Post-hardcore Ohio musicians The Scarlett Letter have been hard at work writing and recording material for their new EP "Call To Action". Not only that but they have plans to perform a headlining showcase as well as more showcases and touring too. Frontman vocalist Jake Richard's discusses the EP and playing shows.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Scarlett Letter, and how long the band has been together.
Jake: I'm Jake Richards I'm the scream and co-clean vocalist, The band has been together (this line up) for almost 6 months now.
2. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there?Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Jake: Our band is based out of Toledo , Ohio and the surrounding areas, our scene is very intricate and broad. It's definitely a tough act to play but, It makes you more prepared for the other cities. We are big fans of a couple local bands here and generally will always support local music. We like Convictions & Breathe Till Dawn a lot. It would be a long list if I tried to name all of the bands we support. But, they know who they are.
3. Tell me about your new EP.
Jake: The EP is titled Call to Action. The songs are all generally fast and upbeat. Poppy catchy choruses and mind blowing breakdowns. The process of writing it was fun and engaging, we recorded it with Eric Krolak of Yeti Studios and we so far have been really happy with his end of the deal. This being our first EP we hope it is delivered and taken well and hope to continue to put out songs well after.
4. Is there any story or concept behind the Call to Action title?
Jake: Call to Action is basically a role call. The foundation of the phrase is basically that we believe that the human race in general is sitting idle in their comfort or discomfort and not doing anything to be free or to help others be free. Call to Action literally says to me, "This is it...I'm done watching the people I love (everyone) suffer through life and not see the point of ambition or trial" The band and I want to help people open their hearts to the idea that, love is endless and Jesus is more endless. With him all things are made new and with him all things will continue. And all people have to do is ask.
5. Select two songs from Call to Action and what inspired the lyrics.
Jake: It's hard to select two songs and give them specifically because we are still in the process of naming. But, as far as the lyrics for the single goes and the majority of all the other songs are lyrics written by me and our clean vocalist Ryan. But, the lyrics for the single were inspired by my personal experience with satan first hand and how powerful his addiction was on me until I broke for Jesus and gave my life to him.
6. Who produced Call to Action and what was it like working with them?
Jake: Eric Krolak and Ryan Murray of Yeti Studios produced our EP. And it was an absolute blast. We have many studio diaries on our YouTube page to reflect on. And overall they were very professional and know how to treat musicians.
7. Who did the cover art for Call to Action and how much input did you have on it?
Jake: A good friend of mine is currently putting the finishing touches on our album art. Her name is Sarah Nicole Cook and she is one talented cookie. We gave her absolute freedom on the concept and she delivered.
8. What is your Call to Action?
Jake: My call to action is to give any wisdom, support, or love anyone needs from me without condition.
9. Do you guys have any favorite songs off it you can recommend checking out?
Jake: We recommend listening to every song. They are all different and fun in their own ways. We can't wait to see what are our fan's favorites.
10. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Jake: Our songs are emotions that we feel and hope translate into the minds of anyone who listens.
11. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Jake: We do write our own songs. Specifically the majority of the EP was written by Me, Vince, and Ryan. Not because we didn't want anyone else in the band to write haha. We were the only members at the time of the writing process. Basically for about 3 months I would sit down at my computer and record some ideas and get the go ahead to continue and Vince and Ryan would put their input and material in as well. Luckily I'm also a producer (not on the scale of Eric but still not too bad) so the demoing and writing went pretty easy. After sitting on the songs for awhile Ryan and I sit down together and write the lyrics. For the future songs for the full length we've all been kind of pre-writing as a group. and I think it will stick to that.
12. Who are your musical influences?
Jake: I listen to a lot of Of Machines, For Today, Queen, any 90s pop rock band.
13. Why did you want to call the band The Scarlett Letter, does it have a story or meaning to it?
Jake: The band's name comes from a book by Ryan's favorite author Nathaniel Hawthorn "The Scarlet Letter" in the 17th century women who were found guilty of adultery were make to were a scarlet "A" on all of their clothing marking them as an adulterer and while we may not all be adulterers we all have our own sin and markings that make us who we are in the eyes of our peers. But, our sins are not who we are and do not make us the people we are. In the end it is through Christ’s death on the cross that, no matter what we do in life as long as we come to him and ask him for forgiveness, we are instantly washed clean of all sin and we just want to spread that word to each and every person we come in contact with.
14. How do you promote your band and shows?
Jake: We are a firm believer in word of mouth. But, we try to utilize social media and our manager Cody Sizemore. Who is an absolute beast.
15. Describe your show, visual and musically for us.
Jake: Our show is definitely a "show", we move big and scream big. We preach loud and clear. And do it so everyone can have a good time and get into it. If anyone comes to our shows we hope that it's because they came there to have fun and move around.
16. What are your upcoming show/tour plans and plans for the rest of this year?Jake: We plan to play locally as much as possible and start branching out into different states as soon as possible. Tour planning is not on our plates at this point. But, we are hopeful that it will become an option soon.
17. What advice would you give to fellow bands, who want to do what you're doing?
Jake: Keep doing what you are doing guys. Don't let anything stand in your way. And make sure that whatever you're trying to say is worth your life, heart, and soul. And have fun!
18. Any final words of wisdom?
Jake: I have 1 million words of wisdom and so does the rest of the band. We readily encourage anyone to message us personally or our band page if you just want to chat or need some advice. We are always willing to listen and not judge.
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