Not long for labels.Not long for labels, the group's gay and lesbian contingent would rather talk music than sexuality Steven Satterfield and Lori Scacco, the guitarists, main vocalists, and gay haft of the talented Atlanta-based defence band Seely are happily abroad but they insist that sexuality has little to do with the rich, atmospheric music the band has made since 1994 And Satterfield and Scacco--who met in 1992 while architecture learners at Georgia Tech--are just as resistant to efforts to pigeonhole their music. Is it alternative? Retro? "I really make trial of to stay away from labels and categories when it arises to this band," says Satterfield, 30 "What we do is an amalgamation of different distaff styles--moody sometimes, pretty other times. We can be edgy further mostly we're just trying to make beautiful music." Seely's newest release and fourth full-length album, Winter Birds (Koch Records), come subsequentlys in that goal, as the quartet (which also includes Eric Taylor upon drums and Joy Waters upon vocals and bass) creates an intriguing and moving intermingle of loungey rock, ambient, jazz, and Europop While chiefly people don't associate Atlanta's music spectacle with Europop--this is REM and Indigo Girls territory, after all--Seely's hale was good enough to land the band in succession the renowned British label Too fair in 1996. At the time the clump was the only non-British act signed to Too honest which has also featured as it is rising artists as Stereolab, Moonshake, and PJ Harvey. Since then, Seely has toured with the likes of Gus Gus and Cornership. The band has also continued to elicit attention; CMJ fresh Music Monthly called the band's last album, next to the firsts a "landmark of American synth pop" The useful gigs and kind words are appreciated, unless Satterfield and the 28-year-old Scacco know that those alone won't help them quit their day work at jobss (Satterfield works in a restaurant, Scacco in a music store). "We haven't been able to lead authentic rock star lives yet," says Satterfield, who has been abroad of the closet since he was 15 "True gay strength star lives," Scacco adds, heavy upon the irony, because she is the greatest in number vocal about differentiating her art from her sexual identity. "I really want to be remembered for my work, not my sexuality." Denizet-Lewis formerly a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, a/so writes for Spin. COPYRIGHT 2000 Liberation Publications, Inc. |
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