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Last Updated:
May 6th, 2008 - 11:18:54 |
Scarlet Oaks
When North Meets South
Someone once said that Detroit is a Southern city misplaced in the North. With our penchant for the blues, a stellar working class attitude and the fact that there are farms only 30 minutes north of the city, it’s hard to disagree with this statement. At least, the Scarlet Oaks definitely subscribe to this line of thinking anyway.
The band, which features guitarist/vocalist Steve McCauley, drummer Noelle Christine and bassist Ian Williamson, takes the country music of the South and serves it through a late-'90s Detroit filter. The band even met in an odd mix of Southern and Yankee traditions. “Originally, Noelle and I met at a pig roast outside of Lansing,” Steve McCauley says. “I was playing with a vegan honky-tonk band and after the show we struck up a great conversation about music. We remained friends for the next few years and, when the bands we were in fell apart, we decided to team up.” The idea of a vegan honky-tonker playing a show at an almost ritualistic style burning of an animal is something that is distinctly Detroit and Scarlet Oaks, for that matter. This sentiment passes on from personal actions into the band’s music as well.
With tinges of glam, rock-a-billy and British Invasion rock ‘n’ roll reflecting the early garage scene, the Scarlet Oaks have opened up their musical reference points to a wide variety of genres as they have grown. “You could even throw some Dixieland Jazz and some French Pop into that mix,” McCauley states. “We try to condense as much of those elements into our songs as we can. We hope the end result is some really nice music.”
McCauley’s talent for songwriting and Christine’s pitch perfect pension for picking out harmonies make for interesting sound. “I always carry a small tape recorder and record ideas when they pop into my head. It might be dangerous, but I do a lot of my writing when I drive.” McCauley says. “From there I tweak it a bit and then bring it to the band where they help establish the arrangements and structure. Then Noelle comes up with the backing vocal and harmony parts.”
The great music that the band has set out to create has resulted in their debut EP, Innocence Isn’t Easy. The record, which is being released this month on Bellyache Records, was recorded in Ann Arbor with help from friend/producer Chris DuRoss at Big Sky Studio. Although the group has only been a band since early 2007, that hasn’t stopped them from writing many songs and pulling from their wide array of influences on this record. “We laid down a good cross section of our material and tried to keep the recording as simple and raw as possible,” McCauley comments.
In a city where many big bands have taken to putting some country twang in their step, it seems like it might be possible for a smaller group to keep their head above water. This isn’t the case with The Scarlet Oaks. “What sets us apart from other bands is the songs,” McCauley says. “I’m not saying we’re better than other bands, but I think we’ve got some really good songs. We want a listener to hear one of our songs and know it’s a Scarlet Oaks song. Hopefully, that’s enough to cut through and get people’s attention.” | RDW
Scarlet Oaks • 5/31 • Northern Lights Lounge
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