1- Where did you grow up? Randolph, NJ which is about an hour outside of NYC. There was an amazing punk/ska/emo scene in NJ when I was in high school that was super influential to me. 2- What is one of the first songs you remember liking as a kid? It was definitely either Billy Joel or Madonna. I remember being pretty little and borrowing my older brother's tapes. Storm Front and True Blue were the standouts. My favorite songs off those albums were probably Downeaster Alexa and La Isla Bonita respectively. 3- What influenced you to get into music? As I got a little older, I got much more into punk and ska. The first few albums I bought with my own money were Green Day's Dookie, The Offspring's Smash, and No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom. Those albums were hugely influential to me both in terms of the music I listened to and what I played early on. 4- At what age did you start playing/singing? I used to always make up little songs as a kid but I didn't start playing music until I got a guitar when I was 13 and started taking lessons. I pretty quickly started playing in bands with my friends and continued that all through highschool and beyond. 5- If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to yourself after finishing school? Take piano lessons! I play a lot of instruments, but outside of guitar, I'm mostly self taught. For a synthwave artist I'm actually a pretty bad keyboard player and really wish I had more formal training. 6- What are some of your favorite songs at the moment? I really like the new Bleachers song "Stop Making This Hurt". I've also been listening to a lot of LCD Soundsystem lately, "losing my edge" is a classic that I'll always love. Weirdly, I'm a big fan of alt country and a friend just turned me on to Tyler Childers, so I've listened to him a bunch recently too. 7- Do you listen to your own music? After I finish a song or album, but before I put it out, I listen to it a ton. Not to critique it, but just because I'm super into it. Then once it's released, I find it kinda difficult to listen to, at least for a while. I don't know why, but it's happened with both albums now, so it's definitely a thing. 8- Which musician would you like to collaborate with next? I actually just finished my first collaboration ever, a song with Thom Dunn, lead singer of the Boston rock band The Roland High Life. The song isn't out yet, but will be soon so be on the lookout. I had a ton of fun working on it, so I'm basically down to collaborate with anyone who's interested! 9- What is one of your favorite memories so far in your music career? Honestly, getting my songs played on Nightride FM and Michael Knight's Retrofuturism 101 have been real highlights. I've only been making synthwave music for the last few years and have only put my stuff out there in a big way in the last year, so I'm still pretty new to this. Prior to that though, I played in a pretty successful cover band in DC. I really miss playing in front of a crowd and would love a chance to perform as Atomic Ghost. 10- What advice would you give to someone that is just starting to get into music? Just have fun with it. When I first met my wife, I assured her I didn't want to be a rockstar, I was trying to have fun and maybe make some music for a few people who were into it. By that metric, I've been wildly successful.
Atomic Ghost has been busy making "Slaughter Party" which is a new EP. This is also the soundtrack to a roleplaying game he created and currently has on Kickstarter. Check out his music, videos and more on his profile page by clicking below:
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