Music Q&A with AJ Chiarella of Shakeout
Photo courtesy of Shakeout
New York punk artist, Shakeout dropped their latest single, “Build Your Building” at the beginning of April. “Build Your Building” is the second single Shakeout has released this year with more music on the way. In this Q&A, Shakeout’s AJ Chiarella chatted about the new music, My Chemical Romance, how he keeps it posi, and more!
Your latest single is “Build Your Building” and prior to that, you released “See Ya Never”. You’re set to release some more singles this year. Some people might ask, “Why not release an album or EP?” What made you decide to go down the route of just releasing singles for the time being?
The songs I've released so far this year were actually all recorded at the same time as if they were an EP, but I've found it's just a little easier for me to promote one song at a time. As a smaller independent musician, it can be tough to promote bigger releases. This allows me to give attention to each song and get people to hear what I've worked really hard on. I am working towards a bigger release this year though, just putting out some songs while I work towards it.
Out of the music you’ve been putting out this year or have yet to release, what is your favorite song? And if it’s not out yet, is there anything you can let fans know about it?
I really love "See Ya Never" which was the first song I released this year. The first thing I wrote for that song was the opening riff and right after I wrote it, I was like...damn I have to write a really cool song around this because this riff is too rad. Stoked on how it came out though.
What is your favorite music video of all time?
Oooo that's a tough one. One that comes to mind instantly is PUP's video for "Old Wounds" where they did the 'choose your own ending' and it had all the different options of which video you clicked to next on YouTube. That was one of the most creative things I've seen as far as music videos go. So sick.
What is one artist or band that you haven’t seen in concert, that you hope to see someday?
I have wanted to see My Chemical Romance for a long time now and fortunately I won two tickets on a radio station call-in giveaway a few weeks ago, so it looks like I'm gonna actually get to see them this Fall, which I am STOKED on.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
I just always try to stay grateful. Even when things don't seem to be going my way, I still always try to remember that I have a lot to be grateful for. It makes the little things that can make a bad day seem like not that big of a deal. I go to the mindset of "it could always be worse." As long as the people around me that I care about most are healthy and safe, I'm good and will get through whatever it is that may be making that day so terrible.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
Thanks for having me! Final message would be to take life a day at a time and enjoy the journey. Take baby steps on building yourself up and never spend any time tearing anyone else down. That's never worth it. Focus on YOU!