Sparky's Flaw

Check out this meteoric rise to fame: In the past year, Sparky's Flaw has gone from high school Battle of the Bands champs to UVA Battle of the Bands champs to playing at the high profile Springfest concert alongside slide guitar sensation Robert Randolph to headlining at the most enviable venue in town. They dropped their latest EP at a Starr Hill CD release party, and now have a number of upcoming shows in place at the revered music hall- not bad for a bunch of teenagers. And what does frontman Will Anderson think of all this? "There's always room to improve," he says, wise beyond his years. - The Hook

BY SPENCER LATHROP

Ask around town about favorite local bands, and you are very likely to find Sparky’s Flaw at the top of many people’s list. Ask Sparky’s Will Anderson about the reason for the band’s popularity, and he will give you the most nuts-and-bolts answer there is: “Good songwriting, good live shows and hard work.”
Touring up and down the East Coast, from Georgia to Connecticut, Anderson says that the band “has never been so excited about making music.” They have played the beautiful Paradise Club in Boston, and are looking at a future New York gig at The Knitting Factory. Along the way, they have managed to put more than 15,000 friends on their MySpace page, a figure that resonates with industry types.
iTunes has also helped the band a lot, Anderson says, and digital distribution can definitely “boost a band’s legitimacy.” Anderson does not even describe the sound of the band’s music to anyone anymore. Instead he says, “Just go on MySpace and hear it.” He also credits CDBaby with getting the group’s CDs into Amazon and Aware Store.
Despite all the modern technology, the members of Sparky’s Flaw still draw great joy from being in a live band, and still believe in making CDs. You can credit them with a strong work ethic, as well—the band will go into an undisclosed studio this year to record their third disc. While SF relies in a big way on a DIY mentality, Anderson says the band would definitely entertain an offer from a big label, and that their third recording is a push in that direction.
Believe it or not, all of the band members are all still in school, and Anderson, who is a music major at UVA, says that his professors understand the business and have been very supportive. He also gives a shout-out to Red Light Management for helping the band with advice and support.
If you haven’t seen them yet, better get a ticket soon, because they regularly sell out their Starr Hill shows. And since the band’s last scheduled gig was the first ever rained-out Pavilion show (thanks to Tropical Storm Ernesto), it’s been a good while since they’ve played locally. Also, demonstrating their marketing smarts, the band members carry show tickets for sale right in their pockets—so if you see Will, Kit, Alex, Eric, Peter or Johnny walking around, you can secure your entry right there. The show on September 29 also features alt-country locals Dreaming Isabelle and alt-rockers Moses Mayfield as openers.
- C-ville Weekly

Sparky's Flaw, recent Battle of the Bands winner… Full of a true energy and excitement often missing from more established bands, Sparky's Flaw gave a sincere performance that was well rehearsed and polished. A mere one song through the performance and the audience could already feel that the band was truly having fun. Lead singer, guitar player and first-year College student Will Anderson remarked that it was a fun show for everyone.

"It was a great crowd -- really a lot of fun," Anderson said.

Besides their recent win at the Battle of the Bands, Sparky's Flaw has performed all over Virginia, including Harrisonburg and Richmond. Anderson writes the majority of the songs and says they "come from everywhere: obviously, girls, experiences I've had. Some songs are very personal, and you bear your soul. Some are more just having fun."

If you didn't catch their highlight performance last weekend, you can see Sparky's Flaw at Tuttle Lounge April 1 and SpringFest April 9. - The Caviler Daily

"...Sparky's Flaw is a six-piece acoustic guitar-driven group, though calling them an acoustic act is downplaying their sound by several decibels. Subtle electric backs up the acoustic here, and drummer Johnny Stubblefield is not afraid to slam the crash whenever possbile. Formoed in 2001 (by my calculations, this would make the older members of the group at most 15,) the group recorded their first album in 2002.
Titled "Live from the Recording Studio," the outing sold of 1000 copies. The "One Small Step EP" is four well written-pop songs, speaking of time spent listening to The Barenaked Ladies for lyrics and the mid-to-late 90's pop groups like Ben Folds Five for music (the time before Emo made the buzz bands go from writing songs of bold-face pop to mopey yearnings.)
Recorded at Crystalphoic with Kevin McNOldy, who has worked with Bella Morte, Dave Matthews, and Seven Mary Three (remember them? good times!), One Small Step begins with "Indie Rocker," a song as ready for modern rock radio as any I've ever heard coming from this town.
"Everbody wants to be an indie rocker," begins singer Will Anderson, a snare hit from the start of the song. "I just want to let you knwo I'm here to stay, so if you ever want to be anything to anybody, I suggest you pick one face and give yourself a name," he continues, his youthful and flexible boys riding from tray tables locked position to reaching for the overhead compartment without missing a beat.
"Driven by pulsing bass a la Nirvana under a sea of acoustic rapid-fire strumming and electric flourishes, the verse/bridge/verse/bridge/chorus standard rock number is instantly catchy, lyrically memorable and reeks of youth like a high school locker room.
"The title track is a mroe generic rock/pop song, but "Moodswings and Melodies" is a suffle-beat piano chord-led staccato rocker, another pop gem. The group's horn player has a field day on this track, but rather than taking the ostentatious Ska track, the group has chosen a more reserved place for their brass, choosing the pop/rock group Cake's path of backround mood setting.
Sparky's Flaw- we all expect big things from you." - The Hook