How did The Scamps form and what inspired you to make music together?
After moving from Chicago to Brooklyn to work as a guitar maker, I was inspired to build my first “real” electric guitar. I had played acoustics for years but that electric guitar changed how I wrote music and played guitar. It was the catalyst to start the band.
My first idea was to find someone who played the keyboards that sounded like a old Hammond organ. I found Emily. For a while, it was Emily on keys and me on guitar with a drum machine. But when we met Kevin he put the drum machine to shame and we became a trio. Then Matthew came along on bass to complete the lineup and it was magic… scamp magic.
How did the name “The Scamps” originate?
One evening, while we were out celebrating my birthday, Emily’s boyfriend called us a bunch of scamps. The name stuck. The Scamps were born.
How would you describe your sound and who are your major musical influences?
We sound like Muddy Waters and Stevie Wonder making out to the Talking Heads in the back of Booker T’s MG. Or better yet, how about if both Muddy Waters and Stevie Wonder were ladies!
OK, all ladylove aside… We have a lot of 60’s influence. 60‘s garage rock, old school R&B, electric blues, and just about anything that you can dance to.
Who writes your song lyrics and what are some reoccurring themes in your music, if any?
I write the lyrics and I guess, travel or transportation comes up often. To me, whether its human powered, a combustion engine, or whatnot, transportation and travel feel like change or progress, even if that progress is measured in miles. That might be a reoccurring theme, or I might just be a flight risk.
Briefly, walk me through the Scamps music making process. How does a song begin its life; through lyrics, guitar, random rock sessions?
Sometimes its a guitar part, sometimes its a lyric. Lately, I’ve been coming up with lyrics while bicycling around Brooklyn. The hard part is remembering when I get home, so I usually end up singing them the whole way.
After I’ve got the beginnings of a song, I sit down with a guitar to flesh it out and email a demo to the rest of the band. That way, when we get together to play they’ve already got some ideas. We usually end up taking the song apart and putting it back together piece by piece.
Are The Scamps signed to a record label?
We are doing it all ourselves.
How can our followers listen to a few of your songs and are any of them available to download?
On our website, thescamps.com. You can listen to our single, Sack Lunch and download it for free. As we finish up the rest of the songs, our site is the best place to find them.
Where on the World Wide Web are you located and where can we purchased your self-titled Album, “The Scamps”?
We can be found at thescamps.com. and on facebook at, facebook.com/thescamps.
Once it’s out, you’ll find our self-titled debut, “The Scamps” on our website, at shows and almost any place you can find music online.
When exactly is the new album coming out?
August 31st, but you can pre-order on our site.
Do you have any live show dates in the near future, if so what venues?
We are having our album release party in Brooklyn on August 27th Matchless. That is the show not to miss. You can also check out our calendar at: thescamps.com/shows.html
Who within the band identifies as part of the LGBTQ community?
Me. I am super-gay. Our bass player is pretty gay too.
Is the LGBTQ Community a large part of your target fan base?
The LGBTQ Community feels like my family, so its more like sharing than targeting.
Do any of your songs speak about ladies loving ladies?
A bunch of them do. I am a lady who loves the ladies. I’ve been out for so long that its not something I think about when writing my lyrics. Ladies just seem to slip into songs.
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own band?
Start the band with people you like. Start it with people you wouldn’t mind being stuck in a room with practicing for a few hours a week. Start it with the hopes that you’ll be stuck in studios and vans on the road for hours at a time with them. I love my bandmates, and wouldn’t recommend doing it any other way.
Do you have any last words?
FUCK YEAH LADY LOVE Rocks!
interview by trajenny
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