Susto - Band Libs Vol. 1

Susto was formed by Justin Osborne in 2014 after the breakup of a previous band, and a brief move to Cuba. After being reinvigorated, Osborne came back to Charleston, SC where he recorded Susto’s debut album, and he hasn’t looked back since. With his latest release, 2019’s Ever Since I Lost My Mind (Rounder Records) life has changed a bit for Osborne as it is the band’s first full length release since he got married, and now he and his wife have welcomed a baby daughter into their lives. 

At Chicago’s Lincoln Hall I had a chance to sit down with Justin Osborne and talk about Susto, life, and the silly stuff as we filled out a Mad Libs page, and took Polaroid photos. 

All photos in this article were taken by Bme.

Band Libs: Vol. 1

Justin Osborne of Susto

Brian: Can you give me a verb, ending in “-i-n-g” that describes how you feel when you’re playing a concert?

Justin: I would say I feel like I’m floating because, well, when you’re on stage you’re literally above everyone in the crowd, literally (laughs), no but, it’s like you’re riding a vibration, it makes you feel light.

Brian: Like a high?

Justin: (Laughs) Yeah, I was gonna say, tripping. Because often times I will have a little bit of psychedelics in my system whenever I play, but even without that, it’s like you get lost in this journey with the crowd. Like a high, like a trip.

Brian: We need a plural noun here, just a noun is fine though. If you could describe Susto as a genre of porn, what would it be?

Justin: Millennial folk porn. Or just folk porn? (laughs) Millennial folk porn, yeah.

Brian: Let’s get a little personal here. We need a part of the body. So, what part of your body are you least happy with?

Justin: My gut. Not as in my intuition, but my physical gut. But I’m trying to not be so self-conscious about that. It’s just right there, you see it, you know? Especially when I put a guitar on. The other dudes in the band are just skin and bones.

Brian: We need an adverb that describes the way you feel when you’re writing a new song.

Justin: I think… Accidentally. Most songs are accidental for me.

Brian: Do song ideas come to you all the time?

Justin: No, definitely not. I don’t write all the time. It’s usually kind of spur of the moment. In the recent past I’ve been writing in the morning times, but I don’t have a morning anymore really, because I have a new baby daughter. Which is fun. But now, I chase down the moments where I will try and find ten minutes to sit down at my piano or guitar and just press record on my phone and see what comes out. Usually it's shit, but sometimes it's something. Sometimes I will have a vivid dream I am really moved by, because I feel like there is a meaning behind it that I need to find. So, songwriting can be a way to interpret my dreams to myself. I have a lot of clarity in the morning. But now when I wake up, it’s going to change a diaper, or just being present and enjoying my family. So, I have to keep reminding myself about my dream. It might be two o’clock in the afternoon by the time I am able to sit down with it. But all day I am thinking about it. Which actually helps because I am already making a plan for the song, while I’m washing dishes or whatever.

Brian: Do you feel like you write better when there is some pressure to get something done, or when you’re more free?

Justin: I definitely work better when there is no pressure there. Pressure in my case, it’s not terrible, but I don’t find myself under pressure to be creative that often. Even though I’m not writing all of the time, I do it enough that by the time I have to put out a record, I have enough done already. But no, I don’t like pressure. I feel like that would be wrong to put out songs I was pressured to write. It has to be natural, a self-therapeutic type of thing. 

Brian: Another Adverb. Vegetables being noodles, how do you feel about that? It’s a big thing right now.

Justin: Oh yeah, I like it. You just have to be really careful not to overcook them or they’ll fall apart. Once you learn that lesson you’ll get it. But no, I like them, and they’re better for you. You know, I recently became a cooking kind of person. My wife will put the baby down, and I’ll get to cook. It’s something I’ve fallen in love with, the joy of cooking. It’s so fun and I look forward to it towards the end of the day. I’ll put on some music, for a while I was doing podcasts but I realized I couldn’t pay attention to them, or the cooking, so, I’ll listen to music and just cook. We have been doing those mail delivery meal prep things, sometimes regular stuff, but we’ve also been getting vegan food. Before this I never had experience cooking other than being a short cook, making hamburgers, hot dogs or whatever. But I’m all for new adventures in the cooking world, like vegetable noodles. So, an adverb for that… healthy… healthily? Is that a word?

Brian: We’ll make it a word.

Brian: We’re looking for a plural noun here. If you could be any animal-

Justin: Dolphins

Brian: Oh, that was easy. Why is that?

Justin: I’ve always loved dolphins. I live in Charleston, South Carolina, so beach culture is a part of life, and there are pods of them just everywhere. They will come up really close to you, and they’re interested in you, I just love them. I’ve never been too close to them though, but I would love to. I may be a little afraid of them actually, because I realize they are intense. 

Brian: For this one, we’ll discuss a pretty divisive issue. I need an adjective to describe the way you feel about candy corn.

Justin: I feel orange about candy corn. I fucking love candy corn. I only said orange because it was the first thing that popped in my head. I get there’s some people that don’t like candy corn. Other than that I can feel my teeth rotting out as I eat it, that hurts, but I love it. It’s little corn shaped sugar. I don’t let myself eat massive amounts of candy corn, don’t get me wrong. 

Brian: If anyone reads this, fans might start bringing you candy corn.

Justin: Uh-oh (laughs.) I’m definitely a fan of candy corn though. I am “pro candy corn.” I don’t think my wife likes it though. Maybe one day we’ll find out that candy corn was the cause of global warming, and cancer, the coronavirus. It could all be a product of candy corn. Even Donald Trump.

Brian: Trump is orange.

Justin: See, it’s plausible.

Brian: We need a part of the body. So, have you broken any bones?

Justin: Yeah, I’ve broken my nose, and my tailbone. I’ve broken my nose a couple of times. But, the tailbone was first, from a dirt biking accident. The first time I broke my nose, I was in a mosh pit. I was seeing As I Lay Dying. I was looking for a buddy at this festival all day, and I spotted him on the other side of this huge circle pit, and I ran through. I turned my head and all I see is this Chuck Taylor shoe coming at me. I fell down and when I got up, blood was just pouring. I had to reset the nose myself, it sucked. 

Brian: An adverb to describe how often you get to shower while on tour.

Justin: Quickly would be a good one. Because I get plenty of chances. But most of the time is spent in the car. Like tonight, we’ll get to the place we’re staying late, like 2am, then have to be out by 10am. So you just have to get in and out quickly. I’ll encounter a shower every day, I just don’t get to enjoy it.

Brian: An adjective to describe the most recent movie you’ve seen.

Justin: Long.

Brian: Was it “The Irishman?”

Justin: Yep (laughs) I watched it two days before I left for tour. I liked it, but it didn’t need to be that long. Maybe there was some existential meaning as to why it was so long, but I don’t know. It was long.

Brian: Give me an adjective to describe Susto fans.

Justin: Generous. They’re generous every day. Everybody just gives so much. We as a band try to give back, but it’s just so much that our fans do for us. People come to shows and interact with us. They’re giving us time, energy, confidence, and they support us. Literally. I don’t have another job. I’m not a rich person, but I have enough to survive and get by just because of the kindness of others. It’s an amazing thing to be on the receiving end of.

Brian: I need an adjective to describe your least favorite human being.

Justin: I don’t know that I have a least favorite human being. I think the most obvious answer would be the president (Trump.) But there are types of people in the world I despise more than him, like child abusers, especially people who sexually abuse children. I listen to this podcast called The Daily and they recently did an episode about the epidemic of abusers, and I guess I would have to choose those people. And an adjective I would use to describe them is fucked.

Brian: I need a noun. So, if you weren’t a musician, what kind of job do you think you’d be doing? 

Justin: For the sake of my college degree, I’ll say anthropologist. 

Brian: Do you feel like you’d be as happy?

Justin: I get a lot of joy from studying anthropology, but I’m just not that good at it. I’m probably a “C” student. But I’m also bad when it comes to music too (laughs) so it would probably be the same, but I don’t think I would enjoy doing it as much. (With anthropology) there is a lot of writing and reading, which I enjoy. But there’s a lot of pressure with it, to be peer reviewed and all of the stuff like that. With music, there is a lot of pressure with that too, to be popular. But I enjoy the subject (of anthropology) and learning about humanity. I think I would be fulfilled (as an anthropologist) but not the same way as performing in front of people. Because with music you are really connecting with people, not worrying about why, but just doing it. It feels real. 

Brian: I need an adjective, so for this one, I want to know the color of your first guitar.

Justin: There was this guitar that was communal in my house that my granddad left us that was natural wood. But then I got this electric guitar from an antique shop, a Kramer. It was crazy, like something a hair-metal band would play with. And it was chartreuse. 

Brian: For this question, let's assume that there is a devil. If the devil were to give you one thing in exchange for your soul, what would that one thing be? 

Justin: I don’t know… I want to say eternal happiness for my daughter, but then a part of life is the fragility of life, and struggles and unhappiness are a necessary part of it. So, I would take $1,000 I guess (laughs.) I feel like sometimes I do sell my soul for a thousand dollars. I probably have before. 

Brian: Last one. We’re looking for a part of the body. So, What would you say is the most underrated organ of the body? 

Justin: Your liver does a lot, so does your spleen. I think the filters of the body don’t get enough credit. So, let’s go with liver. (Turns to Dries) Can we get Susto shirts with a picture of my liver on it?

Brian: Just because I have to know. Do you like to do karaoke? If so, what is your go to song?

Justin: Oh yeah! I love karaoke. Cowboy by Kid Rock.

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