 "Photo: Lindsey Martin / Senior Staff Photographer")
In a vast sea of undiscovered bands in San Diego, one such group has achieved fan-base success without the help of a major label to crutch its way.
Scarlet Symphony has delved its way into the San Diego music scene in 1999, and continues to lay the tracks down and play raucous live shows without selling out to a monstrous music mogul record label.
Instead, it prefers local label Cat 9 Records that, for the most part, only represents this band and its members with the various projects it has ventured.
Scarlet Symphony consists of twin brothers Zach and Josh Wheeler on bass and drums, Aaron K. Swanton on guitar and Gary Hankins on vocals. If you’ve ever seen this band live, you know the chemistry among its members exceeds the brothers on stage. This quartet plays off each other with improvisations and energy that reaches into the audience like Hankins’ own curved hands during his vocal renditions.
Scarlet Symphony performed earlier this year at Anthology with fellow locals Dirty Sweet for a hipster night at an ordinarily older crowd hot spot.
Its quintessential rock vibe garnered a fuller audience than the opening act, which continued to grow during its set. Hankins’ drawled out vocals were ranging and moaning, all the while, his right leg engaged in the “hipster bounce,” a movement made notorious by the too-cool audience members who don’t want to dance, but just can’t keep their bodies still.
During its set, Scarlet Symphony played some older tracks, but mainly performed songs off its newest record, “Foundation,” which was released in February of this year. One such catchy track is “Maker,” which takes the fast-paced guitar riffs to a whole new level, highlighting the vampire-esque vocals of Hankins’ approach.
As its other members viciously tore up the instruments on stage, Hankins creepily wrapped the microphone chord around his hand, metaphorically asphyxiating the words from his mouth.
Likewise, guitarist Swanton engaged in some unconventional techniques with his strumming. Instead of typically strumming chords with the tips of his fingers in the body of the guitar, the flats of his finger would resonate the sound right next to the chord. The intensity this method created was not only heard in its sound, but the contortions Swanton’s face made during these tracks fully exhibited the deep concentration he has when performing.
Although these locals have chosen to be their own “maker” when it comes to direction, sound and recording, their sound has proven to expand our own backyard.
Scarlet Symphony continues to tour around California and elsewhere, promoting its classic rock sound with the pop infusions that are stained with the bloodsucking ambiance the band exudes live.
For more information, check out its Web site at www.scarletsymphony.net.
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