{"id":1893,"date":"2010-11-03T11:19:12","date_gmt":"2010-11-03T16:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/?p=1893"},"modified":"2022-02-16T00:03:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T05:03:29","slug":"sterling-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/sterling-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Kirsch: Sterling Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Here is part two of our interview with Sterling from Veil of Ashes (see part one here<\/strong><\/a>). This is a great story, one that is changing and being thought out and we got to be a part of that process with Brian. For me, I always enjoy talking to these guys, these artists, and getting a glimpse of the journey that they are on. This is part two of Brian\u2019s interview, and next issue we will bring you the finale. Enjoy the read.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re back for part two, how are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m okay, just going through a bit of insomnia right now. Sometimes I can\u2019t sleep\u2026 I go through phases because I have so much going on in my head and in my life right now. I\u2019ve been up for thirty something hours right now so I\u2019m just giving you fair warning if I sound a bit lethargic.<\/p>\n

I was interested in why you think that early era of music was so magical? I agree with you, but what was it in your estimation as an artist that made it so magical?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What made it so magical? It was a magical era and that time was so fantastic because if you go back to the really early punk period with bands like The Damned, Sex Pistils, X-Ray Specks and all that stuff, it was basically people saying that, \u201cWe can do this, we can pick up instruments and we can play.\u201d So you really had this mix of people that I would consider pros, and amateurs, who would pick up a bass, a guitar or a vocal and decide that they could do it. A great example would be Culture Club. You might not know this but almost every song that Culture Club did, they wrote their songs around the vocal lines that Boy George would put into a recorder. He would do these vocal lines and lyrics, and then they would base the song around the lyrics. It isn\u2019t that hard to do if you have a knowledge of music.<\/p>\n

Is that how you guys wrote in Veil?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, basically we would write the songs first. If you look at the albums and you see the songs Sean wrote, he basically wrote the lyrics and the music at the same time. If you see the songs that are credited to me and Sean Doty, a lot of times I wrote the music and he wrote the lyrics and vocal lines in over that.<\/p>\n

So, to summarize it was kind of the D.I.Y ethic of just making it happen that lent itself to the magical nature of the day and age?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was total D.I.Y\u2026 when the band first started and was still a three piece (me, Sean and Phil), a lot of times we would just jam together and it would bring a lot of the music out. We used to rehearse in a room out of Phil\u2019s church, and it was an incredible time because we were writing a song, and I was bringing stuff up from my past in my bass line\u2026 and the drums were coming together, the guitars and the vocal lines, and there was a moment while we were rehearsing this song, \u201cCome Unto Me,\u201d and we actually felt the Spirit come down upon us\u2026 we knew we were having \u201ca moment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Yeah man, that\u2019s cool\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was probably one of the most powerful songs that we ever did.<\/p>\n

Did you experience that a lot when you guys practiced and played? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah\u2026 actually if you go to the Mr. Sunshine<\/em> album, the song \u201cThe Hunger\u201d was one that I wrote. I wrote that song on bass and I could not play that song live on the stage without turning away from the audience because it was so powerful for me emotionally and musically. Sean wrote the lyrics and I had the music, it was like we\u2026 I really considered us the Lennon and McCartney of Christian rock \u2018n roll, but when we played that song I really would have to turn away from the audience. I literally would be weeping, not from the lyrics but because of the passion in the music, and it would just hit me so hard sometimes.<\/p>\n

Sometimes music is just as, if not more, moving than the lyrics\u2026 putting them together really gives it that \u201cone, two\u201d punch. \u201cCome Unto Me\u201d was such an amazing and emotional song too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Veil of Ashes was a very emotional band, just the subject matter itself was pretty emotional. I used to tell Sean all the time that I was the vehicle for his muse, and yes, it is a great song.<\/p>\n

Was that a song just you and Sean wrote?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally that was done before Lance joined the band when it was just me, Sean and Phil. I know that Lance was also derided quite a bit because he was a lot mellower than the rest of us, but make no mistake, Veil would not be Veil without Lance.<\/p>\n

As far as the subject matter of the songs went, was that harder to approach back then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not for us. It wasn\u2019t difficult for us because it was just a part of life; that was just the reality of the times. Particularly when you go to a song like \u201cWithout Eyes\u201d and \u201cCorpse\u201d, we were doing things lyrically that the church just did not get at the time. The only other band that I can think of that was doing the same thing at that time was Undercover. For us it was life and reality.<\/p>\n

How did you guys handle being in the Christian market and talking about issues that were \u201creal life\u201d, when people in the church were not ready (or willing) to talk about them? How did you guys as a band handle that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not well\u2026 very, very frustrating because it was life for us. So it was frustrating and made us angry at times because we wanted to talk about things that God wanted to do. We wanted to talk about things that God wanted to do in people\u2019s lives. We broached the subjects of suicide, genocide and racism as well as talking about love and hope. If you go back to the album Pain<\/em>, the whole album is like the transition from being in a place of being lost and realizing you need God, you need salvation, and the crap that you go through in order to get there. That\u2019s what everyone goes through.<\/p>\n

The last time we talked you said it had been since \u201892 that you had been to church, or anything of that nature? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been awhile\u2026<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to pry, it really doesn\u2019t matter I don\u2018t think\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any questions you have I will answer honestly and I will give you my opinion, as well as maybe a little background and history.<\/p>\n

Okay, I was curious about that and where you are now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well\u2026you know\u2026 I went through a lot of s***. Towards the end of the band it became really, really hard. We were ostracized and we weren\u2019t in the Southern California market\u2026 bands like LSU, Undercover, The Choir and all those guys, they had a support system, but we didn\u2019t. We were alone really\u2026 if we had any compatriots it would have been the 77\u2019s. We were pretty isolated for the most part.<\/p>\n

When you say no support system, do you mean overall or are you talking about isolation from other bands?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not overall, I\u2019m talking about from other bands. Our whole thing was that we played the clubs, we were never a Christian band per se. We really thought of ourselves as the West Coast version of U2. Me and Sean had the mentality that was you can be a Christian, and you can be in a band and you can put out your faith and ideas, particularly if the music was good. U2 totally validated that too because if you are a great musician or a great artist, you can put what you\u2019re saying on top of your music and deliver that.<\/p>\n

Now of course I was a little bit darker than Sean, but we also had a lot of common ground. We both loved Queen, they were my favorite band in high school. We both loved U2, and that\u2019s where there was the fork in the road. He was a little bit \u201cpoppier\u201d than I was, and I was quite a bit \u201cgothier\u201d than he was. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s genetic, but I am a more depressive personality\u2026 I\u2019m just a bit of a sad boy.\u00a0 I\u2019m introverted, but Sean\u2019s a little more introverted then he lets on to. He keeps his cards close to his chest, but like a lot of great artists he\u2019ll let it out in his words and his music. Sean\u2019s one of the greatest lyricists out there.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pulling it back around to talking about you guys isolated and frustrated, etc. Do you think the industry itself contributed to you losing interest and walking away from the faith aspect?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good question\u2026 the industry is the industry. They didn\u2019t know how to market us. At that time there weren\u2019t any Switcthfoot or Jars of Clay type bands, everything was very black and white. It was either you are for God or you aren\u2019t. The whole spectrum of human emotion wasn\u2019t open back then, everything had to be geared towards \u201ccoming to Christ\u201d, and that was it. If it wasn\u2019t like that then you were not a Christian band, and you couldn\u2019t talk about what you wanted.<\/p>\n

So you had to proselytize everyone is what you\u2019re saying?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. We got signed to Graceland records and they loved what we were doing. We were charting number one on a bunch of college radio stations because of my efforts to get our first two demos out to radio. So we were there with something to say, and if you have something to say with good music in your background, people are going to listen to you. The thing was that back in the early 80\u2019s with the whole D.I.Y. thing like we were talking about before, we knew we could do this. We\u2019re going to hit all the radio stations, we\u2019re good musicians and we can do this. It\u2019s the same thing REM did, or The Smithereens and the B-52\u2019s. They all had a good college following. We wanted to get the kids because we had something to say, and we have something to say that\u2019s important. They didn\u2019t have to listen to us, but what we have to say is important, plus it has a fu**in groove that could make your booty shake.<\/p>\n

So in the end, the Christian music industry is really just about making money\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well of course, of course. Think about it. If you\u2019re a record label then you\u2019re a record label. I hate the term \u201cChristian\u201d and \u201csecular\u201d. You have a target audience and you are trying to make money. Why would you want to sign a band that\u2019s not going to make you money? Why would you take a band, spend $100,000 making and promoting a record if you aren\u2019t going to make any money? There is nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with that. That is the capitalistic system and that is what America is based on\u2026 free enterprise.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Do you think it\u2019s possible to merge the two together? Does a Christian label that is out to make money line up with the Christian philosophy? What I mean specifically is not just making money as in capitalism, but as far as the Christian philosophy goes when it comes to being honest or being real\u2026 I\u2019ve always felt that bands like Veil who were honest, it was to their detriment because the Christian industry doesn\u2019t want to deal with anything real. They want to deal with something that\u2019s easy, accessible, happy and makes people feel good because that\u2019s going to sell more units. Does that make sense?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah it makes sense, because we scared people. I love the music of that time because of Larry Norman, Sweet Comfort Band and 2nd<\/sup> Chapter of Acts, etc. These were all great, great bands. There\u2019s nothing wrong with making money on your creative efforts. It\u2019s like your showing the truth, but you\u2019re underlining it with something that you\u2019ve done artistically. There\u2019s nothing wrong with making money off that.<\/p>\n

Jerry Lee Lewis\u2019 cousin is Jimmy Swaggert, and Swaggert is the best honky tonk piano player around. If you ever watch him when he\u2019s tickling the keys, he\u2019s a great honky tonk player. There is nothing wrong with marrying the profane with the divine. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that because you reach the masses. If you write a great piece of music with some very truthful lyrics that you make money off of, that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

So getting back to you and where you are, I remember last time we talked you said you thought you were possibly agnostic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Possibly\u2026<\/p>\n

Well speaking personally, I know that in my own life I wanted Jesus\u2026 not Church or the system, but just Jesus. However, growing up for me the two were inseparable. It was like there were certain things you believed because you were in a certain denomination, but as I got older I realized that I didn\u2019t want any of that, I just wanted a relationship with Christ and I was finally able to separate Jesus from religion in my own mind. I\u2019m curious as to what your past was to bring you to where you are? <\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s actually a very good question\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"Yeah, \u2018cause when you said you guys would sing \u201cCome Unto Me,\u201d or when you would play \u201cThe Hunger,\u201d the moving of the Spirit was very real\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was very real. Let me give you a little background, okay? My family was Pentecostal. We spent time with Foursquare Church, Aimee Semple Mcpherson, which I have a lot of issues with\u2026 you should Google her. It\u2019s actually a very good question you asked because I\u2019ve been thinking about it the last month\u2026 I really don\u2019t think I\u2019m agnostic anymore. It\u2019s hard to say sometimes because there\u2019s so much information out there. I believe that the Bible is a really good historic document. As far as it being inspired by God, I\u2019m 90% sure.<\/p>\n

You know in the Bible it talks about people who don\u2019t hear the gospel, they have a certain amount of light that is revealed to them in their lives. Depending on whether or not they reject it is their salvation. There\u2019s how many people on the planet? There\u2019s certainly a point where everyone on the planet is not going to hear the gospel of Christ, so there is so much truth and righteousness that is revealed to them either in nature, in their relationships or just in their hearts.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard because I read a lot and I try to take a lot of stuff in. I try to sift through it and weed out the bull s*** that is the revision of history from progressives that are trying to subvert our country\u2026 and\u2026 uh\u2026 I\u2019m not really sure sometimes\u2026 I\u2019m just not really sure\u2026 However, I do believe there was a point in my life where I really did accept Christ.<\/p>\n

The thing is that most people believe that you receive Christ and your life\u2019s going to change and you\u2019re going to be saved forever. For me when I got saved, it was a very hard time in my life, I was 18 years old and my life needed to change. I accepted Christ, started going to church and really delved into the reading and understanding of the scriptures in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. I came to the same understanding that scripture said which is that I am sinful by nature and I\u2019m in need of redemption. I wasn\u2019t in sin because I sinned, I was a sinner period because I was born into sin and I realized that. It was at that point that I really realized that I just didn\u2019t need my life to change, I was wrong by nature. I knew that, I understood that I see that come out of me every day. I see the wrongness, and the hatred and the bigotry that comes out every day and I needed that to change, but I realized that I couldn\u2019t change it because that was my nature. I realized though that through salvation that could be changed. However\u2026 when you\u2019re going through the gospels in the scripture and Christ says that \u2018everyone God brings into my hand will not be lost\u2019\u2026 I believe in eternal salvation. Once you come to that point of true repentance then you realize you are wrong and God is right.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about O God I want my life to change, or O God I want this girl or O God give me this or that, but true and real repentance. When you realize that He\u2019s right and you\u2019re wrong and you choose salvation. It\u2019s not upon us, it\u2019s upon Him. The thing is that God also says He does not take His gifts away. I know I do stupid s*** sometimes, and I know that I wander in my philosophies\u2026 but I rest in the assurance that He will never give me away. (ed. note – just to express the emotion of this conversation, it was at this point where Brian became emotionally overwhelmed. It was hard for him to even speak\u2026 it was deep.)<\/p>\n

I think you\u2019re right about that\u2026 it still touches you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course\u2026 He\u2019s someone who will never turn you away. I\u2019ve done some dumb s*** in my life, even after I\u2019ve been saved\u2026 God\u2019s cool man.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s also good to constantly be in a state of reassessing things and trying to figure it out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, and like Paul said in Romans, \u201cShould we sin more so that grace abounds? By no means\u2026but thanks be to God\u2026 thanks be to God because He will meet you there.\u201d Our sins are forgiven; past, present and future, and He knows your heart. When we talk about grace everyone points to King David ya know? I mean what a dumb a**, he did some stupid s*** ya know? (laughter) Still God was like, \u201cbut I know this guy, I know his heart and his heart is after me, it\u2018s after truth.\u201d His heart was about doing the right thing, his heart was about making his dumb mistakes right.<\/p>\n

Ultimately I would suppose that\u2019s what really matters\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It does matter because we work out our salvation through fear and trembling. We do that because we know that God is right and He has done things for us. We live in that awe and wonder, in that graciousness.<\/p>\n

(to be continued in Part 3<\/strong><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Veil of Ashes: Sean, Sterling, Phil and Lance<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brian Healy and Veil of Ashes in concert<\/p>\n

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Here is part two of our interview with Sterling from Veil of Ashes (see part one here). This is a great story, one that is changing and being thought out and we got to be a part of that process … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mf2_syndication":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,18],"tags":[244,99],"class_list":["post-1893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-october-2010","tag-brian-kirsch","tag-veil-of-ashes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1893"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1997,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions\/1997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}