EMQ's

EMQ’s With RESIDUAL SELF

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EMQ’s With RESIDUAL SELF

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with USA Alternative Rock/ Metal band, Residual Self. Huge thanks to their vocalist/ bass player, Rex, for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name is Rex, I am the vocalist and bass player. Residual Self started as a fun project for me. I’ve played bass for others in both original and cover bands since I was 13. Whether it be punk bands, blues bands, jam bands, or anything I could get into to further my own abilities. When I was 23, I decided that it was time I write and perform songs of my own. I wanted to make a solo project that was just for digital releases. So, in 2016, I had a good list of songs I had written and recorded on my laptop. I decided I’d try to promo these songs and perform acoustic versions at local open mics in the area. 

What I didn’t expect, was for the host of one of these open mics (Drummer David Sasso) to like these songs enough to want to turn this into a full band. Eventually, we added in one of David’s friends he knew since High School, and I knew from going to these open mics, Joshua Spaulding to play guitar. We’ve been playing together as a trio for about 5 years now.

How did you come up with your band name?

The name ‘Residual Self’ is a term I first heard in the film ‘The Matrix’ , which has been my all-time favourite movie for more than half of my life. A Residual Self is the image ingrained in one’s own perception of themselves. As in, ‘this is how you see yourself in your mind.’ The message of my songs has always been about ‘embrace.’ To expose the listener to both the good and bad of humanity. From lustful intent, greedy resolves, and wrathful decision. I’d like our listeners to look inward on these sins. To see if they identify as the monster or devil in the given scenarios. If the listener is okay with being this, or to reflect and become something else.

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

Residual Self is from the New England area of the USA; Specifically, Connecticut. The major draw for our area is Jam Bands, but there is a pretty active scene for Rock and Metal. It’s small, but powerful and supportive. We all help each other out, booking shows together, giving advice on studios to work at, our own tips and tricks for sound and presence. Letting other’s borrow gear and try our pedals. There’s not a single gatekeeper in our scene, which is great. 

As Residual Self, we always laugh at one thing though, due to our sound, we are either the heaviest band on a rock/alternative showcase, or the lightest band on a metal one. It’s nice being different, as we always stand out!

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Our latest release album wise, is “Revenge”. It’s our first full length album that came out in April 2021 via Sliptrick Records. We’ve put our three music videos for it, with the latest one being ‘Damaged’ that came out June this year.

Our next song release will be ‘Witches’ which is out September 16th 2022 to all the major streaming services, along with out bandcamp. This song will be accompanied by a lyric video, which will be on our YouTube channel.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Personally, my major musical influences vary by the instrument. 

When it comes to playing bass, I always give it to Mike Starr of Alice in Chains. The bass lines crafted on the first two albums are what got me interested in becoming a bass player, and the type of player I wanted to become. Then, what made me want to become a frontman of my own, was Peter Steele of Type O Negative. Playing bass and singing with the slow grooves, and his deep voice was a lot of my inspiration for creating ‘Residual Self.’ 

As a guitar player, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins has been the major staple. I’ve always loved the unique style of his playing, which to me feels as if there are no restrictions or bounds. As a vocalist, Dani Filth of Cradle of Filth / Devilment. From his deliveries of high and low growls, and with me driving around and singing along to these albums for years has also made me start to pronounce vowels with a Euro accent, even for my own music, despite being American!

What first got you into music?

My father got me into the type of music I listen to. He showed me all these cool bands from the 60’s-90’s. The era that stood out the most to me was the 90’s, as I am sure you can guess by now. He also played a little guitar himself. He showed me how to play some Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and some Hendrix riffs on guitar. One day he bought a bass, I picked it up and then never put it down. Now his house is filled with a bunch of my gear, from guitars, to basses, and drum sets!

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

It’d be extremely hard for me to pick just one, so I’ll give you my top three!

My first concert ever was Rob Zombie in 2010. I was 17, and lucky enough to meet him. Being the young child I was, I was so extremely starstruck. I remember exactly what he said to me while signing my vinyl. I told him he was like a god and could do anything. He laughed and then looked at me and said ‘Thanks, I wish I could do more.’ Now I was even more starstruck. I’d love to work with him and tell him this story and be able to laugh and say now we’re both doing more! I’d love for him to know how much that meant to me and how I’ve taken it to heart. Whether it’s Rob Zombie featured on a Residual Self song, or myself featured on one of his songs.

The other band I’d love to work with is The Smashing Pumpkins. As I mentioned before, I find Billy Corgan and his style to have no bounds. Seeing Billy’s process in a studio session with his band is a dream. I’m sure I could learn so much from them Being able to do a vocal feature on one of their songs would be so cool.

Finally, one person I am dying to have on a Residual Self song is Lindsay Schoolcraft! There’s a particular song that is in the developmental stages that would be perfect for Lindsay to hop on! Every time we’re playing it at practices and fine tuning it, all I hear is her voice complimenting mine on the chorus with some strings added. Residual Self has featured some keyboard/orchestral pieces in our work prior, but to work with someone of her calibre and experience for this is something that I’d love to have happen. I’d be so curious to see how she could express herself on a Residual Self song.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

I think I can speak for the entire band when I say The INKcarceration Festival in Ohio. It’s a music and tattoo festival that lasts 3 days. Our guitar player Josh is also a tattoo artist and has done all my work! In fact, all of us have multiple tattoos. I’m sure for our fans, and for Josh’s day job this would be perfect for us all. Plus, it takes place at a Haunted Prison. I’ve got some ghost hunting gear that would be fun to see if we pick anything up. I don’t think anything is more true to the idea of ‘metal’ than this festival.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

Once again, coming from New England and it’s surplus of jam bands. The weirdest, and coolest gift I have received has been Quartz Crystal in the shape of an Obelisk. I’m a firm believer in the energy of crystals, especially on quartz, since science has proven that quartz can hold an electrical charge. It’s cool to see these types of things get passed around and how far they go, and the possible history of them.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

One message for our fans is to embrace your own Residual Self. Go out and dress how you want, act as you desire, do what’s best for you and think little of how society will perceive you. Good or bad, knowing who you truly are, that is what power is. Don’t let anyone, especially generalized society hold that power over you. Be free and be true to yourself.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

If I could bring back on rock star from the dead, it would be Peter Steele of Type O Negative. They are one of my favourite bands of all time, and a band I never had a chance to see. A lot of my friends are older than me by about a decade, so I hear all these cool stories from them about the live shows the band put on. Bringing Peter back, and being able to not only see the band, but open up the show or tour is a fantasy.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

What I love is being able to create and having an outlet. Expressing my own emotions with my own words and sounds might help others to see they are never alone. If my creations can touch even one single person, that’s what matters the most to me. If someone has anything to complain about while being a musician, I’d have to say they are in it for the wrong reasons. Being a musician is always about the music and freedom of expression.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I wouldn’t necessarily know what needs to be changed, especially as I’ve only had one major label release and everything else has been independent. I do think that the streaming royalties as a collective need to be adjusted. Especially in the digital age.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

My all-time favourite album is The Smashing Pumpkins – “Machina”. I know Billy Corgan mentioned that a remaster will be coming with a second disc with more songs. I personally feel this album was ahead of it’s time. Coming out in the year 2000 with a futuristic cyber concept. The death of Billy’s ‘Zero’ persona, and the rise of his new identity ‘Glass.’ There was a cartoon show to coincide with it. The songs we’re unique with elements of jazz, disco, metal creating a new blend of alternative I haven’t heard anywhere else.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?

I’m the type of person that prefers CDs. The perfect blend of Digital and physical. I can rip it onto my computer, put it on my phone. I can take the physical CD and play it in my car. I’m curious to see if the physical aspect will evolve further, or if we’ll keep cycling the formats we have since vinyl and cassettes are coming back.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

The best gig we’ve played to date has been opening up for Nonpoint at The Webster Theater. We played on The Underground Stage, near all the merch booths. The amount of people who were at the merch booths who then walked over to our stage was insane. We had a special guest for that show too, the local DJ Trevor MacLean. Trevor was featured on our album “Revenge” where he added additional beats and sounds to add more depth to a few of our songs.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

If I weren’t a musician, I’d still want to be putting my voice to work. I’m a pretty big gamer and fan of anime and comic books. I’d love to become a voice actor and become a character. And if I weren’t doing voices, I’d love to be a fiction writer. Working for Star Wars, DC, or Marvel, creating my own stories for these characters I’ve grown up watching.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

I would love to have a dinner party with George Lucas, Keanu Reeves, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and Zack Snyder. With all these creative people together, I know we could probably create the best multimedia art project to ever exists! Something that could, dare I say, potentially be bigger than Star Wars.

What’s next for the band?

We’re mostly focusing on writing new songs currently. A few singles to release digitally, and a new full length album for digital and physical release. We’ll be playing locally, but if you want us to play your area, please reach out, and we’ll see what we can do!

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

We mostly use Twitter and have found a home with other indie/DIY artists. The ‘Indie Underworld’ as it is called was started by a band out of New York called ‘Demonscar.’ Demonscar has built up a good network that has brought a bunch of bands together digitally from all over the globe. We even have a private group chat, which is very pleasant to talk with other musicians to the degree we do!

We’re also on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook is the best place to keep track of our live shows, and Instagram usually features teasers from our music videos, clips from live shows, or behind the scenes pictures and videos of our gear on stories.

We have our own website, a Tumblr, and a tiktok as well. Our tiktok is pretty new, so there’s currently only one post there, but there is definitely more to come soon!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

I think this covers it!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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