We are just easing our way into the heavy metal genre. Often intimidated by its screaming sound, we never gave the category the attention it deserved, but that has all changed. By covering the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, we have rid ourselves of our metal stereotype. The instrumental rifts of metal bands are jaw dropping, but the sounds of metal vocals have taken a longer time to please our musical tastes. Thanks to Alexis Brown of Straight Line Stitch, our enjoyment, vocally, is no longer a struggle.
Let’s introduce you to the band, before we dive into Brown’s mesmerizing vocal range. Straight Line Stitch consists of vocalist, Alexis Brown, guitarist, Seth Thacker, guitarist, Kris Norris, bassist, Jason White and drummer, Kanky Lora. The group released their debut studio album, Everything Is Nothing By Itself, back in 2004 and since then the band has dropped four more albums with The Fight Of Our Lives as the most recent. Straight Line Stitch is currently touring with the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and we will be lucky enough to catch them at the festival on July 27th. Don’t worry if you can’t go because you Shockya readers will be the first to hear about the group’s performance!
Onto Brown’s vocal chops. When we first heard the tunes off of The Fight Of Our Lives, we had to do a double take because we thought there were two lead vocalists. The interchanging vocal styles, from metal to those more subdued, led us to this interpretation, but boy were we wrong. The lead vocals are entirely Brown’s doing. She gives listeners screaming sounds, but also beautifully tranquil vocals that are not often heard in the metal genre. You have to hear the band’s tracks over and over again to believe that it is possible for someone to deliver such a wide range of vocals so impeccably.
Check out our interview with Brown below as she discusses her sound, Straight Line Stitch and the Mayhem Festival.
by Lonnie Nemiroff
What’s it like being a female in the heavy metal genre?
I don’t really think of it as like, oh I’m a female. I just see it as that I am blessed to entertain people and go out there and do what I do on stage, what we do as a band. I don’t really think of it as oh, ya I am a girl and I am doing metal. To me, it is something that can be used as a crutch. I don’t really see it that way.
Did you always know since you were younger that you wanted to sing in a heavy metal band?
I always knew I wanted to be a singer from a young age. I didn’t think that I would be a metal singer or that I would be doing this genre. I actually wanted to be a R&B singer so bad and then my brother got me into the harder stuff, like Korn and White Zombie and things like that. I actually fell in love with that genre.
Were those some of your musical influences when you were younger?
Oh ya, I liked Korn, White Zombie, Bad Company, Styxx, Journey..lots of bands. I had a lot of different influences.
Congrats on your album The Fight Of Our Lives. Your ability to switch from such a heavy metal sound to alternative and even to indie. Do you prefer any one style over another?
No, I love them equally. I like to be able to switch it up. So, it’s cool to be able to sing really pretty and then go like balls to walls like heavy, but I enjoy both.
Does the constant switching from screaming to a more subtle sound strain your voice at all?
No, the only time my voice ever bothers me is if I am sick or I am just starting a tour and I am breaking my voice in, stuff like that. Screaming helps me out a lot, so it doesn’t bother my voice.
How do you choose which style to use through the course of a track?
When the guys like put a song together and they throw it my way, I go out and listen to it. It is almost as if the song writes itself. I listen to it over and over again and it just sort of comes to me. I don’t just like listen to a song and say oh, I am going to scream right there, oh, I am going to sing right there. That’s not how I write. I just feel it.
There are so many genres I hear in your music other than metal. How would you categorize your band’s sound?
There’s like so many subgenres and crazy genres out there. I don’t even classify my band. I leave that to the audience. I wouldn’t even know how to begin, like how to classify our band. It’s ridiculous. We have so many different elements. It’s hard. We can be heavy; we can be alternative. We even have some punk elements. There are so many different styles that we incorporate in our music.
One of my favorites tracks off the album, The Fight Of Our Lives, is “No Tomorrow”. What was it like making that tune?
I love that song. Actually, my brother helped me out. When we first started writing that was one of the first songs I got. While writing this album, it was a really frustrating that’s why the album is called The Fight Of Our Lives. I wrote “No Tomorrow” because sometimes you just have those thoughts. You just want everything to work. People make you mad and sometimes you think about what it would be like if they weren’t in the picture. It’s about the end of things, the end of relationships. I was really in a frustrated state of mind while writing that song.
Have any other favorites tracks off the album?
Oh ya. My favorite track, personally, off the album is “Laughing In The Rearview”. I love that song because I think it not only showcases the band, but I love that it showcases my range, as far as screaming and singing, stuff like that.
What’s your set list for the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival?
We are going to play a majority of tracks off the new album and like maybe two or three old songs in the set.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Definitely looking forward to In Flames. They played yesterday, but I didn’t catch them. Um, Machine Head and Kingdom of Sorrow. I miss those bands a lot of times because I am always working.
How has the tour been going so far?
So far, so good. It’s terrifying. There is always a big crowd. It’s actually going really well for us. The crowd is really responsive and awesome. It’s been really, really fun.
Great! I am actually going to the festival on July 27th!
Oh! You have to come by and say hi! We are always hanging out.
Definitely! Anything else you want to add about the Mayhem Festival and your album?
I would just like to say that anyone who wants to get in touch with us can. We are that type of band. You can talk to us. We’re accessible. There is nothing worse than having a band that you really like and you can’t reach out. We always try our best to hang out, to mingle and all of that stuff. We have Facebook and all that stuff, so if people have questions, they can hit us up!
Actually, just one last question. How did you discover your range?
Lots of trial and error. Lots and lots of bad notes. If you keep practicing and even while learning, you’ll discover new things. It’s a learning experiencing!
