Send Out Scuds

Send out Scuds is a Christian ska band from the Orlando area. They have an upbeat energizing sound and know how to make feel good music that everyone can enjoy. The band is comprised of eight unique members - two guitarists, two trumpet players, one bass player, one drummer, one saxophonist and one trombonist. They bring a fresh sound to the ska scene in an attempt to "renew the way
the world perceives the entire Christian rock genre."

Send Out Scuds uses their music to present Christian values in a non-imposing way. According to junior Danny Valverde, who went to high school with the band, "Their music is
sick! Every song is different and has a message."

Another fan, freshman Christina Martinez, says that the band changed the way she thought about Christian music. "After listening to them I realized that there could be good everyday music with a Christian message instead of just gospel
style music."

Send out Scuds has a growing fan base among today's youth. They were signed by QQ records and is currently recording for their new album, to be released sometime before the
New Year. Another local band "Never Ending Story" is working with Send Out Scuds. Some
of their new songs can already be heard on the band's website www.myspace.com/sendoutscuds, including "If Scranton Were for Lovers," and "It's 4am and I've put this off for way too long!"

Martinez, who has been following the band for over six months, asserts the band has
a pretty powerful stage presence. "They are extremely animated and physically energetic. They were always speaking to the crowd and loved involving them."

A few upcoming shows to look out for include a performance at North Kissimmee Baptist Church on Oct 5th and the Bands for Fans Festival on Oct 14th in Orlando, a two day music festival. - The Sandspur

Send Out Scuds- Kissimmee (myspace.com/sendoutscuds): Between AB's and SOS's set, we noticed a guy with a killer mullet hanging around the parking lot in a cutoff t-shirt, cutoff jean shorts and sandals, rocking a set of awesome mutton chops. We were intrigued. We guessed it was someone's dad, but we were wrong. Turns out it was "Mullet Man", one of the trumpet players for Send Out Scuds. Once we realized that this dude was about to hit the stage, we knew we were in for something... interesting, to say the least. Another thing that caught our eye was the fact that their horn section consisted of two trumpets, and one of them was A GIRL! Two things you just don't see very often, an all-trumpet horn section and chicks. We were ready for a good show, and these guys (and girl) delivered. Especially "Mullet Man". First, off came the half shirt and sandals. Then at some point during the set he lost his cut-off jeans revealing even shorter shorts. The guy was rolling around on the stage, leaping over equipment and running into walls. I'm not making this up, the guy is an animal. The whole band put on a great show and at several times a good sized circle got going, they're also great at getting the crowd into what they're doing which is vital to everyone having a good time. This was my first time seeing SoS and hopefully it won't be the last, they are definitely very memorable.

After their set, I had to talk to "Mullet Man" and find out his story. Was he the other trumpet player's dad? Was he a hitchhiker they found wandering down I-4 one night? Neither, it turns out. His name is Dustin Holifer and he's a 21 year old college student and professional wrestler. He may be a model for the Home Shopping Club as well, I'm looking into that. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to interview him formally and satisfy my curiosity about this fascinating character in the Florida ska scene.

http://www.skaflamag.com/forums/showthread.php?s=c3988b0f2deb41655aab06903524257b&t=72 - Ska Florida Magazine

The Ska/Pop-Punk band, Send Out Scuds, knows just how to get a crowd up on their feet and rockin’. Their musical style is a fusion of influences ranging from electronica to hardcore. This Central Florida band parties so hard during their shows that they end up breaking equipment and have even caused a stage to break. They aren’t afraid to get crazy with their audience. These guys are your typical hard-hitting rockers… and they’re Christian.

Send Out Scuds is a Christian band that has overcome the stereotypical labeling that comes with this kind of music genre. When it comes to music, the band proves it’s not all about just hymnals and traditional gospel. Send Out Scuds, usually abbreviated, is a double acronym. The first and more obvious acronym is S.O.S. and the second part stands for “Servants of Christ Until Death,” hidden within the word “Scuds.” (The band tells me they add on an “s” to the end as a plural, just for good measure!)

When it comes to stereotyping with Christian music, the band is more than familiar with this. ”We have certainly run into stereotypes concerning the dominant message of our music, however, we have found that a positive attitude transcends and eliminates these stereotypes and our listeners are more concerned with enjoying that positive vibe than they are debating us about our spiritual beliefs. We use our music as somewhat of a gateway to a greater discussion. We hope that through our music we can portray and communicate the positive enlightenment we have discovered in the message of Christ. The music is a product of our beliefs and like a light on a hill, we hope the listener cannot help but wonder why we seem to shine so brightly. And we do not shine because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us,” states band member Josh Peters.

S.O.S. is comprised of eight members: Kim Diauto-trumpet, Dustin “Mullet” Hollifer-trumpet, Josh Peters-bass guitar, Jeremy Calderon-rhythm guitar, Brennen Lesser-drums, Josh Deiches-lead guitar, David Meister-saxophone, and Sam Massaro-lead vocals.

The band got its start about five years ago. Kim Diauto and a friend came up with the idea back in their high school days. The two got together with some of their buddies and started to write music, similar to what they listened to at the time. The rest was pretty much history. Over the years, the band went through changes. Some members got married and moved on, while others went off to pursue other goals. One S.O.S. member actually just left one day, never to be seen or heard from ever again, strangely enough. The band always tried to play every show they could, even if not all the members were available. They worked hard at achieving success. In 2004, S.O.S. started to get even more ambitious after they released their first homemade demo. And according to the band, it was the numerous line-up changes over the years that finally brought them to where they are now. After it all, Kim Diauto is the last remaining original S.O.S. member.

The band has played for all kinds of audiences ranging from the elderly to fresh faced pre-teens. S.O.S. attracts a mostly younger audience, but there are also the folks who grew up listening to other Christian Ska bands such as the now defunct Five Iron Frenzy and the O.C. Supertones. S.O.S. also has held their own with the secular Ska crowd. ”Every show we play that has other Ska bands on the bill are secular shows and that is fine. We’re certainly not preaching to the choir… in fact, the choir doesn’t like us sometimes because we are not afraid to get out and play shows that many other Christian bands would never play. We’re humans just like everybody else. We just feel as though we have found something great and we want to share it with the world,” exclaims Josh Peters.

scuds2S.O.S. band members admit to having a wide range of musical inspirations that include groups such as AC/DC, Pink Floyd, DragonForce, Korn, Billy Talent, and Enya just to name a few. The band is also influenced by other Ska groups like Less Than Jake and the RX Bandits.

S.O.S. will play nearly everywhere… and anywhere. There doesn’t seem to be any limitations with this band and where they go. “We have played at churches, bars, clubs, open fields, festivals, houses, gazebos… pretty much any type of standing structure has been host to our music. However, some of these structures were no longer standing after we got done with them! We have an unfortunate habit of accidentally breaking things while we are playing shows,” admits Peters. Apparently, S.O.S. is known for their very strong stage presence. Striving to never leave anything on the stage after a performance, some of the group members claim the high intensity level of their shows have left them physically ill or in great pain days later. ”At one festival, called Real Fest, we were playing at an outdoor stage and about halfway through the set, [trumpet player] Dustin (also a pro wrestler) suddenly and inexplicably went crashing through the stage itself! Well, of course, we used the gaping three to four foot deep hole to our advantage by hurdling it back and forth for the rest of the set, integrating an array of various death defying stunts into the remainder of our set,” recalls the band’s bass guitarist. According to the band, their highly energetic and wildly entertaining performances are directly related to the emotion that goes into the creation and expression of their music. ”True passion cannot be feigned and it’s easily conveyed to an audience when it is truly felt, ” states an S.O.S. member. The band feels that the audience is one of the most important parts in a live show, noting it is their energy and excitement that gets the group going. S.O.S. will even dance with their fans off stage, hoping to further immerse them into their music. ”You never know what you’ll see with an S.O.S. show,” remarks Peters.

S.O.S. mentioned that their favorite show series was the Cornerstone Christian Music Festival in Illinois. After traveling through northern Florida and Georgia, playing a few shows in both states, the band arrived at the festival. Realizing their set wasn’t for another five days, they decided to camp out on the grounds and ended up playing impromptu shows for an entire week. S.O.S. even played shows back to back at one point on different stages. Talk about an energetic band!

Currently the Christian Ska group has a five song EP titled, Sower Seed, and expect to have their first full length album out soon. S.O.S.’s most popular tracks include “If Scranton Were For Lovers,” “It’s 4 a.m. And I’ve Put This Off For Way Too Long,” and “Capsized, But Grace Means More Than The Air I Can’t Reach.” Most of the band’s songs deal with the various aspects inherent of living in a Christian lifestyle. ”Joy through Christ, inner conflicts, hope for the future, the paradoxical happiness and burden of love, and the television show, “The Office,” explains S.O.S. [" The Office " characters]Pam and Jim are the ultimate perfect couple and “If Scranton Were For Lovers” seeks to forever immortalize that relationship.”

S.O.S. is the first Ska band to ever be signed to the Christian record label, Blood and Ink. Obviously, the group has huge boasting rights with this kind of honor. It is hard not to see S.O.S.’s amazing talent. This unique Christian band is making a name for itself with their success that is growing each and every day. These guys are what a great band is all about with their message filled music and crowd pleasing performances. S.O.S. is a band that has proven itself and should be around for years to come. According to the group, they hope to continue writing, recording and touring until the day they die.

Touring Information:

Send Out Scuds (S.O.S.) hopes to get onto the East Coast part of the “Extreme Tour,” which goes from May to Sept. You can also visit the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/sendoutscuds for their show schedule. They have included information such as price of admission, times, and directions for each show. While checking S.O.S.’s schedule on their page, you can listen to their music as well.

S.O.S. is easy to contact for a booking. Just email them at sendoutscuds@gmail.com. Someone is always on hand to check e-mails.

http://www.theexpressionist.com/2009/03/27/sending-out-an-sos/ - The Expressionist