With so many different kinds of zombies threatening human existence in the movies and on TV, it’s hard to know for sure how to take care of them. Lucky for us, Scotts Roger has the answer.
Scott (his real name) recently spoke with WYEP's Joey Spehar.
What’s your musical history up to this point?
Starting in middle school, I played guitar and sang in a cover band called Astro Drive. We did everything from Zeppelin to Nirvana. After college, I moved to New York City and played bass in my brother's band. We were called earlymay (with a lower case "e"!). I began calling myself Scotts Roger as a singer-songwriter at that time because I couldn't get scottpeterson.com for obvious reasons. I made one full-length record called "Good Breeding." Once Sarah Siplak and I got married, we started performing as The Wreckids and made 3 albums together. This Halloween record is a solo Scotts Roger venture but has two "Wreckids" songs on there because they are definitely Halloween songs.
How do you describe your sound?
"An American Halloween" and "Good Breeding" sound like mixtapes. I don't have a band that can record live or as-rehearsed, so each song gets produced on its own according to "what the song wants." There are definite similarities because my voice and guitar are on all the tracks, but the orchestrations and instruments tend to be all over the place. Calling my sound "Americana" is a little bit of a cop-out, but I feel like that is a nice big umbrella term. You'll hear alt-country, bluegrass, punk, grunge, acoustic singer-songwriter, and synth pop in there.
Tell us more about the song "Zombies." What inspired you to write it and what does it mean to you?
"Zombies" was written as an answer to the thoughts I've been having for a dozen years or so. We all see a lot of zombie movies and the monsters all act pretty differently depending on which one you see. Some are fast and some are slow. Many kinds of weapons are used to defeat them. My song features a romantic couple that discusses the pros and cons of each weapon choice. That culminates in a lesson for us all - the ultimate weapon for killing all the zombies, regardless of which kind they are.
Everyone loves a good holiday album, and this certainly is one, so what made you do it and how did it all come together?
Short answer to this one. About a dozen years ago, I noticed that all the new songs I was writing were about monsters, nightmares, murder, and/or medical misunderstandings. You see dozens of new Christmas albums each year but no Halloween records! It was my destiny.
What was the first album that really changed your life?
I went to visit my cousin in Virginia and my uncle played the Red Album by the Beatles, 1962-1966. That's pretty much all we listened to for the few weeks that I was there. When I got home, I bought those records and would just sit on my bedroom floor, listening to all the songs, reading the lyrics, and singing along. That's when I got the bug. I started taking guitar lessons and writing songs right after that.
Who are some other Pittsburgh artists you think more people should be listening to?
Yeah! Other than Scotts Roger, the one Pittsburgh band that I think people should listen to more is...The Wreckids. These kids have really paid their dues, they're good under pressure, and they've got the chops to make it in the big time. I could see them on Conan or SNL.
Any other super interesting things about you we should know?
I've had 42 cars and I'm not a dealership.
Most Scotts Roger songs have different players, but "Zombies" features:
Scott Peterson - Acoustic guitar and vocals
Sarah Siplak - Lead and backing vocals
Jake Hanner - Drums
Josh Verbanets - Electric guitar, bass guitar, and synth
