Christian Martucci Makes a Loud Noise with Thousand Watt Stare

Once your band calls it quits it can be tough to approach the idea of creating a new group. The punk rock group Black President (I still love that name!) came to an abrupt end last year but that did not stop Christian Martucci from writing a bunch of songs and calling on his friends bassist Pat Kim and drummer Dylan Howard (both of Unwritten Law) to form Thousand Watt Stare and record an EP of personal, heavy rock tunes. Christian had a few minutes to chat with me about his latest band, his last band and what has inspired him to make this loud noise.

David Carr: Christian, tell me about what happened with Black President. Why did that band come to an end?

Christian Martucci: Basically, Black President was made up of a bunch of people from more well established bands. The guys in the band were not able to give Black President the full attention it needed and deserved. For me it was my only band at the time. That wasn't the case for everyone else. It was a fun band. Black President was everybody's mistress! It was the band guys went to, to get away from their other bands!

David Carr: How did you put together Thousand Watt Stare?

Christian Martucci: When we decided B.P was done we were actually touring in Europe. After that tour I decided to move from LA to Portland Oregon. While I was living in Portland I started recording home demos of ideas I had. Before I knew it, I had a ton of songs written. I knew I would be coming back to LA so I sent the demos to Pat Kim. He dug what he heard and he showed the songs to Dylan Howard. By the time I got back to LA, we jammed once and they knew all the songs! By the time Ken at Hardline Records got in touch with us we were recording an EP. We got to the studio which is actually a garage, early in the morning and by that evening we had the EP done!

David Carr: The finished EP comes off more as a dirty rock and roll record than a straight up punk rock. Was that the goal?

Christian Martucci: That's the kind of stuff that is in my heart! I love the Stones, I love The Dead Boys and I love Led Zeppelin. This record is a lot more personal for me than Black President. I am not one of those punk rock guys that only listens to punk. I am into other genres.

David Carr: What's the plan now that the EP is out? Will the band be doing some shows this month or next year?

Christian Martucci: We really didn't have a plan! HA! This band has really been what music has meant to me. It has been therapy! This is the way it's supposed to be done. We are all really good friends and we enjoy working with each other. We did these songs, the EP came out and we have been surprised by the response. I thought that the folks who dug Black President would not like this EP but I was wrong.

David Carr: It sounds like you are having a great time with Thousand Watt Stare.

Christian Martucci: This is a strictly close to home, self financed kind of thing. I am proud to say we were able to record this record in a garage and have it sound this good! I mean we just went in and it was like the EP just wanted to be recorded. I think our plan is to try and put out a full length record before the Unwritten Law record comes out.

David Carr: I know you have done Warped Tour with BP and you are a fan of various genres. What's your take on what is going on with punk rock these days? Are you a fan of some of the newer bands?

Christian Martucci: Hmm -- I don't know. Doing the Warped Tour showed me how much things have changed. I don't want to sound like some old guy that's out of touch but it has been years since I have really paid attention to music! I have not been looking at what's going on now. I have been looking back. I find it best to ignore the mainstream and what's going on nowadays -- it can just be a bit ridiculous!

If you are ready for a little loud, dirty rock and roll, and you are tired of the ridiculousness when it comes to some modern music, try not to ignore Thousand Watt Stare!