Scars on 45 is a five member indie rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire, United Kingdom.[1]
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After years struggling to make a name in England, the band rose from obscurity when their song “Beauty’s Running Wild” was featured in an episode of CSI: New York.[2] The band was signed to Atlantic’s Chop Shop Records label, which has been successful in getting previously unsigned bands heard through song placements in popular TV programs. Most recently, the band’s single, “Heart on Fire” was selected as the lead song on the current season soundtrack for ABC’s top rated hospital drama, Grey’s Anatomy.[3] Scars on 45’s first EP, "Give Me Something," was released in January 2011 and yielded a hit single of the same name that rose to the top 5 of the Adult Alternative Charts and was recognized as one of the “Top 3 Singles of the Year” by Amazon.com.[4][5] The quintette was also named to Entertainment Weekly's "Must List." [6] Their second EP, which also features “Heart on Fire”, was released October 24, 2011.[7] The band is preparing to release their first full length studio album in the first quarter of 2012.
When a broken foot ended lead singer Danny Bemrose’s professional football (soccer) career as a striker for the Huddersfield Town, he picked up his dad’s guitar and learned to play it in earnest. After his injury, Bemrose struck up a close friendship with another former footballer, Stuart Nichols, who had played for rival Bradford City. Bemrose taught Nichols to play bass and they spent the next few years improving their skill and making computer recordings to develop their sound. After adding pianist/keyboard player David “Nova” Nowakowski, the band began playing the local music scene, rounding out their performances with a variety of other guitarists and drummers that came and went over time. When Bemrose wrote "Insecurity," which is featured on the "Heart on Fire" EP, the band began looking for a female singer that could compliment his vocals. Soon there after, Nova was at home playing the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" while his visiting schoolmate, Aimee Driver, was making a cup of tea and chimed in with the lyrics. “I just started singing along when Nova rushed in seeming really shocked,” Driver recalls. “I thought his dad had a heart attack or something! He made me stand there in his living room and sing to him - which was the scariest thing ever at the time. At first I wouldn’t do it, but he wouldn't shut up so I just put my tea down, shut my eyes and sang...just to stop him pestering me. Danny recorded me on 'Insecurity.' The next thing I knew I was in the band. When I told my family and friends they were saying, ‘but you can't sing, can you?’” Before joining the band, Driver had never performed in public.[1] Stuart Nichols recruited drummer Chris Durling after meeting him in a pub and giving him a CD of the band’s music. After a late night out, Durling returned to his flat and gave it a listen. He liked what he heard and agreed to work with them on some recordings. He ended up becoming the final member of the band a short time later.
The band had difficulties deciding on a name. They realized a name was critical after a chance meeting with one of their musical influences, Noel Gallagher of Oasis. A friend introduced Nichols and Bemrose to Gallagher who asked the band’s name, but they didn’t have one. “A band with no name?” Gallagher reportedly asked, “What kind of fucking band is that?” and walked off on them.[1] The name Scars on 45 comes from an Emmy Lou Harris interview Bemrose heard in which she talks about scratching up her dad’s records and being scolded by him for getting “Scars on his 45’s.” [8] It was one of the few names considered that band members did not dismiss out of hand.[9]
On several occasions, the band was poised on the brink of success only to have their hopes for a record deal dashed at the last moment. When their song “Beauty’s Running Wild” was selected for an extended closing scene of an episode of CSI: New York, they finally had a bit of money in hand to purchase equipment for recording. They also caught the ear of TV music supervisor Alex Patsavas. At the time, Patsavas had just entered an agreement with Atlantic Records to acquire her Chop Shop label under which the band is now signed.[9]
Their EP “Give Me Something” was released digitally by Chop Shop Records in January 2011, and the physical EP came out in June. A video for the single "Give Me Something," produced by DJ Brauner, turned out a bit darker and sadder than originally scripted.[10] “The video was weird,” explains Bemrose. “It tells the tale of young kids that fall in love, going through the years, and at the very end, the old fella walks back to the tree where they’d carved their names, and she’s passed away. That’s not how it was supposed to be. There was an old woman cast to play the part, so at the end, both were going to be there and fall in love again, but [the actor] couldn’t be bothered to turn up, so we just killed her off.”
On September 13, 2011 the Grey’s Anatomy Vol. 4 soundtrack was released featuring “Heart on Fire” as the lead track. The song was also used heavily in ABC's TV promotion of the new season, and a music video directed by Jordan Bahat was produced with the band for the ABC Music Lounge.[3] In addition to CSI: New York and Grey’s Anatomy, they have also had their music featured on TV’s One Tree Hill, The Cleaner, Pretty Little Liars, Warehouse 13, and Supernatural. Their second EP with Chop Shop Records, “Heart on Fire,” debuts on October 24, 2011, and the band's cut of the music video, also directed by Bahat, will also be available. A full length album is anticipated in early 2012. The band is already posting dates for 2012 as they set to embark on their first headlining tour of the U.S., featuring support from solo artist Anya Marina who is also signed to the Chop Shop record label.
Danny Bemrose –lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Aimee Driver –vocals
Stuart Nichols –bass guitar
David “Nova” Nowakowski –keyboard, piano, backing vocals
Chris Durling –drums, percussion
Although not a member of the band, Scars on 45 fills out their sound with the support of live session guitarist Matthew Baxter, an accomplished musician who also hails from Leeds, UK.
The band is very plugged in to social media and leverages the internet to keep fans up to date. They actively use Facebook and Twitter to share new tour dates, candid photos, and other announcements. They regularly post live performances and amusing tour diaries on YouTube that provide up close vignettes of their life on the road.
The band spent the majority of 2011 crossing the United States on tour to promote their records. They toured with artists Marc Broussard, Jack's Mannequin, and Matt Nathanson. In 2010, they spent four weeks touring the states with London's One Eskimo. They are hoping that their newly found success in the states will soon translate to more recognition back home in England.