Back in January 2021 Papa Emeritus IV made a surprise appearance on Chilean TV. The talented Clau Salgado performed as Papa Copia on „Yo Soy“, a singing and impersonation competition show. Despite not progressing to the next stage his performance caught the attention of many Ghost fans (and even one ghoul). We had the pleasure of chatting with him about his experience on the TV show, his Ghost tribute band „Year Zero“, and the effort that goes into impersonating a character with a unique look and stage presence.

Hello Clau! So please tell us about your time on the talent show. How did you get the idea to sign up for it? What was the auditioning process like, and were you already dressed as Papa from the start?

Well, it was a completely new experience, I had never been or linked to television in any way. For all the matter related to the pandemic, the auditions were made through videos recorded at home. That is why it was necessary to arrive characterized by the television channel, to avoid gathering many people in a small space and television setbacks. I found out that around 4000 videos were finally received, so being chosen among so many talents are something special and very rewarding.

While the result was not the one you’d hoped for, were there any positives to take from the experience?

Certainly, from each experience something can be rescued. First of all, knowing my low opportunities due to how conservative the jury was in itself, it was to present something new coming out of the same pop artists from all chapters. Okay, we all love Shakira, but a new look wouldn’t have been bad. Second, I think that for all the issues of social networks a possible viralization was almost guaranteed, and with all that this entails in between. I have met wonderful people these last few months and that is most redeemable of all.

Your Papa Emeritus IV cosplay is impressive and highly detailed. How long did it take to perfect the look, and did you make it yourself?

I hope one day I have the gift of being able to create things this detailed, since everything related to the suit was totally crazy. Fortunately, I was able to contact a theater company in time to do so. I sent the video of my audition on the last day of receptions. I had just been given the Beta version jacket, so to speak, I still had a lot of adjustments to make, embroider the chest patch. They called me that they chose me and I had 4 days to prepare my performance, my songs and finish the costume. So, achieving all this was in record time.

In order to impersonate a character, you must know them very well. I imagine that it involves watching closely in order to study their gestures and mannerisms. Are there any details you noticed about Copia that you particularly like? Or the opposite, something he does that you prefer to avoid?

Yes, Tobias Forge, as a good Master Mind, has been in charge of creating characters with a lot of personality, and replicating that exactly is a complex task. I’ve spent hours watching different live concerts in order to understand the essence of the character.

And as for something that he does and I avoid, it’s probably tied to a vocal technique that I have a hard time handling at all, but the one I’m working diligently on, is singing more scrape. I feel like Ghost’s fifth album will have some of that and I have to be prepared.

Going back in time now  – when did you first hear about Ghost and what made you a fan? If you attended any rituals please share some highlights with me.

Well I met Ghost in June 2012 thanks to Metallica and their now defunct Orion festival. I followed that event very closely from home. I was surprised that James Hetfield himself introduced them. A new band. When they took the stage my face was puzzled, I didn’t know anything about Ghost, neither its sound nor the visual theme, so seeing those white suits was the first thing that caught my attention. When the music started the saturated presence of the bass in Con Clavi con Dio made me say „Wow“.

I definitely stayed for the image and with the lyrics they were made from my favorite bands.

And yes, I have seen them live 4 times, the first in 2013 on the tour with Iron Maiden, at that time I was already a follower of the band, but in Chile they were still unknown … I think I was one of the few people who they enjoyed and knew the songs. A year later they came back on their own Infestissumam Tour and there I was in front of the imposing Papa Emeritus II in a unique show in terms of sound.

Again, I had the pleasure of seeing them 2 times in 2019 during the Named Death summer tour accompanying Metallica on their Worldwired. These shows are possibly the most special since I lived them in the Snake pit thanks to those curious things in life. In the UK, in Manchester, we were lucky to see a Ghost show with light drops in the sky, that day the weather was not good, then in Metallica everything got worse and it was a deluge. I had the impression that Cardinal Copia saw me from afar when he saw me with a Ghost t-shirt in the middle of a Metallica concert, that must have caught his attention and he came to shake my hand at the end of his show.

Back in London, he would finally recognize me for the second time and would come straight to shake his hand, but not before pointing out my striking glasses.

That will be something I will never forget.

How did you decide to become a Papa impersonator? Was it just a costume at first or were you always planning to bring it to the stage and perform?

That is a somewhat confusing story, I always loved the characterization of the Papas in Ghost, it also always seemed a striking voice, and I began to try to respectfully emulate the vocal tone and its performance.

I think that when I was able to see them for the second time at the Caupolicán Theater, I decided that I wanted to embody the character on stage.

Although it took me a good couple of years to achieve this when I formed my current Ghost tribute band, Year Zero Project in 2019. And that has been the best school to say the least, being a very devoted fan of the band makes you very detailed and not only with my character, but with the role of all the musicians who accompany me.

What does it feel like when you step into Papa’s shoes? Tobias has said that by wearing the mask he transforms into a different person who acts in ways that he himself wouldn’t act. Do you relate to that?

Absolutely, in fact my tests without mask at home, I try to do them only in a room in front of the notes that I have in the notebook. The mask has its own magic and personality that help you develop in a different way.

How does a tribute band come to life? Who started “Year Zero” and how did the members find each other? What was it about Ghost that inspired you to come together and cover their songs?

The way the band started has gone through different phases, at the beginning of 2019 I decided to make a new beginning and return to the stage after moving away due to my recent fatherhood (2018) and in the past I had the experience in other bands, but with a different role …

The concept of this tribute was born from me and from my interest in wanting to deliver something fresh, the search for the members has been the most complex, paradoxically like Ghost, the original band, one goes through a lot of rotation of people, and it is the most difficult thing to maintain when it is only done as a hobby, well they, I have a vision more focused on professionalization as a musician and as a performer.

Year Zero debuted in concert in November 2019 with great theatrics (as expected from a Ghost tribute band) such as the ghouls changing masks between songs and Papa, I making a guest appearance on the saxophone. As for you, what was it like to be on stage for the first time as Copia?

Yes, our first show coincided with the release of Seven inches of the Satanic Panic and I thought it would be creative and novel to swap out the nameless ghouls masks for similar ones used in the Kiss the Go Goat video clip. It was definitely the highlight of the night. I had to improvise with the makeup as my Cardinal Copia latex mask was late to arrive in the country and arrived a couple of days later, as if it were a joke in bad taste. We played Miasma for the first time and in Papa Nihil’s absence I picked up the saxophone and played with another old acquaintance. (Emeritus I). It was something unexpected for many fans and also very crazy for everyone.

I was nervous, my face was uncovered and any laugh or gesture would be visible to everyone, so I tried to maintain a line of seriousness, it goes without saying that under the mask I am always smiling and enjoying the crazy things I do to characterize the characters in the best way.

You’ve already collaborated with other Ghost fans and artists on videos and during your first show. Do you have a dream collaboration you’d love to make happen one day?

Yes, we did great collaborations with people from Mexico, very talented and creative. I have many ambitious goals that I would like to achieve at some point. I hope that when the whole pandemic thing is over so I can work on the first Ghost Fest Chile, I think it has never been done before and it would be great to see all the bands in action presenting the best, the Fans in disguise and everyone vibrating the same tune.

Which is your favorite Ghost song to perform live?

It is impossible to choose just one, many of them have special meanings for me, but there are also others that I like more for vocal technical reasons. And after thinking about the question a couple of times, I think my favorite to play live is He is because it combines the magic of the song, added to an atmosphere that does not occur in all songs, you do not shake your head frantically with Ghost, but the way to enjoy this song is different from the others. In addition to having well done lyrics and structure, he has a vocal technique that is always on the rise, finishing at the top along with the entire band.

If you had the opportunity to go on stage with Ghost just once, would you prefer to perform side-by-side with them, or instead take over one of the existing roles, as Papa or one of the ghouls?

This is one of those questions that leaves you dreaming.

If I had only one chance to be there with them, I would like to take the role of Nameless Ghoul, as vocal support or playing keyboards.

It would be great to be together with Papa on stage and feel his energy interacting on stage.

As a Papa impersonator, I’m sure you’ve had interesting encounters with Ghost fans in the past. What is the strangest/funniest comment you’ve received?

Probably the weirdest comments are when people invite you to do things, you know, a party where you don’t know anyone or things like that. The truth is that people have a lot of respect for the character and they maintain a certain distance so I have not had to live something uneasy, which I appreciate a lot, haha.

From my understanding “Year Zero” is not only a cover band, but a project whose purpose is to build a community for Ghost fans. Please tell me more about your vision. What sort of community do you hope to create? And where does the band fit in that?

Yes, over time I have built a bigger image than the classic tribute band. The word „Project“ was first included when I had other expectations with the band. And these consisted of playing remotely with other people, putting together the videos and making songs with those who shared this passion, which anecdotally was what we ended up doing in Quarantine, but the vision changed when I was able to get stable members and we went from recording versions at home to play with real audiences. As an anecdote, thanks to the pandemic, we returned to the original idea of recording from home, but with a professional and better polished approach.

And returning to your question, I wanted to make this a space in which the fans feel really part of the project, beyond the music, that they feel in a safe and close environment to share us their drawings, cosplays, makeup, among others. Creative things that only fans can create. And fortunately, this dynamic has a very good response, making us the most active tribute in these crazy times.

Aside from singing, do you play any instruments? What is your musical background?

Well apart from singing, yes, I play a couple more. I handle guitar, keyboards, bass and some drums with medium dexterity. I am currently learning to play the violin. It is worth mentioning that all these I learned in a self-taught way so I have not received real instruction yet. But I am planning to take it a step further.

You are a recording artist on your own. I very much enjoyed your single “Every Night”, a melancholic indie folk song that is quite different from Ghost’s sound. What inspires you when you write your own music, and what other artists are you influenced by?

Thank you so much, yes, my inspiration points have a whole mix that is based on emotions and feelings. I like to tell stories through songs, I feel that in this way I want to reach people. That you listen to me and identify yourself, that the songs convey the fragility of which we are part and that has been in evidence with everything that is happening in the world.

I am inspired by nature, taking distance from the hustle and bustle of the city, and humanity. There are many musicians that inspire me and they are not necessarily so directly Folk, vocally Alex Turner is my man, but musically probably George Harrison. Nergal and his band Me and that man gave me the push I needed to find my sound. I think they 3 are the one on whom I could base my whole concept. Actually…

COVID-19 brought concerts to a halt, and I imagine that you were affected as well. As a musician, how are you making the most out of this forced “timeout”?

Well, I think I never had the opportunity to stop, look both ways and decide where to go, I have always acted a bit under the inertia of day to day, but staying at home I felt almost an obligation to be creative, to write for piles, draw and plan. I never stopped throughout the year, we always kept moving with Year Zero which was the most relevant. The simplest and most effortless thing was to recycle your old material and repost. And we didn’t fall for that, which makes me feel like we’re active and on track.

Wishing you great success with your projects, and that we all get to experience the joys of live concerts again very soon 🙂

Thank you very much for your invitation, I am happy to be part of this community. We will see you soon on stage!

If you want to see more of Claus’s amazing work and give him your support, please have a look at his social media accounts.

Instagram (personal):             clauspater

Instagram (tribute Band):       yearzeroproject

21th March 2021 / sp