Mixer-uppers called BLACK IT OUT have been around for a long time, releasing numerous content over that time. As of currently, they have reissued their "Reflections" works, with friends in Promise Game. Along with them set to release "Live, Laugh, Love" with their other friend Andy Negative this early summer time. But that is not all, because they are also working upon all new music, with much else also in the works as well! Find out what the band discusses of it all below.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
We have a long history dating back to 2005 when we were called Scarlet’s Sonata. We started as a hardcore band in the Sacramento, California scene, and we recorded the I’ll Bring the Gun, You Bring the Bullet EP at Pus Cavern in Sacramento. We even opened for some big acts like Mozart Season and Heartshed. We had some line-up changes during all that, and then Shaun went to college. Even though Shaun was in college, we still managed to write and record Trapped in a Sea of Emotion. When we released Trapped in a Sea of Emotion, we changed our name to Black It Out. After that, we went on an eight-year hiatus and played in other bands. Finally, Shaun convinced Bryan to start the band up again, and the song he did that with was “Reflections.” We recently rereleased “Reflections” with our friends from Promise Game. We set to work on Resurgence and released that in 2019. We’ve released several singles since then, and our If Looks Could Kill EP. Many of our singles are Christmas singles. Bryan likes Christmas songs, but we’ve managed to make them sound like Christmas, but you could play them any time of the year. Check out Merry Christmas, Don’t Get Me Anything, and The War on Christmas. We’re working on promoting our latest release, which is “Live, Laugh, Love,” featuring our friend Anndy Negative. That song is about Karens. Yes, those Karens you can watch compilations of them losing their minds in public on YouTube. “Live, Laugh, Love” should be on all platforms on May 2nd, 2022.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Our band name came from people pretending something never happened, or someone never entered their life. More like how when reports are requested using the freedom of information act in the United States, the reports on UFOs and UAPs are all blacked out.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there?
We claim Sacramento because that’s where we started. However, we’re more of an internet band. Bryan and I send stems to each other, and we record our parts on our own, and then we put them together. So, we’ll say we’re an E-band. The Internet scene is phenomenal. You could hear anything you want and even talk to any band on social media platforms like Instagram. We have the best scene!
3. Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Too many to mention since we are an Internet band. We have to recommend: Anndy Negative, Promise Game, All Systems Go, Coe Hill, Rad Stacey, Protect Your Heart, Always Grounded, Darro, Sterling, and Hey Slugger.
4. How would you describe your style?
We’re a blend of Pop-Punk, Emo, Easycore, and Post-Hardcore. It sounds weird, but we like to mix up our sound, but it all sounds like it would be on the Warped Tour stage. RIP Warped Tour.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We’re released a whole bunch of music. We released I Bring the Gun, You Bring the Bullet in 2006, and Trapped in a Sea of Emotion in 2009. Then we put out Resurgence in 2019. After that, we covered The Misfit’s “Halloween” and released our first Christmas song called “Merry Christmas, Don’t Get Me Anything.” In 2021, we came out with If Looks Could Kill EP and “The War on Christmas.” This year, 2022, we reissued “Reflections” with our friends Promise game. We’re set to release “Live, Laugh, Love” with our buddy Anndy Negative come May 2nd, 2022.
We are proud of our holiday music, and our If Looks Could Kill EP. Everything after that has been coming together and is sounding like how Black It Out means to sound.
You could expect Pop-Punk guitars with breakdowns, culturally relevant lyrics, and sometimes with a bit of humor. Our choruses have been hitting that sing-along factor lately. We also have been inviting friends we made on Instagram to be featured on our tracks. So, expect that!
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Yeah! We do! We have “Live, Laugh, Love” with Anndy Negative coming May 2nd, 2022. We’re also reworking two of our tracks that were on Resurgence. We’re updating our sound because I (Shaun) took voice lessons, and we sound better than ever. In these two tracks from Resurgence, Bryan sings the verses on them! That’s how it was back in the Scarlet’s Sonata days. But we have one previously unreleased track we’re working on that should be more on the Emo/Pop-Punk side. We totally have plans for more tracks in the future too. Maybe even another Christmas tune! So, be sure to follow us on Spotify and Instagram!
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Well, Bryan and I live several hours from each other now, and we don’t have a permanent drummer at this time, so we can’t really tour. Since we’re an E-band, we’re always looking to write, record, and promote.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
We plan to write new music, record new music, and share new music with cool people like you. We plan to make friends with more internet bands and to enjoy their music too. We like having the friends we make on the internet on our music.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
All over! We promote Spotify because that’s the most popular platform in the US. You could hear us everywhere. You could listen to and buy our music on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Google Music, Deezer, YouTube; you name it, we’re probably on there. Be sure to follow us on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0kR1sQwrJeIXBmAPrIAeLD?si=GP5nzcMWSH2xUo7XRENABA
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
We’ve evolved quite a bit both artistically and musically; we’ve grown into a more Pop-Punk/Easycore band with Post-Hardcore and Emo elements instead of being a Hardcore band like we started. We’ve come a long way from when we started. We’ve become much better musicians, songwriters, and sound engineers. We’ve even gotten better at making friends. So, feel free to follow us on Instagram or whatever you feel like following us on. We are on Instagram the most, though.