Scattershock - A History: Part 2

In my recent article, I described the people and events that were at the heart of my early bands and marked the beginning of the trail towards Scattershock. I left off at the end of my stay in Boulder, having made the decision to return to Berkeley to finish school.

Once back in Berkeley, Steve Rosenthal and I reunited and started up our songwriting activities again. We got caught up in the MIDI craze and began recording demos that used sequenced drums, bass and keyboards, synchronized to the Fostex 4-track for guitar and vocals. We were calling our project "Secret Life" at that point, and the focus was writing and recording. We mixed a demo tape using our combination of analog tape and MIDI, which included two songs that would eventually become part of the Scattershock repertoire: "Same Time Next Week" and "Don't Wanna Talk".

At the end of my undergraduate years, I made the decision to enter UCSF to study towards a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. That meant that, Nancy (my wife to be) and I moved from Berkeley to San Francisco. As a very strange coincidence, Mike Levine had taken a job in San Francisco and was relocating from Colorado. Steve was also taking classes at San Francisco State University, making our next musical chapter fall into place effortlessly. Steve, Mike and I decided to join up under the "Secret Life" name. By this time I'd retired the Fostex 4-track, replacing it with a first-generation Pro Tools system, beginning with 4 tracks and eventually expending to 16. We wrote and recorded a bunch of songs during this period, and recorded them into Pro Tools. Mike was doing most of the lead vocals by time and all three of us were taking vocal lessons from Rubinoos drummer and great friend, Donn Spindt. We'd adopted a new name, "Shatterbox", one that better reflected the hard rock and grunge influence that had worked its way into our material. This was a very creative and productive period for all of us. We maintained a rehearsal space, first in the Turko Persian building near the Balboa Park BART station, and then eventually in the 3rd St. Rehearsal Studios near Hunter's Point. Somehow, though, over the course of my 5-ish years in graduate school and my early years in the software industry, we slowly watched our lives grow apart. Mike eventually moved back to Colorado and Steve and I struggled to spend significant amounts of time together.

Somewhere along the way, Steve and I recognized that we still wanted better recording of the Shatterbox material. Without Mike, we were short a bass player and primary vocalist. We solved the first problem by bringing in Paul Olguin, a great bass player that Steve had played with previously while backing Linda Brady. We'd gotten to know Gannon Kashiwa, a recording engineer in Denver and beta tester for Digidesign, and decided that we would record our songs with him. We gave Paul the earlier Shatterbox recordings and some demo tapes to help him learn all the songs and soon after loaded all our gear into a U-Haul trailer and headed to Denver for a week. It was a memorable week. Working with Gannon was great, both because I didn't need to think about engineering but also because he's a great guy. By the end of the week, we'd tracked 14 songs and headed back to the Bay Area, hard disk in hand.

Little did we know that it would be more than a decade before any of that material was finished. In an upcoming article, I'll explain more about why it took so long and how it eventually led to Scattershock and the "Wrong Train" release.

Shadowside - the metal world continues to expand

I am often intrigued by the ever-growing world of heavy metal. Just as the mainstream continues to push metal farther and farther into a corner, the world as a whole fights back. Most of us recognize by now that northern Europe has kept the metal flames burning strong but these days I'm fascinated to hear great metal delivered from almost every corner of the globe. I recently wrote an article about the SLoT, a Russian band that got my attention last summer. Similarly, when Shadowside's latest album, Inner Monster Out, showed up in the New Loud Rock bin at KGLT, it quickly grabbed my attention. Only later did I discover that the band is from Brazil.

All it took was a quick preview of the first two songs on the album, "Gag Order" and "Angel With Horns", for me to be hooked. Dani Nolden's incredibly powerful vocals deliver a similar impact to Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and Liv Jagrell of Sister Sin. Anger, agony and frustration come through clearly in Dani's voice but she unabashedly embraces the melodic component of her voice. Raphael Mattos' guitar work, Ricardo Piccoli's bass and Fabio Buitvidas' drum parts pummel the listener and make it absolutely clear that Shadowside is a metal band.

While Halestorm draws its material as much from hard rock and even rock & roll, and Sister Sin harkens back to some of the raw melodic hair metal bands of the 80s, Shadowside is a metal band. They're overall sound will be right at home for power metal fans. Instrumentally they borrow bits and pieces from death metal but without much of the guttural vocals that are typical of that style. Fans of the many female-fronted symphonic metal bands (e.g. Nightwish, Within Temptation, Epica) will also find much to like in Shadowside. Even progressive metal fans will find familiar elements in Shadowside's music. The band manages to pull together elements from many metal sub genres, while maintaining a steady, common thread of intense energy and vocal polish that is unique.

I have already included songs from "Inner Monster Out" in my Heavy radio show and fully expect to continue that trend in the future. If you can't wait to experience Shadowside, choose your favorite streaming service and take a listen to "Gag Order" and "Angel With Horns". If you question how heavy the band can get, take a listen to "Waste of Life" and realize that Dani would be right at home sharing the stage with Rob Halford. And, just when you were wondering what else Shadowside can throw at you, check out their cover of Motörhead's "Ace of Spades". If you love metal, I think you will love Shadowside!

Scattershock - A History: Part 1

Scattershock's roots go back many years ago to when Steve Rosenthal and I met during my Junior year in high school. Not long before, Ben Ulrich, a great friend and great drummer had decided to go in a different direction, leaving me with the makings of a band minus a drummer. Fortunately for me, chance occurrences aligned and I met Steve, a hard hitting drummer and huge fan of Phil Rudd, John Bonham and Keith Moon. Steve joined me, my sister, Leslie (on vocals) and Amir Zitro (on bass) in Saber, a heavy rock band that split time between covers and originals. We gigged at a few parties and booked our own show upstairs in the Oakland Auditorium ballroom, a show that had little audience but remains the biggest hall I've ever played. I still have the recording of that show stashed away somewhere, including some great stage banter. Our original songs were heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, the Scorpions, and Rainbow. In retrospect, that might be obvious to many of you considering such titles as "Crazed Marauder", "Beyond The Line" and "Unusually Strange".

At some point we discovered a British band that was calling themselves Saber (or maybe "Sabre") and decided to change our name to Onyx. Then Steve and I graduated from high school and, after a false start at UC Berkeley, I decided to attend G.I.T. in Hollywood for a year. During the two years after high school, including the year I was at G.I.T., the Saber/Onyx lineup remained the same but we changed the name to Exposé, got some professional publicity shots done and moved up a notch in the Bay Area club scene, playing the likes of the Chi Chi Club, La Peña and the Berkeley Square. It was during that time that I began my interest in recording, acquiring a Fostex 250 4-track recorder and using it to track various early compositions. Sometime during that period, Steve, Leslie and I did our first studio recording at Saver Sound in Oakland, recording a song that I'd written called "Can't You See".

Then I made a decision that marked the demise of Exposé and started a new path that would eventually merge back with Steve and lead to Scattershock. I chose to start my undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For my first year, I landed in the dorms, off campus in Williams Village. As luck would have it, I ended up with a room right next to Mike Levine, a bass player who had grown up in nearby Arvada. We very quickly realized how much overlap we had in musical interests, sharing bands like Van Halen, the Scorpions, and Iron Maiden. Mike had a close friend named Grant Bolinger, a great great guy and accomplished drummer, who finished off our rhythm section. Mike, Grant and I used to rehearse in Mike's basement, although on any given day that only lasted until Mike's dad opened the basement door, flicked the lights on and off a couple times and then as soon as we quieted down just enough, he'd yell "It's Over!!!".

During my second year at CU, Mike, Grant and I ended up renting a house in Boulder out near the Table Mesa Shopping Center. I had a big bedroom in the basement, adjacent to another big room we used for rehearsing and recording. I was still tracking to the Fostex 4-track, which was the heart of a couple really memorable recording sessions: a 4-song demo for a local band called "Toy" and our own "Billy and the Boingers" song, featuring Toy's lead vocalist, Ron Foxhoven, which we submitted to the Bloom County theme song competition. I also formed a cover band called "In Progress" with Grant and we played one very long and memorable gig at the Dark Horse in Boulder. It was a pretty busy year musically, but I had made the decision to return to Berkeley to finish my undergraduate studies, and figured that meant the end of my musical collaborations with Mike and Grant.

In my next article, I'll explain how my Boulder and Berkeley paths came back together, setting the stage for the eventual birth of Scattershock.

Director of Loud Rock!

We all have had an opportunity drop out of the sky, completely unexpected. Usually, looking back later in life we see those opportunities as the key building blocks to what differentiates us. Well, a couple weeks ago, I ran into another of those opportunities. Jim Kehoe, the music director at KGLT bumped into me in the studio while I was prepping my show. Out of the blue, he said, "Hey, how'd you like to take over as Loud Rock Director?". The student who had previously handled loud rock wrapped up her studies at MSU this term and was moving on to other things. It sure sounded really cool and important but, beneath the surface, Jim's question made a ton of sense.

This summer, KGLT is down to only one DJ that focuses on loud rock. You're reading his words right now. There are definitely other DJs that play loud rock but their shows tend to mix things up more, while my show is 99% based on the content of KGLT's "Loud Rock" drawers and my own collection. Our loud rock broadcasting took a significant hit when Cara Paul and Jodi Metzler left at the end of the Spring term. I'm not sure there's anyone else that even makes sense at the moment, so Jim knew what he was doing.

So, this wasn't exactly the result of an exhaustive talent search; perhaps this is meaningless, one of those "little" titles that we take on that has no real significance. Although I've joked about getting business cards made, or many a T-shirt, I probably will refrain for now. However, there definitely is substance to this opportunity and it will immediately impact my radio show, as well as any loud rock that's played at KGLT.

Y'see, now I'm the guy deciding what gets added to our loud rock collection and what isn't. I'm the one that interacts with the radio promoters for the various loud rock labels, and I'm the guy they ask to play their current "high priority" releases. No longer do I have to questions why certain albums never make it into the KGLT collection. If it's not there, it's my fault and I'm happy to take on the responsibility of keeping us well stocked. I also need to prepare weekly Top-10 Loud Rock reports for the College Music Journal (CMJ). That way they know what we've got in "heavy rotation" even if that's currently limited to my biweekly show.

There's more to it than that. I've been thinking lately the only real way to give metal and other heavy music a fair shake here in Bozeman is take the bull by the horns and actually make it available, on the radio, in the clubs, etc. I've been talking to some of my friends about forming some type of Heavy support group here in Bozeman, one that can help make sure that Heavy bands aren't missing opportunities or being overlooked. I see this opportunity at KGLT as a chance to really make sure we're shining a bright spotlight on great Heavy music.

You might also think I'd be feeling a bit lonely these days, the lonely loud rock guy amidst an ocean of country, blues, Americana, bluegrass, electronica, hip hop, jazz, etc. When Cara and Jodi left, I benefitted because my biweekly show shifted from midnight on Fridays to 9pm on Saturdays. That made my sleep cycle a lot more manageable, but it meant I was no longer part of a solid block of loud rock DJs (Cara at 6pm, Adam Kish at 9pm and yours truly at midnight. It also means I no longer have the chance to hang out with Adam at the end of his show, talking Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and heavy music in general.

Having told you that, you're probably asking yourself, "Why aren't you lonely, David?". On the surface I've got some good reasons to be lonely but that's before you factor in my good friend and fellow guitarist, Jake Quittschreiber. Thanks to a perfect bit of timing on Jake's part, I've got more company in KGLT loud rock than ever before. Jake is taking the summer DJ apprentice class and has been spending time with me on my show. Much like Adam did for me, I was quick to get Jake on mic and behind the console. It's always better to dive in and not think/worry too much about being on the air. Jake's a star student and has added fun and excitement to my last few shows. Better yet, Jake gives me even more motivation in my new role as Loud Rock Director.

Now I'm not just populating the loud rock library for myself, I'm also doing it for Jake. I fully expect Jake to take over his own radio show after he finishes the apprentice class. When that happens, there'll be two of us loud rock DJs and that much more reason for a well-stocked collection. Better yet, Jake's taste overlaps quite a bit with mine, but he also covers areas of metal that supplement my own tastes. He loves death metal and knows that genre way better than I do. Because of that, my first week as Loud Rock Director was incredibly rewarding. Jake and I worked together to identify CDs we wanted to review and then sat together in the studio annex, reviewing songs together. Jake will join me for my show again next Saturday, and through our collaboration, around two thirds of the show will be new loud rock releases. It will also be fun because it truly was a joint effort to prepare it and I'm hoping we'll be able to present the show to all of you as a joint effort.

I am also optimistic and excited that this may just be the beginning for Jake and me. I'm really looking forward to working closely with him to raise the Heavy bar at KGLT, as well as promote heavier music in Bozeman. I also see my Loud Rock Director role as an opportunity to get you, the audience, more involved in the show. Both Jake and I believe strongly in the steady flow of new music, the ever-changing evolution that keeps us exposed to new ideas and experiences. We both like playing new music because we're sharing songs and bands with our audience that perhaps would otherwise go unnoticed. On the flip side, I hope that there will be times when you share new music with us. Comment here on the blog or send me a message and tell me about new musical discoveries you've made in the land of Heavy. Now I'm the guy who's responsible for getting those into KGLT's library...

The Pursuit of New

New is always better, right? Every new generation of musicians make better music than the previous. Every old style of music that's displaced by a new one deserves to be junk-piled; the new style is clearly better. Technology always facilitates improvement, so clearly, as technology changes music, then music simply gets better. Right?

Honestly, I don't believe any of that. Newness does often make things interesting. New technology brings about good changes (e.g. search engines and widespread information access) but also presents new dangers (e.g. texting and driving). In subjective areas, where the assessments are qualitative (e.g. music), technology introduces variety but makes no guarantee of improvement. Just because you can play more notes, or play them faster, doesn't imply "better".

Can we expect that music will continually generate sea change after sea change of stylistic shifts, each one a completely new sound and an absolute improvement on what came before? I don't see how that can happen. On the flip side, then, perhaps older is better? Is Baroque better than Classical, which is in turn better than music from the Romantic period? Hard to imagine winning that argument either.

So then, what's the deal? If neither "Newer is Better!" nor "Older is Better!" are reliable slogans. If we can't count on either one, then what's the reality? First of all, the whole concept of "better" in qualitative measurement is a matter of opinion. So, some of us can happily live life believing one slogan and the other half can believe the opposite slogan. Or, more likely, this is more of a normal distribution with a few people on the fringe believing the absolutes and the rest of us sitting closer to the middle, enjoying a mixture of new and old and appreciating both.

I also imagine that there's a big dose of human nature mixed in here. We often enjoy the magic of discovery, seeing a movie for the first time, reading a new book, etc. And really, the magic of discovery works for us regardless of whether the thing we discover is truly new, or just new to us. There is still a huge sense of discovery and excitement associated with cooking up a meal from a recipe found in an old chest in the attic from a century before. Similarly, finding an old 78rpm record at a garage sale can generate the same sense of discovery as receiving a prerelease digital download of a new album due out in two weeks.

The other side of human nature also factors in, however. We often take comfort in the familiar, whether it's hiking a trail for the 100th time, eating at your favorite restaurant that's been in business since you were a kid or just hanging out with friends from grade school. And that sense of comfort can come both from re-experiencing the original, like listening to Van Halen's first album or from discovering Sister Sin, a present-day Swedish band that would have been a great double bill with Skid Row.

Then it seems that music, and many other enjoyable parts of life, bring us pleasure on multiple axes. It comforts us, reminds us of earlier days, makes us excited and look forward to something new. And each performer achieves a different mixture of those qualities as well as many others. Music does not have to be completely new and unrelated to what came before to be enjoyable. Music can borrow from earlier styles and performers. It can be simple, complicated or somewhere in between. It is unlikely that music can constantly undergo massive upheavals, where Punk comes along to combat Pop, and Grunge comes along to kill Hair Metal. In many ways, the real excitement in this world of information sharing and widespread knowledge is the intermingling of many styles and how each performer uniquely combines their own influences to generate music.

I challenge each of you to listen, both the the music you already know and to styles and performers you've rarely (or never) heard. Turn off the music critic in your head; set aside the heuristics you follow to decide what's good and what's not. Just close your eyes and listen. Then think about how it makes you feel, the impact on your mood. Are you calmed by it, energized by it? What do you think about as you listen? Do you hear some Simon and Garfunkel, a little Bob Marley or maybe some ABBA? Let the music be what it is and spend more time experiencing it, less time criticizing. In the process, I suspect you'll discover a few things about yourself.