By: Abbe Davis      Dec.2020

 

From something that has passion and sincerity, comes the band From Nothing out of Harford County, MD.

The band formed in 2014, featuring John Amoriello on lead vocal and guitar, Stephen Coady on drums, Rob Landon on bass, and Mike Slaski on lead guitar. Their first hit EP was in 2016 called FN,and it had radio airplay in the US, the UK and Australia; including radio shows off of its success. From Nothing has been a support act to bands Ded, Puddle of Mudd, Hed PE, Motograter, Mushroom Head,10 years, Butcher Babies, Dope, Trapt, and Flaw. John has been featured on the TV series, "Thespian" on amazon prime, and in 2018 the band was voted Best Heavy Metal at the Maryland Music Awards. They are currently recording new songs for the 2021 year. I got to speak with lead singer John Amoriello about his enthusiasm and integrity in Music. 

 

 

AD: Tell me about your band, the members, who are you?

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JA: I do a lot of the songwriting, guitar and singing, mike is our other guitar player, Stephen Cody is the drummer and Rob Landen is bass.

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AD: How did you guys meet up?

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JA: I met Steve years ago, we were in a band called Swirl, in the late 90's, early 2000's we played in a band together. It was a Grunge band. What else? We were doing our thing. You know how it is, life happens, ya get married, have kids.

I forget how we got back into playing. Somebody found my song on the internet and wanted to use it for something. Like a promo, and I was like, "I don't care, LOL"

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AD: LOL That's great.

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JA: She's like, "How about if I pay you royalties?" I told her, "I'm seriously not worried about it." She's like, "Where are you guys playing?" I said, "We haven't played out in a while, why don't you call my drummer, he wants to start playing again." And she literally did! LOL. She texted him or facebook. She was like, "What's this all about?" I said, "I guess we gotta start playing again."

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AD: Wow.

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JA: Obviously we are working at it.

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AD: I love the song, "Bleed." I love the guitar riffs and how your voice sounds. You guys rock, and I can remember your songs. That doesn't always happen these days, with so much production going on, etc. 

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JA: Well, thanks! Now we need to get it out to the masses more.

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AD: You will! It sounds so great. I'm excited about you guys.

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JA: I think people might wanna go to some major shows, and it will thrive. We have been having 50% capacity for years, so we're good. LOL. As for "Bleed," I am constantly writing and recording, it just comes to me. I get out of bed and I have to record it.

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AD: So what is this song about? Tell me is it about a love relationship, where you aren't gonna let them bleed?

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JA: No, we found out my mom had cancer, she woke up one day and had to go to the hospital, they had to do a full hysterectomy three years ago. Everything is fine now.

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AD: Well, brother, I'm glad she is OK! I lost my dad to cancer, I feel for you. It is scary, but I'm glad she is OK. Tell your mom I'm sending her love, I'm very glad she is OK now.

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JA: Aw, sorry to hear that about your dad.  My parents are so supportive, both in their 70's now. I was saying in the song, "I don't want you to bleed, I'm gonna bleed for you." (voice shakey) I get emotional about it, still.

 

AD: How did knowing you wanted to do music begin for you?

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JA: It's funny, I was just thinking about that recently. Growing up, music was everything to me, I listened to everything, Michael Jackson, Def Leppard, Kiss at an early age. Ace wasn't even in the band anymore, and I just loved it all. 

I am a lefty, too, so ya know, I can't walk into a music store and take my pick. I gotta do research, figure it out.

 

AD: Well, as a guitarist, you always want more anyway, LOL.

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JA: It's so true, LOL. I had to sell some guitars to get the one I really wanted. I had an ESP Bill Kelliher model, the only one I sold, that I regret. It allowed me to get my Gibson Standard, but man. It's funny cause the guy I sold it to was like, "When you make it big I'm gonna have you sign it," I was like, "Man you should have me sign it before I make it big."
 

AD: Exactly, THAT is the stuff that sells later, or that people collect later. That retro before is the way to go!

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JA: Exactly! It's funny you say that, I watch auctions, and finally last night a guy whips out a guitar and was like, "I got this before they were big." He said, "For $80 and I was the only guy who got it." 

 

AD: Ha, he was smart. We have the HONDA 70's add KISS poster, and some retro stuff we hang onto. So you began guitar at what age?

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JA: I began acoustic guitar til I was 9. I got serious when I was 13. I kept trying to switch to right hand, but it wouldn't happen, I was like, "I can't do this, it ain't happening." 

 

AD: It's nice that people are more accepting of left-handed people these days. How has your sound changed over the few years, has it?

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JA: I don't think it has. I love Zeppelin, Jane's Addiction, KISS. Mike wants to get heavier at times, but I'm like, "Let's do this, like "Bleed." ya know, it still is melodic. When I write, I like to take people on a rollercoaster ride. You go up, ya go down."

 

AD: Is that how you do your set, how does it work?

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JA: Well, the past few shows we have opened up with "Mother's Love and Ignorance." So we begin with soft and then we hit 'em with harder stuff. We have so much that you haven't heard. We are trying to get into the studio, but it's called money.

 

AD: What about a home studio?

JA: Nah, neither of us are that good. I don't wanna do that, I'd rather show up and record. Our guy, Tony Corelli, he is amazing with our production. He records everyone, he makes our songs sound good. He's the reason.

 

AD: How do you write?

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JA: I have a concert in my head. I show up with an entire song, it's done. Lyrics always come last with me. It's gotta be the song, too. Sometimes the tune will influence the lyrics for me. It's like, "Let's learn the idea, then they will start changing stuff." Rob is wired differently than I am. He will be all, "That part should go here, not there, " So we change it, he's right.

 

AD: What about your song,"World Novocaine?"

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JA: Tell me what you think it is about?

 

AD: LOL. I think you aren't being evasive. All you are saying is, the world is in pain, how do we fix it?

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JA: Well, the "Worldwide Novocaine" is the media. I mean, we celebrate when something is good, we get so caught up in it.

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AD: You should have called it Worldwide Cocaine, cause people are so addicted to getting their fix from the media. 

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JA: LOL!  It's funny cause that's the one song where I had the Bridge before the Chorus, and I felt I had a hook. Mike was doing this jam thing, the intro, I wrote that but Mike on guitar, he made the lyric/verse part. We wrote the tune in ten minutes. All the good songs are like that. We actually won an award, "Best Hard Rock Metal Band" in Maryland. We know it wasn't fixed, cause we had no idea we were nominated, or that we would even win! LOL.

 

AD: LOL. So if there was a shot to numb the world, what condition would you wanna heal? 

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JA: I could say Music can heal the world, but I think it is just people tuning hatred out. I have stopped watching news, and I'm posting photos of food and music on my page.

 

AD: Hey, two things people can agree on! Ha.

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JA: Yeah, cause whatever is going on in this world, it's nothing we can change without everyone being on the same page, without being political. I'm not a political type. I got sucked into it, and ya know, you'll never hear a song about politics from me, ever. Only "Mothers Love & Ignorance." There were riots in Baltimore over a guy who was killed by a police officer. He was a criminal, yet how it happened....There was one mom in the news, dragging her son by his hair out of the streets. Like, "Get your ass home" kind of deal. And our song was born from it. I'm saying, all I see is a mother's love. I mean, people burning stuff down, and cops killing people, yet there is this one mom who cares enough about her kid, in this riot, to grab her kid and drag his ass home."

 

AD: That's called love.

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JA: Yeah, all I see is a mother's love.

 

AD: I don't speak to many bands that get on TV shows, tell me about how you were on "Thesbian." How was that for you?
 

JA: Well Marc Unger is a top comic, he owns a comedy club here,  Magooby's Joke House. They get big comics, like Dice, you name it, he gets them. He was self-producing a TV show about a 50 year old comic trying to be an actor. He is even funnier trying to be serious. So, he asked all local bands, "I want to keep this completely local, so send me your music and I'll use it." He really liked our music and I would reach out to him many times, because I've been to his club and have seen many shows. So I told him I was playing at the Metro and to come hear my band. So he said, "I've got a great idea!" He plays a character named Adam, but he had this character named Frank, an auto repair guy, so he says "I've got a scene where I need to get into character, so I wanna shoot you live, promote the band, but also shoot you live while we are doing this." Three days before the show, he says, "How about I give you a line?"

 

AD: LOL! Hilarious! 

 

JA: Yeah, so, I was at the bar, it's supposed to be after we play, and he comes over to me and says, "Hey dude, your show was awesome." Then I say, "OMG, you're Adam Kelner, I've seen you at Magooby's a thousand times!" and then he says, "No man, I'm Frank, the auto mechanic." And then I say, "Well, I must be high." So we did the scene and then he tells me, "Dude, you're a natural!" So I told him, "Put me on your show again." I was begging them for some future show they were gonna film that had a Senior Producer who goes nuts. I said, "Dude, let me have that role. I don't care, I'll do it." 

 

 

AD: Well, you perform in music, so of course you're gonna love that.

 

JA Yeah, true.

 

AD: So, you guys did shows with Puddle of Mudd, Mushroom Head, etc.

 

JA: Puddle of Mudd was cool, sold out, packed. The way it works, it is basically Wes and he gets some guys per show and area, they fly in and use backline, and they used our equipment. I was like, "That's cool!" It was so wild. They played for two hours and it was great. I met him for just 20 seconds, shook his hand. Now the guy from Hed PE, we have done tons of shows with them, they are cool. Greg was cool, he'd help us with our gear, he's not with them now.

 

AD: I love that, support, etc.

 

JA: We did a show with Ded one time, they are blowing up now. Cool guys. The drummer let us use their riser, was so cool. 

 

AD: That's great. I love your tune, "HIM." The production, some wa wa, cool song. 

 

JA: Thanks. It was from the band SWIRL, it's an old tune. Mike does more soloing on it. I have a version where there is no solo on the end. I'm not sure if the ending is what I like.

 

AD Do you decide how you want your show to go?

 

JA: I come up with the set list, yet Mike will veto stuff and that's cool, I listen and am like, "Oh, yeah, you're right, let's change it." 

 

AD: So what is coming up for you guys?

 

JA: We had a livestream show that had to be cancelled? I am doing a one-man show, it's called, "Old Man Jones," 'cause I'm in my 40's, so I play a sort of Zeppelin meets Nazareth thing,  I just do some tunes. Three songs recorded from a friend who has a studio, so I do tracks there in Harford County, Maryland. He does the bass tracks and he builds the drum tracks. He is amazing. In two days we have a tune. From Nothing has Jeff who will record us soon. Mike has some scratch tracks done. Steve will put his tracks down soon. I told them how we need to focus on singles, so we are working on it. 

 

AD: How about for the next two months?

 

JA: I have three new tunes. We do a cover of "Shine" by Collective Soul. It is dirtier and grittier, ha.

 

AD: Cool! We can't wait to hear the new songs. Thanks for talking with me, John. Send us new tunes, keep us in the loop, we love your sound.

 

JA: Thanks for this and to our fans, friends, family, and production, we appreciate it.

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INFO:

fromnothingband.com

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Abbe Davis, Editor of TRR