Hello Rockstars! Today’s Artist of the Week is Hard Rock / Alt Band Scarlett Silhouette!
Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy!
Scarlett Silhouette also has two shows coming up for May:
May 22nd and May 24th both at The Griffin! So don’t forget to get your tickets now for these incredible shows!
VMS:
“When did you start writing and performing your music. What’s your backstory and current lineup.”
Scarlett Silhouette: “The beginning of Scarlett Silhouette came about in April of 2023 when I (Scarlett MorningStar) posted on Facebook looking for musicians to start a project with. Had to be no more than days later when I received a message from Thomas Giacalone showing interest in writing something together and sending links to his previous work in his band Godless Throne.
I messaged back with an A Capella video of myself singing a cover tune so he could hear my voice, which inspired him to write an entire song in one night based on that recording–he didn’t realize it was a cover. I wrote back that it was a cover tune but that I loved what he did with the music, so I told him to scratch the vocals he thought he was writing for and I then sat down and wrote the lyrics and vocal melody line that I was hearing to go with the music Tom had sent me.
That turned out to be “A Healing Embrace”– the first song we ever wrote together, and what would turn into the 2nd single we’d release as a band.
VMS:
“What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“It’s hard to drill down specific influences, because there are truly just so many. But some of our influences include Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, In This Moment, The Pretty Reckless, and Korn. Though, we each have diverse musical tastes and influences.”
VMS:
“What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“Our writing process either starts with lyrics and a melody line that I have, then Tom writes the music around that, or with a piece of music Tom writes and sends me to add lyrics and vocals to. My lyrical process varies. Oftentimes I write what I feel when I feel it, as a way to release big emotions, or sort out thoughts and feelings.
Usually when this happens, I can pour out an entire song from start to finish in one sitting. Sometimes I’m just going about my day and a line or a melody just pops into my head and I have to stop what I’m doing to get it out and write it down or record it on a voice memo so I don’t forget it. I collect all kinds of song ideas, title ideas, lines and melodies and verses–and when Tom does send me a piece of music to write to, often times I will go through those notes for inspiration or just straight up pull a bunch of them together and fit them into a cohesive song, kind of like a puzzle. A puzzle made up of a collection of my thoughts and emotions.
Also interesting to note that this is my (Scarlett) first time ever recording and performing my own original music, apart from when I was 12 and wrote and recorded one song with my dad’s band.”
VMS:
“I love your songs “A Healing Embrace”, “Demons Set Me”, “Twin Flame” and “Dreams of Butterflies”. What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“The beauty of a song like “A Healing Embrace”is that it can mean so many different things to so many different people, depending on how they interpret it based on their own life experiences. When I wrote the lyrics for it though, I was writing about my experiences with sexual trauma and self harm–but I thought it would be interesting to kind of do it from the perspective of a spirit guide or guardian angel, watching me go through the things that I did and guiding me to overcome them. The song starts off very dark and suspenseful, but toward the end it turns into this kind of anthem for those that have seen or experienced very dark things but that have chosen to use those experiences to create more light within themselves and the world around them.
I was told the end of the song ” truly feels like a healing embrace”. The song really is about transmuting the darkness into light. It also serves as a reminder that we are not our trauma, we are much more than that,–the traumas we have faced do not make us broken.
Listen to “A Healing Embrace” on Spotify:
“Demons Set Me Free” is about that feeling of getting too comfortable in your depression. You know, like when you’re so used to the darkness that you start to feel like that is home, like that is your identity, even. Where the nothingness, the emptiness becomes so unbearable that you have to feel something, anything, even if it isn’t exactly a good feeling. It’s about allowing the monsters in your head to take control after trying to suppress them.
Listen to “Demons Set Me Free” on Spotify:
“Twin Flame” was inspired by an extremely vivid dream I had — which featured someone I knew in my waking life. The song talks about feeling like you’ve met the ultimate soulmate for you, but having to watch them leave you. Unrequited love, if you will.
Listen to “Twin Flame” on Spotify:
“With Dreams Of Butterflies” I wrote about and for my Mother as she was battling cancer–A battle she would end up losing just before we officially released the song. It’s a beautiful and sad song that goes through the emotions of losing a loved one, the pain of it but also the beauty of remembering their life and the things you loved about them — and it touches on the idea of reincarnation, asking for her to be given an easier life next time around, and reminding the listener that energy continues on, souls continue on.”
Listen to “With Dreams of Butterflies” on Spotify:
VMS:
“Tell me about your EP: “Chaos and Thorns”. What was the inspiration and process of writing it.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“Our debut EP “Chaos And Thorns” kind of just happened the way it happened. Tom and I keot writing songs together and liking what we were doing, so at some point we decided to go ahead and start recording with Josh Bearden of Nevermore Audio. We decided once we had six songs, that was enough to go ahead and put then on an EP. The songs we wrote just so hapoened to fit well enough together to fit cohesively on an EP–nothing was really much planned, it just came together this way, really, as far as our sound and set.
We decided to use “Chaos And Thorns” as the title of the EP because we delt it described our energy well, and it is a nod to the first single we ever release, “Creator Of Storms” which had incredible responses from listeners. The song opens with the line, “I am a dangerous force, made of chaos and thorns.”
Listen to “Chaos and Thorns” on Spotify:
VMS:
“Which local artist would you like to work with and why.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“We actually have a brand new single that is a collaboration with Sublimenal Stimuli called “Burn Me Up” which was released on March 28th. It was a lot of fun to create, especially because our musical styling and genres are so different. Other than that, we it would be fun to work with a local band that is heavier than we are.”
Listen to “Burn Me Up” on Spotify:
VMS:
“What’s your overall theme or message of your music.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“Our music has a lot to do with the emotions and the mind–mental health, even–As well as the darkness and evil that exists within humanity. Overall, i think the message that we are trying to spread is, “You are not alone in what you feel, and your pain does not define you.” And we want to help inspire others to keep going, keep trying, to keep living, and to find a way to use the pain they’ve felt to create more light, to create more good.”
VMS:
“Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“Tom’s favorite song to play live is “Creator Of Storms”. Bubba’s favorite to play live is “Twin Flame”. I think mine might be ” A Healing Embrace” because of how theatrical it is and I can have a lot of fun with that, and then the ending is just really fun live with the high energy and the anthem feel to it. It’s great for singing along to as well!”
VMS:
“Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“We did have a really cool experience at a gig where we got asked to autograph someone’s guitar, and then they let us just doodle on it. That was a lot of fun and felt very special.
There was also an experience at a show where we were informed that the venue was rumored to be haunted — and during our show the audio went all wack for part of a song during our set and no one could figure out what went wrong. It went back to normal after the next song.”
VMS:
“What does the future hold for Scarlett Silhouette.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“While I can’t tell you exactly what the future holds for certain, I can say that we have no intention of letting up right now and would love to continue doing this for as long as we can. We have more music in the works that we’ve been writing and will soon be recording, and as soon as we have our new drummer ready to go we will be prepping to take back to the stages as soon as possible. We’d love to expand our reach and grow our “Scarlett Army””
VMS:
“What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“We want you to come to our shows, forget about the bullshit in the world and the bad things going on and the stress in your life–and have fun, feel alive, let out some steam. We want you to get what you need to get out of it–to release some emotions by singing and screaming along to our songs, or to forget the outside world exists, or just to feel accepted and supported within a community of people where all are welcome, regardless of race, gender, religion, etc.
And of course, we want to entertain you! We want you to come to our shows and feel like you had a fun time and it was worth the effort and cost to come see us do what we love to do.”
VMS:
“What have been your personal pros and cons of being a band here in Las Vegas. What do you think the scene could improve on and what are your hopes for the future of the Vegas Music Scene.”
Scarlett Silhouette:
“I would love to see more original independent artists flourishing in the Vegas music scene. I think the original music scene here has been growing and is becoming quite rich with talented artists and opportunities, but it’s still so much easier to bring in financial income by playing covers.
I’d love to see more local music lovers/ show-goers and tourists alike packing venues for original artists here, and more independent original artists playing larger venues and larger crowds. I would also love to see more goth, metal, punk and rock clubs/venues open up and stick around.”
VMS Thoughts:
What I love about Scarlett Silhouette is how not only do they rock so fucking hard, but they are not afraid to wear their heart on their sleeve when it comes to certain topics. Their music is raw, real and I definitely resonate a lot with many of their songs on a personal level. Whether it’s unrequited love, heartbreak, struggling with depression, or trying to turn that darkness into light, their lyrics are a beautiful confessional into the soul of them as artists, which is incredibly refreshing. It’s amazing when people can take life struggles and turn it into wonderful art, and that is definitely something Scarlett Silhouette does effortlessly.
As musicians they are an incredibly solid group, playing their instruments like it’s an extension of their souls and creating such a magical incredibly hard rocking experience for the listener. Every song just packs such a huge punch, up against Scarlett’s sick vocals that she plays with yelling, growling and even going into an operatic sound at times, I love how she and the guys are not afraid to play with their instruments to create something truly unique. That amazing energy compliments each other so well, with such a natural amazing chemistry they have, I know it translates beautifully into their live shows, (which y’all need to go see on May 22nd and 24th at The Griffin! 🙂 )
I’m legitimately excited to see where the future takes Scarlett Silhouette, I know they are a relatively new band, but I feel this is a wonderful step in a very promising future for them. Just stay true to who you are, your sound and voice and I know you will go far. I know I for one am staying around for the crazy ride.
—VMS