Interviews -Retisonic-

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Many fans were surprised that BLUETIP broke up and how quickly thereafter you started RETiSONiC. Can you tell me what was going on at that time?

Jason：Our long-time drummer Dave Bryson quit bluetip soon after our third album "Polymer" came out.... though not an original member, Dave was a very important influence in the band. With him gone, Jake and I were forced to examine the band situation. The main problem staring back at us was that besides band members changing, little else had changed for our band over six years. We were playing the same clubs, the same songs, losing the same amount of money... I thought we could never make the neccesary changes to revitalize the band; we would need to kill it and start fresh. The new songs I was writing had a different sound, so why not start a new band?
It was clear to Jake and I that there was still some things we needed to finish up with bluetip. We had some unfinished songs recorded form the years of recording, plus we felt we should continue touring to promote the new album. We enlisted Areif Sless-Kitain (ex REGULATOR WATTS) on drums and lured Brian back to his post on guitar with the promise of deep-fried Mars Bars. We toured Europe and the states, laying plans and writing songs for retisonic.
After the tours ended in June, Bluetip was pretty much over. I had hoped the new band would be Jake, Areif and I... but that didn't work out. we lived 4 hours apart, and the frustrations of Bluetip were still very current. I spent the second half of 2001 writing more Retisonic songs on 4 track while compiling the Bluetip songs that made up our fourth album "POST MORTEM ANTHEM". The release of "POST MORTEM ANTHEM" in November 2001 marked the "official" end of bluetip.
By january of 2002 I was playing retisonic stuff with Joe... In march we released a three song EP to U.S. radio stations (demos that I had recorded with Jake and Areif back in june 2001). Joe and I recorded the LEAN BEAT EP in april, booked a tour of europe, got Jim on Bass, released LEAN BEAT in september 2002 and left for tour. now we're back home. I am glad that Retisonic has already finished our first tour within one year of Bluetip's demise.

The EP was released in the U.S on a new label from ex-BURNING AIRLINES' Mike Herbin, while in Japan it's out on a new label from SEIKI of NAHT Inherited Alliance. Is there a specific reason you left Dischord and chose to release on new labels? Does this mean you want to expand your horizons?

Jason：We are a New York-based band... Dischord is a DC label. I always want to make my world wider.

Please tell me about your musical back ground. What type of musical surroundings did you have while growing up?

Jason：Rock (KISS, CHEAP TRICK) followed by Hardcore (MINOR THREAT, THE FAITH).

What made you decide to make your own music?

Jason：1985?

Which artist or band or album influenced you most at the time?

Jason：At the time I decided to play music? The Faith, or maybe Rites of Spring. But I think it goes back farther, to Ace Frehley and KISS.

I really loved your cover of the B-52's song "52 GIRLS" which was on a comp album with NAHT and later on "POST MORTEM ANTHEM". I think it had a great catchy pop element and a punk energy. Why did you choose to cover this song?

Jason：Because it's such a great song. That first B-52's album is one of my favorites. "52 girls" is my favorite song on that record. Dave Stern and I were joking with each other about covering it until we realized we weren't really joking at all, just reluctant to admit it to each other.

I think your songs have a hardcore (hard and complex) structure but at the same time, they have a very original pop sound, which makes them very different from other D.C. bands. I think RETiSONiC will push your "pop side" more than before. Do you agree?

Jason：Don't forget: we are not a DC band!
With retisonic, we want to play whatever we want to play... We grew up with hardcore. We love it (well, some of it). We also grew up with Rock and Pop, and metal and whatever. There are elements in all those types of music that we might embrace. The new thing we are bringing in that was lacking in our previous bands is vocal MELODIES and HARMONIES, which sometimes are mistakenly referred to as POP. I think we are thinking too hard to be called POP, but what we are thinking about is HOOKS. We are trying to write aggressive, hooky songs... or non-aggressive hooky songs... or maybe just good songs.

Can you tell me some of your recent favorite artist and albums?

Jason：I liked the HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH soundtrack and movie.

You have a great career as a designer and you have done a lot of artwork for Discord as well as the art work for AT THE DRIVE-IN "Relation of command". How did you get started in your career as a designer?

Jason：My first band SWIZ needed T-shirts and record covers, so I did them. That eventually led to doing other band's record covers, Including many for Dischord records (FUGAZI, LUNGFISH, HOOVER, many more...) and one for AT THE DRIVE IN. I think I've done about seventy record covers so far.

What are your plans for RETiSONiC? Please tell me your ambitions.

Jason：To widen my world.

When will your full album be released? What about a Japan tour?

Jason：I don't know when the full length will come out. The EP just came out, so we will tour more and continue writing new songs. With the help of our Japanese label Retisonic hopes to come to Japan sometime in the middle of 2003.

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