Austin, Tx’s Scorpion Child is a band that you’re going to be hearing a lot about on this site. Why? Because Scorpion Child is fucking awesome. They are old souls in a modern world working hard to not so much replicate as to preserve a classic, no frills rock n’ roll sound that seems to be making a huge comeback these days. Scorpion Child was a band I was really excited to talk to and to get to know. I had interviewed bassist Shaun Avants previously but due to a PC crash had lost my interview. I was so bummed but as fate would have it, I’d have another chance. I guess you can say that 2nd time’s a charm.
Scorpion Child has been hitting the road hard in 2013 and finally saw the release of their much anticipated self-titled debut album last month. Scorpion Child was one of the side stage acts on this summer’s Mayhem Festival and I was psyched to have my do-over interview with Shaun. Shaun was joined by guitarist Christopher Jay Cowart and singer Aryn Jonathan Black (who just hung out with us, haha) and we talked about why they hate being called a “throwback band”, their excitement about their debut album, and why they think that classic rock sound is making such a welcomed comeback. Hang out and get to know Scorpion Child. You’ll be glad you did.
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Scorpion Child welcome to Atlanta. Finally
Shaun Avants: Yup. This is our first time. It’s good to be here man.
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How are you finding so far other than hotter than hell.
Shaun Avants: [laughs] We haven’t seen too much of it. It’s all been inside this fence [laughs].
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Well, you’re not missing much. It looks about the same as it does on the inside of this fence.
Shaun Avants: [laughs] Well then it’s lovely! [laughs]
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Before we get started I have to say that you guys are hands down one of my favorite new bands. I just can’t get enough of you guys so thanks for doing this interview.
Shaun Avants: Man, that’s great to hear. Thanks so much.
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You guys have been doing an assload of press on this tour. What is one question that 
you get asked so much that if you have to hear it again you’ll puke?
Shaun Avants: Uh, “What does it feel like to be part of the 70’s revival wave that’s going on?” I think it’s because we get thrown into this box so quickly and we’re so much more than that. We’re 80’s, we’re 90’s, we’re punk rock. There are just so many musical styles and generations in this band and we just put a little bit of a future touch on it. We’re taking it forward and doing what we want to do. We’re not copying anybody. When we get asked that question a lot or get compared to certain bands, it’s like we’re getting treated as this knock off band
Christopher Jay Cowart: I wouldn’t say that we’re a retro throwback band. I know that there’s those elements to our music but like Shaun said, there’s a whole lot more to us than that.
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I know that there’s elements of the bands that you always get compared to like Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden but I don’t hear it right there out front. I even hear bands that most people might not even know about like Captain Beyond and even Bloodrock. With that being said, what are some of the least obvious bands that you consider influential on the Scorpion Child sound?
Shaun Avants: In my household, I grew up listening to stuff like Annie Lennox and movie soundtracks and top 40 stuff. I wasn’t really exposed to this subculture or underground kind of music. Aerosmith is probably the most evident classic rock band back in the day but man, there are so many. I think Scorpion Child’s live show projects that kind of punk rock side of things that you maybe don’t get from the record. There’s so much energy and movement. We listen to hip hop in the van. We listen to everything and I think it just gets in our brain in a certain way. We don’t really try to draw upon anything specifically. It’s just how it enters our brain and how we process it and how we release it into our music and we can’t even control that.
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I do hear this mishmash of influences that have been put together to just create this sound that is Scorpion Child. What do you think Scorpion Child can do to drive that message home that you are Scoropin Child and not just some throwback copy band?
Christopher Jay Cowart: I think the longer the records out and circulated and people come to the live show, people will see that. Seeing us live really separates us from a lot of bands. The record’s great and we’re super proud of our record but we’re also super proud of our live show and I think we pride ourselves on being a live band. The songs take on a whole new shape and form live and I think that’s what separates us and what will separate us in the future from all the retro and throwback bands.
Shaun Avants: Ultimately it’s going to be longevity. When that wave of 70’s resurgence is over, by that time we’ll probably have already carved out an even deeper niche to make us more timeless as opposed to this gimmicky band. So many bands put out their first record and it sounds like “this” but by their 3rd or 4th record they’re a completely different band. That’s personally what I’m looking forward to. This is just a test run to see what we can do for future stuff. We have the freedom do really do whatever we want to creatively.
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Mayhem Festival is definitely more of a metal based festival but you guys really aren’t a metal band per se yet Scorpion Child seems to be winning over new fans left and right.
Shaun Avants: Yeah, it’s been crazy. Especially since the record came out last month we’ve been having more and more people showing up, waiting for us to come on stage, and they know all the words to the songs. It’s really just taking off right now but it’s been great.
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So even though the album’s new, looking back on it is there anything you wish you would’ve or could’ve done differently?
Shaun Avants: Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, we’re absolutely happy with the album but when you’re on the inside looking out, you’re always going to nitpick about how things got done and how you wish you would’ve had more time or maybe even come up with an idea after it’s all been recorded. That’s just always going to be there. I think in the production of the record, next time I’d like it to be little bit more smooth and cohesive. This time around it was just kind of scattered which I kind of feel like gives it some character. Next time around I think we’ll have the time and the energy to keep it a little bit more focused.
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Music seems to have cycles and it seems that especially in the hard rock/metal world, the cycle of that classic, 70’s almost psychedelic sound is starting to stick its head up from the ground. Why do you think that is and do you feel that Scorpion Child is part of this cycle?
Christopher Jay Cowart: People are tired of being pissed off at a rock show. Back in the day, you went to a rock show and there were girls there dancing and it was a good time. Now, you come to a lot of these metal fests and everybody’s throwing punches and moshing which is fine but I think people are just ready to enjoy music again. I think that’s what we try to do. When we’re on stage, that’s our best 30 minutes of the day and you can see it on all our faces. That’s what we live for and I think that the audience sees that and they want to have a good time too. I think that’s what’s happening with music right not. People are tired of being angry all the time. Let’s have fun [laughs].
Shaun Avants: On the flip side of that, a lot of modern rock radio stations are playing this really digitally processed, candy coated version of, well, you really can’t even call it rock n’ roll anymore. I think that’s where everybody’s seeing this 70’s resurgence we were talking about earlier. It’s really just people going back to the riff on the guitar; getting back to the basics of it all and not dressing it up and covering up every little mistake. It’s honest, it’s natural, it really touches people more than a lot of the stuff that is coming out today where there’s nothing to grasp onto. There no soul in it. There’s no swagger and I think that’s what people want now. They want that fine balance of sexy and rocking! You can be sexy but you don’t have to be wimpy [laughs]. You can still get chicks without crying about them. You also don’t have to yell at everybody and act all super tough. Just have fun and get back to the basics of it.
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You guys have been sweating it all out for Mayhem Fest and going on stage at a time when you’re usually used to loading in. Does going on so early in the day change or affect the dynamics of your performance at all?
Shaun Avants: I think it just changes your sleeping pattern and your schedule for the day but once you get into the throws of it like any tour, you have a little period of jet lag at the beginning but then once you get acclimated to it, you’re just sitting around waiting for 4:30 to roll around so you can get up there and play [laughs]. We actually have a very nice slot because we’re one of the last bands to play before all of the major headliners start.
Shaun Avants: Oh yeah. Mastodon has been great. Honestly, I never really listened to them. I think I was just occupied by some other bands when they were coming out and I was kind of steering away from any kind of modern metal that was coming out. To watch Mastodon and see the proficiency and their technical abilities just makes them amazing. Getting to finally meet them was great and they’re rad dudes which was awesome. We’ve caught Rob Zombie’s set 2 or 3 times and my God it’s so entertaining. The props and the pyrotechnics just make it so much fun to watch. I just wish one day we could have that kind of a budge to just go all out and do those crazy theatrics.
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We should work on that. The Scorpion Child arena extravaganza.
Shaun Avants: Man, we don’t even have a backdrop on this stage [laughs]. But I think that just makes us play harder. It’s up to us to make the show and not a bunch of lights and stuff.
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If you could land any tour for Scorpion Child, what would it be and why?
Shaun Avants: I think for a while, we were trying to get on the Soundgarden tour. That was one of the first concerts that I ever bought a ticket to and that got me into rock n’ roll so to get thrown on a tour with them would be full circle for me. I think mostly we want to go out with a band who’s also not incredibly pigeonholed and that carries a fan base with them that is open to hearing different kinds of music. Black Sabbath’s back together. That would be cool [laughs]. I mean, we could go down a list of a thousand bands we’d love to tour with.
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You guys have been touring pretty hardcore and doing it in a van. How do five guys live in a van day in and day out without killing each other?
Shaun Avants: You mean six including our manager [laughs]. It’s fairly spacious and we get hotel rooms here and there but this may be the last one we do like this. If the tours keep getting bigger and longer we’re going to have to move up to some slightly bigger accommodations [laughs]. Nothing too major but a step up from this but right now, we’re accepting the fact that this is just what you do.
Christopher Jay Cowart: We know that there’s a lot of road work and a lot of time spent on the road and we just do whatever we have to do to make it happen. Right now it’s living in a fan but the more we stay out, the more we get used to it.
Shaun Avants: Touring in a van is really just a rite of passage and even that can come full circle too. You see so many bands start off in a van, move up to the busses and then once their peek is over and they’re not getting those awesome tours anymore, they’re right back in a van so you might as well get used to it [laughs].
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Better learn how to sleep in fetal position.
Shaun Avants: [laughs] Yeah, it just becomes your second home and you have to put it out of mind. Find your space, put your headphones in, and go to sleep and deal with it. Hell, we have an A/C and a radio so it’s not all that terrible [laughs].
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Do you think that Scorpion Child has that “one song” that just sort of personifies and encapsulates what the band is about?
Shaun Avants: I feel like “Salvation Slave” or “In the Arms of Ecstasy” mainly because it has those aggressive moments, the melodic moment, a psychedelic vibe, and the hooks. It’s got some soring vocals, and big drums. I think it just captures everything that we’re about.
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That’s actually 2 of my 3 favorite songs on the album. I really felt drawn to the closing track “Red Blood.” Closing the album with that kind of track was almost like a cool down of sorts which I loved. What can you tell me about that track?
Shaun Avants: Wow, thanks man. That song was really kind of an afterthought even though it’s been around for a little while. It was just one of those delicate songs that we didn’t want to rush but it had to be recorded. It’s a real special song. It really is. It’s not one that we just hammered out in the rehearsal studio and said, “Yeah, here’s a new song.” We didn’t know what was going to become of it and we just experimented with it in the studio. Aryn threw on that last part at the end of him doing a lo-fi recording of him singing and playing acoustic guitar. We put it in closing spot of the album because there is a whole rollercoaster of emotions throughout the record especially coming after Paradigm which is one of the hardest songs on there. It’s almost like you have to catch your breath and get your head together about what just happened over the past 50 minutes. That happens on some of my favorite records where that last song is the one that just eases you down like when you’re coming off of a hard drug or something. That song’s your methadone [laughs].
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I know it’s not in the set for this festival run but is this song that I can look forward to hearing live eventually?
Shaun Avants: We would absolutely love to bring that song to the stage. We’ve done it a couple of times live. It’s such a delicate song that it really needs to be rehearsed in order to capture those fine little things in there. If it’s rushed or it’s too loud or whatever, it’s just not going to capture those things and then we’d rather not play it live.
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If you could play for any band of any era for just one night, which would it be?
Shaun Avants: Queen. I’d love to take John Deacon’s spot in Queen.
Christopher Jay Cowart:: Cactus. I just love Jim McCarty’s guitar tone, his riffs, everything about that band I just love.
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In your opinion, what is one album that everyone should own?
Shaun Avants: Rainbow Rising. I just got the Rainbow Live in Munich DVD. Man, Cozy Powell playing drums? That show is incredible [laughs]. It’s so good.
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Finish this sentence: If I wasn’t a musician, I would be _______________?
Shaun Avants: An artist.
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Like a graphic artist?
Shaun Avants: Man, just something creative. I’m really into film, painting, graphic art. It would just have to be something creative.
Christopher Jay Cowart: I’d be miserable [laughs].
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What does 2013 have in store for Scorpion Child?
Shaun Avants: There’s a tentative tour in September with Kadavar. It’s pretty much locked down but I can’t guarantee anything. We’ll have a little time off after that one before heading to Europe with Orchid and then the holidays will be here. So that’s pretty much it. Just two more tours before the end of the year.
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Guys, thank you so much for taking the time out to hang with me today.
Shaun Avants: Yeah man. I’m glad we got to do this. Don’t lose this one [laughs].
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I will guard this with my life I guarantee it. Best of luck to you guys and I hope to see you soon. Beers on me y’all!
Shaun Avants: [laughs] Thank you so much for the support man.
Christopher Jay Cowart: Thanks a lot man!
For more on Scorpion Child, head on over to http://www.scorpionchild.com
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