, it’s this album. I know it’s the best we could have done, and the best doesn’t have to translate into record sales or fans liking it. I think [Shudder] really should be left as our legacy, because it’s the most cohesive we have come within the reigns of Bayside. We’re all happy with it a hundred percent -- every part of every song, with the vibe of it and the message. I’m sure a lot people haven’t even listened to it, but I do think it’s our battle cry with this album and I hope people perceive it like that.

Q. A lot of your music has changed the way people perceive life. How do you feel personally about what influences your music has on your fans?
A. It’s something we absolutely intend to do. I think that the four of our lives have changed for the better because of music, and that’s the type of band we’re trying to be. We’re not out there to write a pop song, or something that’s really meaningless with a good melody. Along with a melody, or anything that has good gear and you can move your body to, there has to be a message to it. I think we take that more as a responsibility than a lot bands. I think there are a lot of bad rate models out there and generalizations to another scene -- we just don’t want anything to do with that. There are plenty of bands that are completely out there, and are delusional when it comes to reality. I think that we’re the opposite of that even though we’re in the same community musically. I think that we’re the opposite of that in having the responsibility to make people’s lives better, and have them have a positive impact on the people around them. There are not enough people in the world trying to do good when everyone’s selfish, and we’re reminding people to keep an open mind in life.

Q. You’re currently on tour with a few bands, including Valencia, the Matches and the Status. When you do these tours, do you ever find yourself playing favorites with any one of the bands, like a parent would with a son or daughter?
A. It’s happened in the past, but you kind of just gravitate towards certain people. It’s all like a band-of-brothers type of thing. We’re all doing the same thing; we’re all traveling the country together, and the world – whatever it is. It’s a great experience for a couple weeks to know you’re all in it together, and have fun every night. It’s more along the lines of that whole brotherhood thing, and not on an individual level. We just feel closer to the people we are working closer to with our band. As far as other bands -- yeah, everyone gets along all the time. We usually go on tour with bands we know, before we bring out bands that we don’t, but everyone’s friends at this point of the tour.

Q. When you’re going about your day – what is it that you’re listening to? Who are your influences?
A. Growing up it was Green Day and Bad Religion; that whole California-punk sort of thing. The last two CDs I picked up were the new Ben Folds and Jenny Lewis. I just gravitate towards the melody and the overall consciousness of different people’s views and lives. I think listening to bands like Green Day and Bad Religion when I was younger, all their messages still hold true. It’s also great to hear different singer-songwriters, and I think as I got older I started listening to more folky stuff. I mean, Bad Religion is my favorite band, but I like to slow it down and listen to something that’s calmer.

Q. I recently went to visit your website, www.baysideisacult.com. Are you in fact a cult, and where can I signup?
A. (haha) That was definitely a marketing tool when we signed to Victory, but they wanted to use that to give us some buzz and it turned into our fan base. It’s how dedicated people are, and I think it’s something that people really embrace. We love the community that listens to our band, and we’re kind of a tight knit group. Like, when we play small clubs it feels like five hundred friends showed up, and it feels like everyone knows each other. It’s something we’re proud of, and I feel that we’re lucky to have that fan base. There are bands that have two or three thousand people show up for a show, and they don’t experience what we experience. We appreciate every last minute of it. So just add us on myspace if you decide to join our cult.

Q. Say I’m a new listener. Why should I take time out of my day to listen to Bayside?
A. Because of our message – it’s exactly that. Same reason when I was fourteen or fifteen listening to Green Day. It’s catchy, it is aggressive, and we’re also not singing about things that people don’t experience. We’re normal people, getting through things that other people have to get through. At this point we’re not asking “What is Aerosmith singing about?” “What does Nine Inch Nails have to sing about?” We’re still every day people, and we let everyone know that. People see the world through their own eyes, and I think we see very similar. We are relatable, and we try to see things in a positive way. There are plenty of bad things in the world, and at the end of the day we want to be open minded and help out, unlike other bands with their music.

Take into account how bands are ever changing sounds and experimenting with their image, then look at Bayside – a band that is doing what they like to do, while keeping it real. They are more prone to a growing fan base when listeners hear the surreal imagery conveyed in neatly picked lyrics, and well tuned melodies. A recent release like Shudder is more than enough jam for the starved music junky.

Check Out Bayside:
on MySpace
at Bayside is a Cult