Do you believe in ghosts?
Florida-based musician John Ralston didn’t exactly have a
well thought out plan to break into the music scene. His CD, “Needle Bed,”
actually started out as a demo, but during the process turned into his debut
album. He’s been doing fairly well since its release and the only way he’s
headed is uphill. John recently dropped by Vancouver while on tour with
Dashboard Confessional, so Band of the Day sat for a quick chat with the rising
star in…
- by Mattias and
Dave-Os -
1. You mentioned in your bio that your success kind
of happened by accident. What do you think you would be doing right now if
everything didn’t fall into place?
J: I’d probably still be working in construction, which is what
I was doing [before].
Dave-os: Did you get paid well?
J: Yeah, but it was construction, so [it’s] tough work. Not as
fun as playing music.
2. You’ve played for bands before like Legends of
Rodeo and Dashboard Confessional. What do you think the difference is between
playing with a band and doing the solo thing?
J: It’s sort of all the same to me. It’s all music, you know. Of course personally I have more invested in this; it has my name on it. I recorded most of the parts on it and I have more personal attachment to the songs, but the end result is that I just love playing music everyday.
Dave-os: Is it any different with the crowds?
J: Sure. Every crowd is different for every band I’ve played in. It’s part of the fun in meeting new people.
3. Your mom was a folk singer and she taught you how
to play guitar. What do you think is the most important piece of advice that
she’s given you?
J: “Don’t make music your career.”
Mattias: We get a lot of that. A lot of people that we talk to,
their parents sometimes aren’t down with their music.
J: Yeah. *laughs*
4. If you had to sleep on a bed that was actually
made of needles for one night, what would you do beforehand to prepare
yourself?
J: Bathe.
5. What’s your take on one of the winningest Denver
Broncos coaches, John Ralston?
J: Oh, you know, I just heard about this guy. He has a great
name. What was he? A Broncos coach?
Mattias:
Yeah. He was a head coach in the 70’s. I think he did pretty good too.
J: Oh,
well, I’m proud to have him as my son.
6. Listening to your album, a lot of your lyrics conjure up
thoughts of dying or death. What’s your take on the whole “Death” thing?
J:
I think a lot of that is how I’m trying to figure it out. I don’t have anything
concrete other than the fact that it’s gonna happen for everybody, so it’s part
of what I was trying to figure out and what I’m still trying to figure out. I
have no answers, but I guess my only answer is that I’ll keep looking for it.
Mattias:
Looking for death?
J:
Looking for what it means, what the point of it is, if there’s something
afterwards, if there’s not. It’s a really interesting question. We get X amount
of years and is there anything else or is there just nothing? That’s probably
the most interesting question.
Mattias:
And if there is nothing then you’ll never know.
J:
Yeah, totally. It’d be nice that way, but I just don’t know if that’s the way
we’re going.
Mattias: It’d be nice if right before you died, if there was
nothing, somebody would tell you.
J: Yeah totally. I’m with you on that one.
7. Have you ever seen a ghost before?
J: Um, not really.
Dave-os: Have you ever sensed one
before?
J: Yeah, I think there’s definitely such a
thing.
Mattias: Apparently they’re everywhere. Not in
Canada though.
J: *laughs* That’s why I love Canada so
much. There are definitely no ghosts here. I’ve worked at this bar as a
bartender and it was certified as one of the most haunted places in the
country. Whoever certifies those things go in with their paranormal sweeps and
they try to figure it all out. They did this at my bar and there were a lot of
eerie things that would happen.
Mattias: What bar was it?
J: It
was called The Red Lion.
Dave-os:
What kind of things would happen?
J: Like, one day, I was the only person and I had closed down. It was in the corner of a strip mall, so when that closed down, not only was the whole strip mall closed by then, but everything around it. There was nothing open, so I was pretty much the last person in the area. That was kind of creepy in itself. I had closed everything down and I was walking from the back of the bar to the front of the bar and, in the kitchen, everything fell. Like CO2 tanks and plates came off the walls and shelves.
Mattias: Did you clean it up or did you run away?
J: I probably ran. I get scared easily.
8. What kind of things do you like to ruin, or
have you ruined?
J: I’m not a good painter, so any
painting is a disaster. I ruined my favourite t-shirt the other day; I spilled
a glass of wine on it. That’s about it. I’ve ruined the lives of many people.
Dave-os: I like how you said your t-shirt
first, and then people’s lives.
Mattias: T-shirts are important. What brand was it?
J: It was a shirt that said “think summers”
and it was bright yellow. Under “think summers” there was a BBQ, a basketball,
a beach, a hot dog…I guess that’s summer too.
Mattias: I just bought my favourite shirt
yesterday. It says “Zack Morris is my hero.”
J: I like that. It’s good.
9. Scenario: You have to climb up the tallest
mountain on Earth for a mystery prize waiting for you at the top. What would
you want the prize to be?
J: Rita Hayworth.
*silence*
Mattias:…Me too. Who’s that?
J: Sophia Loren…anyone of those. Google Rita
Hayworth or Sophia Loren.
Mattias: Aren’t they older actresses?
J: Yeah, sort of like classic beauties. I’m
into that.
Mattias: Audrey Hepburn?
J: Yeah, that’s another one.
10. Who would you like to see next on Band of the
Day?
J: The Comas. They’re from New York City
now by way of, I think, Raleigh or Durham, North Carolina.
Mattias: What do they sound like?
J: They’ve got their own sound. It’s rock and roll. It’s pop.
It’s sort of spacey. Their album “Conductor” is my favourite album in the last
couple years.
Mattias: That was quick too, we’ve never had anyone answer that
quick.
J: I love it. I’m wearing a conductor’s shirt today. That has
nothing to do with the band, but I guess it just makes me think of them.
Thanks to John for the interview. Thanks to his mom
for teaching him well. Thanks to ghosts for staying out of Canada. Band of the
Day has quite a few more interviews heading your way, and you’re not gonna want
to miss a single one.
Adios,
The BotD Team