After 23 years of dedication to music, the well-known producer and musician AARON KUSTERER releases his new work, a very powerful EP entitled “A Little Louder”. This work marks a new chapter in Kusterer's long career, while confirming his great talent as both a producer and artist.
Read below our very interesting interview and get to know him better.
RockOverdose: Hello and welcome, Aaron! What inspired you to create a vocally-centered EP like "A Little Louder" after focusing on instrumental guitar albums in the past?
AARON KUSTERER: Hi! Thanks for having me. That’s a great question and I’m sure some of my friends have probably wondered the same thing. Haha! Growing up, I was extremely drawn to the guitar from a really young age and wanted to listen to pretty much anything that had guitar in it. Most of what I heard as a kid (Age 7-13) was all song-focused music. That really set the stage for what my ear gravitated towards initially. When I first heard some of the instrumental guitar greats (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc), I was blow away and that turned into a really fun detour in my upbringing as a kid and into young adulthood. It taught me quite a lot. However, slowly but surely (and partially through working as a professional guitarist), I found my way back to a version of where I first started. I’ve always loved singing and in my 20s, I started taking it a bit more seriously. I started writing more and as an engineer, started working on the vocal production side as well. All of this to say—I took the long way around to come back to what made me fall in love with music and rocking out in the first place. “A Little Louder” is absolutely a representation of that and there is more music coming soon!
RockOverdose: Can you tell us a bit about the themes and emotions explored in each of the four tracks on the EP?
AARON KUSTERER: Overall, I love exploring things that not everyone talks about. I believe we often have things inside us that we feel or want to say but are afraid to vocalize. There are even things in our subconscious that can drive us to feel a certain way and sometimes we can’t even quite pinpoint why we feel the way we do. Pulling those things out into the open for discussion makes for a different experience for the listener. I truly enjoy delving into that psychology. For A Little Louder, each track is definitely personal to me. “Only Be Me” originally stemmed from being told a really long time ago that I couldn’t really sing by someone (though I wanted to) but morphed into a song about being put in a box—told what I should or shouldn’t be. “Learning to Feel” is about recovering from a really difficult time in a relationship, sorting through those feelings, and reconnecting with that same person. “Your Road” is about the desire (especially as a guy) to fix every problem a spouse brings to you even though you technically can’t fix it, and acknowledging that often those battles are your spouses, not yours. Finally, “Leaves” is one of the more esoteric tracks on the record. This was my way of sorting through some of the issues socially/politically that have arisen over the past 5 years or so, partially through drawing a comparison to the way the seasons change (the day the leaves turned).
RockOverdose: How does your experience as a producer influence your approach to creating your own music?
AARON KUSTERER: I think it probably influences things up to a point for sure. One can learn from just about any situation if you’re open to it. For me, the influence definitely presents on a technical front as you can find new ways of doing things from working with an artist that you hadn’t tried before. The artist says “hey, what about this?” and then that gets the gears turning on how you might accomplish it. When you’re working on your own music, at times you can get tunnel vision and fall into old habits if you’re not careful.
RockOverdose: How did your time with SLOW BURNING CAR influence the sound and style of "A Little Louder"?
AARON KUSTERER: This particular situation is unique in that SBC (Slow Burning Car) already had a very established vision long before I started working with them. My goal in that group was/is to support Troy (Spiropoulos) and execute things according to his vision, So, with regard to style/sound, I would say they that SBC and A Little Louder are two autonomous things. That said, I will point to my earlier answer regarding the technical front. Troy definitely allowed me to experiment a bit with what we could pull off in the studio and that is always a beneficial thing for growth that I carry into many other projects I do.
RockOverdose: What do you hope listeners take away from "A Little Louder" after experiencing it from start to finish?
AARON KUSTERER: I hope listeners take away some fun music, introspective lyrics, and above all else—some element that makes them want to return to it again and again.
RockOverdose: How do you balance your roles as a musician, producer, and artist when working on projects like this EP?
AARON KUSTERER: It’s generally like a 3-ring circus … there’s lots happening all the time, everyone is running around, and something is always on fire. Ha! Just kidding. It can definitely be a challenge at times. I live and die by my calendar but try to save pockets of time for my own projects whenever possible. It’s a fun break from whatever I’m working on for clients.
RockOverdose: Can you walk us through your songwriting process and how it evolved while working on "A Little Louder"?
AARON KUSTERER: There was a time when I started with a riff or musical idea and there were certainly portions of A Little Louder that originated from those places. That said, in going through the process of making that EP, I now try to start with lyrics almost every time I sit down to write. I’ve found that for me, focusing on the song first generally nets a much more cohesive product in the end. As a guitarist, it’s all too easy to fall into “check out this cool riff” and get lost in creating something that is more centered on whatever is in the background as opposed to the overall song. I believe a song comes together a lot better if the lyrics and structure are solid first. It can absolutely change throughout the evolution of the song creation process but still, starting with a solid idea is important.
RockOverdose: What challenges did you face during the creation of this EP and how did you overcome them?
AARON KUSTERER: Well, I went through a studio change that made things a bit more difficult to finish things when I wanted to. Getting used to a new location is always a challenge but where there is a will, there is a way.
RockOverdose: How does performing live compare to working in the studio when it comes to bringing your music to life?
AARON KUSTERER: Live playing vs studio are very often different animals. While I play live all the time, it has been primarily for other artists but I do have plans to bring my music to the stage. At the moment, I know that I’ll be arranging things from the EP to have the most impact live, even if that means changing certain elements here and there—which is totally fine! That’s one of the beautiful things about playing live. You get to try different ways of interpreting your songs!
RockOverdose: Are there any specific artists or musicians who have had a significant influence on your work, particularly on "A Little Louder"?
AARON KUSTERER: Absolutely. While I certainly have my own influences (Def Leppard, Sting, Go West, etc), I would have to extend the credit and influence out to the guys and gals who played on this EP. It is because of them that the EP came together the way it did. Aside from myself, here are the additional musicians on the record:
Adam Peri – Keyboards
Zak St. John – Drums/percussion
Victor Broden – Bass
George Brahler – Trumpet
Anna Hamilton – Additional vocals
Well, I have two singles coming very soon so be on the lookout for those. I’ll be looking at taking this music to the stage as well later this year. You can follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and my website at www.aaronkusterer.com. Thanks for having me!!
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