Seven Minutes with Seven Stitches
Interview
By Harriet Kaplan
Photos by Manrique Photography
Seven Stitches, according to their web site, is “An East-Coast-meets-West-Coast connection. This female-fronted rock band combines a hard, yet melodic sound with a passionate vocal and lyrics that hit home. Originally from Virginia, singer Sammy Allen moved to New York City in pursuit of a singing career and was quickly approached by A&Rs, Producers and Managers who frequented the karaoke lounge in the East Village where she was a singing bartender. Though she was without a demo at the time, her lucky break came with a trip to Los Angeles where she was introduced to guitar player Scott Ueda and bass player Josh Paul, who were looking for a female singer to front a new band. Once they set foot into the studio with Engineer/Producer Steve Bruno of Klown Records in Santa Monica (Motley Crue, Brides of Destruction, Prong, Boy Hits Car), the chemistry was undeniable and she quickly made the move to Los Angeles to join the band…. Breaking ground in the Los Angeles rock scene, Seven Stitches has gained much respect and support. With an already positive buzz around town, this is only the beginning….”
AAM caught up with Seven Stitches in between gigs.
AAM: What does your band name, Seven Stitches, represent?
Seven Stitches: It was hard to find a band name that hadn't already been taken...but luckily ours eventually came about organically. I was telling a friend a funny story about how one of my band members had a big gash on the side of his head from his wife's stiletto high heel. The band member, in quintessential rock star fashion, Superglued the gaping wound shut. My friend found it funny that he didn't get stitches, and suggested we name the band Seven Stitches.
AAM: How long has the band been together?
AAM: Sammy, was it your dream to be in a hard rock band? That is, was that a goal or did you originally want to be a solo singer?
SA: It has always been my dream to sing both in bands and solo projects throughout my lifetime.
AAM: Who are your influences and how did they affect your singing style?
SA: I have been influenced by so many different genres of music. I have always loved hard rock, metal, punk...but I also listen to dance, old soul, pop, trip hop. Vocally, some of my influences are Etta James, Sarah McLachlan, and Heart. But my biggest influence is my mom. She's an amazing singer. She has such a powerful voice, and she can sing it all!
AAM: Your bio mentions that there was chemistry almost immediately among the band when you got together. How did everybody know or realize they were connecting, and why?
SA: Scott is simply one of the best guitar players I've ever heard, and this project was exactly the opportunity I was looking for. We were on the same page with the kind of music we wanted to play, and the message we wanted to get across. Everything about the way the songs came together was magical.
AAM: What was it like working with Steve Bruno in the studio?
SS: Working with Steve Bruno... hmmmm. It's always great working with Stevo, because he's almost like a silent member at times. We have this odd relationship where we are totally open and honest with each other. If something sounds great, it's all good, but if something’s a bit off, we poke fun at it until it's corrected.
AAM: How did he help the band record and aid in guiding the band's sound?
SS: Stevo is a great engineer! Unlike most bands that he's worked with, we come in with our material pre-produced. What we've learned from working with Stevo is that time is money and everyone BETTER come in humble and professional or get served with a dose of reality. For example, if someone’s timing's shot, Stevo won't hesitate to throw over a metronome and leave for an hour. So to save face and humiliation, I ALWAYS work the ‘nome for a few hours prior to coming in.
AAM: Where is Seven Stitches CD available? Is there a recording deal in the works?
SS: The Seven Stitches CD is not available at this time. We are currently in the process of shopping a deal. Once, we attempted to sell a few CD's at our show...but that was too crazy. At that particular show, we only made 75 CDs but sold them all within an hour after our show. It was at that point we knew we needed a deal. Sure, we made a little change selling them, but we collectively decided that we didn't want our music out on "homemade" discs.
AAM: How did the songwriting process develop? Does Sammy write the lyrics and the guys write the music, or vice versa, or a bit of both?
SS: The songwriting process usually starts with me. I usually write the music, lyrics and starting melodies then approach Sammy and the band with them. Once Sammy approves she takes it to a whole new level. She alters my somewhat generic melody into something MUCH more captivating. It's like night and day. On other occasions, I would write a good "skeleton" and pass it around to a few professionals that we work closely with and have them come up with a few suggestions. In the end we trash more songs than we keep. We are our worst critics.
AAM: Are the songs autobiographical in nature? Most sound as if they were drawn from life experience, with themes of loss, death, the will to persevere, putting on a facade to fit in or be part of a scene, hiding from who you are. Would you say they are more
universal and people overall can relate?
SS: Most songs are autobiographical, but some are based on what some of our friends are going through at the time we’re writing. We tend to touch on subjects of self-loathing with hopeful twists. We often dwell on the dark, but pray for light. There should always be hope at the end of a song. We never want to send a negative message out there. We are definitely not PC, and don’t care about that in any way…but then again, we are dreamers and know that in the end of any situation everything will be all right...or should be all right. Right?
AAM: Josh, Bud, and Scott: Having worked alongside well-known, established musicians, what's it like being a newer band without that renown, and sort of going back to square one? What did you bring Seven Stitches as result of that background?
SS: It's actually a LOT of hard work starting a band from square one, but at the same time it's definitely a breath of fresh air. The less politics involved...the better! Being in the loop can bring humbleness and much-needed knowledge to a new band. The music business is unfortunately jaded by doubtfulness. There are only a handful of music execs that really know what they're doing; the rest basically have no opinion. They rely on what their counterparts move on. With music sales on the decline, most A&Rs are scared to take a chance in fear of making a wrong decision that will cost them their jobs. What they should do is take a chance with Seven Stitches...so we could make millions together!
All*Access Magazine thanks Seven Stitches and wishes them the best of luck. Find out more about the band at www.SevenStitches.com on MySpace.
Story by Harriet Kaplan
Photos by Manrique Photography
