Crossing Rubicon is a new band formed in 2009 which consists of experienced & talented musicians. Due to the band’s debut release “No Less Than Everything”, Grande Rock took the chance to interview the vocalist & songwriter Scotty Anarchy so as to find out everything about this budding newcomer… read below for more.
Hi Scotty… I’m glad we’re given the chance to talk about Crossing Rubicon.
S: I am really excited to be talking to you Grande-Rock, for two reasons: 1) I know you guys get really deep with your questions & 2) The Freddie Mercury you have next to your logo is actually tattooed on my arm! (i.n.: All those who respect & value the real essence of music should have Freddie in the hearts – apart from everywhere else!)
Do give us a brief bio of the band so far…
S: I started this band with Brandi Hood, and Zach Lambert, with Jeff Miles and Pete Ahern back into thousand nine, with our goal to record a full length album and put it out. In the meantime we ended up playing a lot of shows and having great opportunities.
Firstly how did you come up with the name Crossing Rubicon?
S: I am a Shakespeare fan and in Julius Caesar, Caesar was told that if he crossed the Rubicon River it would be a declaration of war, he crossed it. From that point on crossing the Rubicon meant to pass the point of no return. A lot of our early material was songs that were extremely personal to me, talking about things dealing with subject matter that I was almost scared to talk about, and I just decided, fuck it lets cross the Rubicon (lol). Personally, I think you really need to cross that line to make songs that people can really empathize with.
What kind of music did you want to deliver with Crossing Rubicon? Did you set any music barriers regarding your music style or what?
S: Crossing Rubicon is made up of five music lovers, who bring different styles of music to the table. And we kind of put those styles together and we’ve created our own style in a way. 80s and 90s metal meets modern radio rock. It’s very important to me that nobody in this band feels like they don’t leave anything on the table in regards to what they put into these songs.
How did the cooperation with Jeanne Sagan (ex-All That Remains) occur? You are aware of the fact that many All That Remains fans check out Crossing Rubicon due to Jeanne and they expect to listen something to similar to ATR, huh?
S: Jeanne Sagan is my fiancé and the first thing that the 2 of us fell for in each other is our love for music. In the past we both supported each other’s bands, and always spoke of collaborating, we had an opening, and she took it. We are aware that ATR fans have and will check out Rubicon, but we also know that with us they are not going to get another “Fall of Ideals”, it’s not what we do. We have our sound, and they have theirs, and Jeanne is a part of our sound now, and her playing style has drastically changed our sound in a great way, and Bubble has been doing awesome in ATR, so win/win…
How did the record deal with Pavement Entertainment come about? The label is mostly releasing modern rock/metal albums… I thought that you were a modern metal band at first due to the label, in truth to be told.
S: What can I say; we are full of surprises (lol). Pavement is a pretty diverse label, and we have more of a development deal with them. My influence in the band has always been a little more of the modern rock side, so I see similarities with us and Soil, and Candlebox more than anything else.
What are the band’s music influences and yours as a singer?
S: Zach Lambert is a classic and modern thrash metal fan, Jesse Near loves Pantera, Black Label and Kiss… if there is 700 different subdivisions of rock ‘n’ roll Jeanne loves them all, Brandi is a solid rock fan Aerosmith, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and as a singer, my top five are Queen, Queensryche, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Judas Priest. My favorite vocalists are Freddie Mercury, Sammy Hagar, Rob Halford and Geoff Tate…
What does the album title “No Less Than Everything” declare?
S: When the idea of doing a full-length album first came up, it was in the beginning of this band’s career, when I was dealing with a drug and alcohol addiction. I had a doctor and a psychiatrist tell me that if I didn’t change my lifestyle around I was going to be dead within a year. As a songwriter I never once recorded the record that I wanted to do, so that was the initial reason why I put the band together in the first place. My love for the music and playing shows completely over took my lust of my addictions, and I eventually went sober. During that time Rubicon started playing more and more shows, and things just started to happen for us, to the point that we made the decision to finally make this a career. Every member of this band had to make a drastic sacrifice to make that happen, and we knew things were going to get really hard. I know that this cost me a very lucrative career, and that I might financially struggle for the rest of my life, everybody else is dealing with the same issues. Our battle cry during the two years of recording this album became “No Less Than Everything”…
Tell us a couple of things about each track…
S: “Tomorrow Never Comes”: This song was written by Zach Lambert, and it was the perfect barnburner to start the album with!
Unhinged”: This song was about standing up to oppression, I wrote it after making the decision to leave my career. It points the finger at who is really pushing us to the edge…
Never Again”: I torch song with as much hooks in the courses we can put.
“The Fallen”: This song is about every sacrifice this band has made to make this record…
Bittersweet Day”: I wrote this song while I was sitting in jail after making the decision to go clean and sober.
Cut Deep”: Throwback to Shakespearean Julius Caesar, brought back to life in a modern-day business world while people are stabbing each other in the back.
Who’s Gonna Save You”: A song about a guy cheating on his wife who finds religion and want to tell the other girl that it’s over, and the other girl says “fuck you” you do what I say I am your God now…
Violet Carson”: This song is written about fighting oppression, and it was inspired by one of my favorite comic books.
Reason to Beg”: This is about the 99% sticking it to the 1%...
Do We Not Bleed”: Also based in Shakespeare, the merchant of Venice, this song is about racism, bigotry, homophobia, and people passing judgment.
I’m Here”: Basically saying, whatever life has to throw at us we are here to take whatever we have to, and we’re not backing down from anything.
Return to Atlantis”: This song is a metaphor about not excepting what life has to give you, but going after your dreams and going making your own destiny.
Where did the recordings take place and who produced, mixed and mastered the album?
S: The songs were recorded at Red V studios in the Bronx by Vic Rivera, and mixed and mastered at Dexter’s Lab in Milford Connecticut to buyby Nick Bellmore.
A lyric video for “Unhinged” and the track “Fallen” are already out. Do you plan to release any concept or another lyric video in the near future?
S: As a matter of fact we are completing the concept video for “Unhinged” right now with director Paul Horton, and we are currently working on the treatment for our next single music video with Alex Leyton, who did our perfection in life music video.
What are the band’s touring plans so far?
S: We have some local and regional stuff planned, and our manager has submitted us to about a dozen national tours, and a bunch of festivals, which we are now just waiting on.
What are your expectations from your debut “No Less Than Everything” and what do you wish to achieve with Crossing Rubicon at long term?
S: Of course we want “No Less Than Everything” to hit as many people as possible, and touch as many people as possible, and we just want Crossing Rubicon to inspire other people to work with us to bring rock ‘n’ roll back in a world that doesn’t seem to have much passion when it comes to music anymore. We just want to be part of the collection of bands that are busting their ass, and fighting the good fight, by not turning into a country or pop band.
I like the way that you interact with the users on YouTube. Most musicians do not deal with such issues at all… so what’s that thing that makes you deal personally with the users’ comments in general?
S: People that comments on a YouTube video are taking their time to express their opinions, be them negative or positive, they are saying something, and I feel that they deserve a response. Obviously a lot of them are negative… think about it, nobody ever hears the song that they like and post “wow I really like this”… so these are people that don’t like what they hear, and I just like talking to them and finding out why. If their comments have merit, a lot of these conversations have turned into some pretty interesting discussions; if they are just making an emotional comment because they have a different opinion or jealous, then it gets interesting. If it is a style choice then fine, if you think I’m the worst singer in the world, who is a good singer? If you hate this band, then why do you hate it? Some people have made comments where they name drop, and then you find out they really don’t know who they are claiming to know, that’s always funny. Sometimes they are musicians, and I like to check out their stuff, some of it is really good. In the information age everybody has an opinion, and I like to talk to people.
It’s time for our Weird Questions!!! If you were an animal, which animal would you be and why?
S: An Ewok! Because they are little woodland creatures that took out an intergalactic army with all the technology in the world with a bunch of sticks. There is a great metaphor there…
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
S: I think it is an easy way for people to find out what is hot cool and popular, and in a way it takes individuality and creativity out of everything. But as they always say, don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Which are the best 3 Heavy Metal albums of all time according to you?
S: “Master of Puppets” (Metallica), “Cowboys from Hell” (Pantera), “Fall of Ideals” (ATR)…
Which do you consider to be the best male vocalist in metal history?
S: Freddie Mercury…
Fill in the phrase… “Heavy Metal music wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
S: Motorhead…
You have the opportunity to sleep with a movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
S: I would always pick my fiancé, why go out for a hamburger when you have fillet mignon at home?!
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
S: “A Night at the Opera” (Queen) because Queen! Lol…
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
S: 1980, Sunset Strip Los Angeles. I would love to see the formulation of American heavy metal music, before it turned into the corporate bullshit of the mid to late 80s.
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
S: I was kind of always way too shy to have pick-up lines. Always way too scared of rejection. Not to sound like an egomaniac, but for the most part I always was the one getting hit on.
What’s the worst thing you can say right after sex?
S: How old are you?
Steel Panther say “Eatin’ ain’t cheatin’” – what’s your say?
S: Yes it is! (I hope this doesn’t bore you I am kind of a feminist)…
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of all time?
S: Jeanne Sagan! And second is Brandi Hood! Remember I’m in a band with two girls and I could be a little biased… (i.n.: Yeap, one could say so!)
Where would you like to live… in Middle Earth, in the Seven Kingdoms or in a post-apocalyptic world like the one on “The Walking Dead”?
S: I would totally go to Middle Tarth first, only if Gotham City, or Naboo we’re not in the list…
Imagine that your fiancé is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
S: (lol) I think my fiancé would probably be more inclined to kill me if I sold my record collection for an expensive ring… (lol)
We’re done Scotty! Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview. Wish you the best and have fun on the road. Take care dude!
S: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me! I hope I made things interesting…
S: I am really excited to be talking to you Grande-Rock, for two reasons: 1) I know you guys get really deep with your questions & 2) The Freddie Mercury you have next to your logo is actually tattooed on my arm! (i.n.: All those who respect & value the real essence of music should have Freddie in the hearts – apart from everywhere else!)
Do give us a brief bio of the band so far…
S: I started this band with Brandi Hood, and Zach Lambert, with Jeff Miles and Pete Ahern back into thousand nine, with our goal to record a full length album and put it out. In the meantime we ended up playing a lot of shows and having great opportunities.
Firstly how did you come up with the name Crossing Rubicon?
S: I am a Shakespeare fan and in Julius Caesar, Caesar was told that if he crossed the Rubicon River it would be a declaration of war, he crossed it. From that point on crossing the Rubicon meant to pass the point of no return. A lot of our early material was songs that were extremely personal to me, talking about things dealing with subject matter that I was almost scared to talk about, and I just decided, fuck it lets cross the Rubicon (lol). Personally, I think you really need to cross that line to make songs that people can really empathize with.
What kind of music did you want to deliver with Crossing Rubicon? Did you set any music barriers regarding your music style or what?
S: Crossing Rubicon is made up of five music lovers, who bring different styles of music to the table. And we kind of put those styles together and we’ve created our own style in a way. 80s and 90s metal meets modern radio rock. It’s very important to me that nobody in this band feels like they don’t leave anything on the table in regards to what they put into these songs.
How did the cooperation with Jeanne Sagan (ex-All That Remains) occur? You are aware of the fact that many All That Remains fans check out Crossing Rubicon due to Jeanne and they expect to listen something to similar to ATR, huh?
S: Jeanne Sagan is my fiancé and the first thing that the 2 of us fell for in each other is our love for music. In the past we both supported each other’s bands, and always spoke of collaborating, we had an opening, and she took it. We are aware that ATR fans have and will check out Rubicon, but we also know that with us they are not going to get another “Fall of Ideals”, it’s not what we do. We have our sound, and they have theirs, and Jeanne is a part of our sound now, and her playing style has drastically changed our sound in a great way, and Bubble has been doing awesome in ATR, so win/win…
How did the record deal with Pavement Entertainment come about? The label is mostly releasing modern rock/metal albums… I thought that you were a modern metal band at first due to the label, in truth to be told.
S: What can I say; we are full of surprises (lol). Pavement is a pretty diverse label, and we have more of a development deal with them. My influence in the band has always been a little more of the modern rock side, so I see similarities with us and Soil, and Candlebox more than anything else.
What are the band’s music influences and yours as a singer?
S: Zach Lambert is a classic and modern thrash metal fan, Jesse Near loves Pantera, Black Label and Kiss… if there is 700 different subdivisions of rock ‘n’ roll Jeanne loves them all, Brandi is a solid rock fan Aerosmith, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and as a singer, my top five are Queen, Queensryche, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Judas Priest. My favorite vocalists are Freddie Mercury, Sammy Hagar, Rob Halford and Geoff Tate…
What does the album title “No Less Than Everything” declare?
S: When the idea of doing a full-length album first came up, it was in the beginning of this band’s career, when I was dealing with a drug and alcohol addiction. I had a doctor and a psychiatrist tell me that if I didn’t change my lifestyle around I was going to be dead within a year. As a songwriter I never once recorded the record that I wanted to do, so that was the initial reason why I put the band together in the first place. My love for the music and playing shows completely over took my lust of my addictions, and I eventually went sober. During that time Rubicon started playing more and more shows, and things just started to happen for us, to the point that we made the decision to finally make this a career. Every member of this band had to make a drastic sacrifice to make that happen, and we knew things were going to get really hard. I know that this cost me a very lucrative career, and that I might financially struggle for the rest of my life, everybody else is dealing with the same issues. Our battle cry during the two years of recording this album became “No Less Than Everything”…
Tell us a couple of things about each track…
S: “Tomorrow Never Comes”: This song was written by Zach Lambert, and it was the perfect barnburner to start the album with!
Unhinged”: This song was about standing up to oppression, I wrote it after making the decision to leave my career. It points the finger at who is really pushing us to the edge…
Never Again”: I torch song with as much hooks in the courses we can put.
“The Fallen”: This song is about every sacrifice this band has made to make this record…
Bittersweet Day”: I wrote this song while I was sitting in jail after making the decision to go clean and sober.
Cut Deep”: Throwback to Shakespearean Julius Caesar, brought back to life in a modern-day business world while people are stabbing each other in the back.
Who’s Gonna Save You”: A song about a guy cheating on his wife who finds religion and want to tell the other girl that it’s over, and the other girl says “fuck you” you do what I say I am your God now…
Violet Carson”: This song is written about fighting oppression, and it was inspired by one of my favorite comic books.
Reason to Beg”: This is about the 99% sticking it to the 1%...
Do We Not Bleed”: Also based in Shakespeare, the merchant of Venice, this song is about racism, bigotry, homophobia, and people passing judgment.
I’m Here”: Basically saying, whatever life has to throw at us we are here to take whatever we have to, and we’re not backing down from anything.
Return to Atlantis”: This song is a metaphor about not excepting what life has to give you, but going after your dreams and going making your own destiny.
Where did the recordings take place and who produced, mixed and mastered the album?
S: The songs were recorded at Red V studios in the Bronx by Vic Rivera, and mixed and mastered at Dexter’s Lab in Milford Connecticut to buyby Nick Bellmore.
A lyric video for “Unhinged” and the track “Fallen” are already out. Do you plan to release any concept or another lyric video in the near future?
S: As a matter of fact we are completing the concept video for “Unhinged” right now with director Paul Horton, and we are currently working on the treatment for our next single music video with Alex Leyton, who did our perfection in life music video.
What are the band’s touring plans so far?
S: We have some local and regional stuff planned, and our manager has submitted us to about a dozen national tours, and a bunch of festivals, which we are now just waiting on.
What are your expectations from your debut “No Less Than Everything” and what do you wish to achieve with Crossing Rubicon at long term?
S: Of course we want “No Less Than Everything” to hit as many people as possible, and touch as many people as possible, and we just want Crossing Rubicon to inspire other people to work with us to bring rock ‘n’ roll back in a world that doesn’t seem to have much passion when it comes to music anymore. We just want to be part of the collection of bands that are busting their ass, and fighting the good fight, by not turning into a country or pop band.
I like the way that you interact with the users on YouTube. Most musicians do not deal with such issues at all… so what’s that thing that makes you deal personally with the users’ comments in general?
S: People that comments on a YouTube video are taking their time to express their opinions, be them negative or positive, they are saying something, and I feel that they deserve a response. Obviously a lot of them are negative… think about it, nobody ever hears the song that they like and post “wow I really like this”… so these are people that don’t like what they hear, and I just like talking to them and finding out why. If their comments have merit, a lot of these conversations have turned into some pretty interesting discussions; if they are just making an emotional comment because they have a different opinion or jealous, then it gets interesting. If it is a style choice then fine, if you think I’m the worst singer in the world, who is a good singer? If you hate this band, then why do you hate it? Some people have made comments where they name drop, and then you find out they really don’t know who they are claiming to know, that’s always funny. Sometimes they are musicians, and I like to check out their stuff, some of it is really good. In the information age everybody has an opinion, and I like to talk to people.
It’s time for our Weird Questions!!! If you were an animal, which animal would you be and why?
S: An Ewok! Because they are little woodland creatures that took out an intergalactic army with all the technology in the world with a bunch of sticks. There is a great metaphor there…
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
S: I think it is an easy way for people to find out what is hot cool and popular, and in a way it takes individuality and creativity out of everything. But as they always say, don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Which are the best 3 Heavy Metal albums of all time according to you?
S: “Master of Puppets” (Metallica), “Cowboys from Hell” (Pantera), “Fall of Ideals” (ATR)…
Which do you consider to be the best male vocalist in metal history?
S: Freddie Mercury…
Fill in the phrase… “Heavy Metal music wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
S: Motorhead…
You have the opportunity to sleep with a movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
S: I would always pick my fiancé, why go out for a hamburger when you have fillet mignon at home?!
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
S: “A Night at the Opera” (Queen) because Queen! Lol…
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
S: 1980, Sunset Strip Los Angeles. I would love to see the formulation of American heavy metal music, before it turned into the corporate bullshit of the mid to late 80s.
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
S: I was kind of always way too shy to have pick-up lines. Always way too scared of rejection. Not to sound like an egomaniac, but for the most part I always was the one getting hit on.
What’s the worst thing you can say right after sex?
S: How old are you?
Steel Panther say “Eatin’ ain’t cheatin’” – what’s your say?
S: Yes it is! (I hope this doesn’t bore you I am kind of a feminist)…
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of all time?
S: Jeanne Sagan! And second is Brandi Hood! Remember I’m in a band with two girls and I could be a little biased… (i.n.: Yeap, one could say so!)
Where would you like to live… in Middle Earth, in the Seven Kingdoms or in a post-apocalyptic world like the one on “The Walking Dead”?
S: I would totally go to Middle Tarth first, only if Gotham City, or Naboo we’re not in the list…
Imagine that your fiancé is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
S: (lol) I think my fiancé would probably be more inclined to kill me if I sold my record collection for an expensive ring… (lol)
We’re done Scotty! Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview. Wish you the best and have fun on the road. Take care dude!
S: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me! I hope I made things interesting…