Tara Chislett
THE AQUINIAN
Spencer Burton has been spending a lot of time driving lately.
It’s been productive. Between listening to AM 640’s late night shows, eating sunflower seeds and mentally preparing for a zombie attack, the guitarist has accomplished a lot lately. Burton will be bringing his zombie apocalypse knowledge with him when his band, Attack in Black, stops by the Capital on Oct. 23.
A lot has changed for Attack in Black since 2003. Being signed to Dine Alone Records in 2006 came as a surprise for the Welland, Ontario natives. Coming from a small town, being signed opened a lot of doors.
For Burton, the latest tour has been eventful.
“My birthday was on Oct. 11,” he said. “And like, my family remembered, but most of my friends didn’t. So I went out by myself, had a few drinks, and fell asleep in the bathroom of the bar.”
“Except, you know, I totally just made that up. But wouldn’t that be cool?”
Telling stories during interviews has become a normal thing for Burton.
“It’s just sometimes, I do interviews and I’m like man that sucked I’m so boring,” he said. “So I always try to be a little more interesting, you know?”
Finding a balance between taking the business seriously and having fun is something Burton said is important.
“Getting signed didn’t change us as people at all,” he said. “But the music industry is a very different business. It’s not at all what we thought it would be. “
Instead, what Burton said he’s learned is that the glamour that many think comes with being signed to a label doesn’t exist.
“In a small town like Welland, you get signed to dine alone and people come up to you and their like that’s a great deal, I saw you on TV!” he said. “But sometimes, I’ll be like I’m broke and people will be like oh, yeah right, you must have lots of money. And I’m like are you crazy? I have less money than I did before!”
“Really, you don’t make any money playing music. You spend a lot of your own money because you’re doing more.”
And while making money is nice, Burton said it’s the wrong reason to go into music.
“Really, what it comes down to, is you need to do what you love and make sure you really love doing it,” he said. “That’s really the best advice I’ve got.”
