Signal Static, are a heavy alt-rock band, with attitude, from Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada. FFO Tool and Queen of the Stoneage. We talk to the band about their inspirations and their new EP.
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
Hi there! We are Signal Static. If you go in for comparisons we have sometimes been described as sounding like Tool or Chevelle meets Queens of the Stoneage, that is to say that we can be dark and heavy, but with a groovy and emotionally compelling, punk-y edge.
As a band we’ve always been really interested in exploring what it means to be human, and more importantly what it means to be a good human. Our songs reflect those questions by calling out bad actors, amplifying marginalized voices, and also just examining our own experiences, thoughts, and struggles.
Since the whole Covid thing shook everything up we’ve been writing and recording as a three-piece with Ryan Stringer on lead vocals and bass, Gino Klein on guitars, and Randy Camponi on drums. We’ve also just recently been joined by our new bassist Alex Beaudoin, who will be taking over the bass role from Ryan so that he can focus on fully transitioning over to the frontman role.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW SINGLE
‘Objects of Affection’ is the first of several new songs that we’ll be releasing since the pandemic shut everything down and shook up the band, and it really introduces a whole new era of Signal Static. Musically the song is pretty intense and dark, but it also has a sort of punk-y energy that doesn’t pull punches. We’re all super stoked with how it turned out.
After COVID shut things down we couldn’t do a whole lot aside from kind of hiding out in our underground band bunker and work on becoming better creators. The upcoming singles, and eventually a new EP / Album coming next year, are the results of that, and we’re certainly hopeful that you’ll all love it as much as we do.
WHAT INSPIRED THE MATERIAL?
‘Objects of Affection’ was inspired by some pretty dark events in the band’s history, when a person that we had been working with quite closely in the music scene came under fire from allegations of some very disturbing instances of relationship abuse and sexual exploitation by multiple women also within our music scene. The song is aimed at predatory individuals who use their power and influence to groom and
manipulate others into exploitative and abusive relationships, and the title alludes to the idea that what a predator will try to frame as “affection” is really a rationalization for abuse.
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
Ryan: Probably the record that first really got me into rock and roll, and ultimately led to the formation of my very first band would have been U2’s Rattle & Hum / The Joshua Tree. My two best friends and I started the first rock and roll band that our school had ever had based on our mutual love of U2, and that’s really what started me on my musical odyssey.
Gino: Blood Sugar Sex Magic front to back an incredible album. It was very influential to me at a young age.
Randy: I agree with Gino. Blood Sugar Sex Magic was essential in binding the best parts of funk and rock, in my mind. For me though, and likely many others, Thriller was probably the biggest influence in getting me into music. I was a poor kid and my mom won at bingo one night and bought me the Thriller tape and a Sony walkman. Those were huge purchases back in the 80s for a struggling family. I wore the tape out.
Alex: I don't know that any album has really changed my life but you can't go wrong with Clutch's self titled album, lots of heavy groovy tracks.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
We’ve just finished our very first music video for ‘Objects of Affection’, so let’s go with that!
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU’RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
You’d likely find Ryan playing video games, walking his weird dog or just hanging out and having brunch with his wife, Cat (also a huge Signal Static fan).
Randy loves watching and playing hockey, especially now that his daughters have started playing. He recently bought a bass, because drums weren’t enough of a challenge. So, watch out Alex!
Gino spends a lot of time going on adventures with his family, whether that be camping, or traveling, and he’s also an excellent cook.
When Alex isn’t driving up and down the island to and from back practice (he lives about 90 minutes north of the rest of us), you may encounter him playing some mean touch football or doing some killer accounting. Sometimes simultaneously!
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
Nerves? What nerves?? we’re not sweating, you’re sweating!
Ryan: In all seriousness, though, nerves are always a thing, especially in a new venue or new songs that we’re about to debut, etc. One of the best ways to deal with the nerves is having a solid soundcheck and making sure everything is set up and working correctly. Or, failing that, a good pre-show deuce usually does the trick.
Randy: Yes. I both love and hate playing live. But then, I’m a duplicitous person. Ask my band mates. While I’ll leave the potty talk to Ryan, I prefer a pre-show spliff rather than #2.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
The three of us (Ryan, Gino, and Randy) first got together as a unit around the fall of 2015. Ryan had played in different bands separately with Gino and Randy in the past, and introduced the two of them when he got married that summer. We got together and started jamming and writing songs, and now it’s 2022 and how fricking old are we?
We released our first album in 2020 with our former lead singer, Connor, and then almost immediately we all got locked down due to everybody’s favourite virus. Connor left the band and Ryan started filling in on vocals as a stop gap, which eventually became permanent. And now Alex has joined us to take over the bass role from Ryan, which has been pretty seamless so far!
HOW DO YOU WRITE?
We have a very collaborative creative process, which was kind of the point of starting this band to begin with. We’re all highly creative people with our own unique musical perspectives and skills, and we make it a priority to build on each other’s ideas to produce the best outcome for each song.
A lot of our songs start out with an improvised guitar or bass riff, or even just a drum beat that we all build on together until we have a skeleton of a song that we then put the meat on - vocals, lyrics, and arrangement details, etc. Other times one of us will have a more fully-formed idea that the band will work together to make into the best song possible.
Ryan tends to write the lion’s share of the lyrical content and vocal melodies, which is why it was fairly natural for him to take over as lead vocalist after our former singer left the band, but everybody is encouraged to write and contribute in whatever capacity they like. You’ll be hearing some really great songs from the minds of Gino and Randy in the very near future.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
So many things. Certainly we get a lot of our musical inspiration from current events, political and social issues, and really just Humanity in general. Amplifying marginalized voices and speaking out about the state of the world and the various things that affect us and the people we care about is also hugely important. If we can be an example of how four guys in a band can make heavy and intensely truthful music with a positive impact, and also be good human beings at the same time, we will have accomplished the mission.
WHAT IS NEXT?
We will be dropping our new song ‘Objects of Affection’ on November 25th, which is the first of several new songs and ultimately a new EP / album that we’ve been writing and recording since Covid shut us down and shook things up. We’re kind of a whole new band, with Ryan having moved from bass to lead vocals, and our new material definitely reflects a new and improved approach to creating music.
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE THEM. -
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/signalstatic
Signal Static website: (http://signal-static.com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/signalstatic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/signal_static/
Pre-Save / Hyperfollow: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/signalstatic/objects-of-affection
Comments