The Band:
Sera del Fuego is a three-piece rebellion against boredom.
The Name:
The name Sera del Fuego is marketing suicide. Ambiguous in meaning and composed of words from non-English languages, a name like this could only spell doom for a new American band on the verge of breaking in- potentially it could even stop them. In its intended translation, Sera del Fuego works itself out to be "evening of fire", with sera meaning "evening" in Italian and del Fuego meaning "of fire" in Spanish. Already embarking on its dark fate of mispronunciation and confusion, which the band freely admits to, the name is also completely intentional in every way. More on this later.
The Album:
The time is now and the air of the music industry is haunted by complete disaster. Much akin to the politics we've come to know, a doomed marriage of arrogance and negligence has led the music industry to stand beneath its own darkness where the facades have dropped, the jig is up and whatever's left is clinging to the vanity of its own prayer. So what now, modern times? Where do those of the next generation go when everything they've known has managed only to let them down? What of the new professionals, the new parents, the new leaders and the new artists? What of us?
These are not the questions that Sera del Fuego even comes close to answering on their debut album, entitled Live Romance. In fact, these questions are at best repeated in the simple lyrics of club anthem "Last Night's Rave", with the words "Did you meet your truest love/did we die the same as so ignored?/If we flew across the sea, if we stayed/would we still be bored?" The same questions live in the menacing story of "South Philly's Burning", in which two characters debate the merits of investigating a blazing night fire across town; a fire that's been completely ignored by the local media. This terrifying event, as it should be noted, did actually happen. But Live Romance is not a political album, rather its stories and songs come from human situations, such as the glimmering wall-of-sound triumph of "Saturday Night", the melancholy and gliding reflection of "Who's Sorry Now?" and the sinister warnings of the album's opener "Criminelle", possibly the most evil-sounding jazz rock song of our time. Also worthy of mention, this album is of our time and was created in its entirety with neither the help nor the funding of a record label.
The Influences and the Sound:
Sera del Fuego as a whole has been described as the glaring child of David Bowie, Pixies, The Smiths, Bruce Springsteen and Jamiroquai. Give that child a slight drinking problem and it's stunningly accurate. Fully formed in late 2006, Sera del Fuego began playing Boston clubs in 2007 and by the year's end recorded Live Romance at San Diego's best and still most promising indie asset Black Box Studios. Indicative in their music, the three members bring very diverse tastes to the table. There's bassist Sam Spencer, who was raised on Motown and the Beatles. An aficionado of both Zimbabwean music and metal (amongst many others), he can often be heard fusing fearless African, jazz, or pop rhythms with classical theory, the latter of which he is a self-described geek. Additionally, he composes synth-pop under the moniker The Duct Tape Solution. Drummer Jeffrey Scott Mays is a life-long appreciator of and expert in pop music, literally of all ages and kinds. Absolutely loves Queen. If you've heard it he knows it and can probably play it. Known in several previous outfits as "Thunderhands", Mays bravely turns any room he plays into an avalanche; anyone who's been to a Sera del Fuego show can tell you this. Scattered singer and guitarist Justin Walcroft finds obsession in everything from 60s French pop and 70s American soul to the most chaotic songs of The Birthday Party. Lyrically many writers, ranging from the New York Dolls to Pablo Neruda, have served as an inspiration to his style. A practicer of layering guitars, Walcroft may sound like a shoegazer, but he prefers not to look down.
The Rest:
Between the pretentious name, the refusal to choose a regular sound and the pessimistic attitude, it's pretty easy to say that Sera del Fuego is not worth your time. So go, listen to easy music. There are bands out there who claim to have the answers to the questions that are asked. There are bands out there who are consistent in style. Again- have at it. But some of you want more. And the people that do want more do not simply belong to one place; this brings us back to the name Sera del Fuego. Not one single demographic can make a perfect meaning of this name on its own, just as not one single genre will ever contain this group's sound. Genres, after all, are the inventions of businessmen, not musicians. The title Live Romance shares this ambiguity, for "Live" could easily be a verb or an adjective, yet the choice, regardless of the band's ideas or intentions, remains that of the listener. Sera del Fuego is the evening of fire that they claim to be and indeed will be the wrong band for anybody that prefers to be spoon-fed their tastes and their passions. Then again, those people are usually just bored.
So once more, modern times, what now? What of the new class? What of us? No, these questions are not answered by Sera del Fuego or their Live Romance album. But these questions are not truly answered by songs and lyrics, nor are they decoded by musings or speeches. They are answered by action. Stay tuned.
you are a true poet...I will be at the show on the 6th, but mark may 9th on your calendar. It is the debut show from my new band and you will love the new shit I have been comming up with
Guess what? The auditions I had that night we ran into eachother at Shaws SUCKED... BUT I did get cast in BOTH operas!! I'm shocked, but hell, I'll take it! Are you going to Sparrow on Sat?
HAHA isn't the supermarket amazing? the auditions sucked last night! but at least i showed up and did it... ya never know.... There's a sparrow show next sat in brookline that a bunch of us are hittin' up. you may already be aware, but if not..... ya dig?
Just finished the 5th volume of the Sandman. Amazing! I especially love how one comic had references to both They Might Be Giants and Lou Reed. Good stuff!
