Interview with Vocalist Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis of Aftermath
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| Photo by: Peter Tsiolis |
By Mick Michaels
COSMICK
VIEW: Hello, Charlie! Welcome
to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time out of your day
to chat with me, it's greatly appreciated.
CV: So many things can define an artist; their sound, their style, their look...even their attitude. What do you think makes an artist unique, even iconic? Is it something more than just the music?
Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis: For any of us who got into Rock because of Kiss back in the day you couldn’t help but think the image of a band was as important as the music. Back then, the look and overall image of the band, including the album art, all needed to be great. The mega bands of the day were all bigger than life and a lot of it had to do with the image. Van Halen looked like Rock gods. It seems like all the great bands had the complete package. The legends had it all. That may be part of the problem with Rock bands today. Too many of them lack the complete package.
CV: Is being a "rock star" still a relevant term in today's music industry? Is it something worth aspiring to become especially for a young, up and coming artist?
Charlie: Not sure if there are any true rock stars today. It seems like the last batch of legendary rock stars ended in the late 80s early 90s. Who is today’s Robert Plant or Kurt Cobain? It’s not the dude from Shinedown. There must be some kids somewhere in the world that will come out and become rock stars. Until that time you still have the Stones. Ha-ha.
CV: From your experience, does songwriting tend to define the band or does the band inevitably define the songwriting in your opinion? Meaning, can specific songwriting styles or formulas pigeon hole a band over time, creating limitations or does that particular style create a level of freedom and uniqueness?
Charlie: I think this varies from band to band. It was probably totally liberating to Motorhead or the Ramones to stay within their style. It seems like a very select few bands are capable musically to really have no boundaries. I mean from a writing perspective. Most fans seem to not like it when the music really veers off the path of a band’s other records. You hear people say all their music sounds the same, but when a band experiments too much then they claim it doesn’t sound like so or so. Sometimes you can’t win. I think to be able to change things up you need to do it early in your career. If you try and change it up later on you become a sellout or you’re trying too hard to be different for many of your fans. We have been experimenting and changing our sound from the very beginning and that allows us to write what we want. I am speaking just for me now; this is really a great feeling.
CV: Given that there has been so many major developments and changes over the last several decades, would you consider the music industry to be a viable and stable enough environment for new artists and bands to even attempt to make a successful career, or at any rate, a living, in your opinion?
Charlie: It almost feels like the industry has come full circle. What I mean is that back in the 1950s artist were not concerned about writing and recording complete albums. It was all about a single. Then the 1960s created album Rock bands and the great artists wrote complete albums and the great records had no filler. That lasted basically until sometime in the 2000s when downloads and streaming took over. So in a way it is easier to become a big act off a single song today if somehow that song goes viral. That opportunity didn’t exist before. You have way more outlets to get heard today. It is way easier and cheaper to record a great sound piece of music and is less expensive to make a video. Those are all positives for young bands. In the old days you needed a label behind you, which was really difficult to get. You don’t need a label today, but you need Spotify and Youtube to make it now. The truth is it was always hard to make it in this industry if you want to be a big act. It was hard in the 1950s and it is hard now. Most likely you won’t become a band that can sell a ton of records and buy a mansion. But, you have a better shot today of getting to the point where you can actually get more money for the sale of your music and merchandise than before.
CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
Charlie: The trendsetters will be remembered years after they’re gone. The followers won’t. This applies in all genres. No one wants to be Kingdom Come now do they?
CV: Has digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Has such access, from a consumer standpoint, changed the game for more seasoned artists to find and maintain their audience?
Charlie: The digital technology has killed the originality of a lot of the music. The Pro Tools and editing in the studio have changed the game. You can fix timing issue and alter the pitch of the notes. It can improve anyone’s performance. Seems like all bands today sample the same drum tones. If used correctly it does give you a lot of room to experiment.
CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of individual privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
Charlie: It is a hard line to not cross. There are those moments when you answer one question in a direct message and then after 10 minutes you need to go and the person gets pissed. There are others that can’t believe you even answered. That is something that is cool today. It is also bad. It takes away the mystique of a band. You know the old saying you never want to meet your heroes – it totally makes sense. I loved Kiss growing up. Watching Gene’s reality show makes me hate him. Ozzy had a wild image back in the day. The Osbournes killed that for everyone. Keeping certain things private is good for everyone.
CV: Do you feel music still holds a place in our current culture of social media distancing and instant gratification? Does music still have the same meaning as it once did in our world?
Charlie: I get the feeling that kids today don’t have the allegiance to their favorite band like we did. What I mean is we went to war over our favorite band. I don’t think kids today feel that way. It may be because it’s all about streaming a song instead of cranking an entire album. Music will always hold a place in society but individual bands won’t be as important as they were.
CV: What's one thing being in a Rock band taught you that you feel you would not have learned elsewhere?
Charlie: No one has ever asked this question before. I learned that most bands get ripped off.
CV: What's next for you? What can fans expect to see from Aftermath coming post COVID-19?
Charlie: We are still promoting our version of the John Lennon classic “Give Peace a Chance.” We decided to record and release the song and video prior to the Covid-19 thing started. By the time it was released we were at the very beginning of this thing. The message is timeless and we want it to be a call for peace…and now the riots, protests and looting makes the message even more important. The division is something that a few want and created, we as people need to not give them that. We just finished a new track called “No Time to Waste”…it will be released later this summer. We are also working on more songs as a follow up to our last album.
CV: Thank you again for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. It was a pleasure. I wish you all the best and continued success.
Charlie: Thank you.
Check out Aftermath at:
Official: http://www.aftermathchicago.com
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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.
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