Interview: Stories of Solitude
BearlySinister: I’m sitting here with Craig Danielson, clean vocals and guitarist in Stories of Solitude. How you doing today, man?
Craig: Great man!
BearlySinister: Stories of Solitude is a killer band name, what was the inspiration behind it?
Craig: Well basically SOS started off as a solo project. I played in many bands and got tired of things falling apart, so I learned to do everything myself. When I was thinking of the name, I thought of my past. I had been a bit of a loner most of my life, didn’t really “fit in” in school. On top of that, I had suffered from an abusive father that left me feeling alone in my battle. I overcame the struggles eventually, but I will never forget how it felt to think I was alone in my suffering. That I could not talk to anyone about it. So I’m telling my story, of my solitude, through the music I write. I also liked that its acronym is SOS, because people in this situation are often silently crying for help, a silent SOS. I formed it and named it to create music that can help people in that situation, and show them that they are not alone, and that I know their suffering all too well myself.
BearlySinister: You guys are gearing up to release your debut EP “The Wounded” pretty soon, what was the writing process for the EP?
Craig: It varies, sometimes I will write lyrics and create a guitar track to it and then we build the song off of that, sometimes Jordan will send me lyrics and I’ll follow the same process. We usually start with the lyrics first before working on the instrumentals in most cases, that tends to yield more successful results.
BearlySinister: What is your favorite Stories of Solitude track that you’ve written and what is the meaning behind it?
Craig: My personal favorite is Who Am I. I actually wrote that about my father. The lyrics have a very deep meaning, and are often more literal than they seem, to me at least. Who Am I is an accurate portrayal of what I went through as a child, and so it is very emotionally charged and it is very important to me.
BearlySinister: What inspired you to be a singer, as well as a guitarist?
Craig: I started off as a guitarist, ten years ago. I had already learned to play the trumpet, and honestly was just wanting to learn something “cooler”. Over the years, I dabbled in other orchestral instruments, drums, etc, and got to where I could essentially play just about any instrument I got my hands on. But I never believed I could sang. The funny story about me becoming a singer, is I basically did it out of necessity. When so many bands fell apart on me, I got tired of the constant failure and started trying to do it all alone. I would create fantastic instrumentals, and I even wrote a symphony back when I was first forming “Stories Of Solitude”. However, the songs were like a skeleton without lyrics. So finally, I forced myself to start singing by buying a recording mic and making vocal covers. Eventually, I finally started figuring out how to get confidence in my voice, and I started expanding my range. That was merely a year ago, so I hope to continue improving my voice. J
BearlySinister: Bands have taken to social media as a means of getting fans involved in their activities. What is the most efficient way that you guys, as a band, and as individuals interact with your fans?
Craig: Social media is crucial nowadays, since almost everyone has a facebook. So we utilize that, and try to be as interactive as possible with our fans through our band page, and through youtube conversations.
BearlySinister: I don’t have an incredible amount of background on you guys so have you done any touring? If so, what was the experience like?
Craig: We have not, yet toured as SOS. Hopefully that will be coming quite soon though.
BearlySinister: An extension of the last question and a question I like to ask everyone: While on tour and even during recording, a lot of bands like to play pranks on one another. Do you guys engage in this activity? If so, what is the best prank you have pulled off? What is the worst prank that has been played on you?
Craig: I’m sure many pranks will be pulled, I know Jordan would “like to draw a penis on my face” in my sleep, but we’ll see what happens in that regard. 😉
BearlySinister: One of my favorite tracks you guys have put out is called “Betrayal”. The meaning behind this song is very deep and dark. Without using names, as I know you guys have gotten everything worked out, can you tell our fans a little bit about the background to this track?
Craig: Betrayal is for anyone who puts their faith, their trust in someone else, and gives everything to that person or people and is thrown aside like dirt. Everybody inevitably has that someone they think will never let them down, who stabs them in the back. This song is for those people, to give voice to their agony.
BearlySinister: The track list for “The Wounded” has yet to be released, but what is your favorite track on the upcoming EP?
Craig: That would be Who Am I. 🙂
BearlySinister: A lot of bands have also used gaming to reach out and interact with their fans. Are you guys gamers? If so, what games do you actively play with fans?
Craig: We have not, well I speak for myself, I have not played any games with fans yet. That is a great idea though. I play black ops 2 and MW3 on the ps3 and would be more than happy to “kill some campers” with fans!
BearlySinister: We all need a little pick me up sometimes, what are some words, phrases or means of motivation that keep you going?
Craig: Well, I’d have to say.. I know it’s cliché, but “you’re not alone”. No matter what unique problem one faces, no matter how dark and terrible it is, there are always others who are experiencing the same thing, or have experienced it. No one is alone in their battles, no matter how much it may feel that way to them at the time. I’d love to be someone people could reach out to in their pain, that is why I love music so much. I want to put people’s hearts at ease, and help as many as possible overcome whatever battle they may be facing.
BearlySinister: Do you guys have any rituals you like to perform before you record or play?
Craig: Not really, I usually drink some sort of soft drink before I record, which people say is bad for vocals, but I do it anyway. J
BearlySinister: Alright man, I guess that about wraps it up! Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers before you go?
Craig: I guess I’ll say, vote for us for Warped Tour on Battle Of The Bands, and if we win, I hope to see every one of our fans’ faces in that crowd!
Go check out Stories of Solitude on Facebook and add the members. They are all very cool and are great people to talk to! Look out for “The Wounded” coming out on Project: Records/Razortooth Records later this year!
