{"id":11641,"date":"2013-08-12T01:00:56","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T05:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=11641"},"modified":"2013-08-08T09:27:45","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T13:27:45","slug":"blowin-wind-with-scorpion-childs-shaun-avants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=11641","title":{"rendered":"Blowin\u2019 Wind with Scorpion Child: \u201cPeople are tired of being pissed off at a rock show. I think people are just ready to enjoy music again.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"377351_10151567117849655_866788024_n\"<\/a>Austin, Tx\u2019s Scorpion Child is a band that you\u2019re going to be hearing a lot about on this site. Why? Because Scorpion Child is fucking awesome. They are old souls in a modern world working hard to not so much replicate as to preserve a classic, no frills rock n\u2019 roll sound that seems to be making a huge comeback these days. Scorpion Child was a band I was really excited to talk to and to get to know. I had interviewed bassist Shaun Avants previously but due to a PC crash had lost my interview. I was so bummed but as fate would have it, I\u2019d have another chance. I guess you can say that 2nd time\u2019s a charm.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scorpion Child has been hitting the road hard in 2013 and finally saw the release of their much anticipated self-titled debut album last month. Scorpion Child was one of the side stage acts on this summer\u2019s Mayhem Festival and I was psyched to have my do-over interview with Shaun. Shaun was joined by guitarist Christopher Jay Cowart and singer Aryn Jonathan Black (who just hung out with us, haha) and we talked about why they hate being called a \u201cthrowback band\u201d, their excitement about their debut album, and why they think that classic rock sound is making such a welcomed comeback. Hang out and get to know Scorpion Child. You\u2019ll be glad you did.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Scorpion Child welcome to Atlanta. Finally<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: Yup. This is our first time. It\u2019s good to be here man.<\/p>\n

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How are you finding so far other than hotter than hell.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: [laughs] We haven\u2019t seen too much of it. It\u2019s all been inside this fence [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Well, you\u2019re not missing much. It looks about the same as it does on the inside of this fence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: [laughs] Well then it\u2019s lovely! [laughs]<\/p>\n

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Before we get started I have to say that you guys are hands down one of my favorite new bands. I just can\u2019t get enough of you guys so thanks for doing this interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: Man, that\u2019s great to hear. Thanks so much.<\/p>\n

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You guys have been doing an assload of press on this tour. What is one question that \"199830_10150263364714655_11389_n\"<\/a>you get asked so much that if you have to hear it again you\u2019ll puke?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: Uh, \u201cWhat does it feel like to be part of the 70\u2019s revival wave that\u2019s going on?\u201d I think it\u2019s because we get thrown into this box so quickly and we\u2019re so much more than that. We\u2019re 80\u2019s, we\u2019re 90\u2019s, we\u2019re punk rock. There are just so many musical styles and generations in this band and we just put a little bit of a future touch on it. We\u2019re taking it forward and doing what we want to do. We\u2019re not copying anybody. When we get asked that question a lot or get compared to certain bands, it\u2019s like we\u2019re getting treated as this knock off band<\/p>\n

Christopher Jay Cowart: I wouldn\u2019t say that we\u2019re a retro throwback band. I know that there\u2019s those elements to our music but like Shaun said, there\u2019s a whole lot more to us than that.<\/p>\n

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I know that there\u2019s elements of the bands that you always get compared to like Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden but I don\u2019t hear it right there out front. I even hear bands that most people might not even know about like Captain Beyond and even Bloodrock. With that being said, what are some of the least obvious bands that you consider influential on the Scorpion Child sound?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: In my household, I grew up listening to stuff like Annie Lennox and movie soundtracks and top 40 stuff. I wasn\u2019t really exposed to this subculture or underground kind of music. Aerosmith is probably the most evident classic rock band back in the day but man, there are so many. I think Scorpion Child\u2019s live show projects that kind of punk rock side of things that you maybe don\u2019t get from the record. There\u2019s so much energy and movement. We listen to hip hop in the van. We listen to everything and I think it just gets in our brain in a certain way. We don\u2019t really try to draw upon anything specifically. It\u2019s just how it enters our brain and how we process it and how we release it into our music and we can\u2019t even control that.<\/p>\n

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I do hear this mishmash of influences that have been put together to just create this sound that is Scorpion Child. What do you think Scorpion Child can do to drive that message home that you are Scoropin Child and not just some throwback copy band?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christopher Jay Cowart: I think the longer the records out and circulated and people come to the live show, people will see that. Seeing us live really separates us from a lot of bands. The record\u2019s great and we\u2019re super proud of our record but we\u2019re also super proud of our live show and I think we pride ourselves on being a live band. The songs take on a whole new shape and form live and I think that\u2019s what separates us and what will separate us in the future from all the retro and throwback bands.<\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: Ultimately it\u2019s going to be longevity. When that wave of 70\u2019s resurgence is over, by that time we\u2019ll probably have already carved out an even deeper niche to make us more timeless as opposed to this gimmicky band. So many bands put out their first record and it sounds like \u201cthis\u201d but by their 3rd or 4th record they\u2019re a completely different band. That\u2019s personally what I\u2019m looking forward to. This is just a test run to see what we can do for future stuff. We have the freedom do really do whatever we want to creatively.<\/p>\n

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\"934659_10151773243660943_1518412614_n\"<\/a>Mayhem Festival is definitely more of a metal based festival but you guys really aren\u2019t a metal band per se yet Scorpion Child seems to be winning over new fans left and right.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: Yeah, it\u2019s been crazy. Especially since the record came out last month we\u2019ve been having more and more people showing up, waiting for us to come on stage, and they know all the words to the songs. It\u2019s really just taking off right now but it\u2019s been great.<\/p>\n

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So even though the album\u2019s new, looking back on it is there anything you wish you would\u2019ve or could\u2019ve done differently?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, we\u2019re absolutely happy with the album but when you\u2019re on the inside looking out, you\u2019re always going to nitpick about how things got done and how you wish you would\u2019ve had more time or maybe even come up with an idea after it\u2019s all been recorded. That\u2019s just always going to be there. I think in the production of the record, next time I\u2019d like it to be little bit more smooth and cohesive. This time around it was just kind of scattered which I kind of feel like gives it some character. Next time around I think we\u2019ll have the time and the energy to keep it a little bit more focused.<\/p>\n

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Music seems to have cycles and it seems that especially in the hard rock\/metal world, the cycle of that classic, 70\u2019s almost psychedelic sound is starting to stick its head up from the ground. Why do you think that is and do you feel that Scorpion Child is part of this cycle?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christopher Jay Cowart: People are tired of being pissed off at a rock show. Back in the day, you went to a rock show and there were girls there dancing and it was a good time. Now, you come to a lot of these metal fests and everybody\u2019s throwing punches and moshing which is fine but I think people are just ready to enjoy music again. I think that\u2019s what we try to do. When we\u2019re on stage, that\u2019s our best 30 minutes of the day and you can see it on all our faces. That\u2019s what we live for and I think that the audience sees that and they want to have a good time too. I think that\u2019s what\u2019s happening with music right not. People are tired of being angry all the time. Let\u2019s have fun [laughs].<\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: On the flip side of that, a lot of modern rock radio stations are playing this really digitally processed, candy coated version of, well, you really can\u2019t even call it rock n\u2019 roll anymore. I think that\u2019s where everybody\u2019s seeing this 70\u2019s resurgence we were talking about earlier. It\u2019s really just people going back to the riff on the guitar; getting back to the basics of it all and not dressing it up and covering up every little mistake. It\u2019s honest, it\u2019s natural, it really touches people more than a lot of the stuff that is coming out today where there\u2019s nothing to grasp onto. There no soul in it. There\u2019s no swagger and I think that\u2019s what people want now. They want that fine balance of sexy and rocking! You can be sexy but you don\u2019t have to be wimpy [laughs]. You can still get chicks without crying about them. You also don\u2019t have to yell at everybody and act all super tough. Just have fun and get back to the basics of it.<\/p>\n

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You guys have been sweating it all out for Mayhem Fest and going on stage at a time when you\u2019re usually used to loading in. Does going on so early in the day change or affect the dynamics of your performance at all?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun Avants: I think it just changes your sleeping pattern and your schedule for the day but once you get into the throws of it like any tour, you have a little period of jet lag at the beginning but then once you get acclimated to it, you\u2019re just sitting around waiting for 4:30 to roll around so you can get up there and play [laughs]. We actually have a very nice slot because we\u2019re one of the last bands to play before all of the major headliners start.<\/p>\n