Threads Of Scarlet

By Heather-Lynn Evanson | Thu, March 17, 2011 - 2:00 PM

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION LIVE.

No, it’s not a movie set, but it’s what local alternative band Threads of Scarlet is promising those attending its concert at month end.

Patrons and fans, said producer John Roett, can expect a vastly different show at the Olympus Theatre on March 26.

“We’re using the biggest room they have there and we’re gonna transform the entire place,” Roett said.

“We have specific lighting techs; we have people that will be shooting graphics and animation on the scene; we have HD filming for DVD production after and the video is also going to be shot of the band playing live while we’re playing on the screen,” he promised.

“We’re doing all of our own songs, all original music which is good because for you to make an impact outside you have to be doing all your own songs,” he said.

“It’s gonna be a great sound. We have a great sound company; we have great lighting techs; the whole infrastructure is in place and it’s kind of a unique environment to be in a cinema watching a concert,” Roett noted.

The band, he revealed, has been hard at work rehearsing for the local show and played a warm up gig at the international SXSW (South by South West) concert in Austin, Texas, United States. That musical showcase came off March 13 to 19.

Both shows by the band will be in support of their debut album, Katharsis.

Recorded in Barbados and mixed in Canada, the album, Roett said, was getting rave reviews, not only from fans here, but also from international record companies.

“We’ve had interest from Warner Music and from Disney. We’re taking one step at a time and focusing on building our base. There are lot of Barbadians who do like rock/alternative music,” Roett said.

Fourteen songs, ranging from the popular Issues and Baby Blue, to the edgier, heavier Breathe and Falling Far From, are on offer.

The band and Roett rehearsed for about five months prior to heading into Eddie Grant’s Blue Wave Recording Studio in St Philip to lay down basic tracks.

From there, it was to Canefield Studio with Canadian engineer Andis Raibacis and then onto Commercial Music Studio for Anthony Lowhar to record overdubs and vocals. And then it was off to the renowned Metal Works Studio, in Canada.

The first show will be at 7 p.m. with a second at 11:30 p.m. - The Nation Newspaper

By Heather-Lynn Evanson | Thu, March 17, 2011 - 2:00 PM

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION LIVE.

No, it’s not a movie set, but it’s what local alternative band Threads of Scarlet is promising those attending its concert at month end.

Patrons and fans, said producer John Roett, can expect a vastly different show at the Olympus Theatre on March 26.

“We’re using the biggest room they have there and we’re gonna transform the entire place,” Roett said.

“We have specific lighting techs; we have people that will be shooting graphics and animation on the scene; we have HD filming for DVD production after and the video is also going to be shot of the band playing live while we’re playing on the screen,” he promised.

“We’re doing all of our own songs, all original music which is good because for you to make an impact outside you have to be doing all your own songs,” he said.

“It’s gonna be a great sound. We have a great sound company; we have great lighting techs; the whole infrastructure is in place and it’s kind of a unique environment to be in a cinema watching a concert,” Roett noted.

The band, he revealed, has been hard at work rehearsing for the local show and played a warm up gig at the international SXSW (South by South West) concert in Austin, Texas, United States. That musical showcase came off March 13 to 19.

Both shows by the band will be in support of their debut album, Katharsis.

Recorded in Barbados and mixed in Canada, the album, Roett said, was getting rave reviews, not only from fans here, but also from international record companies.

“We’ve had interest from Warner Music and from Disney. We’re taking one step at a time and focusing on building our base. There are lot of Barbadians who do like rock/alternative music,” Roett said.

Fourteen songs, ranging from the popular Issues and Baby Blue, to the edgier, heavier Breathe and Falling Far From, are on offer.

The band and Roett rehearsed for about five months prior to heading into Eddie Grant’s Blue Wave Recording Studio in St Philip to lay down basic tracks.

From there, it was to Canefield Studio with Canadian engineer Andis Raibacis and then onto Commercial Music Studio for Anthony Lowhar to record overdubs and vocals. And then it was off to the renowned Metal Works Studio, in Canada.

The first show will be at 7 p.m. with a second at 11:30 p.m. - The Nation Newspaper

Ready to represent

3/14/2011

By Karen Alleyne

Exporting musical talent from Barbados is central to Invest Barbados’ mandate and for the second year running, they have made provisions to send Barbadian acts to participate in the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW), a music, film and interactive tradeshow which is being held in Austin, Texas.

Local solo artists, iNDRANi, Philip 7and Wesu Wallace, will join the bands Kite, NexCyx and Threads of Scarlet, in showcasing their talents in front of industry professionals, with the added advantage of participating in conference workshops which will cover topics that enable the six acts to turn their talents into a saleable commodity.

In an interview with the Barbados Advocate, Neil Weekes, Business Develop-ment Officer at Invest Barbados, outlined that agency’s commitment to the local cultural industries. Suggesting that SXSW is one of the best forums to expose Barbadian talent internationally, he said: “This year is the 25 anniversary and Invest Barbados is bringing a delegation of 20 musicians to participate in the music aspect of the event. This is the second year that we have been doing it – last year we took a smaller group and this time we are taking three bands and three solo acts. The purpose of this is to expose these musicians in a forum where they can get some exposure and hopefully do some business as we are all about exporting services,” he outlined.

The 10-day event boasts some of the largest concerts, trade shows, technology panels, networking events, brainstorming sessions and film screenings in the US, and with over 2 000 bands and 90 concert venues expected to play a part in SXSW this year, it can safely be described as a hub of the music industry.

Suggesting plans for Invest Barbados to further extend their reach in the future, Weekes said: “South by South West is one of the largest events of its kind in the USA and there you find all sort of industry persons represented. At Invest Barbados we promoted the export of services and the cultural industries is one of the sectors that we target, so this event fits well with the music segment of Barbados’ cultural landscape. We believe that it offers opportunities for exposure for local talent. Although we are participating solely in the music element of the conference, it is possible that in the future we may participate in the other elements. We offer support to the local film sector so that is something that we can look at to determine the benefit to the film sector for our local practitioners in the film sectors.”

Whilst in the early years, the festival only drew approximately 700 registered industry professionals to Austin, it has now extended to in excess of 11 000 professionals registering every year. Noting the magnitude of this reach for Barbadian artists, Weekes said: “There are four events where we will be exposing the artists and we are hoping to target industry executives from record labels, also promotion agencies and basically persons within the sector, whether they can offer them a distribution deal or offer them a tour or performance within the US or internationally. There is a lot of talent that comes from all over the world for South by Southwest, so that is why it’s so important to have Barbados represented there.” - The Barbados Advocate

Ready to represent

3/14/2011

By Karen Alleyne

Exporting musical talent from Barbados is central to Invest Barbados’ mandate and for the second year running, they have made provisions to send Barbadian acts to participate in the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW), a music, film and interactive tradeshow which is being held in Austin, Texas.

Local solo artists, iNDRANi, Philip 7and Wesu Wallace, will join the bands Kite, NexCyx and Threads of Scarlet, in showcasing their talents in front of industry professionals, with the added advantage of participating in conference workshops which will cover topics that enable the six acts to turn their talents into a saleable commodity.

In an interview with the Barbados Advocate, Neil Weekes, Business Develop-ment Officer at Invest Barbados, outlined that agency’s commitment to the local cultural industries. Suggesting that SXSW is one of the best forums to expose Barbadian talent internationally, he said: “This year is the 25 anniversary and Invest Barbados is bringing a delegation of 20 musicians to participate in the music aspect of the event. This is the second year that we have been doing it – last year we took a smaller group and this time we are taking three bands and three solo acts. The purpose of this is to expose these musicians in a forum where they can get some exposure and hopefully do some business as we are all about exporting services,” he outlined.

The 10-day event boasts some of the largest concerts, trade shows, technology panels, networking events, brainstorming sessions and film screenings in the US, and with over 2 000 bands and 90 concert venues expected to play a part in SXSW this year, it can safely be described as a hub of the music industry.

Suggesting plans for Invest Barbados to further extend their reach in the future, Weekes said: “South by South West is one of the largest events of its kind in the USA and there you find all sort of industry persons represented. At Invest Barbados we promoted the export of services and the cultural industries is one of the sectors that we target, so this event fits well with the music segment of Barbados’ cultural landscape. We believe that it offers opportunities for exposure for local talent. Although we are participating solely in the music element of the conference, it is possible that in the future we may participate in the other elements. We offer support to the local film sector so that is something that we can look at to determine the benefit to the film sector for our local practitioners in the film sectors.”

Whilst in the early years, the festival only drew approximately 700 registered industry professionals to Austin, it has now extended to in excess of 11 000 professionals registering every year. Noting the magnitude of this reach for Barbadian artists, Weekes said: “There are four events where we will be exposing the artists and we are hoping to target industry executives from record labels, also promotion agencies and basically persons within the sector, whether they can offer them a distribution deal or offer them a tour or performance within the US or internationally. There is a lot of talent that comes from all over the world for South by Southwest, so that is why it’s so important to have Barbados represented there.” - The Barbados Advocate

Tue, 08/30/2011 - 00:15 — Gina Aimey-Moss

Threads Of Scarlet Doesn't Slow Down

Threads of Scarlet, one of the best rock bands in Barbados, just released a new video for their song 'Slow Down'.

The high energy video takes a fast-paced look at the band's life on and off the stage, beautiful shots of Barbados and of course beautiful women.

This video is awesome but I personally prefer their previous video 'The Way Out':

With their engaging video projects, Threads of Scarlet continue to show why they're the Caribbean rock act to watch. - Kurama Magazine

Tue, 08/30/2011 - 00:15 — Gina Aimey-Moss

Threads Of Scarlet Doesn't Slow Down

Threads of Scarlet, one of the best rock bands in Barbados, just released a new video for their song 'Slow Down'.

The high energy video takes a fast-paced look at the band's life on and off the stage, beautiful shots of Barbados and of course beautiful women.

This video is awesome but I personally prefer their previous video 'The Way Out':

With their engaging video projects, Threads of Scarlet continue to show why they're the Caribbean rock act to watch. - Kurama Magazine

Fri, 04/01/2011 - 23:08 — Dre Decarlo

Threads Of Scarlet Rocks!

Booming with excitement and spilling over with anticipation, the atmosphere was nothing less than epic. Saturday, March 26th, Threads of Scarlet proved to be not only one of the best rock acts in Barbados but showed they are ones to watch.

From jamming to their original musical fusions such as 'Hot Box' (a song promoting marijuana use) or rocking out to 'Falling From Far', a more classic hard rock ballad fully equipped with screams and high notes, Threads of Scarlet, for lack of better words, BLEW THE ROOF OFF! The event was highly publicised and the fans kept flowing in throughout the night, emitting an atmosphere reminiscent of Woodstock!

The event was also attended by fellow musicians Mahalia Philips of local rock/pop band Nexcyx, which recently tore up the SXSW Music Festival in Texas, and Coverdrive's Amanda Reifer. Coverdrive recently got signed to Geffen Records this year.

Threads of Scarlet is a four-man band lead on vocals by Bajan boys Nicholas Ward and Jesse Foster and backed by Americans Stu Damm and Mark Glinka, on drums and bass respectively. - Kurama Magazine

Fri, 04/01/2011 - 23:08 — Dre Decarlo

Threads Of Scarlet Rocks!

Booming with excitement and spilling over with anticipation, the atmosphere was nothing less than epic. Saturday, March 26th, Threads of Scarlet proved to be not only one of the best rock acts in Barbados but showed they are ones to watch.

From jamming to their original musical fusions such as 'Hot Box' (a song promoting marijuana use) or rocking out to 'Falling From Far', a more classic hard rock ballad fully equipped with screams and high notes, Threads of Scarlet, for lack of better words, BLEW THE ROOF OFF! The event was highly publicised and the fans kept flowing in throughout the night, emitting an atmosphere reminiscent of Woodstock!

The event was also attended by fellow musicians Mahalia Philips of local rock/pop band Nexcyx, which recently tore up the SXSW Music Festival in Texas, and Coverdrive's Amanda Reifer. Coverdrive recently got signed to Geffen Records this year.

Threads of Scarlet is a four-man band lead on vocals by Bajan boys Nicholas Ward and Jesse Foster and backed by Americans Stu Damm and Mark Glinka, on drums and bass respectively. - Kurama Magazine

By Heather-Lynn Evanson | Sat, April 09, 2011 - 12:01 AM

There is something really special about Threads Of Scarlet.

Maybe it’s their chemistry as they play live; maybe it’s the fact they write their own songs and not just rock songs, or maybe it’s just that they are an all-round great outfit.

Whatever the ingredients, they came together two weekends ago to make TOS’ debut concert one of the better events on the local calendar.

The men of Threads Of Scarlet recently sat down with WE Entertainment to talk about the band, the local show and their performance at the SXSW music showcase in Austin, Texas, United States, as well as surviving on a musical scene, where alternative/rock bands are in the minority.

With the four members listing influences from Beethoven to Led Zeppelin to Metallica to Bob Marley, frontman Nicholas Ward was quick to point out that they would not pigeonhole themselves as a heavy metal band.

“We wouldn’t categorize ourselves as overly heavy. There is a little bit of everything for people there. We’re not gonna say we’re a rock band and we’re only gonna do this,” he stressed.

Drummer Stu Damm is of the opinion that it’s because of the members’ various musical preferences that they gel so well.

“Nobody says we’re gonna set out to do this in that style or that in that style,” he said. Noting he went to music school, where his taste eventually turned to classical music, Damm noted: “I think it’s because of our varied influences and that everyone’s been so involved and had a huge musical development early in their lives and that everyone has strong ideas and strong passions, that when you bring them all together it becomes a melting pot.”

Pointing to the reggae-influenced song Hot Box, joint lead singer Jesse Foster said they would usually think of what their public wanted to hear.

“We think about the people a lot whenever we’re writing songs. Generally speaking, we would think about what the audience would want to hear. The song Hot Box is a reggae song and because we’re from the island, you’ve gotta have a reggae song on the album,” Foster explained, as bassist Mark Glinka chipped in: “That song came together really bad.”

The four conceded that surviving in Barbados as an alternative/rock band was not easy even though Glinka, who is from Ohio, United States, said he was surprised at the following the genre had here.

But, said Ward, the scene was steadily growing with more bands coming on the scene and with radio stations coming on board and giving those bands airplay.

For them, the secret behind Threads’ success is lyrics and fun.

“You are not gonna connect to people if you’re just gonna try and write a song for the sake of writing a song,” said Ward.

“If you write a song and you mean what you’re singing about and you write it from a true place, you have a better chance of people being able to relate and we try to do that with the majority of our songs,” he noted.

“Obviously,” he hastened to add, “we don’t take ourselves absolutely seriously all the time. Music is supposed to be fun too so a song like Eyes For You, that’s a fun song and Slow Down are just written about having a good time.”

Turning to SXSW music showcase, Glinka said not only did the band get an extremely positive response from patrons, the connections TOS made were invaluable.

“They will help us further in the industry worldwide especially with radio and concert promotion,” he noted.

As for last month’s concert at Olympus Theatres, the members unanimously rated it as their top performance.

“The whole show, the visuals, the music, the production,” as Damm put it.

“We’ve been playing for a considerable amount of time, separately and together. Mark has been in other bands, Stu has been in lots of other bands Nick ,and I have been in other bands, but there is something really special about this band and the more we do it the better we get at it,” Foster said.

“Every show we’re gonna do from now on is gonna match that or surpass it,” Ward promised.
- Nation News

By Heather-Lynn Evanson | Sat, April 09, 2011 - 12:01 AM

There is something really special about Threads Of Scarlet.

Maybe it’s their chemistry as they play live; maybe it’s the fact they write their own songs and not just rock songs, or maybe it’s just that they are an all-round great outfit.

Whatever the ingredients, they came together two weekends ago to make TOS’ debut concert one of the better events on the local calendar.

The men of Threads Of Scarlet recently sat down with WE Entertainment to talk about the band, the local show and their performance at the SXSW music showcase in Austin, Texas, United States, as well as surviving on a musical scene, where alternative/rock bands are in the minority.

With the four members listing influences from Beethoven to Led Zeppelin to Metallica to Bob Marley, frontman Nicholas Ward was quick to point out that they would not pigeonhole themselves as a heavy metal band.

“We wouldn’t categorize ourselves as overly heavy. There is a little bit of everything for people there. We’re not gonna say we’re a rock band and we’re only gonna do this,” he stressed.

Drummer Stu Damm is of the opinion that it’s because of the members’ various musical preferences that they gel so well.

“Nobody says we’re gonna set out to do this in that style or that in that style,” he said. Noting he went to music school, where his taste eventually turned to classical music, Damm noted: “I think it’s because of our varied influences and that everyone’s been so involved and had a huge musical development early in their lives and that everyone has strong ideas and strong passions, that when you bring them all together it becomes a melting pot.”

Pointing to the reggae-influenced song Hot Box, joint lead singer Jesse Foster said they would usually think of what their public wanted to hear.

“We think about the people a lot whenever we’re writing songs. Generally speaking, we would think about what the audience would want to hear. The song Hot Box is a reggae song and because we’re from the island, you’ve gotta have a reggae song on the album,” Foster explained, as bassist Mark Glinka chipped in: “That song came together really bad.”

The four conceded that surviving in Barbados as an alternative/rock band was not easy even though Glinka, who is from Ohio, United States, said he was surprised at the following the genre had here.

But, said Ward, the scene was steadily growing with more bands coming on the scene and with radio stations coming on board and giving those bands airplay.

For them, the secret behind Threads’ success is lyrics and fun.

“You are not gonna connect to people if you’re just gonna try and write a song for the sake of writing a song,” said Ward.

“If you write a song and you mean what you’re singing about and you write it from a true place, you have a better chance of people being able to relate and we try to do that with the majority of our songs,” he noted.

“Obviously,” he hastened to add, “we don’t take ourselves absolutely seriously all the time. Music is supposed to be fun too so a song like Eyes For You, that’s a fun song and Slow Down are just written about having a good time.”

Turning to SXSW music showcase, Glinka said not only did the band get an extremely positive response from patrons, the connections TOS made were invaluable.

“They will help us further in the industry worldwide especially with radio and concert promotion,” he noted.

As for last month’s concert at Olympus Theatres, the members unanimously rated it as their top performance.

“The whole show, the visuals, the music, the production,” as Damm put it.

“We’ve been playing for a considerable amount of time, separately and together. Mark has been in other bands, Stu has been in lots of other bands Nick ,and I have been in other bands, but there is something really special about this band and the more we do it the better we get at it,” Foster said.

“Every show we’re gonna do from now on is gonna match that or surpass it,” Ward promised.
- Nation News

Refer to page 13 in the below URL. - Barbados Today (30.03.11)

Refer to page 13 in the below URL. - Barbados Today (30.03.11)

Threads of Scarlet did not disappoint at the launch of their CD Katharsis. Check pages 18 and 19 in the online paper. - Barbados Today

Threads of Scarlet did not disappoint at the launch of their CD Katharsis. Check pages 18 and 19 in the online paper. - Barbados Today

"Having impressed many people, the young band Threads Of Scarlet has recently signed up with Invest Barbados to work on their continued development." - Business Barbados

"Having impressed many people, the young band Threads Of Scarlet has recently signed up with Invest Barbados to work on their continued development." - Business Barbados

Hear the name "Threads Of Scarlet" and the first thing that might come to mind in the novel The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers. But for those of you who have been constantly reciting the lyrics of Baby Blue or rocking out on mornings while Issues plays on the radio, then you'd know that Threads Of Scarlet is easily one of the hottest new local bands on the scene right now.

When @ttitude sat down with two of the four band members, Nicholas Ward and Jesse Foster (missing were Stu Damm and Mark Glinka) we learnt that although Nick and Jesse had been playing together for the past 15 years, Stu and Mark joined on only three years ago. Now, their biggest challenge is keeping the band together.

That's because both Stu and Mark both live in North America, and neither they nor Nick and Jesse can afford to travel continuously back and forth just for rehearsals.

Still, they try not to let the distance deter them from their main goal, so they are constantly rehearsing and always trying to perfect their craft.

"Everyone thinks that wanting to be a singer means that all you want is fortune and fame," explained Nick, but "I mean, yea you'd have to be crazy not to want those things but we get our greatest pleasure out of being on stage and performing in front of huge crowds."

"It is our ultimate goal to rise to our own level of successful comfort and prove to the world that just because we are from Barbados and sing alternative and rock that we are still capable of doing great things and that we can survive their industry," he added. - Attitude (September 15th, 2009), Author - Sharllah Waithe

Hear the name "Threads Of Scarlet" and the first thing that might come to mind in the novel The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers. But for those of you who have been constantly reciting the lyrics of Baby Blue or rocking out on mornings while Issues plays on the radio, then you'd know that Threads Of Scarlet is easily one of the hottest new local bands on the scene right now.

When @ttitude sat down with two of the four band members, Nicholas Ward and Jesse Foster (missing were Stu Damm and Mark Glinka) we learnt that although Nick and Jesse had been playing together for the past 15 years, Stu and Mark joined on only three years ago. Now, their biggest challenge is keeping the band together.

That's because both Stu and Mark both live in North America, and neither they nor Nick and Jesse can afford to travel continuously back and forth just for rehearsals.

Still, they try not to let the distance deter them from their main goal, so they are constantly rehearsing and always trying to perfect their craft.

"Everyone thinks that wanting to be a singer means that all you want is fortune and fame," explained Nick, but "I mean, yea you'd have to be crazy not to want those things but we get our greatest pleasure out of being on stage and performing in front of huge crowds."

"It is our ultimate goal to rise to our own level of successful comfort and prove to the world that just because we are from Barbados and sing alternative and rock that we are still capable of doing great things and that we can survive their industry," he added. - Attitude (September 15th, 2009), Author - Sharllah Waithe