| The Satans of Soft Rock Session | |
| Violitionist Sessions |
Session Date: April 2, 2012
Posting Date: April 16, 2012
Artist Hometown: Denton, TX
Free Audio Download
Links: Facebook, Bandcamp,
Recorded by: Michael Briggs
3 QUESTIONS
ONE: With song titles like “Satanic Verses,” “Diaspora” and “Assemble the Bitch Wolves,” as well as the band’s name, do you see yourselves as the cutting edge of Satanic rock in Denton?
Tony Ferraro: Yes…no. No, I don’t think of it that way. We just use stark imagery to push stories and messages. I don’t know.
Justin Collins: It’s about getting chicks, man.
Tony: It’s about girls. Being Satanic is hot as shit.
DJ: Who would you say the hottest Satanist is right now?
Tony: That’s a good question.
Ryan Thomas Becker: The hottest Satanist?
Tony: The hottest Satanist.
David Howard: The hottest Satanist…
JC: I don’t think it’s me.
Tony: He’s hot…and he’s a Satanist.
JC: I’m really not up on the pop culture of Satan…
Tony: Yeah, they don’t put their heads up very high in the media.
JC: It’s an election year.
DJ: Which candidate do you think Satan will support in the election?
Tony: All of them.
DJ: That’s not allowed! You can only vote for one!
Tony: Satan doesn’t play by the rules.
JC: I think Satan would have to go with Santorum all the way, I think. Just for the entendre.
Tony: The hottest Satanist…Rick Santorum.
JC: I wonder if hot is rated by height, or…
Tony: It’s the number of red stripes on the television.
DJ: Speaking of Satanists, how did it feel to be compared to John Mayer?
Tony: I thought it was Counting Crows?
Ryan: Let’s pull it up.
Tony: Oh yeah, that did happen! Do people like him? Is he big?
David: He dated Jennifer Aniston.
Tony: We want to date Jennifer Aniston, so…
Ryan:…He’s a Satanist!
Tony: Not bad shoes to follow, if your shoes are inside of Jennifer Aniston. For the record, we’re not necessarily Satanists. We just play and write songs.
Ryan: Oh my god, you totally blew it!
Tony: Don’t put that in there!
Ryan: You gave it away!
JC: But you can fit a pair of shoes into Jennifer Aniston’s vagina.
Tony: Correct.
DJ: Well, if you’re not Satanists, where did the name come from?
Tony: The name was just a list-making exercise for me, you know? I’ve got a bunch of fake band names, real band names. This was in a list with the Black Super-Bikes—
Ryan: Oh god, seriously? And you skipped that one!?
David: Tony Ferraro and Steve’s Kid’s Ass…
Tony: Tony Ferraro and Steve’s Kid’s Ass was also on the list. Warren Dia Beattes was also on the list. Jon Bon Jovinile Hall…Statutory Spelling. These were all on the list, and Satans of Soft Rock was the coolest one. I mean, that’s the one we’re doing now. The list is still there, so we’ll eventually get to those bands.
Ryan: I’m sure.
Tony: Hopefully with the same personnel.
Justin Collins: It’s about getting chicks, man.
Tony: It’s about girls. Being Satanic is hot as shit.
DJ: Who would you say the hottest Satanist is right now?
Tony: That’s a good question.
Ryan Thomas Becker: The hottest Satanist?
Tony: The hottest Satanist.
David Howard: The hottest Satanist…
JC: I don’t think it’s me.
Tony: He’s hot…and he’s a Satanist.
JC: I’m really not up on the pop culture of Satan…
Tony: Yeah, they don’t put their heads up very high in the media.
JC: It’s an election year.
DJ: Which candidate do you think Satan will support in the election?
Tony: All of them.
DJ: That’s not allowed! You can only vote for one!
Tony: Satan doesn’t play by the rules.
JC: I think Satan would have to go with Santorum all the way, I think. Just for the entendre.
Tony: The hottest Satanist…Rick Santorum.
JC: I wonder if hot is rated by height, or…
Tony: It’s the number of red stripes on the television.
DJ: Speaking of Satanists, how did it feel to be compared to John Mayer?
Tony: I thought it was Counting Crows?
Ryan: Let’s pull it up.
Tony: Oh yeah, that did happen! Do people like him? Is he big?
David: He dated Jennifer Aniston.
Tony: We want to date Jennifer Aniston, so…
Ryan:…He’s a Satanist!
Tony: Not bad shoes to follow, if your shoes are inside of Jennifer Aniston. For the record, we’re not necessarily Satanists. We just play and write songs.
Ryan: Oh my god, you totally blew it!
Tony: Don’t put that in there!
Ryan: You gave it away!
JC: But you can fit a pair of shoes into Jennifer Aniston’s vagina.
Tony: Correct.
DJ: Well, if you’re not Satanists, where did the name come from?
Tony: The name was just a list-making exercise for me, you know? I’ve got a bunch of fake band names, real band names. This was in a list with the Black Super-Bikes—
Ryan: Oh god, seriously? And you skipped that one!?
David: Tony Ferraro and Steve’s Kid’s Ass…
Tony: Tony Ferraro and Steve’s Kid’s Ass was also on the list. Warren Dia Beattes was also on the list. Jon Bon Jovinile Hall…Statutory Spelling. These were all on the list, and Satans of Soft Rock was the coolest one. I mean, that’s the one we’re doing now. The list is still there, so we’ll eventually get to those bands.
Ryan: I’m sure.
Tony: Hopefully with the same personnel.
TWO: How do you keep all of the songs from all of your different bands straight in your heads?
JC: Huge brains.
Tony: Giant brains.
JC: Heavy, heavy heads.
Ryan: We’re studying 8 to 9 hours a day.
Tony: Constant crosswords, Sudoku, Asian number puzzles…
Ryan: Asian number puzzles?
Tony: What do you do to remember the songs, Dave?
David: I ask you guys how it goes right before we play it.
Tony: Yeah, he cleans his…We have a sponsorship from Sharpie. If I don’t know what song is next, sometimes I just lift up my shirt—
JC: Read the chord chart.
Tony: I read the chord chart on my belly.
Ryan: There’s bugs everywhere! Cats love bugs.
JC: Delicious.
Tony: Giant brains.
JC: Heavy, heavy heads.
Ryan: We’re studying 8 to 9 hours a day.
Tony: Constant crosswords, Sudoku, Asian number puzzles…
Ryan: Asian number puzzles?
Tony: What do you do to remember the songs, Dave?
David: I ask you guys how it goes right before we play it.
Tony: Yeah, he cleans his…We have a sponsorship from Sharpie. If I don’t know what song is next, sometimes I just lift up my shirt—
JC: Read the chord chart.
Tony: I read the chord chart on my belly.
Ryan: There’s bugs everywhere! Cats love bugs.
JC: Delicious.
THREE: You’re releasing a single online soon—
Tony: Yeah, we’re going to release two songs, probably in a month or two.
Ryan: Two A sides.
Tony: Double A side. Digital A side, and perhaps there will be some physical product as well. That’s being talked about. Maybe some vinyl or something.
DJ: Is there going to be a full length?
Tony: Possibly.
DJ: This is the second single you’ve done…
Tony: Right…
Ryan: Yes! You’re totally correct. You’ve been reading!
Tony: Yeah, there will be two singles out soon. And then there’ll probably be a third one, maybe a forth one. Maybe…loosely planned is, perhaps in a year, once I accumulate some more recordings, releasing them as a collection in a physical format, but everything is going to be available as digital. That’s where we live now, on the internet, so we make it easy to find there. That just makes sense to me. Yeah, we have a full length. You know, it’s funny, this is the first time since I’ve written songs that I’ve actually written a concept record with the same characters and the same storyline, and a lot of the songs borrow melodies from the other songs and are used as solos or whatnot, and it’s kind of funny to me to not release it that way, as a concept album.
DJ: What is the concept?
Tony: It’s just a group of characters who interact, and some of them take the point of view of different characters through different songs, but it’s generally set in the same spot.
JC: With the blind kid who plays pinball.
Tony: There’s a band…
Ryan: It’s some sort of club band…
Tony: There’s a sergeant who leads an army band…
Ryan: Something to do with an organ, and they’re so lonely…
Tony: They work for the American Heart Association, focusing mostly on lonely hearts.
David: Doesn’t it sync up with Jersey Girl if you press play at the right time?
Tony: Yes. If you press play right as Ringo starts singing. It’s the scene in Jersey Girl where the kids show each other their genitals.
Ryan: Dude, Jersey Girl is so awesome.
Tony: Hands down favorite movie.
Ryan: What, you’re not a Kevin Smith fan?
Tony: Ryan asks a lot of people that.
Ryan: Never seen it? Oh, you’re not a Kevin Smith fan?
Tony: Watch it, and then we can talk about Kevin Smith. So, it’s a concept. What the concept is is just these stories that I’ve read by John Fante, one of my favorite authors. David and I have read him heavily for years, and—I mean, he didn’t produce a lot of works, but I really liked his stories. I connected with them when I was young, and so it’s always been in the back of my mind, and I finally wrote a giant group of songs that had his characters in there, and I put myself in there or not. The idea is to just release it as singles over a year’s time. Maybe the whole year is our record, you know? Like, what is a full length? I don’t know.
Ryan: This is getting weird, man.
Tony: I’m not trying to be deep. I’m just…I’m not trying to challenge anything really, I’m just trying to keep myself interested and keep my fucking bros on stage with me.
DJ: And the Devil.
Tony: Oh yeah, the Devil is inside.
DJ: Every single one of us?
David: You should write that down.
JC: That was a great movie with Jennifer Aniston.
Ryan: Two A sides.
Tony: Double A side. Digital A side, and perhaps there will be some physical product as well. That’s being talked about. Maybe some vinyl or something.
DJ: Is there going to be a full length?
Tony: Possibly.
DJ: This is the second single you’ve done…
Tony: Right…
Ryan: Yes! You’re totally correct. You’ve been reading!
Tony: Yeah, there will be two singles out soon. And then there’ll probably be a third one, maybe a forth one. Maybe…loosely planned is, perhaps in a year, once I accumulate some more recordings, releasing them as a collection in a physical format, but everything is going to be available as digital. That’s where we live now, on the internet, so we make it easy to find there. That just makes sense to me. Yeah, we have a full length. You know, it’s funny, this is the first time since I’ve written songs that I’ve actually written a concept record with the same characters and the same storyline, and a lot of the songs borrow melodies from the other songs and are used as solos or whatnot, and it’s kind of funny to me to not release it that way, as a concept album.
DJ: What is the concept?
Tony: It’s just a group of characters who interact, and some of them take the point of view of different characters through different songs, but it’s generally set in the same spot.
JC: With the blind kid who plays pinball.
Tony: There’s a band…
Ryan: It’s some sort of club band…
Tony: There’s a sergeant who leads an army band…
Ryan: Something to do with an organ, and they’re so lonely…
Tony: They work for the American Heart Association, focusing mostly on lonely hearts.
David: Doesn’t it sync up with Jersey Girl if you press play at the right time?
Tony: Yes. If you press play right as Ringo starts singing. It’s the scene in Jersey Girl where the kids show each other their genitals.
Ryan: Dude, Jersey Girl is so awesome.
Tony: Hands down favorite movie.
Ryan: What, you’re not a Kevin Smith fan?
Tony: Ryan asks a lot of people that.
Ryan: Never seen it? Oh, you’re not a Kevin Smith fan?
Tony: Watch it, and then we can talk about Kevin Smith. So, it’s a concept. What the concept is is just these stories that I’ve read by John Fante, one of my favorite authors. David and I have read him heavily for years, and—I mean, he didn’t produce a lot of works, but I really liked his stories. I connected with them when I was young, and so it’s always been in the back of my mind, and I finally wrote a giant group of songs that had his characters in there, and I put myself in there or not. The idea is to just release it as singles over a year’s time. Maybe the whole year is our record, you know? Like, what is a full length? I don’t know.
Ryan: This is getting weird, man.
Tony: I’m not trying to be deep. I’m just…I’m not trying to challenge anything really, I’m just trying to keep myself interested and keep my fucking bros on stage with me.
DJ: And the Devil.
Tony: Oh yeah, the Devil is inside.
DJ: Every single one of us?
David: You should write that down.
JC: That was a great movie with Jennifer Aniston.
– Interview and transcription by Dale Jones