RUSTY

Rusty what inspired you to start singing in the first place? Well I tried various instruments as a kid, but couldn’t get my fingers to do what I wanted them to. I took Jr. High band and played the tuba. I picked up on it pretty quick, learning theory and scales. I got a grasp on the love of music I already possessed. As I got older, I found that the one thing I missed the most was performing, and wanted to pursue my dreams.  Life is too short to not do what you want to do. I had the breath for the tuba, and the courage to be a front man. So, I did what I do, and taught myself how to sing. It took a while, but Layne Staley’s teacher David Kyle helped me achieve what I was looking for.

It’s pretty obvious you have a flair for the live performance, tell us what you like most about playing live? I get to see the look on people’s faces when playing a live show, as well as the thousands of watts of in your face hard rock coming out of the instruments the band loves to play, and sharing the raw emotion and feelings that go into a song on a personal level. The feeling you get when everyone chants your name is a feeling no drug can give you, you’re on top of the world and feel like you are personal friends with each and every one of your fans. You just don’t get that anywhere else you know? The bludgeoning of energy gives me what I need to sing and put on a great show.  It took a while going to shows and watching my favorite artists, but after a while, it just became the thing that I do best in my life. I don’t know anything else.

As a vocalist what’s the biggest difference between a live performance, & recording in the studio? Singing in the studio is where I feel more like an artist, stage is where I feel more like a performer. Picture it as a carpenter making a precise angle cut to fit 2 or more pieces of wood together to create a perfect pitch, where as an artist that’s exactly what we’re doing. Putting multiple sounds together to make the perfect pitch.  It just wouldn’t work without careful adjustments and patience.  It’s when an artist goes out on stage that he gets to present his masterpiece to an audience with the visual details to accent the work.

If you had to give it to one guy, who gets to be your all time favorite singer/front man & why? Well I have 3, in this order: #3 - Scott Weiland – For keeping the good music coming, and laying down the foundation for my music life. #2 - Layne Staley – He’s definitely my favorite dead singer. He’s got the power in his voice that I chose to follow. Nobody could bring it like him. #1 - Chris Cornell – For keeping it together without an overdose or mass drug charges, and keeping the presence of his voice alive.  Chris and Scott, you both deserved a second band.

Are there any female singers admire out there? Definitely the Heart sisters - Ooh, Barracuda!.

Who are some of your favorite bands out there? I’m the Seattle-Grunge based listener, but I’m down with Avenged Sevenfold and System Of A down for giving us something we haven’t heard before, Jason Mraz for making the world a tongue twister, and Nickelback because they never cease to amaze me.

What was the absolute best concert you've ever been to? Once again, it’s a tossup. Primus for inspiring the talent combined with the live show. I don’t know how he plays all of those bass guitars at the same time like that. His red jumpsuit and point-painted octopus fingers, definitely an inspiration. Tool ties for second place. Started off kind of dark, but as the show went on, as if anyone thought it to be possible, Maynard continued to build the energy all the way to the end and left me with a slap in the face wanting more

Do you have a favorite quote for us? (PAUSES) That’s a tossup between “The dog wags it’s tail, but not for you. It only wants your bread.” (ancient proverb) and “The music industry is a shallow money trench. A plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs. There’s also a bad side.” (Hunter S. Thompson)

What’s in your CD player right now? I mostly listen to the radio, but the last CD to leave my player was System Of A Down, Mesmerize. 

As an artist what really turns you off?  I don’t like big egos or assholes, you know, like the people who’s egos are too big for their britches, or arguing about something that really doesn’t matter...

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interview conducted by Kendall Cross. Property of Indie Music Media Copyright © 2009