Frankly Scarlett

Frankly Scarlett looked like celebrities Friday night as they took the stage at The Local. This three-piece act from Chattanooga has increasingly been becoming a sonic force in addition to a visual entertainment. When I say ‘visual’ entertainment I am referring to the fact that the band’s bass player is a knockout young blonde named Amanda Galas, who always dresses in pure white on stage and plays barefooted. I hate to add details like this, because they detract from the talent of female musicians, but it would be an obvious omission- as the “hot girl factor” is quite clear.

Frankly Scarlett’s time spent playing out-of-town shows over the last year has definitely tightened up their live performances. As they neatly moved through their set list, time between songs was shorter, stage banter was kept to a minimum and their music seemed to reach people in the audience that hadn’t paid attention before. Of course, Frankly Scarlett had dedicated fans there as well, singing along to songs off of their newly released CD. As frontman Matt Stephens’ voice danced all over the distortion guitar, tidy time changes were nailed down by Galas and drummer Sean Kennedy. Some parts sounded like the sweeter pieces of Deftones’ songs, some bass-line driven moments had a Finger Eleven feeling. Stephens’ voice is passionate and shrill, often rising high above the low-end movement, which is gorgeous. His guitar does the same thing, which is not so gorgeous. I’d like to see him on better equipment. He played a Squire (a starter guitar at best) and made it sound decent. Thicker guitar tone would help to balance the high-end pitch of his voice with the bass-heaviness of the band’s live sound.

The crowd at The Local didn’t seem to mind one bit as they cheered enthusiastically after each song. I started to notice what a warm group it was that night as I looked around the room at all the smiling faces. It seemed a little bit like a family reunion. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Adam Thompson, the former drummer of Fizgig, (who is close friends with many people in the music scene) has recently moved home and was out showing support that night. Or perhaps it was local videographer Jon Phillips catching up with friends he hadn’t seen since the Fuel TV days. Maybe it was just the giant heater in the middle of the room which made things feel so cozy, but even David Andrews, our photographer, felt the good vibrations. Maybe that was Amanda’s bass cabinet. Whatever it was, it felt good and so I ordered a beer to intensify it.
- The Pulse