Diffuser – Interview

A chat with bassist Larry Sullivan.

How are you?

A bit hung over, had a rough night.

Did you have a show?

No, actually we had last night off. It was Anthony’s, our guitar player, birthday so we took him out and had a few beers.

Have you been doing bigger shows now?

Yeah, but we’ve been playing decent sized shows since early September. Every now and then we’ll come home and sleep in our beds. We did three months straight without a day off, so it’s nice to come home and rest.

How much has life changed with getting signed, getting a record out, and the shows compared to the old days?

Everything everyday is getting better and better. I can’t complain about a thing. I’m surviving by playing music, which is the one thing in life I really love. I have a great label that is helping us do it and every day something new happens, we get to meet and talk to new people. It’s just been great.

Before getting signed did you have to work other jobs to keep this dream alive?

We were an indie band called Flu 13 and we put a few indie records out, and what we would do is have day jobs, work for four months, buy a van and go on tour for as long as we could afford to. We didn’t really get paid much. We just tried to get exposure. Then we’d come home and do it all over again. We did it like that for four years. Not until recently did I quit my job. I remember going to record the album in LA and I came back and was still working in a deli. I was like, ‘Great, I just signed a record deal, cut a record, and here I am slicing bologna.’ Hopefully this will last for a while.

Were there times where you were really like ready to give up?

Yeah. Definitely. Sometimes you think you have to. Especially living on Long Island because it’s not a big music place. Well, it is, but not for what we do. It’s more like ’80’s metal. If we played out, we had to go to Manhattan or anywhere else.

Before Hollywood Records, had other labels shown interest?

Yeah, but it kind of happened all at once. The music industry works like if one guy likes you and are interested in signing, then all of the sudden twenty-five labels want you. Hollywood was the first one to really believe in us and became our friend. Our A&R guy was originally at Columbia, but moved to Hollywood Records, and that was great because it’s a smaller label, but they are part of Disney so we knew they had money. [laughs]

It’s so true about labels jumping on the bandwagon.

I know. I’m a very trusting person. When you meet someone in the industry, I’m always weary of them, but then you have all these guys calling you and want to take you out to dinner and buy you a flower. It’s bullshit. [laughs]

I’ve heard the stories before, that someone will shop an album to the same people five or ten times and the same people who dogged them want them when they realize everyone else wants them.

We tried to get a deal when we first started out. We didn’t know anything, so we thought we needed a record deal. I’d call up and tell them I need to talk to someone and get blown off. Then when we got a manager who knew what he was doing and knew some people, it was easier.

Were the songs on the album new?

They were written before we had the deal. We were at a point where we didn’t know if we should take those songs and release an indie record or not. You can stay an indie band forever, but once you cross over and sign to a major label and fail it’s almost impossible to get picked up by another label. Who wants a failure? And the indie scene is like, ‘You left us,’ so they don’t want you back. We weren’t sure what to do so we did demos, and we thought it was really radio friendly and they were the songs we needed to release. There are two songs, “Karma” and “Tell Her This”, written in the studio.

How does the band write?

Well, Tomas usually does everything by himself, well not everything, but the song and the chords. I may come down with an idea or someone else. It’s a collaboration when we get in the studio. Tomas comes up with the concept and we work on our parts.

What did you grow up listening to?

I grew up listening to many phases, but mostly metal in high school. Iron Maiden was my favorite band. I loved Judas Priest, Ozzy, Metallica, all that stuff.

I think people are finally getting around to admitting what they listened to in the ’80’s.

I liked Metallica in the early days, and honestly they are probably my favorite band all around, but only for their earlier stuff.

I have some vinyls lying around of Master Of Puppets and Ride The Lightening.

Yeah, me too. I have them all on record. That stuff changed my life as a kid.

But there was also the stuff that radio dictated too.

Yeah. The things I couldn’t tell people is that I liked Duran Duran. My friends would have kicked my ass. My sister had it, so I’d hear it all the time.

My shameless one when I was a kid was U2 and Michael Jackson.

I know, and you can’t tell anyone because you don’t want your metal friends to be mad at you. The best was when I was a kid we had like a contest about who could find the craziest stuff, like King Diamond. We tried to find the most offensive metal band.

We tried to do the same thing. Like I remember a band called The Exploited. They were this vicious punk band, but we never understood a word they were saying or what they were about.

And you can never admit that as a kid. You can’t admit you don’t know what they are about or saying. [we both laugh]

There was a time maybe five years ago where no one would admit they listened to metal. They’d skip the ’80’s and go right for Zepplin and Sabbath.

I know, but honestly, if it wasn’t for Metallica and Iron Maiden, I would have never become a musician.

Maiden is still alive and kicking. Do they have any of the same members?

Actually all the original members are back and they added a new guitar player.

Didn’t they lose the singer Bruce and they tried to go on without him?

Yeah, they broke up and all kinds of stuff, but they are all back together.

It seemed like a cover band calling themselves Iron Maiden.

I know, and it was horrendous.

What do you like that is out today?

I love this band called Chavez. Well, I don’t think anyone has heard of them. They are an indie band. I’m not a fan of any indie band on the radio. I like Rage Against The Machine. I don’t have their record, but I’m not offended by it. I’m not a big fan of the whole low singing thing. I respect them for making it, but I was a huge fan of Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains when they came out, and I guess it was unavoidable that bands are going to sound like them. I felt like it happened already and all, but don’t get me wrong, these bands are writing great songs, but I can’t listen to them.

I know exactly what you are saying. I don’t even listen to radio anymore.

When I was growing up, none of the bands I liked were on radio.

I got most of my albums were from friends who would dub tapes for me.

Exactly. My mom would find stuff I had and she found this album I had from a band called Helloween. And she was like, ‘What the hell is this shit?’ She told me that was it and wanted to throw it away.

What did your mom want you to listen to?

My parents weren’t really big music people. My sisters listened to whatever was popular and I was in the basement listening to Helloween, so my parents were like ‘Holy shit. [we both laugh] What the hell is wrong with our son, listening to Helloween?’ I was a good kid, so they let me listen to it. I mean, it wasn’t like I was down there doing crack. [laughs]

Did they freak over those Iron Maiden album covers?

Man, my whole room was Maiden posters of Eddie [the freaky monster on the Iron Maiden album covers]. I grew my hair long and my mom was always like, ‘Jesus, look at that hair.’ So now that I don’t look like that they are happy.

What does your family think now?

They are really supportive. They just want me to be happy and are glad they don’t have to pay for me to live anymore. My dad at first told me to finish college, but they know we work our asses off and they know I really want to do this bad.

So they are glad they didn’t take Helloween away.

Yeah. We were on the Craig Kilborn show the other night and my mom was ecstatic, going, ‘Jesus, and I was yelling at him to finish college and now he’s on tv!’

+ charlie craine