There is something really special about Threads Of Scarlet.
Maybe it’s their chemistry as they play live; maybe it’s the fact they write their own songs and not just rock songs, or maybe it’s just that they are an all-round great outfit.
Whatever the ingredients, they came together two weekends ago to make TOS’ debut concert one of the better events on the local calendar.
The men of Threads Of Scarlet recently sat down with WE Entertainment to talk about the band, the local show and their performance at the SXSW music showcase in Austin, Texas, United States, as well as surviving on a musical scene, where alternative/rock bands are in the minority.
With the four members listing influences from Beethoven to Led Zeppelin to Metallica to Bob Marley, frontman Nicholas Ward was quick to point out that they would not pigeonhole themselves as a heavy metal band.
“We wouldn’t categorize ourselves as overly heavy. There is a little bit of everything for people there. We’re not gonna say we’re a rock band and we’re only gonna do this,” he stressed.
Drummer Stu Damm is of the opinion that it’s because of the members’ various musical preferences that they gel so well.
“Nobody says we’re gonna set out to do this in that style or that in that style,” he said. Noting he went to music school, where his taste eventually turned to classical music, Damm noted: “I think it’s because of our varied influences and that everyone’s been so involved and had a huge musical development early in their lives and that everyone has strong ideas and strong passions, that when you bring them all together it becomes a melting pot.”
Pointing to the reggae-influenced song Hot Box, joint lead singer Jesse Foster said they would usually think of what their public wanted to hear.
“We think about the people a lot whenever we’re writing songs. Generally speaking, we would think about what the audience would want to hear. The song Hot Box is a reggae song and because we’re from the island, you’ve gotta have a reggae song on the album,” Foster explained, as bassist Mark Glinka chipped in: “That song came together really bad.”
The four conceded that surviving in Barbados as an alternative/rock band was not easy even though Glinka, who is from Ohio, United States, said he was surprised at the following the genre had here.
But, said Ward, the scene was steadily growing with more bands coming on the scene and with radio stations coming on board and giving those bands airplay.
For them, the secret behind Threads’ success is lyrics and fun.
“You are not gonna connect to people if you’re just gonna try and write a song for the sake of writing a song,” said Ward.
“If you write a song and you mean what you’re singing about and you write it from a true place, you have a better chance of people being able to relate and we try to do that with the majority of our songs,” he noted.
“Obviously,” he hastened to add, “we don’t take ourselves absolutely seriously all the time. Music is supposed to be fun too so a song like Eyes For You, that’s a fun song and Slow Down are just written about having a good time.”
Turning to SXSW music showcase, Glinka said not only did the band get an extremely positive response from patrons, the connections TOS made were invaluable.
“They will help us further in the industry worldwide especially with radio and concert promotion,” he noted.
As for last month’s concert at Olympus Theatres, the members unanimously rated it as their top performance.
“The whole show, the visuals, the music, the production,” as Damm put it.
“We’ve been playing for a considerable amount of time, separately and together. Mark has been in other bands, Stu has been in lots of other bands Nick ,and I have been in other bands, but there is something really special about this band and the more we do it the better we get at it,” Foster said.
“Every show we’re gonna do from now on is gonna match that or surpass it,” Ward promised.
