Featured Stories,  Interviews

An Interview with Sal Costa of Smashing Satellites! 09-19-2014

sal

By Alexis Simpson

We have been hearing a lot about the band “Smashing Satellites,”. and wanted to take the time to get to know frontman Sal Costa and his band better. You may recognize him as the former guitarist of “My Darkest Days.” Sal is now striking out on his own in order to share his music with the purpose of bringing people together. Sal has a new EP coming out 9/30. We are looking forward to hearing and sharing his new music, because Sal has a lot of heart and the natural talent to do great things!

Members Salvatore Costa
Devon Lougheed
Mick Valentyne
Mykey Thomas

Hometown Toronto, Canada

http://smashingsatellites.com

https://www.facebook.com/SmashingSatellites

http://www.twitter.com/salvatoremuzak

Noize- How have you changed musically since “My Darkest Days?”

Sal-To be 100% truthful – not much. I’ve been writing songs like this for years, but they were just never going to be heard in a band like My Darkest Days. MDD was through and through a rock band. It only fulfilled one facet of me creatively (the rock side), but I have SO many different influences that I draw from when I write. Ultimately, during my time with My Darkest Days, I felt almost caged creatively in a way. I’m a pretty eccentric and quirky person and I like to walk that fine line of odd, and I was never going to be able to be 100% ME in that band. This was part of the reason I left the band, among other reasons.

Noize-It’s admirable that you are finding your niche! Tell us about your new EP “SonicAluzion” coming out on 9/30.

Sal-“SonicAluzion” really captures a period of time in my life. A very crazy time with so many highs and lows – euphoria to rock bottom. During this time I had some amazing revelations that were life changing. This record is me, and I’m really proud of it. I started this record on the east coast but finished the majority of it on the west coast, and you can truly hear that as you get further into the record. Creating this record was a magical time for me. I put no barriers on my song writing and production – I just went for it.

Noize- What are your musical aspirations with this band?

Sal-Really, to just bring people together. I really want people to get into this record the way my parents generation got into music. A time when people went to concerts, and buying a record on vinyl was an event, and listening to it with your friends for the first time was an even bigger event. A lot of the songs are about some of my deepest demons, and I truly hope it will serve as a probe for others to open up about theirs. Suffering in silence is a sad existence, and I want to bring awareness to a lot of the
demons we all face every day, but are too afraid to discuss. Another human’s consolation can be the difference between life and death sometimes. We have lost that human interaction… and I long for it… and I know others do as well… we’re just so caught up in this race of technology that we’re distancing ourselves from ourselves and others.

Noize-What other arts do you enjoy and how do they influence your music?

Sal-When I was young I used to paint a LOT. I still have a ton of my old paintings and it’s pretty interesting to look back at them. Sometimes I look at them and think “What
was going through that brain back then?” However, right now, I spend a lot of time cooking. I find it very inspiring and it exercises my creativity in a different way than writing songs. Also – photography. Capturing moments can be pretty exciting. It keeps me grounded and reminds me of how important living for the moment truly is.

Noize-Nice! Do you consider yourself a fully realized artist? And if not, why not?:)  Sal-No, I don’t, and I don’t think I ever will. Part of what drives me as a human is to constantly learn and understand so that my writing can keep taking itself to the next level. If I were to feel realized, that would mean I would be satisfied. One thing I never am is satisfied. I always want to learn and be willing to learn. That is the only way to grow.

Noize-“Hounds” is a colorful and entertaining video, was it fun to make?

Sal-It truly was a fun video to make, especially because it takes place in my world. My car (Helene) also makes an appearance in it flying through space, and model/friend Arielle Reitsma plays my counterpart. It took two days too shoot as there were so many elements involved, and it took even longer to edit it.

Noize-What are your plans for the rest of the year?

Sal-We’re just in the process of one offs and slowly gearing up to take this show on the road. Really excited to release the EP as I feel that will truly be the start. It will give people a body of work to submerge themselves into instead of just one song. I can’t wait.

Noize-Thanks Sal!

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