Citizen Rising: Causing Peaceful Chaos Through Music from California

Here we have Citizen Rising, an alternative rock band pushing their way into the never-ending spotlight in Hollywood California. I had the pleasure of speaking with Jody Eastman, the vocals for Citizen Rising.

1. How have things been lately? How's life? Anything interesting going on at the moment?

Things have been pretty busy lately and life has been somewhat exaggerated. We've been hard at work finishing our album, exploring different artwork ideas, mixing the songs, writing the transitional pieces that tie the songs together, getting the "live" set together, and tentatively trying to figure out the towns we hope to visit on our up coming west coast tour.

2. Sounds like you have a full plate to start working on...tell me more about Citizen Rising. How did you guys get together?

Citizen Rising began as an idea, in the heart and mind of both Alex and myself, a few years back. Both Alex and I were in another band, an experimental metal band. We played all around our hometown, recorded one independent album and way too many demos. Lots of promises that, unfortunately, never seemed to materialize like we all hoped they would. One thing led to another, and pretty soon, Alex and I were writing almost all of the songs. Some of those songs just didn't seem to work within the confines of the band, and it was becoming more and more obvious that maybe we should go our separate ways.

That's how Citizen Rising was born. Alex and I decided that rather than start a new band, we would seclude ourselves in the tiny apartment we both lived in, and just write, just the two of us. The goal was to write and record an entire album ourselves, with absolutely no outside interference. I would take care of all the vocals and all the words, like I had in our previous band and Alex would pretty much take care of everything else. That included guitar, drums, drum programming, keyboards, bass, producing, and so on. Having written together for years, we already had a huge backlog of material that we could finally dig into, and we were also on a creative high. It was the dichotomy between feelings creatively liberated and entirely independent, while at that the same time, completely closing ourselves off to the outside world and putting all our focus and energy into this new sound we were developing. After a while, it seemed like it was time to find some other musicians to complete the band and allow us the opportunity to release our creation to the world, via a stage.

We were lucky to find individuals like Patrick and Brian, musicians who believed as passionately as we did, in this band. They both happened to be students at the musicians institute in Hollywood, and along with their extensive musical abilities, they also brought with them a plethora of other ideas that have greatly shaped the identity of this band. with Citizen Rising, its all about the music, but its also all about affecting change, and in that sense, this band draws as heavily on personal experiences as it does cultural and political issues.

3. Personal experiences presented in powerful ways through music. Awesome. Where did you guys come up with the name for the band?

Initially, we were just calling ourselves Citizen. The name made sense for a number of different reasons. However, there were already about 42 million other bands out there with the same name, so, we evolved the name. Brian came up with the idea of adding Rising to the name. We all liked the way the name sounded, and we especially liked how the addition of Rising gave the name some movement, some momentum. The name invokes specific images in my head that might differ from everyone else's interpretation, and I like that.

4. Not bad. What kind of sound are you guys trying to go for?

For me personally, I'm not really trying to go for any specific sound. I'm just trying to release the sound I hear in my head. Good or bad, I think the music we make is a bit different than a lot of other bands I hear today, but, I'm sure almost every band says that. The music has a certain urgency to it, different, somewhat dramatic moods, and I derive some personal enjoyment from the fact that they all seem to demand one's full attention.

5. Are there any messages in your music that you're trying to send to the audience? With song titles such as "Take You Home" and "Until You Leave"? There's definitely something behind that...

There are a few different messages I'm trying to send and those messages are directed to myself, as much as they are to anyone who happens to be in the audience. Honestly, I appreciate the curiosity brought on by the song titles, but as an artist I'm hesitant to explain or reveal my personal interpretations of them. I feel like that robs the listener of the opportunity to insert their own personal experiences into them. The only thing I would hope for is that the audience, or the listener just listens, and I mean really listens, to both the music and the words.

6. A good magician never reveals his tricks...so I completely understand. Who plays what in the band? What instruments are you currently using, and how long have you been playing?

Well, on the record, I sing and write the lyrics, and, like I said before, Alex, prodigy that he is, does everything else. In the live band, which is a far better representation of what we are currently doing, Patrick plays guitar, Brian plays bass, Alex jumps from guitar to keyboards, depending on the song, and I sing and scream a bit. We are using pretty much every instrument we own, but the most utilized are the usual ones, guitars, bass, keys, drums, and the computer, who should be honored with a name. We'll try and think of one. As for how long we've playing, ill just say forever, because we've all been doing this, in one way or another, since our teens, and now we are all in our early to mid twenties. If you were looking for a more specific list of the pile of equipment in our studio let me know and I'm sure Alex would be more than happy to supply it.

7. Well, I think what you provided is excellent enough. Thanks. I was wondering, what are your personal influences in music?

You know...the usual. Life, death, loss, redemption, love, disappointment, hope, regret, and so on. I read quite a bit, both fiction and non-fiction, so certain authors have had a profound influence on me. I also have to admit to having a slight addiction to C-Span, and a huge fascination with the past. History and English were the only two subjects that ever really interested me in school, and that interest has only gotten more intense. As far as musicians go, there are so many, but Ani Difranco has always been a huge inspiration to me. Her music, as much as her words, as much as her artistic integrity, as much as her courage and curiosity, she has done, and continues to be, a lovely beacon of light in a very foggy music business.

8. I'll have to look up Ani Difranco's material sometime. Sounds very interesting. What direction do you see you and your band going?

More experimental, more melodic, and more pro-active when it comes to participating in, and hopefully, affecting change. As far as the music goes, I have no idea, and I prefer it that way. I am more than happy to just be a conduit for whatever sounds comes to me. As far a specific direction for the band, I'll say "east", but that's only because we live on the west coast.

9. How do you feel when you're up on stage, and the crowds going crazy for you guys?

Well, I once heard an artist say hearing our record is kind of like seeing an animal at a the zoo, where as seeing us live, is more like seeing that same animal out in the wild in its' natural setting. I tend to agree with that analogy when it comes to our band. The album is us doing everything we can to capture a moment and create "something". When we play live, the goal is still to capture a moment, but that moment is constantly changing, and that "something" that we so meticulously crafted, is released out into the world. I'm not interested in re-creating the album on stage. As far as the crowd going crazy, nothing feels better than making a genuine connection with an audience, but the objective, for me, is to just be honest to the songs and the feelings that inspired them while at the same time leaving myself enough in the moment to react to whatever other emotion overwhelms me. A simple answer to that question would also be, it feels nice when people like you, what you do and validate all the hard work and lonely nights.

I don't mean to sound self-righteous or sanctimonious, but we all really have
sacrificed quite a bit to try and do this for a living. The truth is, some of the best shows I've ever been a part of, have been the ones where there were three people in the audience, and that's including the bartender. I can't let an audience reaction, positive or negative, be the barometer of success for us. The moment you do that, I think, you run the risk of pandering, with dirty knees, and the ceremony becomes cheap. In those situations, the music, which is the most important thing in my life, becomes nothing more than decoration, and that's something I'm not willing to sacrifice.

10. What's the best part of being in Citizens Rising?

The best part of being in this band is the freedom it affords me. This is my chance to say and do everything I've always wanted to do, creatively. I can be as poetic, as personal, or as political as I want. Its therapy with a soundtrack. To get the opportunity to do what it is you think you were born to do, is incredibly humbling, and, then, to have the chance to experience all these unbelievable moments with other individuals who you love and respect, nothing's better than that. I also am creating music with someone who is not only my best friend, but an incredible and constant source of inspiration, both as an artist and as a human being.

11. Do you guys feel like brothers...or just separate people doing separate things? How's the teamwork in Citizens Rising?

Well, there's no "I" in team. To be as honest and as candid as I can, in my previous band, we were all like brothers. That was a beautiful time in my life, and a huge learning experience for me. But that ended, and it showed me you can be "brothers", or at least brothers in arms, but being in a band is more than that. The real devotion is to the music and the sound we create together. I'm not sure you can be separate people doing separate things when you're a part of something that is bigger than the sum of it's' parts. It's an amazing feeling to lose yourself in a song, and glance over at Alex and feel elevated by his passion, or by Patrick's attitude, or by Brian's rage. At that moment, our bond transcends friendship. However, no matter how much I respect and love my band mates, nothing is permanent except the songs. So, my loyalty is to my band mates, as much
as to the music, but I'm not interested in defining or labeling our relationship. I would compare our band to a marriage, but most marriages seem to end in divorce, so I'm not sure that is the most encouraging comparison. Plus, I've heard so many bands use that cliché, so it's kind of lost its relevance. These are some amazing individuals and I feel so blessed and I'm so excited to take embark on this journey with them. So, instead, I'll compare our band, not literally, but symbolically, to comrades, united by a cause they believe in, together, deep in the muddy trenches, trying to fight the enemies around us, as well as the demons inside us all.

12. What was the worst experience you guys have had on stage?

Our first show. Almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It hit a point during that performance where I'm fairly confident at least two of us were playing different songs, at the same time, which would have been cool, had it not sounded so bad. In fact, the only positive aspect of that show was the knowledge that any future shows, as bad as they might be, won't ever be that bad. I'm not being naively optimistic with that statement, by the way, really, it was that bad and I'm not sure, even if we really tried, it's humanly possible to get much worse.

13. Wow...that sounds terrible. I can't even imagine you guys putting on a bad show, but it's better to hit rock bottom and know what it feels like in order to make it to the top. Thanks so much for the time, you guys. Any final words before checking out?

Well, I want to thank you for taking the time to ask these questions, and giving me a chance to answer them. Mainly, I just want to express my gratitude to you and everyone else for taking the time to listen and for all the support. Being an independent band, any and all help really makes all the difference, so for the people who read this, check out our band, and if it moves you, tell a friend and spread the word. Other than that, the road to the white house starts in Springfield. Stay angry, stay curious, and stay informed. Thanks again.

myspace.com/citizenrising