Callisto have recently released their debut single “This Is Awkward” which is accompanied with a music video that takes a look at their practice space. The practice place is where all the music from the band originates, where all the songs began. Watching the video, it lead us to the question about the origin of the band itself. Thus we asked some interesting questions to the band regarding how they formed and their future plans. Band member Brandon got an extra busy week between tours this time, and he is also currently on dad duty. But we got the rest of the band: James, Rob, and Howi covering here.
So we already know that the members of Callisto are also from Silhouette Rising, Ballyhoo!, and Bumpin Uglies. Do these bands’ sound influence Callisto in any way?
Rob: I think it would be difficult for a lot of those intuitive traits to not crossover in some way. As much as we may intentionally avoid certain patterns we’ve used in the past, we’re ultimately still using the same brains we used/use in those other projects. That melting pot of minds is what makes this project stand apart from the others in an interesting way, though.
James: Sure. We play(ed) in those bands. This is it’s own thing. But there’s little tricks I’ve learned from being in Silhouette Rising with Rob. I also have been a fan of both Ballyhoo! And Bumpin Uglies for years. So, in a way, that’s how I’ve come to understand Howi and Brandon’s musical voices.
When we decided to intentionally have no reggae on this album, that’s a direct influence of these other projects having that sound and wanting to explore something different.
Howi: I imagine so. We all brought our styles of songwriting to this record, and it was interesting to see how we’d bounce off of each other with our ideas. But the end result doesn’t really sound like any of our primary bands, so that’s kind of cool.
How did Callisto shape its form? How did you guys come up together?
Rob: Google ‘rat king’.
James: The short version is that Rob and I first formed a friendship with Howi when our previous band opened for them. That developed over the years. Brandon was coming up in the scene and Howi connected us with him.We all developed a close friendship and dig a lot of the same music. So in some ways, this has just been a long time coming.
Howi: We’re friends through music. We all met by doing what we do with our other bands over the years. James brought us all together because he is a fan of what we do and thought we could make some good tunes together. There was no pressure to make anything mind-blowing. Just wanted to put our best foot forward. I think we all took it as an opportunity to try something different.
Why pick the name Callisto? Any special reason behind it?
Rob: Callisto is the name of one of Jupiter’s moons, which potentially has liquid water (thus life) under its frozen surface. It’s visually very stunning, and I always wanted to use it as an album cover, but the name of the moon itself stuck as the working title for this project and just never went away!
James: I hate band names, especially names of bands that I’m in. I think that’s pretty normal? Anyways, we had a group text going, and Rob mentioned the name “Callisto.” I didn’t hate that and still don’t.
Howi: Rob pitched it to us. I liked it. Callisto is one of Jupiter’s moons, and I love watching YouTube videos about deep space and wondering where we came from. It’s a good name.
Who inspires your music? As a band, could you mention three musical groups that set the bar for you?
Rob: Gorillaz, Alex Turner, Jana Horn
James: Foo Fighters, Turnstile, Silverchair
Howi: Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and Green Day were probably in my head a lot during these sessions.
How long did you take to complete the debut single “This Is Awkward?” Can you tell us the story behind the song? What was the songwriting process?
Rob: That song started off as a 15-year-old demo riff Howi had on the back burner, paired with a new lyrical and phrasing idea for the chorus by James. It all came together pretty quickly, but the mixing process took over a year.
James: I instantly loved the riff Howi played. I started wailing on the drums, and it was one of those songs where I just instantly knew the groove and intensity the song needed. Howi is such a great writer. I think that’s a sign of that when someone presents an idea, and you just immediately know how to add your texture to it. He makes great musical maps.
Anyways, I gave myself five minutes to try writing some lyrics because I had a vision for intense yelling at the chorus. I got the cadence and words down, whisper screamed it to the group, and Brandon went “Fuck it! I’ll give it a shot.” That’s the first time we heard him scream/sing. We were blown away, and I think the first or second take is what we actually used in the final mix.
Howi: I wrote the music for that one nearly 20 years ago. I wanna say 2004/2005 when I was recording a bunch of demos for new Ballyhoo! stuff. I really liked the riff but I never had a place for it in the Ballyhoo! catalog. As for the lyrics, I try to let the music tell me what its about. I felt like telling a story of walking away from a toxic relationship. Then we had Brandon screaming the chorus out in the basement in the middle of the night. It was a fun song to make.
Why did you decide to make the music video inside your practice space? Did you do any special decoration for the video?
Rob: Just a little feng shui. We moved some things around, painted the walls with blood, etc.
James: This is actually not our practice space. Fake news. Not sure how that started but it’s a cool story. The reality is even better, though. Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy has an underground bunker. We hit up his manager, Johnny Minardi, and he set it up. There’s actually a retro-disco club in the room next to this one. So maybe we will do our next video in that.
Howi: It’s a space we rented for the day. We wanted something that looked like a an old rock club. It was tiny and super vibey. We didn’t have to decorate at all. It looks like that all the time LOL. You can rent the spot out for dingy shoots.
Watch the music video of “This Is Awkward” on YouTube:
What was the first show you ever played as a musician?
Rob: Sons of Italy Festival ’05. Absolutely insane turnout of 75+ year olds.
James: Hard to remember. I THINK it was a summer camp show. The guitarist in my band at the time was teaching guitar for a summer music program. They put on a concert. There was probably 200 kids, and we start tearing through thrashey screamo songs. I remember the camp manager or whoever he was totally lost it. He never heard anything like that. He was asking me to turn the drums down. Still not sure how you can run a music program and ask a question like that. Some of the kids were terrified, but I remember there was a group of kids in hardcore and metal shirts with long hair, and they thought it was the greatest thing. We were all maybe 15 at the time.
Howi: March 1, 1996 in my high school gym. I was in 10th grade. We played for an hour and 40 minutes. It was the time of my life. I knew from then on I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. It felt incredible to play for the kids at school. We rehearsed in my mom’s basement for eight months so we’d be the best band of the night.
Are you planning to release a full-length? What else can we expect from you this year?
Rob: Yeah! Our debut full-length is coming out April 21. The only catch is that we’re releasing it exclusively as a single physical copy and hiding it somewhere in downtown Baltimore, so fans really need to be willing to put themselves out there to hear it.
James: April 21! We’ve also discovered a new element. So we will be releasing an all new, updated periodic table in the near future.
Howi: Looking like April 21 is the release date, so its coming up! I’ll be out with my band Ballyhoo! touring my ass off as well as releasing our new album some time this summer.
Follow Callisto on Instagram.
Photo courtesy of Callisto
