Glasseater

Editor’s Note: I had the opportunity to interview Julio of Glasseater over the phone one day. I’d like to thank Julio for doing it and Delphine for setting it up.

---

Bobby: Ok, Starting with the basics can you please state your name and what you do in the band?

Julio: Alright, I’m Julio and I sing.

Bobby: How did you guys all meet?

Julio: Well we met in ’98, we were all in other bands in the scene. And we always wanted to start our own band and start doing something new. A more melodic, hardcore type thing. So we put our other bands on hold and started this as a side-project and then it became what it is now.

Bobby: “Glasseater”, where did you guys get that name from?

Julio: It’s actually from a Simpsons episode. It’s from the episode when Marge tries to become a cop. And she goes into the Kwik-E-Mart and she looks on the shelves of magazines and one of them is called “The Glasseater” and we thought it was a good name for a band, so we kept it.

Bobby: Cool, Cool. “Everything Is Beautiful When you Don’t Look Down”, that’s your new CD. Where did you get that name and why did you pick it for the CD title.

Julio: Well originally it wasn’t supposed to be the name of the album. Originally it was just one of the songs and like the lyrics of the song were really really good, I felt really strong about them. And it’s just like a saying. Like you look around things and everything looks real real nice. But when you look deeper into them, it’s not as pretty as it seems. And it’s a really strong song and we are really happy with it, so we picked it as the title of the album.

Bobby: What is your favorite song on the album and why?

Julio: Wow, that’s such a tough question man. I don’t know. We all have different ones. To me, I can’t really say I have one favorite, it’s probably like a five-way tie. The first, track 1 which is “Greetings…Goodbye”, track 2, “Art Of Communication”, track 4 which is “Everything Is Beautiful When You Don’t Look Down”, track 5 which is “Shortcut To A Quick Getaway”, and track 6, “At Your Own Risk”. So they are like my favorite, it’s a tie. I like all the songs a lot, a lot, a lot, I don’t really have one favorite. At least not yet, maybe in a couple months, I’ll pick one that I really really think is the best. But right now it’s five.

Bobby: How did the recording of the album go?

Julio: It was amazing. We tracked for about 2 and a half weeks with producer James Wisner, he did our last record, the self-tiled on Fearless, and he’s also done New Found Glory, Dashboard Confessional, he’s done a bunch of bands. We tracked for about 2 and a half weeks, then we took a break and went on a short tour and he had to record another band. We met up about a week and a half later and we recorded for about 3 or 4 weeks. The process was really really cool, like we really really worked hard on it. We’re picky and conscious on our playing and stuff.

Bobby: Alright, writing the material seemed to have been difficult for you guys. Since JC was in South Carolina and sending his ideas on a burnt CD, how did that work out? Were there any problems from that?

Julio: Not at all, not at all. Me and JC are like kinda the ones who started the band since the beginning. We talk everyday and he has a four track at his house and he burnt his ideas and I have a recorder at my house. So we record ideas and send them back and forth. It wasn’t really really hard at all. It was actually a little bit better this way cause we each have more time to ourselves to kinda lay back at home and think of good ideas. And come up with arrangements and stuff and send them to each other. So it was actually a lot easier, the writing process for this record was a lot easier then the record before.

Bobby: Now imagine if you weren’t in a band, what would you be doing for a job?

Julio: Wow, ummm, I don’t know man. I’ve been into punk-rock and hardcore like pretty much since I was 12 years old, so I wouldn’t know. If for some weird reason I couldn’t do this, which is what I love to do, I’d probably be either studio gigs, like play drums in studios, or teaching music to kids. That’s about it.

Bobby: How do you like being on Victory?

Julio: We love it man, we’re really really happy. They’ve done nothing but amazing stuff for us so far, and we are just can’t wait to see what else happens once the record actually drops in about 2 weeks.

Bobby: How did you end up meeting Victory?

Julio: Well we’ve been working with Victory for a good few years cause we always did out merchandise though them. And we built up our relationship through that. And then once thing started falling apart between us and Fearless I guess, we were really interested in Victory and I guess they were interested in us. So we talked it out and we ended up jumping ship and going to Victory, that’s how that happened.

Bobby: What have they been doing to promote the new album?

Julio: It’s like night and day compared to our old label, Fearless, where they had like 2 guys working for the whole compagny. Victory has about 35 staff. So the promotion campaign is way bigger. They just reach a lot more magazines, alot more radio promotions, touring. They just back us up like 300% compared to what Fearless did, it’s like amazing.

Bobby: If you could pick any person dead or alive, who would you pick to tour with and why?

Julio: Wow, I mean, wow. Well the answer for that would be… Well there are five guys in Glasseater and we all have really different musical influences. I know for me, I’d love to do one show with Buddy Richard, like a big jazz ensemble. If not him, it would probably be John Bono, which is a drummer. That would be really cool, just to see him play. Cause I’ve been playing drums all my life, just to see him would be amazing.

Bobby: How has been in a band changed your life?

Julio: I think, not being in a band, but living a punk rock lifestyle, like hardcore life. Like the way I was raised, it kinda kept me away from probably doing bad stuff. Like following the steps of random kids around my town which usually around the age of 13-14 fell really heavy into drugs and a lot of stuff. So doing what I do kinda kept me away all that shit. Which is really really positive.

Bobby: Why did you decide to become a musician or is that the main thing?

Julio: Since I was a little kid, I was beating on pans and drumming. Music runs in my family. My mom used to sing in a church choir back when she was young. So when I got into school, that was like the only thing I excelled at really. Not that I was dumb at the subjects in school. Music was the one thing that I loved and it made me happy. So once I was like 13,12, I started pursuing music.

Bobby: Do you have any tips for young musicians starting out?

Julio: If that’s what makes them happy and that’s what they want to do, just fucking follow it. No matter what obstacles, no matter who tells you not to do it. If it’s in your heart, just follow it man, it will work out in the end.

Bobby: Who would you say influenced you musically?

Julio: Musically, let’s see, I’d have to say my music teacher in middle school. His name was Enrique Palma (***I may have spelt his name wrong, please accept my apologies if it is. I will try and get the ring spelling as soon as possible.***), he was a saxophone player. Him I guess, like he really pushed me to music. Concentrate and focus on it. In rock, like once I started joining bands and stuff, wow man, it’s tough, I guess Midas to Death. For just coming out in punk and changing it and making it real raw. Like expression themselves, saying what they wanted to say. Also, technically, like musical technicalities, June Finger too, just because they are like amazing musicians and I love that band.

Bobby: Now a days you can download songs everywhere on the internet, Kazaa, Morpheus, stuff like that. How do you feel about that?

Julio: That’s a trick question man, because it could either work for you or not work for you. Like it could go both ways. It’s good because its a easy and free way to promote yourself to kids that have never seen or hear of you. They like go on the internet and see a couple songs and download them. But the downside to that, I guess people say it affects CD sales. So you don’t sell as much CDs and labels kinda go by that. If you’re not selling enough CDs, they’ll drop you and bands get fucked over by that. But, for smaller bands like, who aren’t humongous like Metallica, it’s not really a bad thing. We love it man, it’s free and the easiest way to get our songs out to kids. A lot of kids download them and like them, and if they like them they buy the CD, that’s awesome. Cause either way, they’re supporting us in the end you know?

Bobby: A while ago, I read an article about Rancid, and one of the main themes were “Through Music You Can Live Forever”. Do you think that’s true? Or what do you think about that quote?

Julio: O ya, totally. I totally believe that and back it up. Cause when you record something it stays, it’s recorded forever. Even if your band breaks up, even if you stop doing music, your song is still recorded and kids still have access to it and they can always listen to it. Listen to the music and listen to the lyrics and see what we were thinking at the point in time and see what we were trying to say. So ya, I totally believe that through music you can live forever, I agree with that.

Bobby: Your new album, “Everything Is Beautiful When You Don’t Look Down” hits the stores on the 26th.

Julio: Yep, on the 26th of August.

Bobby: What would you say to convince someone to buy the album?

Julio: Wow, I’d say go to mp3.com/glasseater and download the 3 songs of that record that are free. And if that doesn’t convince you, then I don’t know what will. We’re just really really fucking excited about it. Bust our asses and we figure it’s gonna pay off. I mean, it’s what we always wanted to do, take it to the next level. Mixing melodic punk, hardcore, mixing it all in and making it one. We are really excited about it. If those three songs that are for free doesn’t convince you, then I don’t know what will.

Bobby: What do you see in the future for Glasseater?

Julio: A lot of touring, as much touring as possible. We are in the process of talking about a Japan tour and Europe. We definitely want to go over seas cause we’ve had a lot of e-mails over the years about us going over there. We just haven’t had the chance. So definitely lost of touring and most definitely over seas in Europe and Japan and anywhere else that will accept us.

Bobby: I guess that’s it. Do you have any shout-outs before we end?

Julio: Shout-outs to all our fans who support us. Glasseater.com. Mp3.com/glasseater. Just whoever supports us, thank you do much and anybody who supports punk and hardcore.

Bobby: Ok, thanks a lot for doing the interview.

Julio: Thanks man.