We were lucky to catch up with Corporate Citizen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Corporate , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful projects for us have been our recordings. Each was done in such different ways but we are proud of them all. Our first 4 song demo was recorded at Exum Studios and at Hal from Gentroside’s house. Big highlight from that one was meeting Jordan from New Found Glory at LTH after we had wrapped up recording. Our second release “A Brief Moment of Sanity” was all done at Exum Studios. Bif moment from that one was hanging out with Scott Exum while he played the Blink 182 demos for Enema of the State for us. Our 3rd release “Six Minute Meeting” was done with Steve Diaz, our guitar player, at his studio in March of 2020. Big highlight from that was not getting Covid… then. Our latest recording which is almost done and not yet named was recorded in two spots. The drums were done with Tim from Craft Sounds and the rest was done at Steve Diaz’s house. Big highlight of this latest recording was that we all collaborated on the writing process because our founding member and main songwriter, Steve O’Brien, had left the band. It was a challenge for us to come together and have to work together on each other’s songs and build the chemistry but we think people will be stoked on what we have done. Our next recording is already in the works and we hope to go back into the studio in the fall.

Corporate , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Corporate Citizen is a hardcore punk band that started in 2017. Since then we have played many shows in the San diego area. We have been able to stick together and create new music all the while overcoming the obstacles that come with having full time jobs and families. We just like having a good time while playing loud, fast, aggressive music in front of as many people as possible. We have been lucky enough to open for such bands as Ignite, The Last Gang, The Cryptics, The Freeze, Get Dead, The Queers, The Dickies and more. We hope that our local scene, that has so many talented bands and creative people, gets as much attention as possible. We love what we do and do what we love. Shout out to Exum Studios and the family of bands that rehearse and record there!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I think it is safe to say that all of the guys in the band were influenced by music videos of bands that we already liked as well as bands we discovered. In the mid 90’s seeing a video on the MTV show “120 Minutes” of a punk, hardcore, or ska band was a big deal. We didn’t have YouTube or the internet really to go and find stuff by the bands you liked. These videos of bands that were singing about topics you could relate to, dressed the same as you, and seemed to be having a great time made us want to start a band. It was almost like “if they can do it, why can’t I?” Even old tv shows like “The Monkees” and the Beatles movies were inspirational in wanting to start a band. Those shows and movies made being in a band seem like the best thing in the world.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

…so this is probably a bit on the cliche side, but pay the artist. This can obviously look slightly different for different disciplines, but the concept is essentially the same.

If you enjoy a group, musical or otherwise, pay to see them perform…even if you have the opportunity to get in for free. The simple truth is that clubs, bars and other venues want/need to make money. When a solo artist/band/group makes a venue money the venue will be much more likely to have that group back…and you get to enjoy that group again. Win/win!

Look, most creative endeavors cost the artist(s) a lot of time and money. No, really. Like, a staggeringly large amount of time and money. You just wouldn’t believe how much time and money artists throw into their (our) passion over the years. We don’t even want to think about it. So buy a t-shirt. Maybe a record or painting or sculpture or (insert your preferred art project here.). It honestly helps to keep your favorite artists afloat. Emotionally, if not financially.

One last thing, please take a chance on the unknown artists. Who knows? Your new favorite band/singer/rapper/whatever may be performing (or showcasing art in some form or another) right down the road from you tonight.

…only one way to know for sure.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @corporatecitizensd
• Facebook: facebook.com/corporatecitizen2017
• Twitter: twitter.com/CorporateCitzen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChX_cK2sZnjSw1rF8Nb1Kgg
• Other: [email protected]

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