Interview With Andy Bianculli of Star Parks- A Surrealist Musician

Andy Bianculli, lead singer of Star Parks, is smart, thoughtful, and talented. This is a winning  combination for someone that aims to be different and stand out in the music industry. Speaking to Andy, he is an amiable, oddly shy guy for someone that is so brilliant. It is as if he does not recognize that for a self-taught musician, he is pretty exceptional and better than many whom have learned academically.

Bianculli: Well, I kind of made it twice. When I started it, I had a band of 6 or 7 people, whom I really didn’t know, in a room trying to make a “live” sounding album. It didn’t seem to go the way I wanted, so I ended up scrapping the whole album and starting over. So I got some other people, and we got a tape machine and did it in a few, quick takes.

Bianculli: Yeah. I wanted it to sound live because I don’t know if you know about making music, but, nowadays, everything is done through computer. It has so much to offer that it kind of turns against you. You never really feel when a song is actually finished. You could have a song that is not really good, so you keep on dressing it up and putting more because you can. It kind of puts you in this cage. I have done that  and it wasn’t fun. So we decided to get a tape machine and record.

Diandra: Being you had to do this album twice and scrap it? Did you go through self-doubt to try again?

Bianculli: Yes, I had horribly crippling self-doubt! (he laughs) I was working with people who did not let me over think it. I wrote all the songs and put work into them when doing that, but once we went into the studio to record, we had to make quicker decisions and live with them. Once the album is done you may be harsh on yourself and hate it and then, after awhile, you come around to it. People have been really nice to me about it and say that it is good, so I guess I did a good job! (he laughs)

Diandra: I think you are my mental twin because I, too, cannot see my own work after it’s done.

Bianculli: Yeah, I finished the album awhile ago, so I kind of moved on from it, in terms, of thinking about it creatively. Now, I am okay with liking it and saying it’s good. It has been awhile so it feels like it came from a different person.

Bianculli: I think of what will be the first song of the album and what will be the middle one and that last one: kind of like a cinematic arc in that I’m trying to make it dramatic. I won’t say that when I’m sitting down and trying to think of really cool images that I think I’m making a movie, but it helps to see it in that way.
       I actually have synesthesia, which is kind of when your brain relates everything to each other like, numbers and colors and music are all in relation to each other. Like, for me, the key of A is the color red. It is all neurological relationships more than a creative thing, but when I am putting music together it plays a part. When I am doing a C chord, it feels really yellow to me. So for me, the songs make sense to each other in terms of their hues. It sounds crazy when I say it (he laughs).

Diandra: No, actually, I totally see that because, when I heard the album, it felt like a very visual experience, as well. Which makes me want to ask, “What colors are your album?”

Bianculli: For me the album, felt like blue and purple, but not clear. Like, I saw it in pixels. The album cover is a really great representation. For me, everything has its own language like, sounds, colors, nature, etc. I felt with this album I was trying to understand the communication between things, like, colors and sounds, to have a broader understanding of music. Once, you start figuring how things work together whether, it be in dissidence and discord or unity, it starts to makes sense how things should be placed in the song.

Bianculli: (laughing) What are you doing to me? Hmmmmm…… I can’t stop thinking of the scene in the Godfather when Michael goes to Italy and falls in love with that young woman and they are walking through the village. I feel like I would have to go to her father and say how I saw her in the village and I fell in love with her.

Bianculli: Oh, well in that case, I would be very apologetic to her (he laughs).

Diandra: No!

Bianculli: I feel like she (music) is this woman that is very nice to me when she is around and makes me do things I could not do without her. She gives me great ideas and makes me feel good. Yet, I don’t always treat her that well because I, sometimes, want to follow my own stupid ideas, but every now and then, I listen to her and I agree that she is right. She is like a muse that you can take for granted sometimes.

Bianculli: Yeah, I guess you can say that. Sometimes, when I am practicing, I think I have invented a new way to play the guitar or discovered a new chord, but then I go to my friend whom studied music academically and he will say, “Oh yeah, that’s a D sharp!” (he laughs). I am like, “Oh, ok!,” but I was a lot more excited about it before I knew what it was. When I was just playing it, trying to find the next arrangement, it felt more emotional compared to if I knew more theory it would just make sense. I still want to know more and take lessons, but not knowing all “the mathematics” of it kind of makes music more personal.

See, I told you he was thoughtful! He is also incredibly unaware of how good he is. If you hear the album, Don’t Dwell, you will see it is “one of a kind” in sound.  That may seem like a loose term, but, sometimes, it is not easy to tell the difference between artists and their music. Yet, Andy Bianculli and Star Parks cannot be confused with anyone else. They are unique in every way.