Scarlet Symphony

If there is anything sexier than raw, sweaty punk, it's the plastic
hard-on of glammy disco dance. Many have married the two before, but San
Diego's Scarlet Symphony flaunts its dual allegiance by cranking the
throbbing funk bass up to illegal levels and caterwauling the come-ons
like hoarse street hookers. This is pure, dirty-dirty, body quaking,
sound-crack--the kind of music that could make a quadriplegic stand up and
shake. Please, God, just let them be really, really cute in person, too - Willamette Week

The first song they played exuded such magnetism and emotions
that it turned my soul inside out and made me want to jump out of my skin.
There is so much going on that it is hard to focus on only one element;
the lyrics,bass,guitar and drumming all come together in a form
that can only be described as three dimensional.
It lifts you to a level beyond yourself and offers you something you've never experienced."

"When asked to describe their band's style and sound in three words,
they left the response up to their friend Dave, member of local band The Robot Ate Me.
Dave carefully summed it up with very simple, yet powerful adjectives:
mysterious,danceable,and gritty."
- The Chariot

"Possibly it's because of the twins? psychic connection as a hammering rhythm section. Or Swanton's knack for hooks.
Or it's Hankins, the feral, poetic frontman with a hair mop of chaotic curlicues and an amiable, boyish face."
"all four Scarlet boys are redwood-scale"
- San Diego City Beat

"SCARLET SYMPHONY is going to be huge.
The equation is just too right on:
frantic live show; modern sound that still touches back to older bands like New Order;
ambitious,wild-haired lead singer with eyes set firmly on the prize and a head full of demons.
Again, they are going to be huge.Huge, huge, huge." - Fahrenheit San Diego -independent weekly

"Perhaps the biggest breath of fresh air in to hit the San Diego music scene in years.
Scarlet Symphony are unprecedented in their sound and dynamics,
with a sound that lies somewhere between 70's glam and 80's punk.
They're San Diego's best-kept secret, and a band to keep tabs on."
- www.emusic.com

If you've never heard Scarlet Symphony, now is the time.
This San Diego outfit merge glam and punk into one cohesive mix.
Blurring the lines of what the San Diego sound was once about,
Scarlet Symphony are set to become one of the greatest bands
to come out of this Southern California city. - www.emusic.com

It's 1 a.m. on a blistering midsummer's night and the crowd gathered
in Canter's Deli Kibitz Room is definitely seeing red. Whether it is
the crimson face of vocalist Gary Hankins as he dances around in
epileptic fits, the intense fire in the eyes of guitarist Aaron
Swanton or the heat generated from the connection between the twin
brother rhythm section of bassist Zachary and drummer Joshua Wheeler,
Scarlet Symphony mesmerizes with their punk, glam metal, funk, rock
'n' roll fusion and lives up to their colorful name.
Since the spring of 2003, high profile shows, swarms of media
attention and major label scouts have all been knocking at Scarlet
Symphony's door. Hankins remarks: "There's a lot of mosquitoes, a lot
going on. It's almost scary, but in a good way."
Playing to packed clubs and featured at this year's San Diego Street
Scene music festival, Scarlet Symphony is creating a local buzz, not
to mention one in Hollywood. "Going up to L.A. for the first time on
a constant basis, with two to three shows a week; we're happy," says
Hankins. "It's a process - working, playing, [and] being dedicated."
And with each successive week of their residency, the crowd at the
Kibitz Room steadily grows.
Scarlet Symphony has played with the likes of Rush and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs,
yet the band's music encompasses no single genre.
According to Hankins, they can "draw from all influences.
A problem with a lot of bands is that they're just drawing from one band."
Swanton quickly agrees with his bandmate. "We can play with lots of bands.
We're all from different musical backgrounds - schizophrenic musically."
Scarlet Symphony exhibits a true range of creativity in their songs,
from the funk stylings of "Sterling Rose", to the in-your-face rock
of "Purity & Poison", to the bluesy feel of "Sapphire". Hankins says
the band can easily incorporate all these elements into their
material because they "all just go piece bu piece, [by] what's going
on with our mood. Like a conversation or a painting, everyone puts
their part in and [it] eventually forms into one"
When you experience Scarlet Symphony's music, grab a neck brace and
dancing shoes because you'll surely feel the need to head bang and
shake your ass. Scarlet has truly produced its own distinct symphony
and will surely move you with their sensational mix of sounds. - Campus Circle

"You wanna see the new local buzz band, check out Scarlet Symphony" - http://www.upn13sandiego.com/

On a gloomy night with the specter of diabolically horrible music looming over San Diego,
a mad musical scientist leered over his table of experiments while rubbing his mustache,
as mad scientists typically do. He began to add a little of this, a little of that,
and a whole hell of a lot of musical madness to his test tubes.
But just as he began to formulate the chemical equation that would grow super mad rock stars into a super mad rock band,
a lightening bolt crashed into his laboratory, knocking his table of madness onto the ground.
Suddenly all of the mad musical scientist's chemicals began to mix.
And there, in the glaring shroud of the night, grew four tall, lanky,
mad musical geniuses prepared to avenge the world of terrible music! And thus comes forward this fantastic foursome,
who refer to themselves as "A Super Funk Nightmare", prepared to slay mediocre bands.

Comprised of twins Zack and Josh, and a pair of witty front men, Gary and Aaron,
Scarlet Symphony rocks out with a sound described as "Atomic Casserole".
The band's dance/pop/punk/rock sound fights off the death-grip of boring music and boring musicians.
This fierce force of a science experiment gone incredibly right wears capes of art and carries swords of poetry.
If you seek these four svelte shadows, look no further than your local record stores and local venues.
They can be seen swiftly leaping from venue to venue with instruments in hand and mad genius grins.
They use the powers of theatrics and expansive musical sound to sweep down and avenge the integrity of music.
If you were once afraid to venture into the night for fear of encountering monstrously lame bands, fear not, San Diego!
Scarlet Symphony needs only be called upon to save you from a wasteful night at a show.
Seek them out and never fear local music again!"
checkout the pictures,video interview and live footage @ www.sdmusicmatters.com
- SD Music Matters