Count Your Blessings: Antonio Rucci Interview
Blending metal and pop influences Count Your Blessings found a niche following within their hometown of Maryland after forming in 2005. The band released their first E.P. titled Our Fear Is Our Glory in 2006 and then set out on a rigorous tour schedule. In 2008 Standby Records put out their first full length album titled Yeeaahh Right prompting Count Your Blessings to break out of their town and follow the Vans Warped Tour. Combing the lines before the show helped them gain quick popularity among fans of bands like Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and Green Day.
In 2009 Count Your Blessings went on to release Like Gum in Your Hair. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that the band won a battle of the bands and played Warped Tour that year. Less than a year later the band released a stocking stuffer album just in time for Christmas titled The Top of the Naughty List, but sadly their momentum stopped after internal disputes and Count Your Blessings played a farewell show in February of 2011.
Antonio Rucci, Michael Miller and Kenny Smith then left and formed a new band called Us & Them based in Washington D.C. with a much heavier and more aggressive sound. They played the 2013 Warped Tour to support their debut album Adventures in the Dark but the boys in Count Your Blessings couldn’t stay away from Pop Punk for too long. They played a hometown reunion show in December of 2013 but both Count Your Blessings and Us & Them seemed to drop off the map shortly after. By the Barricade reached out guitarist Antonio Rucci to find out exactly what happened to his projects and what he has planned for 2014.
By the Barricade: Antonio; you have played guitar in Count Your Blessings and Us & Them. What influenced you to start making music?
Antonio Rucci: My dad owned a nightclub when I was young in Ocean City, Maryland and would have national acts every week. I was surrounded by a lot of great music in the early 90’s. He would have one of the doormen sit with me in this back room that would overlook the stage. I got to see bands like the Ramones, Pat Benatar, Chicago, Hootie and 4 Non Blondes before they got big So that set me on my path. Early records from Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley shaped my musical tastes.
By the Barricade: Was guitar the first instrument you experimented with?
Antonio Rucci: I have had a guitar since I was three and smashed it by four. I started actually playing and taking lessons when I was seven. It was my first love
By the Barricade: How did you get in contact with Count Your Blessings in 2006?
Antonio Rucci: I was working at a local music store teaching guitar and going to college. I was on the path to get into recording and had a few small metal projects, but nothing serious. My friend Kenny who played drums with them called me up saying they need a new guitar player. I was hesitant at first because I was such a metal kid and wasn’t really into pop punk, But I heard some songs and thought that there was some talent behind it. I learned the songs and played a show two days after he called me. I felt the energy and it was on from there!
By the Barricade: After you released Yeeaahh Right you followed The Vans Warped Tour. How did your travels influence the band’s 2009 release Like Gum In Your Hair?
Antonio Rucci: After we released Yeeaahh Right we went on Warped the next day. It was a seven song E.P. that we recorded with Paul Leavitt. The main goal was to spread our music as much as possible. We were a young band that had something to prove basically. The first year out really set things in motion. We had a small but good buzz going on the east coast. We defiantly were a “Myspace band” and took full advantage of it. We hooked up with Standby Records which was a sub section of Sony Red at the time. We signed with them! Since Yeeaahh Right was only out for a few months they wanted to release it nationally. We went back in the studio with Paul recorded three more songs and that was Like Gum In Your Hair. The three new songs (“Take It Easy”, “Where I want to Be”, and “Sucker for Sweet Girls”) were the direction we were headed
By the Barricade: The next release form Count Your Blessings was a Christmas album. What was the inspiration to start writing material for The Top of the Naughty List?
Antonio Rucci: We went through some personal changes and our guitar player Mike Miller stepped up to lead vocals. We just recorded a new song “When The Sun Comes Up” with Taylor Larson and we had about three months off before we were going to record the new Count Your Blessings album with him. So since we had time off and a new line up we thought it would be a lot of fun to record some Christmas jams. It was such a fun E.P. to make! “Two Front Teeth” is the gnarliest Christmas song ever!
By the Barricade: On February 4th 2011 Count Your Blessings played a farewell show. What do you feel were the band’s major accomplishments?
Antonio Rucci: Count Your Blessings gave me a step into the music business, and opportunities that not everyone gets to have. Seeing your album in a Best Buy in some small town in Illinois is a pretty cool feeling. We got to be in popular music publications, having our songs played during NFL games, played some great shows, and got to party all throughout the country. I think the best accomplishment though is running into an old fan, having them tell me that they still listen to my music all the time, and how much they love a certain jam. That’s just the best feeling.
By the Barricade: You, Michel Miller, and Kenny Smith, then formed Us & Them in Washington DC. What did you want to accomplish through this other project?
Antonio Rucci: Well after we recorded the Christmas album we were getting things prepared for the next Count Your Blessings full length. Now I don’t like to trash talk and I’m going to try to word this correctly but the truth is that Standby Records was not being very helpful toward us. From not fully paying for our music video, which was a whopping $1,000 which messed up our CD shipments and so forth. It was very hard to get business done as they were so wrapped up into Black Veil Brides at the time. We went ahead to record with Taylor as I was assured by the owner of Standby that payment would be sent to the producer. The producer was not paid on time and basically we had it at that point. We were locked into a contract we couldn’t financially afford to fight our way out of so as much as I loved and poured my soul into Count Your Blessings we were done with it.
By the Barricade: Adventures into the Dark has a much darker tone and heavier instrumentals compared to Count Your Blessings. Was this planned from the beginning, or did it take shape through the recording process?
Antonio Rucci: Mike & I decided to pay for the record ourselves and we were going to release it under a new name. It was really refreshing that we had no limits and boundaries. We wanted to make a kick ass Rock album, and didn’t want to follow any current trends at the time. No double bass, crazy long breakdowns, or screaming. Mike is the best songwriter I’ve ever played with and we basically scraped most of the Count Your Blessings album to put together what was Adventures into the Dark. We had one of the best drummers in the world Travis Orbin play on the album and with the addition of Josh Green on guitar we really recorded the album we always wanted to. With the backgrounds we had, heavy rock music is where our hearts belonged. That for me is defiantly the best record I’ll ever be a part of, but ya’ never know!
By the Barricade: Count Your Blessings played a hometown reunion show December 20th 2013. What was it like seeing these familiar faces?
Antonio Rucci: It was a drunken good time!! Nice to play those jams with Kenny, Judson, Vinnie and Miller again. They’re my musical bros. I’ll always have that connection with them.
By the Barricade: Are there any new projects you want to dabble in?
Antonio Rucci: I want to do another album eventually, just trying to find the time is the tricky part… I’ve been really into reggae the past few years and I would love to do something along those lines. Mike Miller & I started a little party band S’WILD that we’re having fun with. You can check it out at Facebook.com/getswild and you can follow us on twitter @getswild.
By the Barricade: Anything else you would like to say to the readers of By the Barricade?
Antonio Rucci: Thanks for taking interest in what I’m up too! Hope to see you at a S’WILD show.
Keep it on Bythebarricade.com for more metal, rock and punk interviews, reviews, articles, and photos! Also, “Like” By the Barricade on Facebook to never miss a post. If you liked this article check out:
Interview with Adrian Estrella of Assuming We Survive
