On November 18th, Haven in Northampton MA hosted one of the biggest shows they've done yet: co-headliners Bella Morte and the Cruxshadows, with opening bands I:Scintilla and The Azoic. The venue was packed, with at least 300 people filling Diva's Nightclub in Northampton.
I:ScintillaI:Scintilla hails from Chicago, IL. Fronted by female singer Brittany, their sound fits easily into the goth rock genre. Brittany has a clear, alto voice, and her stage presence is amazing. Her animation brings the audience's attention sharply to her, and the other members of the band are likewise talented musicians. While the band seems to have a long way to go in progressing their sound, they have a tremendous amount of potential and talent. Jim Cookas is their guitarist and programmer, Vincent Grech on drums, and Chad Mines on bass.
I:Scintilla might be called the Evanescence of the non-mainstream world. Their singer is talented and animated, and their brand of dark rock inspires the listener to get active. There were several fans in the audience last night to support the newcomers to the scene.
I greeted Brittany after the show. She was very friendly, as was guitarist Jim. She had some terrific advice to offer me as a musician, and was very engaging.
I:Scintilla is presently touring with The Cruxshadows on their Immortal tour, and will be hitting more than seventy United States cities over a three-month span. Their most recent album, “Optics,” can be purchased through the site and also via Amazon and iTunes.
I:Scintilla are presently hard at work composing and writing a new album, to be released in December of 2008.
The AzoicThe Azoic is a female-fronted darkwave and trance band hailing from Columbus Ohio. Their lead singer, Kristy Venrick, is a lithe, animated stage presence with a clear and beautiful mezzosoprano voice and a smile to match.
The Azoic formed a number of years ago, its first beginnings in 1996. As time went on and the setup changed, The Azoic is led by Kristy, the only original remaining member, as well as Andreas Kleinert on keys and programming, and Lawrence Zalewski on keys and guitar. While the tour they are presently on is a brief one for them, they are planning a bigger tour for 2009 and also have a new album in the works.
I interviewed Kristy for a while following Bella Morte's set to ask her about The Azoic's origins, what fuels their music, and what their future plans are. Says Kristy, “I am all about empowerment.” The female singer, an architect by day, fuels her powerful songs with ideas of empowerment, improvement and development, particularly female development. She says, “I want all women to feel empowered, and men as well.” A very professional and pleasant person, Kristy works hard to generate her message along with the rest of the band, and also to make progress not only as a musician, but as an individual.
I spent a good amount of time with Kristy tossing ideas back and forth. She is an extremely intelligent woman, and there is little doubt that with the great people The Azoic contains, they will continue to rise in the darkwave and electro-pop scene.
The Azoic carries a synergy with them that is unlike some other bands out there. A team rather than simply a band, their interactions with each other prove them to be very close, and that synergy shows on the stage.
The Azoic will be releasing their new album in 2009, and they hope to also tour Europe in late spring and early summer.
Bella MorteBella Morte is a name known to many people involved in the goth and goth-related scenes. As always, they rocked the house, with great stage presence and audience interaction.
Their new album, “Beautiful Death,” contains throwbacks from their earlier works, such as “Remains” and “Where Shadows Lie,” particularly the latter. The great new songs were fresh while still cleaving to their genre of music, and still avidly demonstrates Bella Morte's own unique style. Fronted by Andy Deane, the band houses Micah Consylman on keys, Tony Lechmanski on guitar, Tony Pugh on bass, and Scotty Derrico, the newest member, on drums.
I talked with Andy for awhile after their set to ask about their new album. I asked him about the earlier influences involved with the new album, and he eagerly discussed the new sounds.
“I missed the orchestral and classical influences,” says Andy. “And it's been great to really be able to use my voice.”
I asked him how the band was handling the setup changes – several members have joined and left since Bella Morte was formed, including original member Gopal Metro. “We're handling it well,” says Andy. “But sometimes things like this can really help you rediscover your heart.”
We talked about some of the themes present in Bella Morte's music. I jokingly told him that I tell people Bella Morte is all about “time, love, death, and zombies.” He laughed. “Heh, you know, we're not doing the zombie thing so much anymore, but time is a really huge theme with this album.” He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve to show me a large tattoo of an hourglass. “I'm really kind of obsessed with hourglasses,” he tells me, smiling a bit.The new album features titles such as “Find Forever Gone”, “Eternal,” “1,000 Days,” and “Fades Like a Song.” Andy places particular emphasis on the importance of time, and how vital it is to live for today and remember that which has passed. His inspiration in creating music is cyclical, drawing from both present experience and past experience. “Sometimes, I'll be up late, and something will just come into my head, and I have to get it out.”
Following my conversation with Kristy, she helped me snag Micah Consylman for more questions.
I talked with Micah further about the desire to cleave the old with the new with “Beautiful Death.” “We've got this full spectrum of music,” says Micah. “We wanted to combine it for this album, and put in more classical sound, like Andy mentioned. We wanted to take the original feel and reinvigorate it with everyone's talent.”
We discussed the time theme a bit more. “Both Andy and I believe that life is short and time is fleeting, and that you have to live for today,” says Micah. “We try to take good care of ourselves...I myself want to see my artistic vision fully realized. I make art because I want to share it with everyone.”
Micah recently started a recording studio called Final Symphony Productions. “I wanted to make an affordable way for musicians to get their material recorded,” says Micah. Micah sound engineered the entire new album at Final Symphony, and has also done most of the artwork for previous albums.
Bella Morte will be touring for the remainder of November, both independently and with co-headliners The Cruxshadows in conjunction with the Immortal Tour.
The CruxshadowsAs always when it comes to performance, The Cruxshadows delivered. Featuring a new band lineup of both musicians and dancers, Rogue takes to stage with ever greater flair and energy.
Their set was stirring and full of energy, featuring old favorites and new songs from their new album, “Immortal.”
At present, the Cruxshadows' lineup includes members Rogue, who is the only original member; Pyromantic on keys, backing vocals, Valerie Gentile on guitar and backing vocals, David Wood on violin, JoHanna Moresco on violin, Jessica Lackey, backup singer and dancer, and Sarah Kilgore, backup singer and dancer.
The Cruxshadows have a long and sorted history. Formed around 1992, the band has seen a number of shifts in their lineups, though always with Rogue fronting the band. However, despite these shifts, The Cruxshadows have continued to maintain a distinctive sound, and they have carved themselves a niche like no other in the world of ethereal, darkwave, and gothic industrial.
Having played hundreds of shows both here and abroad, the Cruxshadows have maintained a strong presence in the scene, continuing to put forth piles of energy and creative production in both performance and composition. Their uniqueness has even made them something of a household name in mainstream arenas, both through literary influence and simple word of mouth.
I was not able to speak with any members of the band at this show, but needless to say, it goes without saying that the Cruxshadows have been around for many years, and they are expected to continue gifting us with their creative talents for years to come.
The Cruxshadows are presently on their Immortal tour, which will be concluded at the end of December. Their latest release, Immortal, is available on Amazon.com and in stores, and we hope to see new material forthcoming from them after they complete their tour.
http://iscintilla.comMuse en Lystrala is a musician and writer living in the New England area. She is part of the writing team at Nocturnal Magazine , and is presently working on producing her third album under project Ocean Born Muse. Learn more about Nocturnal Magazine at Nocturnal Publications.
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