Lost Symphony- was set in motion when Benny Goodman invited guitarists Kelly Kereliuk and Conrad Simon to add another dimension to the classical demo he had composed. An early recording of “Leave Well Enough Alone,” which appeared on Chapter II, made its way to All That Remains co-founder and guitar hero Oli Herbert, who quickly jumped aboard as a chief collaborator.
Interview conducted on July 20, 2021
By Dan Locke
Classically infused metal ensemble LOST SYMPHONY has revealed the first single from the forthcoming Chapter III release, “Take Another Piece,” featuring a quadruple guitar attack from guests Marty Friedman, Nuno Bettencourt, Alex Skolnick and Richard Shaw.
What is your upbringing?
Benny Goodman: I grew up in Worcester, MA which is a big little city. By that, I mean there are a ton of people that live in Worcester but there are all kinds of small communities within that giant conglomeration. I lived in a middle- class bubble in a small neighborhood with parents more interested in taking me to the library than showing me the Red Sox, or any sport for that matter. That clearly pushed me down a more creative path because no one showed me any machismo, it was always more cerebral in our house, which was good for my creativity but not my social life. Having a twin when you’re as outspoken as I am is a shock to people and that never gets old. “There’s another one of you?” Yeah, my genetic competitor. So, when I say that we literally take the musical sentences out of the other’s mind, I’m not joking. People asked EVH why he was so good at the guitar and he attributed it to staying home and playing while his brother went to the prom. My brother and I were the nerds that sat at the geeky table with the other nerds that appreciated heavy metal, poetry, and artistic expression. I liked Iron Maiden and resented the football jocks at my all-guy Catholic high school were being the Jew that didn’t want to drink at a Dave Matthews concert was reason enough not to invite you to the party. The irony is that I love Dave Matthews. My brother and I did get the better end of the stick when we came back after graduating to play in front of 25k people at our local park. I didn’t know anything about anything but after playing to more people than I could see I knew I had to do THAT in some capacity. Even if it was inside that bubble for that moment.
How did you discover music?
My mom always played piano and acoustic guitar when I was growing up. My grandfather on my mom’s side used to always sing, whistle, or tell a bad joke on command, so there were all these weird old tunes I had floating around in my mind from a young age. My mom listened to Broadway music and played the classical piano while my dad was more than happy to raid the cheap CD bin at Barnes and Noble to swipe up every pre-20th-century composer that had been remastered as a new series that month. He would always play classical music at 2 or less on the dial so that when my brother or I would walk into his office we didn’t know if we were actually hearing strings or just “things.” Every once in a while, I’d walk in and hear something completely insane to my ear and ask my dad who it was, oftentimes finding Chopin, Vivaldi, and Beethoven to be repeat offenders. Meanwhile, my mom’s blasting Fiddler on the Roof and Andrew Lloyd Webber everything, so there was not a lot of rock n’ roll. The first thing that actually turned me onto listening to music over and over were movie soundtracks, namely everything John Williams (Stars Wars, Superman, ET) and the 1985 Transformers movie. That was the first time I heard heavy metal in the form of the band Lion which featured a very young Doug Aldrich. I loved the metal on that soundtrack so much that I begged my mom to transfer the sound of the VHS to a cassette tape by putting it up the speaker of the television before there was a proper output to get it to tape. Next thing I know, one of my best friends is showing me an ad for Columbia House, an age-old scam where they got you to buy more stuff than you’d ever need, so began my tape/cd collection/addiction. So, I picked out like 20 tapes for a dollar (which I STILL owe them for) and it was off to the races based on album covers, titles and what had those explicit lyrics warning on it.
How did you start to write music?
I wasn’t very good at sight reading when I played piano. My piano teacher would play through two or three pieces and ask me which one I wanted to learn. When I figured that out, I’d make him play me each section of the piece I chose a few times. What he did was teach me how to lie about reading music in lieu of training my ear to repeat anything I heard. It really fucked my ability to play other people’s music while truly grew my capacity to hear things, repeat them musically, and understand what I liked about them to employ into my own music. Everything you could possibly do musically has already been done in some capacity, even if you’re “coming up” with your own stuff, you still just end up plagiarizing someone else subconsciously or even coming up with similar ideas since you’re using the same four chords as everyone else since the dawn of time. My first “original” songs were just me stealing chord progressions from other songs I liked and tinkering with them to my own liking. I thought this was some secret back then, but it led me to so many original and out-of-the-box thoughts that I would not have come to if I didn’t “steal” the original idea from something that had inspired me to internalize how I felt through music. When it came time to perform, I NEVER felt comfortable in front of other people. How would I ever play Bach’s Minuet in G Major better than the other 10,000 people before me? So, I insisted on playing “my own” music because if my debilitating stage fright got the best of me, at least it was my own thing to fuck up.
How did your band form?
My brother and I have always written songs together. We very much enjoyed playing my mom’s grand piano and pretending like we were in 1850 or something with the top open, blasting at theater volume in a medium-sized room. So, we were always writing, always composing. When Brian learned how to program in Fruity Loops it was like a monster had come out. He could see the patterns of what we were playing. He understood music theory and composition so much more than I did. But where he was great at the programming and production side of things, I started playing more to make-up for where I lacked in my abilities to make a computer do the work of my brain. That is when we realized that together we pretty much combined our mental bandwidth to inspire one another, shoot down ideas, troll things, and rip everything apart until we were both convinced it was good. With Lost Symphony, I found Kelly Kereliuk on Facebook after watching some mind-melting videos and pretty much begged him to collaborate remotely, before that was a thing. Brian and I took a song we had shelved, but had been working on for years, a tune called Leave Well Enough Alone, which is on Chapter I. Much to our surprise, Kelly loved it, convinced Conrad Simon to play on it, too, and the music that came out of that became the archetype of what this band was going to be: songs Brian and I composed with incredible musicians playing within our musical playground.
How did you get your bands name?
I’ll start by saying that finding an original band name not only sucks but is high-pressure and daunting. It’s supposed to represent who you are musically, your brand, your message. It is so important and yet EVERYTHING cool that has ever existed, much like music, has already been taken. I lost my first signed band’s name to someone swooping in and stealing the trademark because we didn’t file the right paperwork in the proper time frame. In the case of Lost Symphony, we were originally “Symphinity.” Infinity + Symphony. Sounded badass. Didn’t see anyone with it. My brother filed for the trademark wrong and some dude in NYC was using the name “Symfinity,” which as anyone who knows anything about copyright law. is “troublesome.” Now our brand is being controlled through e-mails and some fucking random dude who is playing diva because he thinks it’s his friggin’ persona despite doing virtually nothing with the name. Now I’m in a Mexican standoff between the US trademark office, some random metal dude, and my own band’s name. I decided it wasn’t worth my fucking life so I just said this feels like a “lost symphony of souls,” clearly being dramatic. People actually liked that when I passed the name around, it was just the “of souls” part that made it less marketable. You GOTTA be marketable, right? Then it was officially Lost Symphony, indicative of my mind I lost figuring out copyright law as a guitarist/pianist/composer. Turns out, I like that name better, but the truth is that I had no idea if I’d be able to find a name that felt right. Lost Symphony feels right and I think it really does speak to what we have done musically with all three chapters.
Describe your music.
One part movie soundtrack, one part classical, one part metal, and a mixture of whatever else we wanted to throw in there.
What was your first performance at like?
We have never performed with Lost Symphony, it was a studio project from the beginning, but we have always wanted to play live for people if there were a demand for it.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
Before Oli passed, he got me into SESAC.
What makes a good songwriter?
It takes a few things. First and foremost, just having that passion and drive to take the thoughts in your head and turn them into something creative. Some people are given more of that natural ability and some people have to fight more for it, but the true skill of being a good songwriter is being able to understand what makes the music you like sound “good” to you and being able to employ that same x-factor into to your own music. It’s like making the best dinner out of the buffet, the ideas have all been done, what becomes original about it is who you steal from when and the attitude for which you play those notes your own way, making it your own magic.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
It was a song I wrote with my childhood friend Adam called “Phansigar.” I had a Fostex XR-7 four-track recorder, so I have a really primitive version, and a less-primitive yet still shitty version from my first original song recording experience.
What is the process of writing your music?
I am ALWAYS writing. I try to play guitar and piano every single day, even if it’s just going through stuff, I’ve played a million times. I am always hearing pieces of things in my head and fumbling around with new positions on the guitar. With the piano, I am a much more technically-savvy player than I am on the guitar, so I am constantly figuring out weird voicings and strange progressions that I try to teach myself on the guitar, uke, or anything else I can get my hands on. I recorded the majority of the Lost Symphony records at my home studio, so I am usually in mid-production on twenty songs in all kinds of genres at any given time to help keep my faculties fresh, creative and working. It’s a challenge from day to day to top what you did the week before.
Tell me about your single “My Last Goodbye”, which featured the late guitarist Oli Herbert (all that Remains)
I wrote the piano for that song within 24 hours of one of my best friends taking their own life. They had sent me a text message saying to please remember them which I kept in my phone for as long as I could remember. That was in 2004, I believe, so 17 years ago. I played the song with a few bands, but it never felt right. When we first started Lost Symphony, Brian and I were constantly stealing parts from old songs we both knew but had never used. We did that through chapter III. So, when Oli first came down to the studio, one of the songs I played for him was the original version of My Last Goodbye. He loved it and said we should totally do it with Lost Symphony, or “Symphinity” at that point. When Oli passed, we realized how much more valuable each song we had spent so much time with him creating became. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be the guy with some of if not the last recordings of a legendary guitarist. So, when it came time to figure out which songs we did while he was here going on what album, I always knew in the back of my head that My Last Goodbye would have to be the last song on the last record we would have him on. Chapter III is our homage, our tribute to him and our collective love for this music. He loved this song when he was alive. He loved Kelly’s playing. He loved Matt’s playing. He loved Ryan’s solo on this song. When he left us, it became his last goodbye to us.
How did the band get hooked up with Oli?
I’ve been friends with Jason Costa from All That Remains since he was in Diecast. My old band used to practice next to him in a POS jam spot in Quincy, MA. I always thought he was the nastiest drummer I had ever seen and the fact that he played traditional grip made me think that he was just way better than everyone. Those early Diecast shows were some of the scariest I’ve ever been to and it was actually Jason who saved me from getting my ass beat by an FSU gang member after a show my old band had played with them. Diecast didn’t get a long enough set so FSU decided they were just gonna kick everyone’s asses. I just remember Jason yelling “no, he’s cool,” to this 6’18 bald dude and making sure I didn’t die. So, when I did those first demos with Kelly and Conrad, to which Conrad programmed inhuman level drums, I figured I’d call the only dude I knew how to play like that. The truth is, I pretty much begged Jason over a night of hard drinking to go to his car and listen to the demo of Leave Well Enough Alone. After some “fuck yours” and “let’s go drinks,” Jason agreed to play on the song, something he hasn’t done for many people, so I truly appreciate him for that. When we were done recording and sent him the first mix, he played it for Oli. Apparently, Oli was enamored with Kelly and Conrads playing and Jason called me to tell me that I should definitely have Oli come down. Next thing I knew, Oli was coming over to my studio on a regular basis in between tours and we were just working together naturally like we had been doing it for years. I remember it was Matt LaPierre who came down one day and asked me if I actually knew who Oli was…I didn’t, other than he was in Jason’s band. That’s when I sort of woke up and realized I was working with a legend and that now it all made sense why everything he played sounded like it was from a crazy musical genius. Because he absolutely WAS a crazy, musical genius.
Tell me about the making of the album “Chapter III”?
We made all of the records completely out of order. This was always just a project that kept snowballing into a bigger thing. First, it was a song. Then it was a few songs. Then Oli came down and started telling us how awesome he thought this project was, saying crazy shit like “we should get Bumblefoot on this song,” or “let me call David Ellefson, he would probably dig this.” What? The dude that plays the double-neck with a fretless or the guy who played on every Megadeth song that has ever meant a damn to me? I never thought this was really anything other than a “heart” project I was making to fulfill a need in my life. When you are a songwriter or a producer or an engineer, or even maybe all of the above, you try to make your own thing you like until you are oftentimes beat down by the reality that the music industry is where good souls go to die. People have devalued music even though there are plenty of people who still make it and want to share it with the world. It has become harder and harder to be successful in the arts in general and it has become just as much about adhering to trends, social media, podcasts, literally anything else other than just making music in the hopes of making music people will actually even have a chance of listening to. So, I spent a lot of time working on music and playing music as a professional DJ, composing and playing music I thought people wanted to listen to. Lost Symphony was always just the music I wanted to listen to with my brother Brian indulging me with his insane talents. Later that became Brian, Kelly, Conrad, Oli, Matt, Cory, Siobhan, Paul, all indulging me endlessly with their talents. So, the differentiation between records came down to what seemed right at the time. What songs of all of these flowed the most. What songs are the most done now and who is coming to the dance this round? And what songs would make the next evolution for the next record to tell the next literal chapter.
Then Oli passed which made everything so much harder emotionally and so much more important to continue on as a band. Oli used to be so self-critical because he was a teacher, a scholar, and most of all, a composer first. When trolls would shit on anything he would do with All That Remains it would be hard to not take it personally for him. The too heavy stuff doesn’t make money and the too pussy shit gets you shit on but makes you money and both sides hate and love you at different times, constantly pulling you in different directions. That sounded like so much pressure to me and I remember how much time he would spend honing his skills, writing down scales, working on exercises, arranging songs, just doing what he thought was the guitar Olympics in his mind so that if people thought he sucked he could at least tell himself he tried his hardest. I don’t think he fully recognized his own level of genius because he was humble to a fault and sometimes even self-effacing even as he was firing off take after take of total spurts of genius. So, the chapters wrote themselves and the universe dictated how the songs came about. It turned out our marketing guru Jason Lekberg happened to be actual friends with Alex Skolnik, someone Oli idolized in life. When Oli passed, so many guitarists paid their respects, so asking people to come and play in his name wasn’t a hard thing. There were so many players he admired in life that he talked about endlessly. Literally, EVERY guitarist on these records were guitarists that at some point said were better than him. He was THAT hard on himself and THAT was the bar. Chapter III was going to be the last official round of what we started with Oli because THAT is what the universe allowed for. When that was dictated to us, we did our best to bring it on home for Oli. The original joke was the same concept as Bill & Ted’s “we need EVH to have a video but can’t have a video without EVH” chicken or the egg parable, except with us it was always Marty Friedman and Nuno Bettencourt. Oli would also talk constantly about Skolnik, so much so, that when I first talked to Angel Vivaldi he told me how they would stay up late at night arguing their favorite Testament solos. So, as you can see, the reason we have who we have on Chapter III was really just me doing my best to do what Oli hoped the Universe would do for us while he was here.
What is your favorite track on your album?
That’s an unfair question, who is your favorite child, right? Its Decomposing Composers. Not only because I love puns and double engenders, but because I always have wanted to hear literal classical works of art done with a metal, orchestra-like band. The concept was to do a song that showcased Siobhan’s virtuosity as a violinist and make a DJ-like “mashup” of some of our favorite sections of classical tunes. Siobhan flew to Boston on three separate occasions before the arrangement of that song was right and what songs ended up making the actual “mashup” are not even close to the amount we recorded. Siobhan insisted on three separate occasions that the Paganini section was too lethargic, despite being blistering to my ears, along with the fact that the bass motion was all wrong, which, in turn, meant that the drums we had already recorded at two different tempos were ALSO all wrong. So, the fact that it’s an actual thing, it sounds so organic, and is just an onslaught of notes from some of the greatest composers in history and now some of the greatest players I’m aware of on this planet in such a perfect way is an actual dream-come-true. Frank Zappa used to say something to the effect of, and I’m paraphrasing, “the best thing you could hope for in life is to make the music you hear in your head exactly as you heard it, except that almost never happens.” This is one of those songs that because of all the people involved, all of the time and effort put into it, not only showcases who we are as a band, but sets the bar for the hardest music to play I’ve ever produced. And I’m like a proud parent every time my brain gets melted by the incredible players on it. Not to mention the Jason Becker-esque interlude done by Joey Concepcion in the 11th hour as his own little farewell to one of his idols, teachers, and friends.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
Awesome! We all do it. Figure out a way to get the artist paid A LOT more for each stream. Thanks
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
I don’t know, you tell me!
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital. Vinyl is cool because it’s big, you can see the bands, it’s something to get signed, framed, and show you own something in an age where anyone can get anything instantly. So, the resurgence of vinyl for me is not about the sound quality, but about the listener being able to enjoy the actual album as a work of art. Sound quality it just comes down to a science. It is all 0s and 1s, so people who say “analog” sounds better, in my mind, like the “feel” of analog, which now science allows for us to replicate beyond our physical abilities. Only dogs and whales can hear 23k hz! It’s more emotional and nostalgic than it is in science. But that’s why both are cool for their own reasons.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Dragon Attack by Queen because my buddy Hector Hellion challenged me to cover it with him. And he’s legit amazing.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
I think Covid made people realize the value of live music. I have gone to see more cover bands and bought more tickets to shows in Boston since things opened up than I have in a long time. As the Stones always said: You can’t always get what you want…but when you try sometimes, you get what you need. We need music. It will ALWAYS find a way, no matter who thinks it has died, it will always be here.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Depends on which artist 100%
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Writing. Recording. Started www.2020-d.com www.theneuroticguitarist.com and am now shooting a television show and a documentary. Basically, avoiding reality at all costs with “fake” sounding jobs. Lots of them.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
I pace miles a day on the phone and while I’m anxious. I’m both on the phone and anxious a lot. I also have severe ADD and have found riding a hoverboard to quiet my senses enough to critically listen to mixes I’m working on or songs I’m studying. So, I hoverboard an absurd amount, which burns up to 300 calories a half hour. I find I get about 7 miles done in about an hour of listening.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I definitely reorganized my vinyl at the start of Covid. I have always been a collector. I just collect more now. Everything from guitars to art to backstage passes.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will includes [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook and YouTube?
It will just give a new platform the opportunity to take over that space.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
Take advantage of the companies and apps that are living on the bleeding edge of technology. There is always a “next” thing so to be locked down to one medium or social media means you are already limiting your perspective on the world.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
I don’t know to be honest. I haven’t done that in 20 years fortunately.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Bring the technology on. It is only a matter of time. Embrace it.
In the past if a musician stops doing music, they find a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
Be a podcast host and a dude yelling about guitars online. Wait, I do that NOW.
What is your happy place?
In the recording studio surrounded by guitars and paraphernalia from all of my influences
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. And it was not an easy thing for him to do. But by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off of his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. And now he doesn’t have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
My God, I HOPE to have that problem some day! What’s wrong with making it. Good for the Peppers.
Spotify’s ‘Stream On’ event on (February 22), the company confirmed that more than 60,000 new tracks are now being ingested by its platform every single day. This means people are added new tracks uploaded to its platform every 1.4 seconds.
The figure, announced by Spotify’s Co-Head of Music, Jeremy Erlich, means that across the course of this year, approximately 22 million tracks will be added to Spotify’s catalog. Spotify confirmed in November last year that its platform now played host to around 70 million tracks.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
But still back at the beginning of the year Spotify deleted 750,00 songs, mostly from independent artists. What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
It means that they are going to have to find another way and the smart, resilient ones will always find that way.
With more and more live music happening. And the virus is still here. Are you willing to play large concerts and festivals and what precautions would you like to have in place?
Yes.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please put your horns up to the skies for our fallen brother Oli Herbert and listen to him and many of his influences on Chapter III at www.lostsymphon.com If you like what you read check out my podcast www.2020-d.com and my guitar geek channel www.theneuroticguitarist.com
Cheers!
