1 - Were you musically inclined as a child, if so what instrument(s) did you play?
Isaac: My mother tried to force piano on me when I was really young. I think I blocked those memories out, though. I've always been one to sing, in the car or where ever...this became more cultivated in elementary school with Chorus.

Vince: Yes. I grew up in a musical household. My father was always playing piano in Blues / rock bands, and we always had the rehearsals at our house. When I was about 17 years old I taught myself how to play the drums with a Roger’s set that was left in the basement. I would play over top of the Nitzer Ebb “Showtime” cd. Soon after I grasped percussion I saved up all summer and bought my first keyboard which was an Ensoniq VFX SD. Later on I joined my father’s band and played drums with him in local cover classic rock venues. Then I got into fully electronic music and the rest is history.

2 - What type of music did you listen to before you were introduced to Goth / Industrial?
Isaac: I was a hardcore kid! I think some of that is obvious in how I act on stage and within my lyrics.

Vince: Classic rock and 80’s music which I truly still love today.

3 - Do you still listen to that type of music as much as you used to?
Vince: I still listen to a lot of 80’s and go to a lot of the great club nights that have theme parties such as “Sex Dwarf”, “Friday I’m in Love”, and “Madonna , Michael, Prince”

Isaac: Not nearly, but when I am looking for inspiration I pop in some old Biohazard and rock out for a bit. I still like a few punk and hardcore bands, but nothing new.

4 - What initially got you into this scene?
Isaac: I used to chill at the Alternative Room at Pulsations, then Breakers (where Knobhead was spinning at the time) and then Asylum. I was into this music from I believe age 13. I just liked it, but after I saw Front242 at Lollapalooza....I was hooked.

Vince: I really owe it all to a girl I dated a short time in High School who was one of “those” people. She made me some mix tapes trying to show me the music she was into. As an aspiring musician I got hooked on all of the creativity that went into the songs. Shortly after I started going to all the clubs that played it and we were friends for many years after.

5 - Were you involved in any music projects / bands before Cesium 137?
Vince: Yes, before Cesium I played drums in local cover bands, Punk Bands, and eventually my long time project “Tech-9” which was Industrial rock meets Nitzer Ebb with my good friends Octavio, and Lou.

Isaac: Not really, nah.

6 - What is the genesis of Cesium 137?
Isaac: Cesium came into being while I was in High School, but it wasn't shown off to anyone until I felt it was ready. It was kind of my secret life up until that point. My friend Matt helped me with it for the first few years, writing and playing shows, then Vince joined up and it was all good from there.

7 - Why did you pick the name Cesium 137?
Isaac: You know man, industrial shit always has numbers and we found it in a superman comic book, haha. I figured, names are silly...just a label... who cares...

8 - Everyone asks this question… What would you consider to be your most important musical influences?
Vince: I have a wide spectrum really. All of the older Minimal Industrial bands such as Syntec, NEP, And One. Then synth pop of course like Erasure Pet Shop Boys, and DM, Red Flag. Finally, Anthemic Trance music like Tiesto, Air Base, AVB, and Ferry Corsten.

Isaac: Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, Lassigue Bendthaus and Numb above all. I know most of those bands are "harder" than what Cesium may be classified as but its where I always go for inspiration and comfort.

9 - Who else is part of this project and how did they get involved?
Isaac: Vince Guzzardo started as a live drummer and then we just started writing together... Matt left the band to join the military on 9-11, Vince and I kept going.

Vince: We also have a pool of musicians we use from time to time for live shows or recording when the need arises. Our most recent addition is a very talented female vocalist and musician named Meg Moyer who you will be hearing on the new cd.

10 - Do you write the songs, or is it more of a collaboration?
Isaac: It’s really different with each track. Vince writes some, I write some, then we sort of get together and go over each other's role like an assistant song writer or producer. Sometimes we will hang out and start the base of a track and I will work on it alone from there or he will. We organized our studio to work very well together....I built them that way.

11 - What is the biggest difficulty about making the type of music you make?
Vince: I consider Cesium_137 to be a very specialized style of music that is really its own genre in itself. We’ve spent years now making and forging our own sound and that’s why I think we’ve survived for so long no matter what the trends are at the time. The biggest challenge is keeping things fresh and innovative while maintaining the epic style Cesium sound which our fans love.

Isaac: There's a weird stigma inside the scene and outside of it. I feel like people LOVE us or HATE us. Which is fine we aren't writing this stuff for any one in particular; it’s for us.

12 - Do you have a time that you would consider your first “Big Break”?
Isaac: I would say Opening for the Covenant /And One show with our first single ready at the merch booth. That was a big day. I think that was the day where I said to myself that this whole trip is worth the effort.

Vince: Getting signed on Metropolis Records was a great moment and not a day goes by that we don’t realize how fortunate we are to be on such a label. Today more than ever it seems there are more and more kids making different and creative music but no real outlet to support them except constantly playing local shows and self releasing material on the inertnet. So I count ourselves very lucky and always strive to do my very best when writing.

13 - What is it like to be at a club, have the DJ spin one of your tracks and see the dance floor erupt?
Isaac: I never, ever get used to it, ever. It’s always weird for me. I know Vince eats it up, man. As he should, I guess it’s a good thing that I am this way, a little more eccentric about such things. Some people misread it as arrogance but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I love the feeling, don't get me wrong, but it can be a little surreal. Last time I was out, I heard them playing a very familiar track while I was in the bathroom...it took a minute for me to fully realize that it was one of ours. Silly, I know.

Vince: It’s the most rewarding experience in the world for me Isaac is right. I know it’s why I write music. Not for anything else. I want people to listen and get excited when they hear our tracks. When you spend a month on a song it’s just great to know it was all worth it.

14 - What do you like about doing live shows?
Isaac: Connecting with people and feeding off of their energy and giving it back! I absolutely love a good crowd. We hardly play Philly, even though it’s our home town, for a few reasons we hold fast to.
1. We don’t want to over-saturate the market, we don’t want you guys tired of seeing us and
2. We don't want to be the typical, complacent "hometown heroes". When I first met Eskil from Covenant he asked me, "ah, are you the hometown heroes?" and I told him we would never allow ourselves to feel that way or act on it.

When we play Philly, it’s always a sort of "homecoming". You know? Like holy shit, people in our own town, not just our friends are here. Hell, I don't even invite my family out; I just wanna see these new faces in the crowd. I love how fickle this city is with shows, but for us they always show out in force and are just so damned hyped up! It’s a wonderful feeling.

Vince: I love meeting fans face to face and hanging out with them. At the end of the I’m a huge geek who likes to have fun.

15 - What do you not like about doing live shows?
Vince: Bad sound and poor monitors! It ruins the experience when you have to fight the elements.

Isaac: Shady business dealings are the worse part along with Promoters who don't do their jobs to promote the shows. Every time we have had a bad promoter to work with I have gotten loads of emails from people in their same town saying "did you play here? I didn't hear about it until yesterday" or some shit drives me mad.

16 - What is Subversion Sound Studio?
Isaac: It’s my studio space. I have too much gear, and music industry education to not run it as a Professional studio. Essentially, the studio is my creative womb....it’s this place where I am comfortable and can let my thoughts go anywhere they need to in order to be creative. Doing something with that creativity is always a priority and the studio is the best place for me to accomplish that.

17 - Why did you start Subversion Sound Studio?
Isaac: I started doing mastering for bands like Pig and Dismantled, and eventually started mastering compilations and albums. From there I got more work doing mixes and producing bands in my spare time. All of a sudden I had no spare time, and quit the day job to run the studio full time. It’s been very rewarding and has allowed me to work with some highly creative and talented people. I knew I was doing OK when I got to master a MeatBeatManifesto track on a Hot Topic Compilation. I was grinning ear-to-ear and didn’t even realize it until my wife pointed it out.

18 - Is Sal really as big a jerk as everyone seems to think he is?
Isaac: Yes. He's also my best friend and I would kill for him. Sal has been Cesium_137's greatest supporter and sometimes-advisor. I am totally serious. That dude keeps me sane and on track at times. So if you hate my music, blame him.

Vince: He’s ok to me since he like’s Fallout 3.

19 - Do you have any advice for someone who was interested in starting a similar musical project?
Isaac & Vince: Don't just listen to electronic music in "the scene". I don't know how many times I have said that to people but I truly mean it. Get out of this shit when you are writing music. Don't even go to clubs that spin this genre of music. Get off of the message boards as well and focus on writing, not your current influences.

Every song should be a challenge; if it’s not a challenge....you are going down a bad road. Change things up in your work place, and don't be stagnant. We work with other people; sometimes work at other studios just to assimilate the experience into the creation of our music. These things will keep the writing and production process fresh. As comfy and bad ass as my studio is, I will sometimes take a piece on to my laptop and work on part of a track at a book store. Hell, I wrote and produced some of our most popular tracks while I was moving or on tour.

Also, read. A LOT! About everything, expand your pool of influences. Get the latest magazines on electronic music and read the articles you think may have nothing to do with what you do. Everyone uses the same type of equipment, don't be arrogant, and you can learn from them.Always remain in a state of constant learning; learn from others... even people who are new to the scene or writing electronic music. And when this hobby becomes a source of income or a serious endeavor....get another hobby. I prefer to train in Muay Thai kickboxing 6 days a week and practice serious Yoga 3-4 days a week, with some Kettlebell training in there for good measure. I get outside of my creative space and pour my elsewhere. Sometimes when your hobby becomes your work you need to escape. Sadly, some people don't realize this until it’s too late and they are writing the same crap album after album.

Even if their regurgitated music still sells well, are they truly happy on a creative level?

20 - Is there anything you wanted to say?
Isaac: We are re-releasing our first album and single in late January and a new album is coming out later in 2009 with a tour. So keep your eyes and ears open for us. Thanks so much for supporting us for over a decade now. Philadelphia is not only our home, its a part of who we are.

Vince: Don’t forget to check out our 4 track Trance music side project PlasmaMan as well also available on I-tunes.

Cesium 137 links:
(Web) (MySpace) (Vampire Freaks)

PlasmaMan links:
(MySpace)

Subversion Sound Studio links:
(MySpace)