ABOUT THE BAND
Incorporating melody, brutality, and beauty to respire a stagnant music industry are Scapegoat: the five-piece hard rock band hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1999, Scapegoat has proven adamant with their driven work ethic to create inventive and passionate compositions. The band, comprised of Justin Driscoll (guitar), Daniel Hitselberger (drums), Dan Royer (bass), Kit Walters (vocals), and Spencer Bensch (guitar), are relentless in their pursuits to satisfy onlookers and capture new audiences. This band does everything a rock group should, without adhersing to the boring steadfast rules that produce generic, uninspiring acts.
Formed back in 1999, when they were only 13 years old, the band made up of Walters, Justin Driscoll (guitar), Spencer Bensch (guitar), Dan Hitselberger (drums), Dan Royer (bass) self-released their first album back in 1999 and haven’t looked back since. Their debut for Tragic Hero, Let Our Violins Be Heard came out in 2005, and have been building and tweaking their sound, almost obsessively, tells Kit. “Zombie Dog has been in the works for a year and half. We took our roots and turned them into something new, fresh, and positive.” This is exactly the note that they end Zombie Dog on, with the song “Trees,” which Kit declares is a “folky jam, about what the world would be like if everyone broke down the walls that they built. It makes us smile every time we play it.”
THESE CARDS WE'RE DEALT
This record was made at an extremely developmental point of our lives (ages 15-17). Many memories and emotions are associated with this album. The majority of this album was written in the musty, moldy, non-climate controlled garaged of the "Royer-Mansion." We were all living in close quarters amongst a sea of pizza boxes & beer cans. Accompanying us in the process were a party-crew of friends, Old man Royer, & many pets (bunnies, ducks, mice, kitties, turtles, guinea pig, birds, tarantulas). We practiced everyday for months, in preparation for our studio time with the then unknown producer, Jamie King.
At the time, he was recording out of his parents basement, bellow a cozy house in Rural Hall, NC. Back then we did not have the luxury of our huge tour bus and trailer, so we loaded up all our gear into a caravan of cars. Jamie was fashionably late for the session. He walked down the stairs with his favorite items in hand, a Sunkist soda and a slab of pizza. Dan Hits tracked drums first, a process in which he somehow completed in ONE DAY. We slept in the basement because we were too poor to afford a motel. After tracking guitars and skipping school I made my trip home. Kit and Royer stayed for the rest of the week. In the process, they lived off noodles and ran out of cash. Oh, and Royer managed to steal a live tarantula from the local pet store.
The vocal production and mixing was completed via the internet and late night sessions. Most of us did not have a drivers license, so Sean's 1980 Chevy pickup or Werm's mini van were our means of transportation. These Cards We're Dealt was released at Tremont Music Hall on February 20th, 2004 to a Sold-Out hometown. If you have been with us since then or this is your first time, enjoy.
- Justin/Scapegoat (November 11th, 2008)
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