It’s hasn’t quite been a year yet since Gemini Syndrome released their full length debut album Lux, but it’s safe to say that the journey since that release has been a pretty amazing one. They’ve practically lived on the road over the last year touring with some pretty impressive company. The conversion continues as new synners are welcomed into the ranks on a daily basis. As their latest single “Stardust” continues to garner heavy airplay, the guys show no sign of slowing down at all. 
I’ve watched this band grow over the past two years and the crowds just keep growing from one to show to the next. It must be an amazing feeling to watch that crowd, not only grow in size but see more and more people singing along to your songs.
Aaron: It’s not just one or two songs, but it’s the whole set. I’m still trying to come up with an adjective that truly describes that feeling, so I really don’t know what it is. There’s something about humility to it; there’s some sort of honor to it; there’s a joy that people are recognizing and identifying with. Today, we walked out and I looked at that crowd and I had to stop for a second. It was such a giant group of people and I really didn’t expect it man. I thought it was going to be probably half of what we saw, so that was also pretty incredible.
I know you guys have to adjust your setlist for shows, but minus that, do you prep for these shows any differently?
Aaron: I think it comes day by day. We just played a club show last night, loaded up and took off and we woke up and loaded in at 8:30 this morning. We just roll with it and it just happens.
Brian: I think there is a little bit of consciousness with it because last night we played an hour long set and you have to pace yourself. Today, when you go out in front of that many people it’s hard not to just throw down and go all in for the entire set.
Aaron: I asked our tour manager this morning if we had a day off tomorrow and he told us yes, so if I went out there and blew my voice out by going all out on our shorter set, I would have a day off to rest it. So in that sense, if I’m signing for over an hour I have to pace it and save myself. I go out there today and see that massive crowd and I know I have twenty minutes to blow your mind.
Going back to the comment about blowing out your voice, do you have any vocal exercises that you do to help protect it or keep it in shape?
Aaron: I do have a little ritual that I do before each show.
(There’s a long pause) I’m guessing that it’s a secret?
Aaron: Yes, but I will say that Melissa Cross, who teaches out of New York and has worked with Randy Blythe and Corey Taylor, is pretty incredible. I have never personally worked with her, but her DVD really saved my career in some ways. To go back to what Brian was saying earlier about doing longer sets, it really is taxing to go from singing to screaming and back again, but she’s figured out a method to make it work properly. The fact that it’s called the Zen of Screaming, having that awareness at all times of what you are doing physically, is really important. Part of the DVD goes into when you lose the ability to hear yourself and the first human reaction is to push. She tells you not to do that, but to trust the fact that you’ve done this for everyday for god knows how long, you’ve played these songs over and over again, so trust that muscle moment. You know, just like you would do when you train for a sport or martial arts. You know those things will respond the way that they are supposed to respond, so just trust it. Watching that DVD and absorbing all that she has to say has been insanely helpful for me.
That kind of leads into another question that I wanted to ask regarding if the band had any pre-show rituals that you do before attacking the stage?
Brian: Yes, but it’s kind of our little thing (laughs).
I understand!
Brian: Exactly! Yes we do, but we’re not telling (laughs).
Brian, I’ve been wanting to ask you this question for a while now and I finally have my chance. Who are some of your influences or inspiration?
Brian: I started taking lessons as a kid with a really great jazz drummer named Mel Zelnick who drummed for Buddy Lee and Buddy Rich and that was my youth. That developed into being a drum corp kid and I marched and that gives you a whole perspective on it. It gives you a methodical and intellectual approach to it, so you come out of that kind of like a marine who just went through bootcamp. You can do what you want to do, but it’s up to you to determine how you want to apply that. I’ve always gravitated to music that strikes me. I remember the first time that I watched Deftones perform in Denver. There wasn’t MTV, but there was this show that came on at like 2:00am on Sunday night that was like the local, PBS channel. Chino came on and he had dreads and I thought it was just fucking crazy! It was so much rawer than Korn and Tool and they were all on skateboards and none of it made sense. I didn’t have this where I was from, but then little by little this whole scene evolved and I ran to that type of music man. You know, stuff like Deftones and Snot and stuff that was right below the surface, but never really broke big, but everyone knew it was there. It was so all over the board that it gave you like this big box of crayons to draw whatever you wanted to draw; the rest of it just comes out of your soul.
I know that an off day is probably not truly an off day, but what do you do if one of those days ever presents itself?
Brian: You mean a legit day where we don’t have to do laundry or get caught up on all the other work that we have to do? It rarely happens, but sometimes we get two or three days off because something got canceled or whatever. If that happens, I love to put my entire brain on snooze and watch three or four movies.
Aaron: I like to find a pool hall or a bar with a pool table and play pool.
I know you guys have also been going to some radio stations along your travels and performing some amazing acoustic sets. I love when a band strips a song down to the basics and plays it acoustically. Has there been any discussion of possibly recording any of those for an EP release?
Aaron: We’ve definitely been talking about doing that. I think it gives a whole new personality to those songs and it’s really cool for me because I also get to play an instrument instead of just singing. I get to play the piano and it gives me a chance to go into other parts of musical history, so that’s pretty cool.
Just a couple more quick questions for you and we’ll wrap this up. What are a couple of touring essentials that you pack for yourself when you’re about to hit the road?
Brian: I have a Cloudbuster that I religiously sleep with that was a gift to me from a really cool fan who knew that I was into that kind of stuff. It’s a pyramid that’s filled with all sorts of ornate chemicals in it and it generates its own form of energy that traces all the way back to Egyptian times. So, on a large enough scale this thing can actually break up clouds. You put it on a smaller, concentrated level and you have cell phones and microwaves and stuff like that all around and I put this thing right next to my head to cleanse the energy around my bunk.
Aaron: I had no idea that you did that, that is so awesome. As for me, I bring this little iron rings that are traditionally used for Wing Chun Kung Fu and you put them on your arms. It conditions the bone, but it also adds resistance because it’s weighted.
Watch our interview with Brian and Aaron at Rock On The Range
(Brian talks about his Cloudbuster here as well!)
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If music were over today and you went into professional wrestling, what would your wrestling name be?
Brian: I’d be Champaign Berkowitz, kind of a spin-off of Razor Ramon. He’d be like a sleezeball, guido character with a gold chain and a hairy chest with oil in it.
Would you talk with the accent like Razor did?
Brian: Oh yeah, with the toothpick and everything! <At this point Brian breaks into character as if he’s shooting a WWE promo for a pay-per-view, which sends Aaron rolling out of his chair laughing.>
Aaron: Champaign Berkowitz? Wow, I just learned two things about you that I never knew.
I can’t think of a better note to end this on! Aaron, Brian, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. Do you have any closing words?
Aaron: As always, a huge thanks to all of our amazing fans. We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for them. Just like we were talking at the beginning of this interview, to stand there on that stage and see all of them out there and singing brings a great sense of gratitude to us. A big thanks to you guys as well at Rock Revolt for all of your continued support for us; we truly appreciate that as well.
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