Interview: Jon Heisserer of Building Rome

Nightmare Puts Perspective on Singer's Outlook

Interview by Pete Dulin.

Published: Friday, January 29, 2010

Building Rome

St. Louis band Building Rome headed west and performed at the Riot Room on January 20th and have an upcoming show on February 18th at recordbar. We learn more about the band and their release Nightmare from lead singer Jon Heisserer.

Click Here to Hear - "Nightmare" by Building Rome.

Present: How has the band's sound evolved over the past 5-6 years since Building Rome formed?

Jon Heisserer: It started out a bit more on the pop side. I guess you could say that it even had its pop punk roots. Over the years, I became a little more cynical, and my songwriting has taken a darker, more alternative rock turn. I always write according to my mood, and that's given us a pretty diverse sound over the years. For the new album, Nightmare, I started using some weird ambient sounds on the demos and ended up incorporating many of them into the recording.

Present: What's the association between Nightmare and the movie Jacob's Ladder?

Heisserer: When I first saw Jacob's Ladder, I was having a lot of anxiety attacks and trouble sleeping. There were a few days where I was out of my mind. The movie described almost exactly how I felt, to the point where I was a little freaked out. I already had the album concept in mind and partially written before I saw the movie, but it pretty much put everything into perspective for me. I wrote the last song, "Bring Me Home," specifically about the ending scene in Jacob's Ladder. The concept of Heaven and Hell, and how Hell is only what you can't let go of in life, really inspired me.

Building Rome

Present: Who did the artwork for the cover of Nightmare?

Heisserer: I had a specific vision in mind for the artwork, and I spent a long time looking at other bands' album covers to pick an artist. I came across Dan Seagrave, who had done art for a bunch of metal bands, and I thought his stuff was incredible. It's incredibly dark, detailed, and sophisticated. I sent him my vision and some examples, and he painted it for me. The album art is actually a photo of a 5' x 5' painting. He was great to work with...and I never even talked to him on the phone. Definitely check out his website - http://www.danseagrave.com

Present: What about the Lady Gaga song "Poker Face" grabbed you enough to do a cover of it?

Heisserer: I was between recording sessions for the Nightmare album, and I wanted to do something a little different. I actually heard a two-year old singing "pa-pa-pa-poker face" and I thought to myself, "That sounds like a cool song." On a whim, I tried to learn it and ended up spending three days sitting in my basement, drinking coffee, and recording the cover. I actually couldn't get the rhythm down on the "pa-pa-pa-poker face" part at first. It was pretty funny to listen to.

Present: Judging from the plays on songs on MySpace, the band has garnered a sizable audience in St. Louis. What was the first song to really catch on?

Heisserer: I would say that "Miss You More" was the first song to really catch people's attention. I've had bands come up to me over the years and tell me how much that song influenced them back in 2005. I really felt it when I sang it, and I think that really came through on the recording. It's still some people's favorite song by Building Rome. While we do have a large audience in St. Louis, a sizable amount of our fans are actually from out of Missouri and even out of the U.S.

Present: Favorite venue to play in St. Louis? On the road?

Heisserer: The best venue in St. Louis is The Pageant. We played our CD release show there, and it was sweeeeet. It's the biggest non-arena venue in town, and we are super stoked to headline it again this summer. I haven't decided what my favorite venue on the road is. I've had some really great shows, and some really horrible shows. I can't say that I have a favorite out of town venue quite yet. I'm sure I will soon.

Present: What else do you want to share about the new record, the band, or other topics?

Heisserer: You can currently download Nightmare for free at www.noisetrade.com/buildingrome for a limited time.