This is a review of a house show we played in Reno, NV August 2009:
(written by brad nelson)
TEETH ARCHITECTURE
Santa Rosa band
STARSKATE formerly Batman vs. Predator, disassembled me. I told them of the
disassembling and they handed me their CD so I could now disassemble at
terrible will.
Unlike a lot of the bands discussed up to this point, Starskate are
obsessed with form. The music is so exact that it’s like reimagining
Tortoise as a force with no regard for human life (arbitrary comparison
due to extensive Tortoise-listening prior to show’s start, these mental
implications probably mean nothing). They so yield to the whims of form
that when they disregard it one has no choice but to shake off his/her
own form in return. I held a camera to their violent display but hardly
filmed anything of use, trembling against the wall.
Starskate. Photo by Erik Stabile.I left that show equally rebuilt by music that initially tore me
asunder. That is the desired effect, to be so thoroughly molested that
your limbs start rotting from the inside and your sense of identity
retreats behind reinforced mental doors. To so thoroughly trust that
music as to let it reassemble you, though it will reassemble you
incorrectly—when you first intend to walk you will twitch in place, you
will want to wave a hand goodbye but your limbs will invert and shiver,
you will initially appear a wounded animal but you are quite healed and
elevated, having gone into the light and come straight out of it,
having transformed in its heat. Having been iced by the black hole.
This is a CDR review / interview by Kevin from Colorado who saw us at Neato Burrito in Spokane August 2009:
I found Starskate through a melancholic kid who was simply ecstatic to know the guys personally from their, quote, "
mad balls in the face while your face is melting" live shows around Washington.
I
started this blog out with the intention of reviewing the EP. It was
stocked and ready, full of delicate phrasing, eager comparisons, and
shotgun assaults of genre naming. Fortunately for fans of band—and
unfortunate for fans of my delectable album reviews—I was able to get a
hold of Shaun (drummer) from Starskate. While I expected a personable
young man with a good sense of humor and passion for his music, I got a
seething, angry quintessential front man who yelled capitalized insults
at me via myspace. Actually I think I got that backwards.
Formally
known as Batman Vs. Predator, as a duo (Mikey Bellonio on Bass), the
band recently changed their name to Starskate with the addition of
guitarist Guy Henry Mueller from The Iditarod and Low Five.
(I
decided to let Shaun speak a bit about his music and the addition of
the guitarist himself, instead of trite comparisons and esoteric
phrasing).
“We have always liked the idea of playing with a
third member. When we were playing as BVP we would occasionally add a
third member whenever we felt like it. We had someone doing samples and
keyboards for a couple of shows” Shaun said.
“We also did 2
tours with Ethan (Total Bros/Chores) playing a floor tom and running
around screaming at people through a megaphone”
To properly enjoy Starskate live it is essential that a man is screaming in your face with a megaphone.
With the addition of Mueller to BVP, came a new name.
“We
changed our name because we felt like it was the end of an era and the
beginning of a new one. We don't play the old BVP stuff anymore and our
new stuff has a completely different vibe. It feels like a new band to
us.” He explained.
Describing the sound of the band is a point
of contention among fans and reviewers alike. I settled with something
along the lines of: The sound is frantically driven, yet entirely
controlled by the thumping beats of drummer Shaun Wagner; zealous
screams of distorted guitar and bass dance around and in between taps
of snares and cymbals—or something equally pompous. I then developed a
clever plan to find out if I was keeping up Joneses.
How do people generally describe your sound?
“People
used to always compare us to lightning bolt which I thought was kind of
unoriginal and lame. I really like lightning bolt but I don't really
think we sound like them. Also hella came up a lot. We got kinda lumped
in with the noise scene in the bay area which was good and bad.”
I guess I was a bit lucky to talk to them before I wrote in my comparison to Lighting Bolt—which I had every intention of doing.
What are some of the craziest descriptions of your sound you've heard?
“Someone
wrote a review saying we sounded like world war 3. That was cool.
Another time we played at a bar in a tiny town with just the regulars
there and some guy told us we sound like Pink Floyd on acid." but it wasn't clear whether he meant it sounded like listening to pink floyd
while on acid or if he meant that we sounded like pink floyd if
they were on acid, which I'm pretty sure they were already. Maybe he didn't know what he was talking about.”