BEAUTIFUL SKELETONS – A CONVERSATION WITH TINA FARIFLY
By Ralph Beauchamp
Tina Firefly is the lead singer for the alt metal band, Beautiful Skeletons. The band recently unveiled the video for their hard hitting single 'Letter to a Narcissist'. The song is the lead track from their new EP, Abstinence, which was released earlier this month under the infamous WormholeDeath Records banner. Crafted in the Pacific Northwest, the four-piece delivers sonorous melodies accompanied by propulsive hooks. Beautiful Skeletons came together as a rough jam project between founding members Einar Einarsson and Tina Firefly in 2018. Both Einar and Tina brought years of musical experience and creativity to the table, birthing a unique style of catchy, dynamic metal.
In 2022, Beautiful Skeletons signed a management deal under former Saliva drummer and longtime drumming legend Paul Crosby. Once pandemic restrictions eased, the band then went into ferocity mode, tearing up the Oregon and Washington music scenes, quickly gaining local traction with electrifyingly entertaining and unforgettable live shows.
“Letter to a Narcissist” is a stirring track that features Firefly's extensive range. Both melodic and consistently intense, her voice resonates with pure power. Einarsson's guitars flare with glitter and destructive energy while Jason Johnson's bass crackles with ferocity. All the while, drummer Huw Williams' percussion conveys vivid palettes of acoustic explosions. The entire EP carries a soundscape of enormous proportions. Just check out “Only Zuul” with its dark and gorgeous textures or the touching “Butterfly Pinned Under Glass” where Firefly's voice is brazenly soulful with dramatic accents. Abstinence it is necessary to listen.
Tina Firefly was kind enough to spend some time with AMPs for this detailed cool chat.
AMP: The band got together just before the Covid outbreak. Do you think the pandemic was positive or negative for the band's development?
Tina: It was definitely positive. We needed time to change our line-up because of the weird stagnant period we've been in. As painful as it was to go through all this, especially during Covid, it inadvertently helped us become more determined and goal-oriented.
AMP: How would you describe the internal energy of the band?
Tina: Crazy! When you have the right set of musicians, you can make magic happen. We make that magic come out, but we always seem to be on the crazy side of that magic, as most musicians tend to be a little off their rockers.
AMP: What do you think makes the band different?
Tina: Interesting question. For us, there is this huge gap in our inspirations. The four of us are inspired by completely different genres of music. In my opinion, this would normally kill a project, but with us, it really enhances our sound. What is he doing Beautiful Skeletons so unique is the fact that we are all so different.
AMP: Speaking of inspirations, who are some of the band?
Tina: The one band and musician we all have in common is Alice In Chains and Jerry Cantrell. Our bass player, Jason, was a country musician before he joined the band. Mine are mostly 90s divas like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. They were like super heroes to me. The central point of interest where the whole band overlaps is the hard rock scene of the 90s-2000s. We're all in the nu-metal movement, especially bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit.
AMP: You've been single since Abstinence The EP, “Letter to a Narcissist” is powerfully dramatic. Can you give us a little insight into the track?
Tina: It's actually based on an ex-boyfriend of one of my best friends. I'm not mentioning names! (laugh). Some of my favorite comments about the song are when someone asks me, “is this about me?” You know you've done something right lyrically when you have people asking who the song is. In fact, it taps into the fact that we all have toxic people in our lives, and most of us don't immediately realize it.
This is because some of these toxic entities are narcissistic and difficult to catch. They seem to belong to your crew and seem to have good intentions, but sooner or later you can see the signs and be able to piece the puzzle together. The real meaning of the piece is that one needs to draw a healthy emotional boundary around oneself, and probably some of the deadliest snakes are already in your inner circle.
AMP: What would you like your fans to take away from your music?
Tina: I want them to feel, “where the hell was that?” This is my favorite reaction. I want them to know we're here and ready to get their attention. I want them to go crazy and want more.
AMP: You are managed by Paul Crosby, Saliva's famous drummer. How did this happen?
Tina: We were looking for professional management a few years ago and had gone to many sources. The main goal was to find someone who believed in what we were doing. We approached Paul after a recommendation from other bands in the area. No one had anything bad to say about him. We reached out to see if he had any interest and luckily he liked what he heard. Paul definitely influences our musical development.
AMP: How excited are you about your deal with WormholeDeath Records?
Tina: Oh my God! There is no word for it. It was on our list to get on a label that believed in us completely. Everyone was saying “you need a good label deal” when in reality you need a good distribution deal with a label that enjoys the music they support instead of just looking at a show from a numbers perspective. So we were excited when WormholeDeath approached us.
Here we are pushing to get a label and they saw our “Kraken” video and Max, one of their A&R reps, sent me a direct message on Instagram. Do you know how many messages we receive on our social media that are just scams! The original message sounded like this. I'm waiting for the part where he asks us for some money upfront for promo. That part never came and thankfully it was actually a representative of WormholeDeath. Here we are now and I'm so glad I didn't delete this message.
AMP: Feeling your new EP, Abstinenceis it an evolution in musical style from your previous material?
Tina: It's the pinnacle of evolutionary musical style for us. We didn't stabilize that line-up until recently. It's funny how when the stars align, everything falls into place. That happened when we got our drummer, Huw. Everyone who has heard the new material comments on how much we've grown. This is the next level Beautiful Skeletons.
AMP: What's next for the band?
Tina: Of course, World Domination! We have a show at the Whiskey on May 24th, a festival in June and a tour covering July and August. Lots of fun things on the horizon. In addition, until the end of the year, we will focus on our next group of songs.
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