Crimson Moon: How did the band get started?
Jon: When Jessie and I met, we were in different bands. I was in a band called Beak and we were doing the Neur-isis thing; big, slow, and heavy with hardcore-style vocals and these pretty instrumental interludes. Jessie was in a rock band called Girl Activity, Pretenders-style rock/pop songs with clean vocals. I was listening to a lot of Low at the time and really wanted to get into male/female harmony singing. We both still wanted to play loud, so we kind of took some elements from doom and shoe-gaze music and decided to put something together that combined all of these things. We made a demo and a record with our first drummer and bass player and played some shows around Chicago. Shortly after the second record our bass player and drummer went their separate ways and we found what is now our current rhythm section.
Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?
Jon: We’ve been labeled “Atmospheric Post Rock” and maybe that sort of fits, but we’re not trying to jump on a genre train and prefer to think of it as rock music since we’re using the standard two guitars bass and drums. Everyone in the band has very diverse tastes and we listen to everything and I think it shows in our music, although I think we manage cohesion despite all the influences.
Crimson Moon: How has the band response been?
Jon: We had a lot of momentum just before the pandemic hit. We were about to release a record and had ideas to tour. Now that things are opening back up, we seem to be regaining some of that momentum but it’s still early days. We’re hoping the release of our record will get things back on track.
Crimson Moon: Where did the band name come from?
Jon: Jason Pritchett, creator of all of our record covers and most of our imagery in general, saw us rehearse in the beginning and said that the music reminded him of a night in the desert, so we were trying to think of something that conveyed that feeling. At the time, we couldn’t find any other bands called Starless and decided it was an appropriate name. Most people assume we’re huge King Crimson fans, and although we are, it was a coincidence that they have a famous song of with the same title.
Crimson Moon: Introduce the band members.
Jon: On drums, we have Quinn Curren. On bass we have Alan Strathmann. On guitar/vocals Jessie Ambriz. My name is Jon Slusher and I also play guitar and sing.
Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Jon: We’re about to release our second record, called Hope Is Leaving You.
Crimson Moon: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest CD?
Jon: Our first single, called Pendulum, is about being at the mercy of our chaotic universe, which is a central theme in this record I think. If you listen, it’s arranged with the movement of a pendulum in mind, beginning as it ends.
We’ll be releasing a second single shortly after that one, called All The Winter, which is about the price we pay for wisdom and experience, the burden of consciousness. Sort of a lament of our awareness on the ephemeral nature of our time on the planet.
Crimson Moon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Jon: Usually I’ll come up with the beginnings of the song, a verse or two, maybe a verse and chorus and I’ll bring it to the band. We take it from there and everyone gets to participate in the creation process. I think it’s a good idea to have a fundamental idea before the band gets involved, just to keep focus. I write all the words.
Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Jon: I like to supplement my own ideas with a “cutout” technique I’ve used since I started writing songs. Sort of a take on the William Burroughs, David Bowie etc where you cut, with scissors, phrases out of works of literature, put them in a hat (envelope in my case) and then piece them together to form something out of context from the original. It yields a lot of interesting ideas, but usually it’s just to get me going on something. I’ll end up taking it from there and attempt to apply it to a guitar idea or a melody I have in mind. I try to be very conscious of how a melody line should be phrased and I try to find words that will fit that phrasing.
Crimson Moon: Has the Covid Pandemic impacted the band at all?
Jon: It most definitely has. We were about to release this record more than a year ago with plans on touring and it all got sidelined. I don’t want to say we lost the year exactly because I think we were all still musically active in our own ways, but since we couldn’t really do the band thing we were musically active in isolation. I’ve got a solo record I’m wrapping up that I wrote during lock-down and Alan and Quinn have a project they put together. Hopefully all supplementary music to Starless. We would have probably started working on the next record by now, so I imagine the pandemic will delay the release of whatever we follow our current record with. We did end up putting a handful of covers together during lock-down and so we will be releasing that at some point next year.
Crimson Moon: Do you have any side projects?
Jon: I have a piano-based solo side project I call Bystander. I’ve been really enjoying the exploration of the keyboard instrument, which often takes me to different places than the guitar. Alan has a project he’s working on called Open Arms and I hear it’s “rock”, a little more on the upbeat side, at least when you compare it to Starless haha. I haven’t heard it yet, but I’m told it’s uptempo and a bit “mathier”.
Crimson Moon: What is the music scene like where you guys are from?
Jon: We’re in Chicago and the music scene is still strong. We’ve been in it a long time and it spans generations. Lots of great venues here and a lot of support and enthusiasm. It’s the reason I moved here in the first place.
Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Jon: For Starless I think I mentioned the main influences for its inception in that earlier question. I’ve been listening to a lot of classical music lately and I think it’s starting to have an influence on me. I’m not anywhere near classically trained, so I have to distill it into the simpler things I can do, but it’s definitely there. Because we listen to all kinds of music, there are so many influences that come and go. All the usual suspects. For me, lot of the 80s goth stuff especially. Cure, Cocteau Twins, Siouxie and the Banshees etc. It feels weird naming them though because we’re not really trying to sound like anything but what we sound like. I should name Radiohead too since I’ll never get over how good they are.
Crimson Moon: What is the band like when you play live?
Jon: Personally I’ll say surreal because it’s all execution. Sort of an out-of-body experience. I can’t speak for the rest of the band. If you’re asking how we sound live, you’ll have to ask someone in the audience!
Crimson Moon: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Jon: That up until now at least is what we like to call a “fiscally irresponsible decision”, though we would love to given the right opportunity.
Crimson Moon: How has the fan response been to the band?
Jon: We seem to be building it slowly. This will be the first properly promoted record we’ve released, so we’ll see how it goes.
Crimson Moon: What made you want to be in this band?
Jon: I’ve been singing and playing guitar since the beginning but it wasn’t until a bit later that I started playing loud. At first I was screaming, but I’ve always wanted to do something melodic with heavy music.
Crimson Moon: If you weren’t in this band would you still be involved in the music industry?
Jon: I could see myself trying my hand at producing and/or engineering. I love to nerd out on audio and I like working with people, so it could have turned into that at some point.
Crimson Moon: As a musician what advice can you give to fellow musician just starting out?
Jon: Support your local music scene wherever and whatever it is. Make friends and go to shows. The online community isn’t possible without the bars, clubs, warehouses wherever. The real life. You’ll be better off for the experiences believe me. Also, read Miles by Miles Davis.
Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for the band?
Jon: We’ll be back to writing our third record this winter most likely. We have an EP of cover songs I mentioned that we will release at some point next year. Hopefully we’ll be playing more shows as things open up.
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/starlessad
https://www.instagram.com/starless.chi/
http://starlessad.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/starlesschicago
