With Ryan Stringer as the Lead Vocals, Bass, Gino Klein: Guitar, Backup Vocals and Randy Camponi on the Drums, Backup Vocals, this trio are a different entity when they are together. When they join forces they are no more than 3 different individuals, they become solo under the moniker Signal Static.
Signal Static combines hard rock, punk, and alternative with elements of metal, grunge, and electronic music to create an intensely fresh and emotionally compelling sound.
‘Objects of Affection‘, is the title of the latest song from Signal Static talks against relationship abuse. Signal Static’s music emphasizes honesty, openess, and humanity in the face of uncertain circumstances.
Drawing inspiration from artists such as Chevelle, Tool, Muse, Queens of the Stoneage, and Pendulum, Signal Static in a recent interview with Mister Styx of Musicarenagh, dropped some exclusives about their personal lives and what influences their type of music.
The song Objects Of Affection comes with a 3-minute 6secs video.
Get the full story below while you enjoy Objects Of Affection
Listen to Objects Of Affection below
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What is your stage name?
Apart from the name of band (Signal Static), we don’t currently use any specific stage names. The members of the band currently are:
- Ryan Stringer: Lead Vocals, Bass
- Gino Klein: Guitar, Backup Vocals
- Randy Camponi: Drums, Backup Vocals
Is there a story behind your band name?
Ryan: I don’t know if there is a story, exactly, but naming a band can be a tricky thing to get right, so there definitely were a lot of different ideas thrown around at the time.
We ended up going with ‘Signal Static’ because it evokes a sense of deciphering truth within all the noise that surrounds our lives. The “signal” within the “static”, if you will.
Or maybe we just used a couple of words that sound cool together; who can say?
Where do you find inspiration?
- Ryan: I tend to avoid writing strictly about myself, as I’m not necessarily all that interesting. I do find that I take a lot of inspiration in hearing about the experiences of other people, and specifically how current events, political structures, systems of power, and my own behaviour affect the people around me.
- Gino: I get a feeling from some riff I’m playing around with that leads me to get the ideas for a song. My songs are often personal stories or thoughts I’m having.
- Randy: It’s largely non-musical events in my life that manifest themselves in the music I make and play. I think at times when I’ve faced the greatest challenges I’ve played the best music. Our band is an extension of that.
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
- Ryan: I think music was always around in some way, although it didn’t become a central theme in my life until I was in high school. I do have a vivid memory of the very first music video I ever saw as a kid; it was ‘Wild Boys’ by Duran Duran, which was my mom’s favourite band at the time.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s a pretty wild video, and the image of the band dancing around with a bunch of Mad Max extras, and especially Simon LeBon tied to a windmill and getting spun around dipping his head into the water has stuck me with me ever since. - Gino: Music has been important to me since I was pretty young. I listened to music and read fantasy novels while I was living in a single trailer keeping myself occupied.
- Randy: I’ve moved around a lot in my life and wherever I’ve gone I’ve found like minded musicians to bond with and play together with. It’s been instrumental (seriously no pun intended) in how I’ve joined new communities throughout my childhood and life as an adult.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
- Ryan:I was the first real musician in my family, but I certainly come from a family of performers. My mom is a ventriloquist who has done a lot of work in TV and film production and also builds puppets, and my sister was in several films and TV shows as a young actor, most notably as the little girl who gets killed and then returns as an eyeless ghost in “Freddy Vs. Jason”.
- Randy: My uncles had a drum kit and allowed me to play it. I also have an accomplished trumpeter somewhere in the mix. But don’t we all?
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
- Ryan: For some reason when I was in highschool my best friends and I all got super into U2 at some point. They weren’t cool anymore by then, but we still loved them. One day one of those friends decided that we should start a band together despite the fact that only one of us knew how to play an instrument, and that instrument was the piano.I had the choice of learning bass or drums, and because Adam Clayton makes bass look super easy, I went for that. It turns out I really enjoyed playing bass, and I’ve been the world’s okayest bass player ever since. Now perhaps I will be the world’s okayest lead singer!
- Gino: my brother was the biggest influence on me. He plays guitar in multiple bands and got me started playing with him in my first band.
- Randy: All the rockstars during the Lollapalooza years in the early 90s. Videos on MTV/Much Music. It was a collective effort.
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
- Ryan:I pretty much taught myself how to play bass by doing it, but I don’t know if I was the best teacher. I’ve learned a few tricks over the 28 years I’ve been playing, but I’ve always focused on playing what the song needs, kind of uncomplicated but impactful.Singing came later, like much later. I’ve been writing lyrics and vocal melodies, etc, in Signal Static since the beginning, but after our previous vocalist left the band during the pandemic I started to unofficially sort of slide into the role and was pleasantly surprised to find out I was pretty okay at it. I’m still learning a lot, but I’m really enjoying the frontman role.
- Randy: Trial and error. Lots and lots of error. Exposure to other musicians is essential.
- Gino: I was also self taught, yeah.
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
- Ryan: Probably Raffi. I don’t know how relevant that is to my musical trajectory, however. The first concert that I went to that really meant something to me artistically was U2 during their Pop Tour. The spectacle was definitely real.
- Gino: The first concert that I remember was Kitaro. It was pretty amazing
- Randy: 1987 Def Leppard Hysteria Tour, Copps Coliseum, Hamilton Ontario, Canada. Still the best show I have ever seen. I was 11 then. You do the math.
How could you describe your music?
Ryan: This question is always tough; we debate endlessly about how exactly to describe our own music in a way that other people will hopefully understand. You could say we’re sort of a heavy alternative punk-rock band with an emphasis on rhythm and groove. Our music is heavy, energetic, and intensely truthful.
If you go in for comparisons we have sometimes been described as sounding like Tool and Chevelle meets Queens of the Stoneage, that is to say that we can be dark and heavy, but with a groovy and emotionally compelling, punk-y edge.
Lyrically we’re always asking what being a human is all about, and how we can collectively be better humans. We’re not afraid to call out bad actors, even if that means calling out our own flaws. We also explore our own experiences to find meaning in the events that shape us.
Describe your creative process.
Ryan: Our process is very collaborative, which is kind of the entire point of starting this band to begin with. We’re all highly creative people with our own unique musical insights and skills, and we make it a priority to build on each other’s ideas to produce the best outcome for each song.
A lot of our songs start out with an improvised guitar or bass riff, or even just a drum beat that we all build on together until we have a skeleton of a song that we then put the meat on – vocals, lyrics, and arrangement details, etc. Other times one of us will have a more fully-formed idea that the band will work together to make into the best song possible.
We record everything. Our rehearsal space (affectionately known as “The Bunker”) is kitted out for recording which has been a huge leg up for developing our songs as we can basically hit “record” and capture new ideas in a way that allows us to edit, add-on, and produce with a lot of flexibility.
What is your main inspiration?
Ryan: As a band we are pretty fixated on exploring human nature and what it means to be good humans, which also means calling out bad actors, even when those actors are ourselves. Apart from that, we also like to find answers within ourselves by finding meaning in our unique experiences and points of view.
What musician do you admire most and why?
Ryan: Honestly, I would probably have to say it’s the two people that I’ve been making music with for the past 6+ years. Gino and Randy make me a better musician and artist, and they make ideas come to life in ways that I just couldn’t do without them.
Gino: Neil Young, I love his band Crazy horse, his songs, his sound and the way he plays guitar.
Randy: Neil Peart. The guy lost everything and still found a way to continue to drum for us. Legend in music.
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
Ryan: Every new song we write is an evolution of some kind, absolutely. However, strangely enough, it was the pandemic that really forced us to shake things up and get better at making music.
We had recorded and released our first album on the heels of COVID lockdowns, and then our lead singer left the band, and we took the opportunity to re-imagine Signal Static. I initially took over the lead vocal role as a stop-gap, but I eventually made the decision to make this a permanent move, and I’m loving it so far.
We’ve come out the other side with a sound that is still dark and weighty, but also pops with fresh new energy and immediacy that defines the songs we’re gearing up to drop on the world.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
Ryan: I would say it’s ourselves, mainly. Our quest has always been focused on improving upon whatever we did the last time.
What are your interests outside of music?
- Ryan: Humanism, dogs, 80’s sci-fi movies, fantasy novels, learning about social welfare within the context of current geopolitical structures, video games. You know, the classics.
- Gino: my kids, cooking, going on vacation 😉
- Randy: Hockey. Especially watching my daughter play. It’s terribly stereotypically Canadian but it’s in our blood.
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
- Ryan:I would probably be writing science fiction novels or, I don’t know, maybe stand-up comedy? Really, I’d be playing music whether there was a “career” involved or not. Should a career materialize out of it, that’s a bonus.
- Gino: The same as what I’m doing now I guess!
- Randy: I’d be doing what I am now. I don’t see music as a career. It’s the icing on the cake of life.
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
Ryan: Marketing, definitely. Making music is fun, but there are so many different skills required just to get our music into people’s ears that it’s like trying to learn sorcery in a fictional language that constantly changes.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
Ryan: Stop creating cults of personality around harmful individuals who are better at making money than music. Let’s promote people who make good art and also behave like good humans.
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
Ryan: ‘Objects of Affection’ is aimed at predatory individuals who use their power and influence to groom and manipulate others into exploitative and abusive relationships, and the title is a pretty direct allusion to the fact that what a predator will try to frame as “affection” or “love” is really just a rationalization for abuse.
What are your plans for the coming months?
Ryan: We are going to be pretty busy, as this song is the first of several new songs that we will be releasing over the next few months, leading up to an EP or short album that we are currently in the midst of recording and producing. We’re making the best music I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to put it all out there.
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans
Ryan: We’re going to continue collaborating with each other to make the music that we love, and hopefully put on some fantastic shows with other people doing the same.
What message would you like to give to your fans?
Ryan: We appreciate, and need, every single one of you. We do what we do because it’s what we love doing, but being able to share it with people who will hopefully love it too is a real privilege.
Randy: Please continue to have patience with how the music industry and artists deal with post pandemic realities. We want so much to connect with people through live performance. It’s tough when venues have closed and costs have climbed. Keep reaching out to us and we will listen.
