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Thom Vail saw a Craigslist posting last year that struck his fancy. Vail, a bass player who openly admits he was kicked out of a jam band for liking the Cure, was looking for other musicians to play with, and the message posted that day seemed like it was meant just for him. Someone who would understand, even encourage, his love of the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen and the gothier side of rock.
“I said something about wanting genuine people, no hipsters or people who wanted to talk about music, rather than actually make original music,” said vocalist Laura Wood, the writer of the post, who played in indie alternative bands in Portland before returning to her hometown of Bangor. “I don’t want to just look cool and pretend to be cool. I want to make music.”
At virtually the same time that Vail responded to her post, so did guitarist Sean Carter, who liked the blunt, honest tone of her words. A few days later, the three got together. Within months, The Sweet Terror was formed, which now features vocalist and guitarist Wood, Vail, Carter and drummer Scott Dufour.
The Sweet Terror, who will play with Slow Blind Tone, Joe Gates, Larry and Leslie Latour and Mudseason on Monday, March 29, at the Next Generation Theatre in Brewer, could easily be called alternative rock. But that’s a gross understatement. Check out Wood’s vocals, landing somewhere in between punk rock and torch singer. Dig Carter’s gritty, complex riffs, and Dufour and Vail’s darkly funky rhythm section. Think strong, sexy female vocals, crunchy guitars and an ever-so-slightly goth-punk outlook. That’s a closer approximation to the kind of music The Sweet Terror makes.
“I don’t really know what to call us. I love post-punk, and my favorite bassist is Simon Gallup from the Cure,” said Vail. “Laura definitely loves PJ Harvey. Sean’s all-time favorite band is the Stooges. Scott likes Neil Peart, but lots of other stuff, too. Does that many any sense?”
It makes lots of sense. Despite differences in taste, age and background, the four musicians make a cohesive sound. Songwriting is a group effort, with all four contributing different elements to their songs, like the driving, snakelike rhythms of “Daisycutters” or the raw punk energy of “Wrong Sister,” both of which are available for your listening pleasure on the band’s MySpace page, myspace.com/thesweetterror.
Link to full article: http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/139776.html - Bangor Daily News
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The sun beat down mercilessly on the cracked hardpan of the Bangor desert. She looked into the heat waves and spotted palm trees and where there was vegetation, there was sure to be water. Imagine her disappointment to find that what she had first thought of as a lifesaving oasis instead turned out to be a parched bassist surviving off the blood dripping from his abused fingertips. Few words were exchanged as they both continued in a westerly direction only to stumble upon another delirious gun slinging mariachi. This one’s Stratocaster was salt rimed and it was agreed that a mighty wave indeed must have brought this hapless surfer all the way into this godforsaken desert. With nary a word, it was decided that dying of thirst together was better than dying of thirst alone. They continued westward into the waning sun and further into the wastelands of the desert. As the sun at last fell behind a distant mesa they stumbled upon a silent hulk beating a constant rhythm with two worn sticks. As the day’s heat began to leech from the soil and the stars filled the sky, one by one the weary travelers began to join the drumming man with their own instruments. The bassist’s bloody fingers began to beat a mean counter rhythm in time with the tapping sticks. The salt began to flake off of the mariachi’s Stratocaster as he began to blend wet waves of sound that seemed to cool and saturate the earth. It was then that the girl stepped forward and opened her mouth and found that behind her parched throat and dry tongue lifted a passionate howl that lit the night. For miles around, the desert held its breath at this new sound. The coyotes stopped their nocturnal hunt to turn and watch along with the flying lizards and snakes, drawn to the music as surely as a moth to a flame. The music went on late into the night and the stars wheeled across the sky. When the sun arose the next morning, it found a lush green oasis where before there was nothing but miles of desert. There were vibrant green palm fronds and the gurgle of a freshwater spring that pushed up out of the soil. The four weary travelers, drunk on music and cool water were fast asleep in the cool blessed shade. The animals circled and came to drink from the spring, curious to see what new magic the four would bring when they awoke and again made their music.
We call ourselves The Sweet Terror because we like to hypnotize our audience with melody, then hit them between the eyes with nasty lyrics and dirty guitar.
Each of us has our own influences, but we like to play with none of them in mind...
Laura (vocals): PJ Harvey, Thom Yorke, Grace Slick, The Pixies, Jack White
Sean (guitar): The Stooges, Velvet Underground , X, Flaming Lips , Kyuss, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jack White
Scott (drums) - Rush, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, DMB
Thom (bass) - The Cure, Franz Ferdinand, Placebo
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