The Venetia Fair is a unique and fun band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Their songs are dancey and definitely original. To say the least they’re not another cookie cutter band, they’ve got their own killer style that is worth taking a listen to. With their recent release of The Circus and an east coast tour lined up, these boys are sure to grab your attention. Lucky for you, Silence Is Arson was able to get an interview lined up to chat about their new album and everything in between.

State your name and position in the band.
Benny Santoro. I sing the songs.

How did you guys all start out?
The first step was Mr. Chark and I starting a band in 6th grade before we owned or could play instruments. Then, as performing music often necessitates, we learned to play some instruments. When we got to high school, we met Sam Parsons and played in a few high school bands. Around this time, Joe slept with my girlfriend and we were introduced through her. I know…. Eventually, we graduated, started The Venetia Fair, wrote and recorded The Circus, signed to Red Blue Records and when our keyboardist and drummer left, I surprised the guys in the band by suggesting Joe. Chris found us through myspace and won our hearts by spinning his sticks while he played our songs.

What is the concept behind your new album The Circus?
The first half of our album (The Prelude) are individual, personal songs and are outside the concept and story that the last 6 songs (The Circus) discuss. So, that being said, the second half tells the story of a circus that performs day after day for no audience as a way represent the absurdity of human existence, performing for nobody and no reason in a ridiculous, often dangerous setting. All of the character’s names in the story are taken from myths that relate to whatever they represent so for people looking for more details, I’d recommend googling the names.

If you were to describe each band members, what would you label each of them?
Well, I was at this party once and someone asked me who was in my band. I had to point and tell him “the brown kid trying to steal that sign (Joe), the man with the mustache that attaches to the hair on his head (Sam), the dude who is completely naked placing his penis on top of that glass table (Mr. Chark), and the guy with the huge head with sunglasses, an LA Guns custom tank and his pants pulled up past his belly button who hasn’t said anything but ‘Hell yeah!’ over and over again all night” (Chris).

Out of all the songs, what is the most significant/meaningful to you?
The concept to the Circus is pretty significant to me because it outlines a lot of my thoughts and feelings on life in general but the lyrics in Because You’re Lonely are really personal and honest so that might mean the most to me as an individual song.

What is the message you’re trying to convey to your fans?
We’re not really trying to convey any sort of message, we’re just making songs we like and I write about whatever’s been on my mind. I use lyrics more for personal expression than to convey messages. The Circus concept has a message in there but I’m not looking to change any minds here, I could care less what other people believe in.

What’s your favorite band story?
Have you ever seen any of the Saw or Hostel movies? Well, one time, a couple of the boys met these girls at a bar who invited all of us to stay in this big warehouse that a local magician lived in. I slept in the van ’cause I was exhausted but in a couple hours, Chris woke me up in a panic telling me that the rest of the guys drank some weird drinks and were now nude in front of this magician’s caged bed in a room full of monitors. I called them and told them we were leaving but they didn’t want to leave. I had to lie and tell them the cops were here before they finally agreed to leave despite the magician’s insistence that “cops never come here!”. We got out alive but there’s no way to know what could’ve happened.

Where do you get most of the ideas for your songs?
Musically: Video games and musicals.
Lyrically: Whores and Circuses.

Do you have a favorite motto or life phrase?
Absolutely. “WWTCD?” (What Would The Crue Do?). Motley Crue’s a big inspiration to us for their dedication to the rock n’ roll lifestyle and their determination to put on the best live show the Sunset Strip’s ever seen.

What’s the next step for The Venetia Fair?
We’re heading out on tour at the end of January with Kiss Kiss and Trophy Scars on select dates. After that, we’ll be heading down to SXSW. We’ve also begun writing songs for the next album but we write really slow so who knows when that will be ready.

Any last words?
Watch our music video for The Ringleader! We shot it back in September on what felt like the hottest day of all time and we were all puking and wheezing after the first take so it’s a pretty crazy vid.