Issue 6. February 2000
Hello fans and welcome to Issue 6, the first issue of the DON'T SAY THE 'M' WORD! Hope you all had a good Xmas and a Happy New Year.
More photographs have been added to the bottom of this page, some are a bit 'arty'.
Bookmark this page so that you can enjoy a SCARY on-line experience.
Roj Butler-Ellis springs from his car and wipes an unadorned hand across his nose as he saunters across the road. He pulls open the door to Glen Studios. It's time for work.
In the past it has been said that SCARY were a band that eschewed publicity. This is one of those rare moments when co-founder Roj peeps out from his shell to offer up insights into York's hardest working band. We are here to present some of your questions. We are not worthy!
Who's got the best haircut in SCARY? Must be from Nicky Clarke this one. We both have really short hair because it's dead easy to look after, so I guess SCARY collectively have the best haircut.
How do you feel about the switch from MacAbre Records to Dark Sun? Jolly Roger was a nice guy but we weren't going anywhere. The label wasn't prepared to put in the time and effort. There was a lot of consolidation going on in the music business at the time. Loads of labels were dropping acts who weren't cutting the mustard. We just figured MacAbre wasn't doing us justice, so we dumped him. Dark Sun are supporting our expansion plans, we feel a kinda synergy with them. It's a good thing.
It's an open secret that you are recruiting new members for the band. Can you tell us about it? Well things are slowly dropping into place. We have a drummer and bass guitarist lined up and are keen to incorporate them into the band as soon as possible. The problem at the moment is that we don't currently have rehearsal premises big enough to fit us all into. So first we have to find a place big enough to practice in, then we can make the offers more formal. As usual we'll keep you posted.
Are you working on any new material? At the moment we are mostly working on the covers album. Paul has some ideas for new material and I've written a song that's a homage to Delia Smith but Paul thinks it's too weird. Give him time, he'll come around.
What are your favourite pot-noodles? Some of these questions are bizarre! Normally I hate the things. However, when you're at a music festival, it's cold, chucking down with rain and you're waiting for the next band, they all taste bloody great. Trust me.
Have you ever considered moving to America? If we ever retire, I think Paul might. But I just couldn't leave this green and pleasant land.
Noel Gallagher says that your shoes have to match the colour of your guitar. What do you think to that? Noel is a prat if he thinks anyone cares what colour shoes he's got on. Me I play barefoot or in socks if there are no splinters in the floor. Otherwise it's black DMs, black goes with anything. Black is the new Black.
What's your favourite biscuit? Totally covered Jaffa Cakes. That's Jaffa Cakes totally covered in chocolate. We always have them on our rider. That and pizzas and fresh orange juice.
That's how it ends: with Roj musing on the contents of the band's rider and generally enthusing on the virtues of food. He pulls himself up from the deep sofa and wanders off to find a cup of Yorkshire tea. And the questions for SCARY continue to pour into the Dark Sun offices, weeks after the closing date. Please stop now. It's over.
SCARY is a rock band based in York, England. The band currently consists of two full-time members; lead guitarist Paul "Noodler" Martin and rhythm guitarist Roger "Sorry" Butler-Ellis. They both double up on vocals.
No band can exist in isolation, and even musical minimalists such as SCARY need a back-up team to provide vital assistance. So here are the folks that help make us rock:-
Dark Sun Records categorically ruled out any possibility of Roj leaving SCARY. Rumours starting spreading after Stu Fletcher (Seahorses) and Paul Banks (Shed Seven) announced that they were looking to acquire a vocalist for touring and work on a new album. Initially they started putting out feelers among current bands in the York, Harrogate and Hull area. Since hearing that Roj is not available, they have had to extend their search nationwide with an advertisement in the NME (dated 22nd Feb 2000). In an interview Roj said: "There is no way that I would be leaving SCARY in the foreseeable future. I am fully committed to the band and won't be sidetracked at this vital stage in our development."
Dateline Friday 25th February 2000 and SCARY were in Track Records in York checking out some rarities. But there was a security leak and the press got wind of it and descended on the premises. Fortunately, long-time fan Lonnie Donegan spotted the bands plight and leapt onto a counter brandishing handfuls of CDs. This distracted the camera clicking press boys and allowed SCARY to escape un-photographed.
SCARY continue to gig out of Glen Studios, but there are rumours of a more public gig later in the year when they have perfected their set list. At the moment the list is undergoing minor modifications.
Latest acquisitions in the studio are a boom mic stand and two spanking new high quality microphones. The boys are also acquiring a second mixer unit to split the load 'twixt the two amps and provide disaster recovery. Not to mention a new set of gold-plates leads (I said not to mention them!)
The Hellmouth has yawned open tonight. There's a sick green glow of escaping grave gases, a dank fog roiling across the floor, an amplified babble of obscenity curdling the air. And out of the darkness they come, the two lost souls of SCARY, kicking the York cemetery clay from their feet as they shift into place for the Zombie carnival. Their emergent fanfare is a bloody-fingered bowel-churner of a power chord.
They open up with the skull pop grunter 'Cigarettes and Alcohol', and for all that Roj hoiks himself onto the monitors doing his Jesus of Gravelly Voiced Pain bit, it's humble Paul making avant love to his effects rack who gives them gravitas. They tear through 'Acquiece' and 'What's the Frequency Kenneth?', Roj and Paul blasting through a new, two-mic setup and a display of storm-cloud guitar orchestration that Eric Clapton would cut his fingers off for.
SCARY return as soundcraft gurus? Not quite. But in the rush to resent them, their basic appeal is often overlooked. It's a punishing, primal urge thing and in a small venue (for them), it's pretty awesome to witness these by-now stadium professionals metal nouveau-ing right in your face.
A good night for the riff connoisseur, then. Modulated thunder rockers like 'Fade Away' and the anthemic 'Beautiful Day' call up devil hand signs from the moshpit. On the level of upholding the heritage of the Pixies, Husker Du, Sugar and Soundgarden, they give great raw whooomph.
So for the encore we are treated to a sublime version of 'Ziggy Stardust', these boys just can't foul up. And finally a medley of 'Crush', 'Inside' and 'Basketcase', then the band have left the building. The going-through-a-phase moshers and proto-goth girls are left feeling lovelorn discontent as a magnificent sensation. It's angst as a fun fair ride and it's sometimes a lot closer to the edge then they really ought to be.
Jim Morton