VERUCA SALT - Eight Arms to Hold You (1997)

VERUCA SALT - Eight Arms to Hold You (1997)

ALBUM REVIEW By SAM SCARPELLI

2023 FEB 13

    On the cutting edge of cool with a moody atmosphere, Veruca Salt delivers a collection of heartfelt anthems that remain a standout of the grunge era. At a time when the rock world was defined and dominated by the intensity of male energy, a rising group of female artists set out to prove that angst was a universal emotion we could all relate to. Traditional displays of anger were bent more towards a sense of power and strength, leaving plenty of room for those who aspired to expand the genre.

    A wall of feedback swiftly shattered by pounding drums drops the listener into a frenzy of raging guitar and melodic vocals. Lyrics wrapped around you like a friend in cold weather slam you into a bed of scathing hot guitar solos. Who said girls can’t rock? Sultry singing, sassy attitudes and gorgeous looks lifted grunge to a level of higher sophistication and emotion. More than just angry dudes smashing beer and yelling at the crowd, bands like Veruca Salt showed a deeper and more beautiful side of what the legacy media bitterly called “alternative music.” Such sensibilities clearly strengthened a movement seeking to legitimize emotion during an era where being angry was a novel concept.

    Maintaining a consistent tone without growing stale was a hallmark of the time. Intense dynamic shifts can swing you into subtle valleys before throwing you over the edge. Soft and sweet crooning devolves into snide attacks where even a mundane phrase like “Where’s my lip gloss?” can shimmer down your spine and give you a chill. After all that had transpired in the world of rock and roll there remained lessons to be learned. As society began to wonder why music had become “so angry” the public slowly shattered the protective media shell that had been so carefully crafted for nearly a century. Bands like Veruca Salt were one of many that helped awaken society to the necessity of feeling.

    Whimsical artwork with vintage overtones was the trend after the massive success of the Smashing Pumpkins album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.” The band’s guitarist James Iha was good friends with Nina Gordon, who added vocals to his first solo album. Indeed both bands were from Chicago and even recorded in the same studio, Chicago Recording Company, possibly sharing the iconic mellotron heard throughout their records.

    Any fan of the grunge era will feel right at home in “Eight Arms to Hold You” with its familiar guitar fuzz tone and disgruntled vibes. Every track is a standout and the album has quickly become one of my all time favorites by any artist. Nina Gordon and Louise Post have the incredible ability to take you by the hand so kindly and then thrash you around for fun. All interesting journeys have a memorable end, and in this case “Earthcrosser” leaves a lasting impression. You will be hard pressed to find another gem which so perfectly exemplifies the sound of the 90s in all its glam and grandiose extremes!

Vocals, Guitar Vocals, Guitar Drums, Vocals Bass

NINA GORDON LOUISE POST JIM SHAPIRO STEVE LACK

01  Straight 02  Volcano Girls 03  Don't Make Me Prove It 04  Awesome 05  One Last Time 06  With David Bowie 07  Benjamin 08  Shutterbug 09  The Morning Sad 10  Sound of the Bell 11  Loneliness Is Worse 12  Stoneface 13  Venus Man Trap 14  Earthcrosser

AVRIL LAVIGNE - Luv Sux (2022)

AVRIL LAVIGNE - Love Sux (2022)

ALBUM REVIEW By SAM SCARPELLI

2022 JUNE 12

    Good music is timeless, and apparently so is Avril Lavigne! Her blistering hot new album Luv Sux is everything fans could hope for and then some. With an unwavering affinity for wrapping rage up in a bow and giving it to you with a smile, the songs are packed with angst, energy and playfulness. In some ways this may be her best effort yet, seemingly drawn from a fountain of youth, with eternal charm and musical prowess. 

    A broader scope of inspiration is channeled through collaborations with Punk rockers Mod Sun, Machine Gun Kelly, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker of Blink 182 and the music only benefits! From an audio engineering standpoint the tracks sound superb, very crisp, clear and heavy with no brickwalling effect or needless compression. The album is meant to be loud, and it definitely sounds best at high volume. The drums are energized and wicked, a standout from any of her albums. Guitars are smoldering and blown out in just the right way, a little reminder of post Grunge days gone by. Original fans and newcomers alike will find something to love about this record!

    The romantic irony of Avril having written an album’s worth of heartbreak songs only to meet her true love Mod Sun while recording them, is captured brilliantly in this time capsule of a record. Stunning vocals burst through trademark songwriting and pierce the heart of the listener. The album is a return to form and a fast step forward for fans, and she has been riding high since its release with countless live performances and television appearances. The record was voted favorite new album by the Billboard chart, so get your copy while you can, and turn it up loud!

Vocals, Guitar Bass, Guitar Drums Drums Vocals Vocals Vocals

AVRIL LAVIGNE JOHN FELDMANN MOD SUN TRAVIS BARKER MARK HOPPUS MACHINE GUN KELLY BLACKBEAR

01  Cannonball 02  Bois Lie 03  Bite Me 04  Love It When You       Hate Me 05  Love Sux 06  Kiss Me Like the       World Is Ending 07  Avalanche 08  Deja Vu 09  F. U.  10  All I Wanted 11  Dare to Love Me 12  Break of a       Heartache

SHIPWRECK MOTEL INTERVIEW BY SOUND OF MODESTY

SHIPWRECK MOTEL INTERVIEW BY SOUND OF MODESTY

    During the promotion of their album Wading In Time rock band Shipwreck Motel was interviewed by Yvonne Han of The Sound of Modesty. Lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Sam Scarpelli offered insight into his reclusive music group, the creative process and future plans...

How did you go about creating Wading In Time? What was your process? Was it similar to all your other bodies of work?

    Wading In Time has been an interesting album for me, mostly because it consists of a bunch of songs that I abandoned and kind of forgot about. I originally wrote them back in 2013, so it's been a few years, and then this year I realized it's a shame to sit on that many songs and just forget about it, ya know? So I went back and added bass and vocals and guitar, and kind of called it good. I've been doing a lot of recording for other bands this past year, so it's definitely helped a lot in terms of remixing the songs and mastering them. When it comes to the process for all of these songs, I wrote them on acoustic guitar, and then once I really got the song down in my head I sat down on the drum kit and actually played drums first. I found that if you lay down the beat it's a great foundation for the song, and then you can build everything off of it. Like a one man band kind of thing.

Was it like that with other songs and albums? Or did it take you a while to find what worked for you in terms of creating tracks?

    I think in the past most of my material has kind of been recording just solo acoustic songs, and I never really felt like they were done, I kind of just considered them as demos. But then as time went on I kind of looked back and realized I was never going to record them again, so I might as well release it. And I'd say that's about at least half of all the albums I've released, where demos ended up being the final version. In terms of other albums I think this album is just weird because it was kind of scatter brained all around, and peace meal when I put it together, but I think the end result turned out organized.

Was there anything you had to do when promoting your new album?

   I mostly stuck to Instagram. I'm pretty tech savvy, ya know, 'cause it's part of this generation. Instagram I've become pretty attached to, I think it's a great way to bring other people on board, especially since it's more a close community kind of thing, and YouTube is also. It's much more open, but I'm not very video savvy, not too good at the visual end. I've been able to put together some promotional snippets of each song with some concept artwork and photos I've been taking to kind of fit the concept of the album

Why did you choose Bandcamp to release your music?

     I really like Bandcamp, I'm kind of connected to it because I was there when it first came out in like 2009 or whatever, and it's a very organized platform which I appreciate, it's very easy to navigate for people. I sort of consider it to be more like an archive for my band, I sort of see it like a discography, because unfortunately up to this point it hasn't really generated much money in terms of that end of things, but I still really like it, I think it's a great website, a great thing for indie artists. I definitely need to expand and probably think about iTunes and Spotify exposure, they're definitely big, but honestly I just haven't really looked into that yet.

Why did you want to release Wading In Time?

    To me it's more like I needed to. I've just always been an artist. It started with poetry and then I moved into music, and so I just find myself generating all this artwork and music and I just feel like I need to get it out there. I don't want to squander an opportunity and a gift, but I'm also not necessarily like a very public type person, definitely more of a shy kind of person, so it's always something I'm working towards. I mean the most important thing with music to me, it's sort of selfish, I make music mostly for myself, because you know, why would you make music that you don't like listening to? And so I just kind of hope that if I like it someone else will have similar taste and like it as well. Of course, who wouldn't like to make money from music, that's always the dream!

What is it like organizing an album release party?

    So far it's all new to me, but I think my main focus is gonna be just to have fun, really embgrace the party aspect of it. I find it's really great to perform for people, exhilerating, and I'm excited to perform new songs and hoping for a good response. You never can tell how some things will turn out, some shows. I've played a handful of shows with bands in the past, and sometimes the crowd is really into it, sometimes they 're just kind of standing there confused, but it's all good! I just relish the opportunity to play my music for people, even if just one person cares, it makes it all worth it.

Were there any challenges with setting it up and promotion?

    I feel like word of mouth is definitely important. In whatever hometown someone is in, if they're in a band then of course flyers around town are always good. We're definitely in the internet age, so social media can be helpful for that sort of thing, but honestly I think just having a band playing shows is the best thing for you to get the word out there. Just keep playing shows and try to play shows that aren't just at bars.

If you were to do this process for the album release over again, what would you change?

    I think if I did it again I would make everything much more cohesive. If I actually had a band together first before recording the album then it would be easier for us to move forward together, because it can be tough having an album complete and then having to teach it to someone else, it's kind of interesting.

2019-02-07 INTERVIEW BY YVONNE HAN

TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF JAPAN

TRADITIONAL MUSIC  OF JAPAN

     The traditional music of Japan has seen years of refinement and transformation over the course of its historical evolution. The Nara period (553-794) of Japan’s history is generally recognized as being the time when an early form of the music was taking shape. At this point the influence of China was still heavily prevalent in regards to instrumentation and musical terminology. The young country of Japan was reaching out towards the sophistication of its neighbor for inspiration in the arts.

    China brought to Japan what would evolve over time into the popular classical instruments known today for their distinct sound. Table harps (zithers), reed flutes, and lutes all had origins in China, and over time evolved into the koto, shakuhachi and shamisen, the three most common instruments of traditional Japanese music.

     As Japan began to gain a stronger sense of personal identity the musical arts became intermixed with other popular art forms, especially the written arts, including poetry. The popularity of Buddhist chant led to the inclusion of vocal pieces, and short tales and narrative songs took form.

     Music in Japan has been fused with religious practice from the very beginning. Both Shintoism and Buddhism, the two main religions of Japan have festivals with music as an integral piece. The music associated with these two religions has become as intermixed as the religions themselves. However, Shinto and Buddhism both have distinct musical festivals associated with them. Music also accompanies every form of popular theatrical arts, including Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku theater.

    The beauty and distinction of East Asian music is unparalleled, and offers a soundscape that is always intriguing. Musical scales, melodies and time signatures outside of the bounds of Western classical theory offer a wide range of enjoyable compositions that can expand the scope of your listening experience.  

2021-11-05 BY SAM SCARPELLI

GAMELAN MUSIC OF INDONESIA

GAMELAN MUSIC OF INDONESIA

    The traditional music of Indonesia is a highly developed art form indigenous to the Indonesian people. Referred to as a Gamelan, this ensemble of metallic percussion and wind instruments has been played for so long that its true origins are shrouded in mystery.

    The term gamelan is not used to refer to the players of the instruments, but rather the set of instruments themselves, as each set is said to have its own distinct personality. Gamelan ensembles are composed of instruments made primarily from brass, iron, or bronze, the last of which is most desirable because of the quality of the sound it produces. Key categories of instruments composing the gamelan include gongs, drums, kettles, flutes, xylophones, and a lute. Despite the wide variety of musical possibilities, individual displays of virtuosity are not favored. Instead the gamelan is played as a collaborative group activity.

    Gamelan instruments are typically not interchangeable between ensembles because they are made and tuned as a group. In fact, they are often said to have a spirit of their own. Gamelan has two scales, “Slendro” and “Pelog.” While the scales offer a predetermined intervallic structure, ensembles are still prone to vary from one another.

    Gamelan is not solely a musical product but also a spiritual discipline. Speaking on the topic in 1820 Paku Buwana said, “One must not be absorbed by the purely sensual sound of the composition; its charm is only the means to make the heart receptive and to create a great desire for unity with God.” While spirituality is surely an important piece of the history of Gamelan, the influence of world religions in Indonesia has effected the practice surprisingly little. 

2021-10-13 BY SAM SCARPELLI