Hey guys, congratulations on the release of your debut full-length album,
“Next Stop, Willoughby” and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions!
To start things off; one of the main characteristics of your band Serling is that thematically, everything revolves around the cult classic TV show The Twilight Zone.
Could you tell us how you both discovered it and started picking up such a strong interest in the series, and why you chose to make it the focus of your band project?
Caleb: I don’t really watch that much TV.
When I have the flu, I will pick a show and just run it all the way through.
One time it was the Twilight Zone. I was blown away by it. Last time I had the flu it was Seinfeld. Might do Westworld next. I'll skip a flu shot.
Brandon: I woke up around 2AM one day when I was 7 or 8 and saw this black and white TV show on that had a crazy twist to end an episode. I was immediately hooked.
I stayed up the rest of the night/morning watching episodes, trying to decipher what the twists would be. When my daughter was born, I couldn't keep playing in bands like I used to.
I asked Caleb if he wanted to start this band based on our shared love of this show.
We knew we could trust each other and that we were the only ones around who really loved TZ.
I never knew that night I discovered TZ would later lead to the most successful endeavor of my music career.
Moving forwards from your debut EP last year, “The James Bevis Chronicles”,
what were some of the biggest changes and differences when making your debut album,
“Next Stop, Willoughby” ?
Caleb: I wanted to incorporate a bit more ambient noise.
I also did not want to make a huge leap in the sound or writing process.
This is still a very new project and we still have some new ideas we want to work out in the future.
Brandon: I wanted to increase the overall heavy vibes we brought with our mathy parts.
We also wanted to tell the stories of more of our favorite episodes from the show.
Rather than picking our favorite from each season, like we did with our EP, we picked a variety of our favorites that we felt would leave a lasting impact on this release.
Serling is a very recent project, yet you already have an EP, a split and an album under your belt in under approximately a year, along with quite a strong following already.
What got the ball rolling for you guys and how do you manage to keep up such a great pace?
Caleb: Brandon sends me a Spongebob meme that asks “if I have those errands done yet?”.
Once they’re done, he sends lyrics and records vocal timing.
Then sends the meme again over and over until vocals are done.
Brandon: I genuinely enjoy making music with Caleb.
We've known each other for years now and have developed a sound that we both enjoy together as well as a routine that allows us to pump out music pretty quickly.
It also helps speed up the process when all our recordings can be done at Caleb's home studio.
Between your split EP with hopscotchbattlescars, Kilpréz & Clifford Hoyt and the many guest features on the new album, it seems like you’ve already established a lot of connections within the tight-knit mathcore scene.
How did these features come to be and how was it for you to work with such a wide variety of bands and musicians?
Caleb: Brandon is willing to reach out to people and ask them.
I don’t have the courage to ask Tyler Tremblay for a vocal feature.
Brandon would message Tyler in a second once we have a song ready.
It has been an absolute joy working with everyone.
All of our featured artists have been so kind and supportive.
It’s a very exciting moment to import those tracks for the first time.
Brandon: Honestly, I love collabing with other musicians that I admire.
You can't beat the feeling of having someone in a song you wrote that you look up to musically.
I have a list in my phone of MANY artists I want us to collab on tracks/albums in the near future.
I also think about how certain vocalists might portray a specific character from an episode we plan to write a song about, and reach out to them because their sound will directly relate to the character they're portraying (such as Seth from Weston Super Maim portraying Willy in our track “The Dummy”).
How does the songwriting process usually go for Serling, from setting the scene of a song to adding the final touches to production?
Caleb: Brandon will send me a drum track. I mix the drum track and grab my 8-string and hammer away until something neat happens.
Then the bass tracks. I then listen and place in some background noise if I feel it’s needed. Once all of that is mixed, Brandon will come over with lyrics.
I then record Brandon doing a spoken word vocal take so I can work with the timing he provides.
I will then record and mix vocals. Then I will send the track off to get mastered by someone else.
Brandon: Caleb pretty much nailed it. I do try to convey the overall storyline and message from each episode we're writing about, as well as the perspective of certain characters within that episode.
How do you go about selecting which episodes of the TV series you want to dedicate tracks to?
Caleb: Brandon and I have talked about the Twilight Zone years before we started this project.
We just tend to remember a certain part of an episode and then agree we should cover it.
Brandon: We're big into themes, and this show has no shortage of themes throughout multiple episodes.
I think listeners are going to start to pick up on this theme concept when we drop more material in the near future (we already have our next 3 releases essentially planned out).
If an episode has a great vibe and we dig it more than others, we make damn sure to make a track about it.
What would you tell someone who has never watched or heard of The Twilight Zone to convince them to start watching it, and where should they start?
Caleb: The Twilight Zone is a master class in storytelling.
If black and white bugs you and the “special effects” seem cheesy. Your mom’s a hoe.
Brandon: I understand why people get bored by it, but if you pay attention every single story has a meaning that's worth reading into.
I genuinely tell people to check out the very first episode "Where is Everybody?" if they want a true sense of what TZ offers.
It sets the tone for the unpredictability you find throughout the series.
Both of you guys are also involved in the band 30 Seconds GO! ; moving forward will you be focusing on one project more than the other or trying to balance things out?
Caleb: The writing structure for the 30SG album has been planned.
I haven’t recorded anything yet.
The writing process for 30SG is completely different and will start very soon.
I plan to do both at the same time. The pace will be different. Can't stop, won't stop.
Brandon: Unfortunately, I'm no longer an active member of 30SG.
Life in general has lead me to limit what my focus will be geared towards musically.
I've been friends with the guys in 30SG my whole life.
That will never change, and I will always promote their material.
Do you plan on doing more live shows with Serling?
And what are the logistics when you play live since it’s just the two of you?
Caleb: We will do some shows here and there.
My guitar signal is split between a guitar rig and a bass rig.
I run a Headrush Pedal board into a 6505+ into 2 cabs (2x15&4x12) and a modded 70’s Fender Bassman 100 into an 8x10.
Brandon: As my daughter continues to grow, I foresee Serling focusing more on recording for the time being, then shifting to more shows as time passes.
Once I'm more available and my daughter can care for herself a little more, Caleb will likely have to kick me out of his house since I'll be there way too often.
What are your biggest influences when writing and playing for Serling?
Caleb: The Chariot and Danza.
Brandon: Oceano, Danza, The Acacia Strain, Frontierer, and Car Bomb.
You’ve had your hands full over the last year and I imagine that’s not stopping any time soon, so what’s next for Serling and what can we expect?
Caleb: We do have some future releases planned. The drums are all done for one of them.
Brandon is writing drums for another one. I expect to see that Spongebob meme anytime now.
Brandon: Three more releases are ironed out. We're in talks for more.
All I can say is that although we've already had two releases in 2022, there's still more music coming from Serling before the year ends!