The Barbarians of California on Returning to Roots and Anime Family Time
If the faces of The Barbarians of California look familiar, that is because they are. With several members of both AWOLNATION and Under the Influence of Giants in its lineup, the band is a return to where it all began musically. With the release of their newest album, MEGATONS, t…
If the faces of The Barbarians of California look familiar, that is because they are. With several members of both AWOLNATION and Under the Influence of Giants in its lineup, the band is a return to where it all began musically. With the release of their newest album, MEGATONS, the band is showing the rest of the world that it’s time for them to have some fun.To accompany the release of MEGATONS, I spoke with producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Eric Stenman about the album creation process and sharing his love of anime with his kids.
Tell me a bit about the new album, MEGATONS!
Eric Stenman: Yes... MEGATONS... album number two releasing on August 21. There were definitely no guarantees when Aaron [Bruno, from AWOLNATION and Under the Influence of Giants] and I started making the first couple songs together. The fact that we are now about to release a second album still blows me away.In the very beginning... the first songs that Aaron and I created... they existed completely within our own bubble with no one else in the world knowing anything about them or that they even existed. One song led to another, and then another, and we built it up to the first album. Then, we decided to play a show. We never knew if it would even get that far... or certainly if it would go beyond. To have completed a second album is awesome.
How has the transition been from the more alternative rock sound of AWOLNATION to the more hardcore sound of The Barbarians of California? Did anything about your creative approach change?
Stenman: I first met Aaron in 1998 when he was still a teenager playing in a hardcore band. In so many ways, Barbarians is a full circle moment. We spent the last decade and a half in the alternative world with AWOLNATION. However, even within AWOL, there was never one genre that the project stayed within. There are plenty of metal and hardcore influences that always reared their head. We never stopped listening to heavy music.It’s really been fun to watch Aaron exist in the two different worlds side-by-side. AWOLNATION created their last record (The Phantom Five) at the same time as we were making the first Barbarians record (And Now I'm Just Gnashing My Teeth). We would spend a day or two on one project and then switch gears right into the other. Aaron has said that doing the two albums side-by-side really releases his creative freedom to go further with each one. I can see it in the studio as we work together.
**Did it feel like going Super Saiyan? **
Stenman: Hah. I keep waiting for someone’s hair to change color! From the offset, the creative process for Barbarians has just felt really natural. As I mentioned, Aaron and I both cut our teeth going to punk hardcore and metal shows. These sounds have lived within us our whole lives, and why not take a stab at giving back to that world now??
**You also have an incredible track record of production work in heavy music! How does your role differ creatively on that front as opposed to being directly in a band? **
Stenman: It all comes from a passion for songs and the way they are captured/recorded/produced. I set out to learn the process of recording music because the first bands I played in all sounded like garbage. One thing led to another, and I ended up leaving the performer side of things to work in recording studios for more than 20 years. I never thought I would go back. People always assume that I'm a video game guy. I always say Pro Tools is my video game.
Do you have an anime character comparison for yourself when you’re in the studio?
Stenman: Wow. Great question! I spend way too much time in front of a computer screen, so maybe I could hope to be as cool as Laughing Man from Ghost In The Shell.
**Anime is something that you’ve been enjoying with your kids! Can you tell me about that shared journey? **
Stenman: I have two kids… a 12-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter. I swear they were both born with a fascination with all things Japanese. Anime has played a big part in that. With my son, the genesis of it all may have started with watching Godzilla and Ultraman content at a pretty young age. Watching him dive into Kaiju culture was so awesome. Earlier this year, when they had spring break from school, our family went to Tokyo and Kyoto. Hitting manga shops with them was so cool! We went all over Tokyo to find the best Gachapon spots. Hopefully getting to tour Japan with The Barbarians of California, one day, is a huge item on my bucket list.
**How do you determine which shows you watch with your kids? I imagine it’s different from watching something by yourself. **
Stenman: Yeah, there are definitely some decisions to be made regarding content. I know that my parents were pretty free about what I watched at a young age, and I think I turned out fine. Hah. They're both mature for their ages, but yeah... I pay attention.
**Any shared favorites? Anything you’ve learned together about your shared taste? **
Stenman: My son's all-time favorite is probably JUJUTSU KAISEN. He also loves sports themed stuff like BLUE LOCK and ***Haikyu!!***I'm always going to lean toward the cyberpunk/dystopian worlds of Ghost In The Shell... PSYCHO-PASS, etc.
Why do you think anime fans are drawn to heavy music and vice versa?
Stenman: For me personally, the world of anime probably came into my life because of the cyberpunk vibes of Akira. I loved reading William Gibson books like ***Neuromancer ***and Count Zero as a teenager, and in so many ways, ***Akira ***brought those visuals to life in a more complete way than any movies had at the time. I went through a pretty big industrial music phase in my late teens, listening to Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, etc... and anime seemed to capture that style of music.
**As you’ve been watching more anime, has there been anything from the musical aspect of it, from openings to endings to OSTs, that has been creatively inspiring for you? **
Stenman: This isn’t an exact answer to that question, but it brings up a moment that I experienced during my recent trip to Tokyo. I was a huge Tower Records fan when I was younger and the very last remaining Tower store exists in Tokyo… and it’s the biggest record store I’ve ever been inside of. Within the store, there is a huge anime OST section. Being in that store, going to all of the different floors and seeing how much physical music was still represented... it really warmed my heart.Personally, I think there's room for anime soundtracks to go harder. Hit us up... the Barbarians would love to jump into the OST world.
**What are you going to watch with your family next? **
Stenman: We’ve actually never watched My Hero Academia. He's been talking about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run as well.
If you could have any anime character join the band, who would it be and what would they do?
Stenman: Jotaro Kujo could be nice… he'd be great under pressure.
Is there anything you’d like to plug or say to the Crunchyroll audience out there who may not be familiar with your music?
Stenman: Check out The Barbarians of California if you want to hear a fun, aggressive thrillride!
*Check out the new album ****Megatons **here.**Stay up to date with the latest from The Barbarians of California here. *