Scarling.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Scarling. | |
|---|---|
 Christian Hejnal and Jessicka 2005
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Shoegaze Art Rock Goth Rock Experimental Rock Noise rock Indie Rock |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Label(s) | Sympathy for the Record Industry |
| Website | www.scarling.com |
| Members | |
| Jessicka Christian Hejnal |
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| Former members | |
| Garey Snider Samantha Maloney Radio Sloan Kyle Lime Rickey Lime Derik Snell Beth Gordon |
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Scarling. is a rock band from Los Angeles, whose core members are Jessicka and Christian Hejnal. The band's music contains elements of noise, goth rock, shoegaze, psychedelic rock, and indie rock. The band was established in 1999 but did not become active until 2002. They released two full-length albums, Sweet Heart Dealer and So Long, Scarecrow, and have a growing cult following. Jessicka intentionally uses a lower vocal register when singing in order to distance Scarling. from previous musical endeavors. Their sound has been described by several music publications as "new-gaze".[1] Scarling. has a gay and lesbian cult following, largely due to their music being featured on Showtime's The L Word television series.
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[edit] Name
The band's name comes from a definition singer Jessicka created for a fictitious word "scarling." in 1999. In 2001 the definition appeared on Scarling's website; Middle English, from Old English scaerlinc, from scar+ -ling, -linc -ling; akin to Old High German von scar, Latin scarnos 1. the smallest mark on your heart left by the healing of a severe injury. 2. he or she who is scarred densely almost emotionless. 3. a mentally challenged/physically handicapped sibling of a normal star. 4. a band from Los Angeles. The "S" in Scarling. is sometimes lower case and the word itself ends in a full stop or period.
[edit] History
Scarling. was formed by singer Jessicka Fodera (known simply as Jessicka) after the dissolution of her band, Jack Off Jill. She and guitarist Christian Hejnal began rehearsing and recording in a San Fernando Valley performance space; after the pair had written a number of songs together, they began a search for additional band members and eventually cemented the first and very short lived lineup of Scarling.
In early 2002 Jessicka was introduced to Long Gone John, owner of Sympathy for the Record Industry, by mutual friend Mark Ryden. On March 19, 2003 Scarling's debut single, "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole", (produced by Chris Vrenna) was released on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. Its cover featured an illustration called "Wound 39" by Mark Ryden. Scarling's style and material are heavily influenced by 1990s-era Shoegazing bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Lush, and Loop, as well as by the 1990s girl bands that had also inspired Jessicka’s previous band Jack Off Jill.[2]
In April of 2004, Scarling. released their debut album, Sweet Heart Dealer, a seven-song, thirty-three-minute amalgamation of sound and texture which again utilized the team of Ryden and Vrenna. Later that year, Jessicka was featured on the cover of ROCKRGRL magazine's vocalist issue. Scarling was then invited to join the lineup of the Robert Smith-curated Curiosa Festival, performing on select West Coast dates alongside Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, Cursive, The Cooper Temple Clause, and longtime inspirations The Cure.[3] Smith described the band's music as "dark, desperate, chaotic, gorgeous pop music, the sound of the end of the world" and nominated "Sweet Heart Dealer" for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize.[4] Three weeks before joining the Curiosa tour, drummer Garey Snider was briefly replaced by Samantha Maloney and soon after by drummer Beth Gordon. Scarling with the help of friend and fill in bassist Radio Sloan, continued to play around Los Angeles and San Francisco at high profile clubs such as, The Bottom Of The Hill, Spaceland and The Troubadour.
After a series of 7" singles on Sympathy, Scarling announced in early 2005 that their second album, So Long, Scarecrow, would appear later that year; it was preceded by the single "We Are the Music Makers", and was released on August 23, 2005. So Long, Scarecrow was co-produced by Rob Campanella, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, at his studio, The Committee to Keep Music Evil Headquarters. The critical reception for Scarecrow was generally strong: Alternative Press gave the album a 5 out of 5 rating[5] and described Hejnal as a "guitar physicist who holds court over these atmospheric rockers’ second album, approximating everything from space-station climates to sperm whales rollin’ on E, all while delivering solid songs."[6] The Independent noted that “Scarling. work up a wonderfully hazy guitar swirl, reminiscent of post-My Bloody Valentine noise-pop from the Britain of the early nineties.” Bust (magazine) called the album “the musical equivalent of an Edward Gorey illustration: ominous and shadowy, but not without a certain sense of morbid joy. Sly lyrics and sarcastic insights pepper Scarecrow’s dystopian soundscape." While The Charlotte Observer revealed "Scarling. discovers its own sound, illustrating growth and revealing a quieter, more intimate, yet accessible side."[7]
In December of 2005, Scarling. embarked on its first UK tour creating a buzz for themselves and selling out most venues. SLS's first single City Noise is featured on the compilation Alright, This Time Just the Girls Vol. 2 and 2006's Staring To The Sun. The song Bummer a track from SLS was featured on Showtime's The L Word season 3 episode "Latecomer", as well as an Urban Outfitters/Filter magazine compilation. An episode of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (season 2) is titled Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole.
In 2006 Scarling continued to tour in the US and Europe, embarking on their first co-heading with UK shoegaze outfit Amusement Parks on Fire and opening for The Wedding Present and Depeche Mode later in the year. They are expected to begin working on their third full length album in 2008.
Scarling. currently resides in the neighborhood of Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Sweet Heart Dealer (2004) — Sympathy for the Record Industry
- So Long, Scarecrow (2005) — Sympathy for the Record Industry [Artist Mark Ryden created an alternative cover for the 12” vinyl version].
[edit] Singles and EPs
- "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole" (7", Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2003):
- "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole" — "H/C"
- "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole" (CD, Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2003):
- "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole" — "H/C" — "Creep"
- "Crispin Glover" (7", Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2004):
- "Crispin Glover" — "Love Becomes a Ghost"
- "Crispin Glover" (7", Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2004):
- "Crispin Glover" — "Art of Pretension"
- Scarling. / The Willowz (split 7", Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2005)
- "We Are the Music Makers" (Scarling.) — "Break Me Down" (The Willowz)
- "Staring To The Sun" (CD, Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2006)
- "City Noise" — "Staring to the Sun" — "Wave of Mutilation"
[edit] Compilations
- Blisscent II CD Compilation (2003)
- Alright This Time Just The Girls Vol. 2 (2005)
- cover by Camille Rose Garcia
[edit] Cover Songs
- Creep by Radiohead
- Wave of Mutilation by the Pixies
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
- ^ Pettigrew, Jason.[1]Alternative Press Magazine, Sept. 2005
- ^ Price, Simon.[2] The Independent Sept. 4th 2005
- ^ MTV news July 7, 2004
- ^ MTV news August 28, 2004
- ^ Pettigrew, Jason."Less screamy, more dreamy." Alternative Press Magazine Jan. 31, 2006
- ^ Pettigrew, Jason.[3]Alternative Press Magazine, Sept. 2005
- ^ Devoures, Courtney.[4] The Charlotte Observer October 24, 2005
[edit] External links
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