Keepin' The Music Evil
Keepin' The Music
Evil
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By: Paul Autry Chaos Theory...what can I really say about this band that hasn't been said before? I could sum up their career with a single word...consistant. Three releases, a constant promotional push, music that does the talking for the band. Even if you simply view this band with a passing glance...hard work, dedication and a pure love for what they're doing is obvious. This is a band that's in it for the long haul and, because of that attitude, many a music fan, both old and new, will have the pleasure of experiencing some excellent, kick ass music. That pretty much says it all. I recently spoke with guitarist Ernie Albanesius and we had a good conversation about Chaos Theory and I now have the pleasure of sharing that conversation with you. So, sit back, relax and enter the world of Chaos Theory. Paul Autry: What are your thoughts on the recent passing of Joey Ramone? Ernie Albanesius: I thought it was a shame. I mean, he was a part of the band that influenced so many bands that are out there today...from all different kinds of music. To have a guy like that, who is pretty much an icon for so many years to pass away, it's a shame. It's a shame when anybody dies. But, ya know, a guy like that who has been so influential to so many people for so long. It's a loss. Paul Autry: I agree. Now, let's go back to the begining of Chaos Theory. How did you guys come together? Ernie Albanesius: I was living in Colorado and I was coresponding with Dan back and forth. We were writing some stuff, sending tapes back and forth. I moved back and, when I got back, we wanted to start a project and we knew Brian. So, we got together with him and another guy, who was a friend of ours, and we just started jamming together, things like that. Everything really gelled rather quickly and we kicked the other guy out and it was just the three of us up until last year. Paul Autry: Before your first album, did you have a clear vision of what you wanted to do or did your sound and style develop naturally? Ernie Albanesius: I think our sound just developed from the chemistry that we had together. We didn't set out, I don't think, to have any particular kind of sound or to sound like anybody else. We wanted to sound like Chaos Theory. We never wanted to be, you know, a Metallica clone or anything like that. We wanted to be our own band and I think it came together... it's evolved and changed over the years and we're settling into the sound we want now. Paul Autry: Did you start out as a cover band or did you want to be an all original act?
Paul Autry: Starting with your first album, can you tell us a little about each one and how you feel the band evolved from album to album? Ernie Albanesius: Our first release was released in 1997 and that was "Scarred For Life." We were still a three piece and it was our first CD so, we were comfortable with the material at the time. We knew we were pretty much a young band, we were only around for about a year when we recorded it. So, we were still looking for the sound that we wanted. But, we had our sound. You could tell who we were when it came on, which was really cool. The second album, "Unholy Trinity," came out in 1999...we kind of changed our sound. We were going on the sly towards death metal, I think. Maybe not consciously, but, that's kind of where we were going. We were getting really heavy, really fast and I don't think we wanted to go that way, but, we were. But then, on the new CD, which just came out, we added Craig to the band last year and he really helped us develop our sound. We were finally able to do some of the things that we wanted to do as far as double guitar work, adding some details into the music that we needed to do. He brought back some enthusiasm, so, we're all more into this album, we all felt the music a little more and we kind of settled into a sound that we really like and we'll probably continue to do it. Paul Autry: Since you mentioned your newest member there, that was my next question. I did notice that, on your first two releases you were a trio and now you've got a new guy on the new album. Ernie Albanesius: He was actually working with Brian at his job and Craig had heard through the grapevine that Brian was in a band and we had been moderately searching for a guitarist. So, he mentioned that he played guitar and that he'd like to check us out. So, Brain brought him some CD's and he said that he liked us and Brian invited him over to jam and he really clicked. We've had other people in the band before but, no one ever seemed to catch the same vibe on a musical or personal level, which is a plus for us because we're a bunch of goofballs and we like to make fun of each other and stuff. When Craig came in, everything was natural, smooth and, from then on, it's been working out. We were so excited about the fact that we finally found somebody that it reflected in the music. We really got down to what we wanted to do and it all just came together. Paul Autry: Now, was this a conscious decision...and anyone who pays any attention to you guys and has all three of your albums will notice this. Each album has six songs on it and since you have three albums, that's like six, six, six. Especially considering that your trademark statement is "keep the music evil!" Ernie Albanesius: No, that wasn't conscious at all. Actually, it was pretty much a coincidence because...being an independent band, we only have so much money at our disposal. So, usually, we can scrape up enough money to do six songs. It just so happens that each album has six songs on it. Paul Autry: Satan works in mysterious ways. Ernie Albanesius: Yeah, right. Originally, on the first one, we were only gonna put five songs on there. But, we decided to add "Karate Chop" because we had some extra time in the studio so we said, let's do it. We did it in one take and that was it and we decided to put it on there. So, anything conscious, it would have been five, six, six. Paul Autry: How would you describe the music of Chaos Theory to someone who hasn't heard of you before? Ernie Albanesius: Well, I'm gonna base it on the new CD because that's the sound that we're going with. It's a little mixture of the older school, thrashy stuff. We're influenced by Slayer, Pantera, bands like that. But, we're also influenced by new bands. So, it's kind of a mixture of the new school and the old school a little bit. You can see where we get our roots from. But, at the same time, you can see what our influences of today might be. We've had countless reviews where they've compared us to numerous bands. But, no one can ever say the same band, ya know. I take it as a positive sign...Chaos Theory doesn't really sound like anybody, we sound like ourselves. You can see where we draw an influence here and there. But, I think we sound like who we are. Paul Autry: Cool. Now, with your albums, I assume that all three of them are still available or is it just the new one? Ernie Albanesius: No...all three are still available. You can get them through Amazon.com, you can get the first two through CD Now. The new CD, Tower Records and Cherry Hill has it, Rock Dreams in Trenton has it. We're still looking for distribution. Paul Autry: What were your studio experiences like...on all three or just your new one. Ernie Albanesius: Well, I'll go all three real quick. The first one we did was a small operation that some guy that we knew from years back ran out of his house. It was nice. It was a lot of fun, it was our first time so we were a little nervous. But, it came out well. The production maybe could've been a little better if we had more money. Paul Autry: It has a good sound, but, it also has that "raw" sound. Ernie Albanesius: Yeah. The same with the second CD. I mean, the second CD was really more studio orientated. We were more comfortable. I think, again, the production could've been a little better if we had more money. But, on the third CD, we went to Big Blue Meanie Studios and we wroked with Tim Gilles. It was a totally new experience. I mean, we went in and he blew us away. The studio there was incredible...top notch pro stuff. He guided us, he told us, you know, things we needed to do to become better musicians, to become better as a band. Nobody had ever told us the things that he...the advice that he gave us. It was unreal. It was a new learning experience and it was so great. Tim's a good guy and he doesn't pull any punches. One minute he'll tell you "that's really good" and another minute, he'll tear you apart. You've gotta take it from who it is because, if you don't listen to him, you're never gonna go anywhere, you're not gonna get any better. So, anything he said, no matter what, we listened to him. It was, again, a great experience and we'd go back there in a heartbeat. Paul Autry: How is the songwriting handled within the band? Ernie Albanesius: We all make our contributions to a song one way or another. We try to go for a vibe or a feeling that everybody digs. Like, if we're doing something and it seems really cool to three guys but, the fourth guy is like "I really can't stand it," we won't do it. Because who wants to play a song that you'r enot into? It'll reflect in your playing, it'll reflect in your live show. So, when we write something, we all do it as a collaboration, it's unanimous. Everybody contributes. I write lyrics, Dan writes lyrics, somebody will come up with a riff, Brian will come up with a drum part and we'll jam to it. It all depends on the song. I mean, we have all different ways of doing it. Paul Autry: If I were to ask what kind of band Chaos Theory is lyrically, what would you say? Ernie Albanesius: Our lyrics are introspective. It's mostly based on, a lot of it I would say, is based on emotional stuff. It's not so much like, you know, I'm lying in my bed, crying my eyes out. But, at the same time, it's kind of goes deep...we try to capture the feeling that everyone feels at one point in their life. We try to write something like that. It might sound vauge in the lyrics and you might not get it right away. Everyone can relate to something on a certain level. Everyone can listen to the songs and say, hey, I can relate to that. Paul Autry: For the people who haven't seen you live yet, how would you desrcibe your live show? Ernie Albanesius: Our live show's cool. We really get into it and you can tell that we're having a lot of fun. We're having a great time up there. It also depends on the venue too...if you have a really great stage you can go crazy and do a lot of cool stuff. If you're on a tiny stage and you're standing on top of each other, you can only do so much. Paul Autry: Is it safe to say that Chaos Theory isn't a "visual" band live? Ernie Albanesius: Yeah, we don't dress up in costumes or anything like that. That's cool and I would never knock anybody who does it...when people can pull it off, that's great. But, we're pretty much down to earth guys. We've never been about a lot of flair and stuff like that. We like cool stuff, you know. Paul Autry: When people come to see you then, they'll get the impression that, here's four guys off the street and they're gonna let the music do the talking. Ernie Albanesius: Yeah, for the most part. We move around...we do what a lot of bands do. As far as jumping...backflipping...I can't do it (laughs). Paul Autry: No David Lee Roth moves? Ernie Albanesius: No, no...I can't do any of that stuff. I'd probably hurt myself. I have trouble walking, I fall all over myself all the time. But, yeah, we like...people get into the music, we put on a show like, just feel the music and get into it. Paul Autry: What's the music scene like in your area? Ernie Albanesius: There's some good things coming out of our area. But, I don't think there's enough support for each other. People tend not to help each other out in the area. It's kind of like every band for themselves. That's okay to a point. But, when you're trying to create a scene and get people interested, no matter where you are in the country, you've gotta help each other out, you know. That's the way it has to be. Pretty much in our area, we've been the leaders of that. We'll put on shows and we'll invite other bands to play, we encourage them to bring their fans to try to make them fans of the other bands that are there. That way we have like one big muscial community. But, sometimes, people just don't understand that. We try to do our best to create a scene, networking, to get people out to see the bands. Nobody's out to make a million dollars in the area, because you're not...in the area. But, you want to get people out, you want to get them interested, just to have a good time and have a lot of fun. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Paul Autry: Have you made your way into Pennsylvania yet? Ernie Albanesius: Well, we've been playing the Philly scene for years and now, we're trying to play different venues. We're trying to go a little beyond Pennsylvania too. I mean, we've booked a show in Maryland, we're doing like a little tour down in Virginia/Maryland. In August, we're going out to Cleveland and Pittsburg, areas like that. We're trying to hit the Carolinas too...hopefully. Paul Autry: Do you have other merchandise other than CD's? Ernie Albanesius: Well, we have CD's, of course, we have stickers, we have T-shirts. That's the basic gist of it. We're looking at getting a few other things, depending on our finances and what we can get. Plus, we wanna hook up with someone who can give us a reasonable price. Just cool little things that you can pick up here and there. Paul Autry: How important is online publicity to you compared to regular print media and do you feel you have a strong internet presence? Ernie Albanesius: I think the internet is a good tool for exposure because you can...sometimes, in print, like local magazines and stuff, they don't get out across the country. But, on the internet, someone in California could look us up and check out our stuff. It's really great that way because it explores other avenues that regular print can't or may not be able to. As far as a strong internet presence, I think we're there. I mean, if you type in Chaos Theory in a search engine, we're one of the first five results. Paul Autry: I've noticed that your promotional push has gotten bigger in recent years. Ernie Albanesius: Well, we hooked up with Mike (Mazur PR) and he's been really good to us. He's helped us out a lot. He's shown us some avenues that we never knew existed and he's helped us get contacts, told us how to network a little better, things like that. It's been really great. I don't know if we could ever do it on our own without the kind of knowledge that he possessed. Paul Autry: Any international exposure? Ernie Albanesius: Oh yeah...as a matter of fact, there's a guy who has a radio station in Europe, he loved the CD, it's onn his playlist all the time, it charts for him. We have it in some other markets over there, we've been offered some European shows, but, with the finances, we can't afford to fly over there with all the equipment and everything on our own. Paul Autry: They want you to pay for your own flight? Ernie Albanesius: Yeah, that's the tough part. We have been offered shows, they want us to play, but, getting over there is tough. We've talked with Century Media Europe, we have a contact there. They asked for the CD, so, we're kinda waiting on that right now, we'll see what happens. Paul Autry: Any label interest? Ernie Albanesius: We've had a little bit from Century Media, we've talked to Metal Blade before, I think. There's another company that just contacted us, they're gonna come out to check us out, see what's going on. So, yeah, we have some label interest here and there. We've had various indie labels interested. Paul Autry: Well, in all the years I've known the band, it's obvious that you're a hard working band and you're consistant with what you do. Record labels look for that kind of stuff. Ernie Albanesius: Yeah, we do our damnedest and we try like hell. We all work full time jobs during the day. We do what we can at night. We play, we practice, we write material that we feel is great for us and for people that are listening. Sometimes it gets hard, sometimes we get run down. Like, all last week I was sick. I just got tired. Paul Autry: I know some band who are going through the same thing you're going through and all they seem to do is bitch and complain about everything. So, is it all worth it in the end for you? Ernie Albanesius: Yeah. There's always gonna be a point, not matter who you are or what band that you're in, where you're gonna get tired of it. There are times when nothing goes right or all your shows suck for like the past month or something. That happens and that's when you get discouraged and you go "I can't take it anymore." But, you know, you think to yourself that you're really doing what you love and you press on. That's the test. When shit comes your way, do you back down or do you go over it, do you go through it? We go through it. If you wanna do it, you have to take the bad with the good. Sometimes there's bitching and complaining, but, it doesn't get you anywhere. So, if you wanna do it, you have to get through it. Paul Autry: For the bands who do bitch and complain, what would you say to them that absolutely makes it worth it?
Paul Autry: Who makes up Chaos Theory? Ernie Albanesius: Well, I'm Ernie, obviously, I play the guitar. I do my thing. I'm always practicing, I'm always trying to come up with new ideas. I don't believe anything is set in stone. I mean, no matter what, if we have a song on a CD and it's out there and people already listened to it and I feel that something can be added to make the song better, then, that's what we'll do. I'm always trying to improve, to come up with something new and fresh and I'm open to anything. Brain Schleper is the drummer, he brings a lot to the band. A lot of humor, he brings a more laid back sense to things. But, he's very intense about his drumming. He's really into it and that helps us a lot because we can feel the music a little more. Dan Attobelli is the singer and the bass player. He actually started playing the bass after we kicked another guy out from the original line up because we couldn't find anybody we liked. He's not the most fantastic bassist in the world, he's not flair, he's not flashy, but, he does what he's supposed to do and he's into it and he can play. He writes a lot of lyrics, I write a lot of lyrics, we collaborate. He comes up with most of the melodies that are sung. He brings a good vibe...Dan's a little more old school thinking. So, that's where a lot of our older influences come from. Craig (Miller) on the other hand, he's more new. He brings together the newer influences. He's more of the "new band" guy. Paul Autry: Final comments? Ernie Albanesius: I'd just like to say to them...come check us out. Support any band that comes out because everyone out there is working their ass off to try and have a good time and to let their music be heard. So, come see us, come see other bands, pick up our CD...I think you'll like it. We haven't heard a bad thing about it yet. So, we must be doing something right! For More Information: http://members.aol.com/ChaosThory/index.html Copyright 2001, BallBuster, The Official Int'l Underground Hard Music Report |
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Ernie
Albanesius: Yeah, all
original all the time. I mean, we play around with covers. When we first
started, we had one cover that we played out. Here and there, we play
with the idea of doing it just for fun. But, we will never be a "cover"
band. We will always remain all original. 
Ernie
Albanesius: You have
to love it and it has to make you feel good. When you get on stage,
if you can get up there and play and forget about all that crap and
just be into the music and into the fans. That's when you know you should
keep doing it. But, if you're up there on stage going "I hate this,
it's terrible," then get out because you don't love it and it's gonna
show. Bitchin' about it is not gonna help you.