BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY Interview for Museboat Live channel
Twitter Facebook
06/16/2024 / TEXT CREDITS: BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY, Museboat / PHOTO CREDITS: BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY / TRANSCRIPT BY: Taunjua aka TJ:
Taunjua: Hello Diego and welcome to Museboat Live channel!
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Hello everyone at Museboat. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
Taunjua: You know that we really love your music on Museboat so we want to know what is behind all of that. Can you explain your music production process?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Thank you. What a great question you have here. So what is behind all that music of mine? Let me elaborate a bit in simplicity. The production process is rather odd for me, not so traditional. I normally write lyrics and there is no music and I have no idea how the music is going to go to support those lyrics. Normally, I start with the music and let the music dictate what I am going to say and the feeling that it is going to trigger, and it is normally promoted by the music alone. So the music stands alone and there are emotions that are being felt without any lyrics, without any melody or vocals and such. Then I am on to something and I let the music dictate what I am going to sing and how I am going to sing it and what I am going to say lyrically as well, because it has to match the emotion of the music. So the music stands alone on its own and it sounds great. That is fantastic and also if the lyrics as in a poetic sense and the metaphor sense in which I write alot in metaphors also stands alone, Then they both come together and marry each other and a child is born. That is the complete song. I hope that makes some sense, the production process is very complex for me. I come from the old school which is analog and the new school which is digital. So I use an approach to production organically even though I am using digital tools to make it happen. It is a lot more cost effective. I hope it answers that in a simple straight away but I let the music dictate what the emotion and the emotion dictates what is going to happen after. Including the melodies, the vocals, delivery, tempo, everything. Orchestration matters more than most people think. Brain Dead Symphony is a process that is beyond the brain. It is an emotional process, that is what it comes to be and the songs kind of mature from that, So that’s that.
Taunjua: In your experiences, what works and what doesn´t when it comes to music production and where do you see the music industry in the upcoming years?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Boy, another great question. What works and doesn’t work in music production? What works is being genuine and not focusing on what everyone else is doing. Going there with an empty canvas, including production technique and things learned and created. Innovate yourself, don't sound like the presets out there, because every song will start to sound the same. There are over 100,000 songs uploaded to Spotify daily. They are all using AI or presets, so they are using stands. To me that is cutting and pasting that is not creativity. (Oh that sounds good lets put it in there, that sounds good lets pop it in over there). They are playing with a mouse, that is not my thing at all, I go organically and create from scratch, create my own styles and then start tweaking things, this modulation or whatever. Eventually I say oh, that sounds good, you have to trust your ear, you have to know what works and what doesn’t. That comes from experience and sometimes raw talent. Some people nail it on the first time on a song they have written. They can write fantastic songs. There are too many tools, sometimes it is better to go down to basics and create your own style. That is what producers do and if you start producing you have to be able to be technical, creative and innovative to create something with your music that has never been done. There have been lots of things that have not been done. Although it's a familiar sound and has a groove, there is sound design in there that makes it beautiful.
Where is music going? The music industry is a disaster in my opinion right now, but music will always be there so there will always be artists, and people that like making it. Sometimes there are gem sets that come out of people's heart and mind and spirit that sound fantastic. The streaming has done a number in the industry in a negative way and now we are moving into the artificial intelligence world which is going to be the end of many things. Because, it is going to do it for you, there will be no creativity, it will be music done for you. Music will become the background in people’s lives not so much the sociological interaction of people that used to be prominent in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80/s and 90’s and even 2000. That whole camaraderie is going out the window because technology and the cultural shifts that already happened about fifteen years ago. It is basically over in that respect, but there will still be some exceptions to the bunch, some good artists that are passionate and are going to do things correctly. So that’s that.
Taunjua: Your current work has a strong background in the music of the 80s and 90s. But I'm wondering if you've always composed music only in this area or if you've never tried something else, like rock or something else.
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Yeah, that's true there are a lot of 80’s and 90’s and even 2000’s in my sound, because that is in the heart and some great stuff that came out of those years. I kind of miss it nowadays in some of the bands in the last five years. They are very obviously influenced by the same eras that I put out in my sound. The main reason is the authenticity and the sense of uniqueness in melodies and emotions that you feel. But now it's more of the generic type of emulations that have been happening now that are highly influenced. Those decades need a revival because the music is kind of stagnate. Even alternative music, which is my thing. mixed with electro and synth pop, those are the things I do, I am a force of revival that is coming into play, you sound like the pet shop boys. Almost identical, the song is fantastic, why not embrace it, it is very very infectious if you will. I have done other projects, there was a rock band I produced, hard hitting, electric, heaving hitting guitars. I have done the Spanish flair of things. I have a big heart for creating music for soundtracks. Independent films. So I am kind of like a Brian Eno type which means I can do the pop thing but also get weird. He is one of my heroes to begin with. So that answers that, I hope it does for you.
Taunjua: You work not only as a musician, but also as a writer, a painter, an entrepreneur, to name just a few. Tell me, what profession would you choose if you were not an artist?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Yes, all of the above and more.(Laughs) Work profession that I would choose if I was not an artist. That is a great question. I have two answers for that. I would be a cosmologist, I love the universe and stars and all the theories, physics and chemistry of the universe. The big bang and anything astrophysics, I just love that. Also, I think I would be a pretty good lawyer, I can make strong cases and have convictions. I really fight hard for injustices when people are mistreated or used, I am the black sheep. I am the one with the big voice, the big lungs on calling people out. So I would be a great lawyer , maybe I should have been. But the artistry decided another direction and cosmology, that is the left side of the brain, I have been cursed with the left and the right side of the brain and it is not a fun thing to be. Most artists run with the right, unfortunately I have the left arguing with the right side of the brain and the right side of the brain arguing with the left side of the brain. That makes me very eccentric and it's a bit of a curse. Perhaps I would be a possible physicist, anything that has to do with the universe. and cosmology the cosmos things of that nature and also a lawyer who fights for the mistreated and the underprivileged.
Taunjua: What do you consider to be your greatest success in your music career?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Well yeah great, but I am not going to brag I am not some megastar in any sense of the word. But I am a renaissance guy from the bay area, my music has been well received and also critically acclaimed by the media. Now recently with Brain Dead Symphony and in the past. I have had the privilege of being on stage with some of the greatest names in artistry in the alternative rock genre. Like Alanis and Green Day. I have been in compilation cd’s So I am not a megastar but I am an Independent renaissance man from the bay area figure of speech. Sharing the stage with? of a musical culture, I consider that to be a ??? because my music is equally expected, not famous but equally expected with the crowds who embraced No Doubt, Third Eye Blind, people like that, that I have shared the stages with, both in the 80’s the 90’s and part of the 2000’s here and there.
I have done music for fashion designers that was fantastic. Electro music for Versace before he passed. There are alot of little things I have done that are nice and made my day, not a financial or megastar or won any grammys or anything like that. I am an Independent artist and I have record deals that I have turned down, because they were going to do that and I wasn't going to do that. So yeah, maybe I missed the boat, maybe not. But the success is that people, strangers especially and they love my work. That is how I approach it. If I was under a major label the quality is important to me so the listener can have the best experience within my reach, within my means and that's that. The greatest success is that my music has been welcomed and embraced by thousands of people. That is wonderful, Right?
Taunjua: It's probably useless to ask you which artist you would most like to share the stage with, since during your time you shared it with artists such as Alanis Morissette, Green Day, Pink, or Tori Amos, but still... Which of the world-famous artists had you and your creating the biggest influence?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: I think I understand this question. There are so many that I admire, to be part of a compilation with so many great artists of the past and still producing some major music of today. I would love to work with Trench Westner, produce a record with him, Peter Murphy with Bauhaus, put him in there, myself, Brian Eno, we would come up with some crazy things. That would be fantastic to collaborate, that would be a dream of mine to collaborate but not put all the spotlight on me. Great a band of weird brains and come out with something cool, even if it was not mainstream. I have played with many artists and been in many compilation cd’s , some here, some there, that kind of thing. Sharing the stage has been a privilege, even as an opener or a co headliner. I played with Berlin in the 80’s and part of the 90’s. So many bands that I have lost count of, either part of the band or in a compilation with, and that is a good grouping of talents and it is fantastic to be a part of that grouping. Because, someone will say oh Diego belongs here and that is a compliment all on its own. I would love to work with giants like Trench Westner, we would come out with some great stuff, because his brain is like my brain or my brain is like his brain. So that would be a dream of mine. Maybe I could make it happen.
Taunjua: Can you tell us more about your background? How did you get to music recording and promotion and how long have you been in this area?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: My musical background is complex. As a child, again not to brag, I was a bit of a prodigy, not knowing that, my grandmother threw me into learning piano as a tiny child and the flutes and whatever they could put me in. I didn’t like it but I went along with it because it was the thing to do. My mother was a concert flutist for the symphonies and Baroche, quartets and all the artsy stuff of the area of the 60’s and 70’s. So music was always in the background, a lot of classical music. That was all I heard in the house as a child, also the Beatles, the Carpenters, jazz and opera. My father passed away last year. He was huge into opera, he is a left brain, he was a physicist. I got into music with the actual profession of recording and promotions. In 1985 I said I was going to buy myself some synthesizers and my father helped me. It was wonderful, I got my two synthesizers, I had a budget with no training. I told people I don’t want training, I want to figure it out. That is how I started, with all the analog days, there was no digital. That came later in the 90’s with the adat machines and so on. It was all analog and that was the best way to learn, it was like you were in the trenches and you understood music production on a level that universities and music schools don’t teach anymore. I grew up with classical music and there has been nothing but music around my house. It’s in my veins, you are just born with it. I can't explain it, some people have it, some people are tone deaf. I didn’t even know I could sing until the last five years.
I was always the guy behind the scenes doing the music and creating sounds and things that people were not doing.That was my thing, I loved doing that. I finally got a degree in business so I know the back side of the music world. You have to know the business, you have to know promotions, you have to know all that. You are the least one to be heard and it doesn’t mean you are going to make it, It is a very tiny percentage. But at least I have fun doing it by knowing how the business works. It is complex. Promotions and recording is literally going on the front line, trenches. I asked questions, never hesitate to ask questions hands on, hands on and I have made a ton of mistakes. Then you figure it all out, and that's that. That is how it all started, I was born with it. I came out, flying literally like a football and the doctor popped me and said this kid is going to be fascinating so watch out. My mom said okay and here we go, here I am.
Taunjua: You were born in Barcelona but have lived in the Bay Area. Do you still have a relationship with Spain?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Barcelona, Barcelona my heart is in Barcelona. I also have mixed relatives in Chile and South America. That was a turmoil back in the 70’s, a long story a lot of back and forth in my tender years. My father got sponsored to be a professor at the University of San Francisco, USA. That was our ticket to America and it was quite scary being 12 years old. I still have some family, most of them are gone. I have some cousins and aunts, no more uncles. I have some cousins scattered, three cousins in France that I am in communication with. One of them is a 2nd cousin, the son of my cousin, and their spouses. We all chit chat quite often. I have friends and family in England, In Spain I have my cousin and auntie. My dad passed away in South America, he retired in Chile, there is a long story there but he lived to be 87 and had a good life with some major stories for another day. So I still have family over there I communicate with, I have family in Canada and auntie over there. My brother and siblings here in America. One in California, one in Oregon, one in Colorado, we are pretty scattered, one in the Central Valley Modesto area. We are a scattered family all over the place with a very complex history, but Barcelona is a huge influence of that European sound. It is big in my veins, you can hear it obviously and that’s that. The travels of my early years were very influential to me musically, that is, from the European brit pop, synth pop sounds that you hear in my music. That is in the veins, it does not go away.
Taunjua: OK, this one is from Andy. What was the inspiration behind the song "Give Me Moonlight"?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Andy, he loves my song “Give Me Moonlight”. It is a very complex song. Short version of the story is that I wrote this some time ago. I had a dear dear friend of mine who was a great sound engineer and he got cancer and it took him out tragically at a very tender age. We worked together on a lot of projects, musical projects as producers behind the scenes for independent artists. I was working on this song and came out with a little nifty little line. Give me moonlight to see my way through. I was going through some patches in my life that were negative, grieving processes and things like that. If you read the lyrics, which are Brain Dead Symphony at band camp, it is quite profound. I could see why Andy would love that, it is basically grieving, going through some disappointments of people doing you wrong. It is also a tribute to my friend who died of cancer. So give me moonlight to see my way through, give me moonlight to see my way out.
Out of the grieving process and betrayals and disappointments from people in general and also relationships with people you care about sometimes they betray or whatever. You have to entrust right? We hold on to that, it is a deep seated song and the inspiration is grief, loss and a bit of anger because you have been mistreated. With sinful gains, the lyrics speak volumes. So I suggest you go to my Band Camp and read the lyrics of “Give Me Moonlight”, listen to the track as well and if you like it, you can download it. That is what I wanted to say about Andy, and thank you Andy you are the best.
Taunjua: Let's move on to your writing career. You are the author of the book Diego's Bunker. Can you at least briefly tell us more about this book?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Diego’s bunker, yes my first book. It is an e-book so it is downloadable from all the major digital stores like Apple, Amazon. SO what is it, it is a book of thought provoking thoughts, philosophy, experiences. It's a book of thoughts, instead of a book of poems, it's a book of thoughts, ideas and even theories. I even challenge theology and all kinds of different things. Even cosmology, the cosmos, I have a theory I throw in. There is a section of all my lyrics to a point that I throw in there. Turn one page, get an idea, put it down, turn another page, you get a whole different thing and it makes you think, makes you even rattle your brains. Some of that may piss you off. some of that you go whoa, I never thought of something like that.
So, that is my book called “Diego's Bunker”. It is an e-book that will rattle and provoke, because I do challenge the status quo and the basic way society thinks, which is most of the time incorrect in my opinion. That is why there is so much rubbish out there. Anyway it’s philosophical and intellectual, poetic, hard hitting, gentle and hard, it is a lot of things. I recommend it if you want to think beyond the normal. There are books out there that take 200 pages to say one thing. No, this is one page, one thing. Boom. Your brain is going to go poof and explode(laughs). Any way that is “Diego's Bunker”.
There is a second book that is going to follow, this is a trilogy, the second one is going to be “Diego’s Yo-yo” and the last one will be “Diego’s Cloud” and that’s it. It is a continuation of life as I know it, perceive it and see it. I would like to pay it forward from the lessons and the wisdom I have acquired. Maybe someone will listen and it will facilitate their lives and make it better. Alright, that’s that, “Diego’s Bunker”. It is available for you or readers that like e-books. You can download it on any gadget if you will.
Taunjua: What are your plans for the future? Especially the short-term ones?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Plans for the future, in the short term musically at the radio station, I am going to give you the first peek of what I am doing. I am going to make an album of all singles. It is going to be called “A Reaction Against Soulless Rubbish” . I have the trademark so don’t steal it. I have three or four more songs to finish, there is one on the front burner right now and I have two other songs on the back burner. So I will have about 12 single songs. It will be an album even though I boycott the streaming mainstream like Spotify, which I detest. That company is a conversation for another day. The album will be on all the platforms. I will have to put it out there for many obvious reasons. Only my music is exclusive by choice on Band Camp, but the album that will be 13 or 14 singles perhaps, that is all me, will be on all the platforms. That is my goal for 2024, maybe Christmas, I am working hard to try and get there. It is not easy when I have multiple other projects that I am doing also. Art paintings that are going to be in a gallery, that is a secret for now, but one of my goals for 2024. I will continue my work that pays the bills, consultant and I do other things as well. I have some secret projects in the music industry that I am collaborating with some major big wigs from Los Angeles in the music industry. So, Shh, that’s a secret, but not really a secret I guess, but I cannot say anything else.
Taunjua: Is there anything you would like to say to Museboat listeners?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Yes! I would love to say something to your listeners. Listeners are the best, aren't they? None of us would be talking if it wasn’t for the listeners. How they embrace my music, I have seen them in your chat rooms and I see the reactions from some people. It is joyful, not just happy but joyful, it is your art that is being heard by strangers. I don’t know but I already know because they embrace a portion of me. my artistic expression. So to the listeners I would like to say a tremendous thank you to all of you for not just listening to me but to all the independent artists that love what they do. All the different genres and styles, it is fascinating to see how listeners can listen to the variety and enjoy the uniqueness and not be stuck on just one thing. So I appreciate you more than anything, because that is where it is at, that is what gives me joy and why I do what I do. It´s the listeners that embrace and listen to something they have never heard and to connect, identify and help them through something whether it is good or bad. Music is a healer and listeners heal from it. So when they embrace my music or any other artist here on Museboat, nothing compares to the listeners. So I thank you tremendously and I am very very grateful to Museboat as well for allowing my music to be heard by the listeners. So cheers to all of you.
Taunjua: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for the interview, Diego. GoodBye.
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: My pleasure, take good care. Cheers
This interview was brought to you by
Taunjua aka TJ
host to the TJ´s Muse Bridge show
WATCH MUSIC VIDEO: BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY
Links: BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY on Museboat | BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Music Shop |
Brain Dead Symphony is a process that is beyond the brain. It is an emotional process, that is what it comes to be and the songs kind of mature from that.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW
Diego Cisternas is a Bay Area renaissance man, who has worked as a musician, painter, publisher, composer, business consultant, writer, entrepreneur and music producer over the decades. Diego started as a keyboardist/songwriter in the pioneering Silicon Valley band Bolero from 1989.1991, infusing Latin flavor into the Modern Rock of the late 80's. Bolero had a big following, had significant national radio rotation with songs like ""Gypsy (Catch My Soul)"" and ""Better than the Real Thing,"" and opened for groups including A Flock of Seagulls, Pseudo Echo, Midnight Oil, Level 42 and Men without Hats. He brings a delightfully retro new wave/modern-rock edge to the music he makes under the name Brain Dead Symphony.
In the 90s, he embarked on an Indie Alternative Rock/SynthPop project, releasing the singles “Play with Me” and “Something To Tell Me,"" receiving critical acclaim nationally and in Europe. And he’s probably added a few more things to his resume since we last talked to him (which, mind you, was quite recently). He came to our attention, of course, for his musical accomplishments, which includes opening ... Diego has shared the stage with Third Eye Blind, Berlin, Alanis Morissette, Susanna Hoffs, No Doubt and Garbage, and his songs were included on compilation CDs with artists like The Two Door Cinema Club, Green Day, Gaslight Anthem, Van Morrison, The Offsprings, Matt Costa, Pink, The Vaccines, Tori Amos to name a few.
Presently, he's been a full time father (sole custody) since 2004, and self-employed as an independent music producer, consultant in the fields of independent music, business development, creative and conceptual marketing in technology, credit consultant for the mortgage communities and individuals, artist development, composer, independent artistic films, mentor, artist, painter, writer, publisher and entrepreneur.
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY's music was and is played by many Radio Stations including Museboat Live and is mentioned by many Magazines and Websites worldwide.
We are happy to have the privilege to ask Diego a few questions.
Taunjua: Hello Diego and welcome to Museboat Live channel!
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Hello everyone at Museboat. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
Taunjua: You know that we really love your music on Museboat so we want to know what is behind all of that. Can you explain your music production process?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Thank you. What a great question you have here. So what is behind all that music of mine? Let me elaborate a bit in simplicity. The production process is rather odd for me, not so traditional. I normally write lyrics and there is no music and I have no idea how the music is going to go to support those lyrics. Normally, I start with the music and let the music dictate what I am going to say and the feeling that it is going to trigger, and it is normally promoted by the music alone. So the music stands alone and there are emotions that are being felt without any lyrics, without any melody or vocals and such. Then I am on to something and I let the music dictate what I am going to sing and how I am going to sing it and what I am going to say lyrically as well, because it has to match the emotion of the music. So the music stands alone on its own and it sounds great. That is fantastic and also if the lyrics as in a poetic sense and the metaphor sense in which I write alot in metaphors also stands alone, Then they both come together and marry each other and a child is born. That is the complete song. I hope that makes some sense, the production process is very complex for me. I come from the old school which is analog and the new school which is digital. So I use an approach to production organically even though I am using digital tools to make it happen. It is a lot more cost effective. I hope it answers that in a simple straight away but I let the music dictate what the emotion and the emotion dictates what is going to happen after. Including the melodies, the vocals, delivery, tempo, everything. Orchestration matters more than most people think. Brain Dead Symphony is a process that is beyond the brain. It is an emotional process, that is what it comes to be and the songs kind of mature from that, So that’s that.
Taunjua: In your experiences, what works and what doesn´t when it comes to music production and where do you see the music industry in the upcoming years?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Boy, another great question. What works and doesn’t work in music production? What works is being genuine and not focusing on what everyone else is doing. Going there with an empty canvas, including production technique and things learned and created. Innovate yourself, don't sound like the presets out there, because every song will start to sound the same. There are over 100,000 songs uploaded to Spotify daily. They are all using AI or presets, so they are using stands. To me that is cutting and pasting that is not creativity. (Oh that sounds good lets put it in there, that sounds good lets pop it in over there). They are playing with a mouse, that is not my thing at all, I go organically and create from scratch, create my own styles and then start tweaking things, this modulation or whatever. Eventually I say oh, that sounds good, you have to trust your ear, you have to know what works and what doesn’t. That comes from experience and sometimes raw talent. Some people nail it on the first time on a song they have written. They can write fantastic songs. There are too many tools, sometimes it is better to go down to basics and create your own style. That is what producers do and if you start producing you have to be able to be technical, creative and innovative to create something with your music that has never been done. There have been lots of things that have not been done. Although it's a familiar sound and has a groove, there is sound design in there that makes it beautiful.
Where is music going? The music industry is a disaster in my opinion right now, but music will always be there so there will always be artists, and people that like making it. Sometimes there are gem sets that come out of people's heart and mind and spirit that sound fantastic. The streaming has done a number in the industry in a negative way and now we are moving into the artificial intelligence world which is going to be the end of many things. Because, it is going to do it for you, there will be no creativity, it will be music done for you. Music will become the background in people’s lives not so much the sociological interaction of people that used to be prominent in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80/s and 90’s and even 2000. That whole camaraderie is going out the window because technology and the cultural shifts that already happened about fifteen years ago. It is basically over in that respect, but there will still be some exceptions to the bunch, some good artists that are passionate and are going to do things correctly. So that’s that.
Taunjua: Your current work has a strong background in the music of the 80s and 90s. But I'm wondering if you've always composed music only in this area or if you've never tried something else, like rock or something else.
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Yeah, that's true there are a lot of 80’s and 90’s and even 2000’s in my sound, because that is in the heart and some great stuff that came out of those years. I kind of miss it nowadays in some of the bands in the last five years. They are very obviously influenced by the same eras that I put out in my sound. The main reason is the authenticity and the sense of uniqueness in melodies and emotions that you feel. But now it's more of the generic type of emulations that have been happening now that are highly influenced. Those decades need a revival because the music is kind of stagnate. Even alternative music, which is my thing. mixed with electro and synth pop, those are the things I do, I am a force of revival that is coming into play, you sound like the pet shop boys. Almost identical, the song is fantastic, why not embrace it, it is very very infectious if you will. I have done other projects, there was a rock band I produced, hard hitting, electric, heaving hitting guitars. I have done the Spanish flair of things. I have a big heart for creating music for soundtracks. Independent films. So I am kind of like a Brian Eno type which means I can do the pop thing but also get weird. He is one of my heroes to begin with. So that answers that, I hope it does for you.
Taunjua: You work not only as a musician, but also as a writer, a painter, an entrepreneur, to name just a few. Tell me, what profession would you choose if you were not an artist?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Yes, all of the above and more.(Laughs) Work profession that I would choose if I was not an artist. That is a great question. I have two answers for that. I would be a cosmologist, I love the universe and stars and all the theories, physics and chemistry of the universe. The big bang and anything astrophysics, I just love that. Also, I think I would be a pretty good lawyer, I can make strong cases and have convictions. I really fight hard for injustices when people are mistreated or used, I am the black sheep. I am the one with the big voice, the big lungs on calling people out. So I would be a great lawyer , maybe I should have been. But the artistry decided another direction and cosmology, that is the left side of the brain, I have been cursed with the left and the right side of the brain and it is not a fun thing to be. Most artists run with the right, unfortunately I have the left arguing with the right side of the brain and the right side of the brain arguing with the left side of the brain. That makes me very eccentric and it's a bit of a curse. Perhaps I would be a possible physicist, anything that has to do with the universe. and cosmology the cosmos things of that nature and also a lawyer who fights for the mistreated and the underprivileged.
Taunjua: What do you consider to be your greatest success in your music career?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Well yeah great, but I am not going to brag I am not some megastar in any sense of the word. But I am a renaissance guy from the bay area, my music has been well received and also critically acclaimed by the media. Now recently with Brain Dead Symphony and in the past. I have had the privilege of being on stage with some of the greatest names in artistry in the alternative rock genre. Like Alanis and Green Day. I have been in compilation cd’s So I am not a megastar but I am an Independent renaissance man from the bay area figure of speech. Sharing the stage with? of a musical culture, I consider that to be a ??? because my music is equally expected, not famous but equally expected with the crowds who embraced No Doubt, Third Eye Blind, people like that, that I have shared the stages with, both in the 80’s the 90’s and part of the 2000’s here and there.
People are stuck in circular time frames. People love and fear the eariness of making circles in life. But so called circles are never the same. A ferris wheel is not a merry-go-round. A looping thought is not always a circle. A frisbee is never a roundtable.
Diego Cisternas
I have done music for fashion designers that was fantastic. Electro music for Versace before he passed. There are alot of little things I have done that are nice and made my day, not a financial or megastar or won any grammys or anything like that. I am an Independent artist and I have record deals that I have turned down, because they were going to do that and I wasn't going to do that. So yeah, maybe I missed the boat, maybe not. But the success is that people, strangers especially and they love my work. That is how I approach it. If I was under a major label the quality is important to me so the listener can have the best experience within my reach, within my means and that's that. The greatest success is that my music has been welcomed and embraced by thousands of people. That is wonderful, Right?
Taunjua: It's probably useless to ask you which artist you would most like to share the stage with, since during your time you shared it with artists such as Alanis Morissette, Green Day, Pink, or Tori Amos, but still... Which of the world-famous artists had you and your creating the biggest influence?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: I think I understand this question. There are so many that I admire, to be part of a compilation with so many great artists of the past and still producing some major music of today. I would love to work with Trench Westner, produce a record with him, Peter Murphy with Bauhaus, put him in there, myself, Brian Eno, we would come up with some crazy things. That would be fantastic to collaborate, that would be a dream of mine to collaborate but not put all the spotlight on me. Great a band of weird brains and come out with something cool, even if it was not mainstream. I have played with many artists and been in many compilation cd’s , some here, some there, that kind of thing. Sharing the stage has been a privilege, even as an opener or a co headliner. I played with Berlin in the 80’s and part of the 90’s. So many bands that I have lost count of, either part of the band or in a compilation with, and that is a good grouping of talents and it is fantastic to be a part of that grouping. Because, someone will say oh Diego belongs here and that is a compliment all on its own. I would love to work with giants like Trench Westner, we would come out with some great stuff, because his brain is like my brain or my brain is like his brain. So that would be a dream of mine. Maybe I could make it happen.
Taunjua: Can you tell us more about your background? How did you get to music recording and promotion and how long have you been in this area?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: My musical background is complex. As a child, again not to brag, I was a bit of a prodigy, not knowing that, my grandmother threw me into learning piano as a tiny child and the flutes and whatever they could put me in. I didn’t like it but I went along with it because it was the thing to do. My mother was a concert flutist for the symphonies and Baroche, quartets and all the artsy stuff of the area of the 60’s and 70’s. So music was always in the background, a lot of classical music. That was all I heard in the house as a child, also the Beatles, the Carpenters, jazz and opera. My father passed away last year. He was huge into opera, he is a left brain, he was a physicist. I got into music with the actual profession of recording and promotions. In 1985 I said I was going to buy myself some synthesizers and my father helped me. It was wonderful, I got my two synthesizers, I had a budget with no training. I told people I don’t want training, I want to figure it out. That is how I started, with all the analog days, there was no digital. That came later in the 90’s with the adat machines and so on. It was all analog and that was the best way to learn, it was like you were in the trenches and you understood music production on a level that universities and music schools don’t teach anymore. I grew up with classical music and there has been nothing but music around my house. It’s in my veins, you are just born with it. I can't explain it, some people have it, some people are tone deaf. I didn’t even know I could sing until the last five years.
On stormy or boiling waters, you can still see yourself on the ripples; on the water wrinkles. These wrinkled ripples are reflective lessons too.
Diego Cisternas
I was always the guy behind the scenes doing the music and creating sounds and things that people were not doing.That was my thing, I loved doing that. I finally got a degree in business so I know the back side of the music world. You have to know the business, you have to know promotions, you have to know all that. You are the least one to be heard and it doesn’t mean you are going to make it, It is a very tiny percentage. But at least I have fun doing it by knowing how the business works. It is complex. Promotions and recording is literally going on the front line, trenches. I asked questions, never hesitate to ask questions hands on, hands on and I have made a ton of mistakes. Then you figure it all out, and that's that. That is how it all started, I was born with it. I came out, flying literally like a football and the doctor popped me and said this kid is going to be fascinating so watch out. My mom said okay and here we go, here I am.
Taunjua: You were born in Barcelona but have lived in the Bay Area. Do you still have a relationship with Spain?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Barcelona, Barcelona my heart is in Barcelona. I also have mixed relatives in Chile and South America. That was a turmoil back in the 70’s, a long story a lot of back and forth in my tender years. My father got sponsored to be a professor at the University of San Francisco, USA. That was our ticket to America and it was quite scary being 12 years old. I still have some family, most of them are gone. I have some cousins and aunts, no more uncles. I have some cousins scattered, three cousins in France that I am in communication with. One of them is a 2nd cousin, the son of my cousin, and their spouses. We all chit chat quite often. I have friends and family in England, In Spain I have my cousin and auntie. My dad passed away in South America, he retired in Chile, there is a long story there but he lived to be 87 and had a good life with some major stories for another day. So I still have family over there I communicate with, I have family in Canada and auntie over there. My brother and siblings here in America. One in California, one in Oregon, one in Colorado, we are pretty scattered, one in the Central Valley Modesto area. We are a scattered family all over the place with a very complex history, but Barcelona is a huge influence of that European sound. It is big in my veins, you can hear it obviously and that’s that. The travels of my early years were very influential to me musically, that is, from the European brit pop, synth pop sounds that you hear in my music. That is in the veins, it does not go away.
Taunjua: OK, this one is from Andy. What was the inspiration behind the song "Give Me Moonlight"?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Andy, he loves my song “Give Me Moonlight”. It is a very complex song. Short version of the story is that I wrote this some time ago. I had a dear dear friend of mine who was a great sound engineer and he got cancer and it took him out tragically at a very tender age. We worked together on a lot of projects, musical projects as producers behind the scenes for independent artists. I was working on this song and came out with a little nifty little line. Give me moonlight to see my way through. I was going through some patches in my life that were negative, grieving processes and things like that. If you read the lyrics, which are Brain Dead Symphony at band camp, it is quite profound. I could see why Andy would love that, it is basically grieving, going through some disappointments of people doing you wrong. It is also a tribute to my friend who died of cancer. So give me moonlight to see my way through, give me moonlight to see my way out.
The human experience is a perennial collision of decisions, a mosh pit of both good and bad decisions.
Diego Cisternas
Out of the grieving process and betrayals and disappointments from people in general and also relationships with people you care about sometimes they betray or whatever. You have to entrust right? We hold on to that, it is a deep seated song and the inspiration is grief, loss and a bit of anger because you have been mistreated. With sinful gains, the lyrics speak volumes. So I suggest you go to my Band Camp and read the lyrics of “Give Me Moonlight”, listen to the track as well and if you like it, you can download it. That is what I wanted to say about Andy, and thank you Andy you are the best.
Taunjua: Let's move on to your writing career. You are the author of the book Diego's Bunker. Can you at least briefly tell us more about this book?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Diego’s bunker, yes my first book. It is an e-book so it is downloadable from all the major digital stores like Apple, Amazon. SO what is it, it is a book of thought provoking thoughts, philosophy, experiences. It's a book of thoughts, instead of a book of poems, it's a book of thoughts, ideas and even theories. I even challenge theology and all kinds of different things. Even cosmology, the cosmos, I have a theory I throw in. There is a section of all my lyrics to a point that I throw in there. Turn one page, get an idea, put it down, turn another page, you get a whole different thing and it makes you think, makes you even rattle your brains. Some of that may piss you off. some of that you go whoa, I never thought of something like that.
If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations. When there is order in the nations, there will be peace in the world.
Sathya Sai Baba
So, that is my book called “Diego's Bunker”. It is an e-book that will rattle and provoke, because I do challenge the status quo and the basic way society thinks, which is most of the time incorrect in my opinion. That is why there is so much rubbish out there. Anyway it’s philosophical and intellectual, poetic, hard hitting, gentle and hard, it is a lot of things. I recommend it if you want to think beyond the normal. There are books out there that take 200 pages to say one thing. No, this is one page, one thing. Boom. Your brain is going to go poof and explode(laughs). Any way that is “Diego's Bunker”.
There is a second book that is going to follow, this is a trilogy, the second one is going to be “Diego’s Yo-yo” and the last one will be “Diego’s Cloud” and that’s it. It is a continuation of life as I know it, perceive it and see it. I would like to pay it forward from the lessons and the wisdom I have acquired. Maybe someone will listen and it will facilitate their lives and make it better. Alright, that’s that, “Diego’s Bunker”. It is available for you or readers that like e-books. You can download it on any gadget if you will.
Taunjua: What are your plans for the future? Especially the short-term ones?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Plans for the future, in the short term musically at the radio station, I am going to give you the first peek of what I am doing. I am going to make an album of all singles. It is going to be called “A Reaction Against Soulless Rubbish” . I have the trademark so don’t steal it. I have three or four more songs to finish, there is one on the front burner right now and I have two other songs on the back burner. So I will have about 12 single songs. It will be an album even though I boycott the streaming mainstream like Spotify, which I detest. That company is a conversation for another day. The album will be on all the platforms. I will have to put it out there for many obvious reasons. Only my music is exclusive by choice on Band Camp, but the album that will be 13 or 14 singles perhaps, that is all me, will be on all the platforms. That is my goal for 2024, maybe Christmas, I am working hard to try and get there. It is not easy when I have multiple other projects that I am doing also. Art paintings that are going to be in a gallery, that is a secret for now, but one of my goals for 2024. I will continue my work that pays the bills, consultant and I do other things as well. I have some secret projects in the music industry that I am collaborating with some major big wigs from Los Angeles in the music industry. So, Shh, that’s a secret, but not really a secret I guess, but I cannot say anything else.
Taunjua: Is there anything you would like to say to Museboat listeners?
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: Yes! I would love to say something to your listeners. Listeners are the best, aren't they? None of us would be talking if it wasn’t for the listeners. How they embrace my music, I have seen them in your chat rooms and I see the reactions from some people. It is joyful, not just happy but joyful, it is your art that is being heard by strangers. I don’t know but I already know because they embrace a portion of me. my artistic expression. So to the listeners I would like to say a tremendous thank you to all of you for not just listening to me but to all the independent artists that love what they do. All the different genres and styles, it is fascinating to see how listeners can listen to the variety and enjoy the uniqueness and not be stuck on just one thing. So I appreciate you more than anything, because that is where it is at, that is what gives me joy and why I do what I do. It´s the listeners that embrace and listen to something they have never heard and to connect, identify and help them through something whether it is good or bad. Music is a healer and listeners heal from it. So when they embrace my music or any other artist here on Museboat, nothing compares to the listeners. So I thank you tremendously and I am very very grateful to Museboat as well for allowing my music to be heard by the listeners. So cheers to all of you.
Taunjua: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for the interview, Diego. GoodBye.
BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY: My pleasure, take good care. Cheers
This interview was brought to you by
Taunjua aka TJ
host to the TJ´s Muse Bridge show
WATCH MUSIC VIDEO: BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY
Links: BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY on Museboat | BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Music Shop |
- Andy Slovien
- MM/DD/YYYY
- BRAIN DEAD SYMPHONY / Museboat
You May Also Contribute
Leave a Comment