------Feature • Straight Line Stitch------Upcoming FREE Event In It for the Long Haul at Sweetwater By Ryan Smith sharp contrast with relatively soulfully sung sections CYRILLE AIMÉE (soul being a bit of an anomaly in metal circles). Proof that sometimes a band just needs the right “I have been singing all my life. I always wanted membership to reach its potential (see ), Knox- to be a singer, since I was a kid. I knew I was go- LIVE IN CONCERT! ville, Tennessee-based Straight Line Stitch have been ing to be. I didn’t exactly picture myself doing met- PRESENTED BY raging since the early 2000s but didn’t really start to al,” Brown told TheFirst3Songs.com. “When I was gain steam until Clarksville, Tennessee native Alex- younger, I was in an R&B girl group. I thought I was is Brown became the band’s vocalist in 2003. Once going to sing R&B. It was my brother who introduced Brown joined the mix, it still took three years for the me to hard rock like Pantera, , and Ozzy. I fell in band to gain enough momentum to release its debut love with the genre and realized this is what I wanted record, To Be to do.” Godlike. Since Aside from then, the band has the instrumental slowly built up its and vocal talents fanbase through that make SLS steady touring stand apart from and continues on the crowd, the despite lineup band also has an shifts and record unusual name that label changes. garners its share “ P a t r i c k of attention. As Haynes (drums) for where exactly and I are the the name Straight founding mem- Line Stitch comes bers of the band,” from or what its guitarist Seth significance is, Thacker said in that is apparently an interview with a mystery even to Blistering.com. its own members. “Patrick and I “They al- like to think that ready had the the band didn’t name when I officially start joined the band. until 2003, which I think I even is when we got STRAIGHT LINE STITCH asked, “Hey, Lex to join the w/BENEATH IT ALL where did you band.” guys get the name?’” Brown Thursday, May 31 at 7:00PM While the group’s early vo- Monday, May 21 • 9 p.m. said in an interview with calists steadfastly maintained Wrigley Field Bar & Grill Pure Grain Audio. “Their an adherence to extreme metal old singer ... I think his mom Join us for a special FREE concert featuring international jazz vocal stylings, the band now 6527 E. State Blvd., Fort Wayne did some kind of tailoring or and pop singing sensation Cyrille Aimee, presented by Lauten plays a style of music gener- $5 Cover • 260-485-1038 something, and it’s like, a Audio. Cyrille will be accompanied by a top-notch band, ally known as that straight line stitch, or some- balances out pummelling metallic guitar sections that thing like that, something weird. We get that question including Michael Valeanu, Guilherme Monteiro, Tom Larsen, feature extreme vocals with more melodic sections asked all the time, and everyone’s just basically like, and Adrien Moignard on guitars; Sam Anning on bass; and Raj that include “clean” vocals (see Killswitch Engage). ‘We don’t know,’ I don’t know. [laughs]” Jayaweera on drums. The evening will comprise a full concert While it would be tempting to compare SLS with the As a lyricist, Brown does her best to keep it real from Cyrille and her band, giving you a rst-hand opportunity band , another metalcore group that for the group’s audience. “I definitely write about features a female vocalist, their sound is actually more things that I think people can relate to, and I write to hear her captivating voice sing many of her most popular similar to All That Remains with its alternating vi- about the things I see,” she said in the Pure Grain songs. You will also be able to witness the depth and clarity cious metallic attacks and soaring choruses. Audio interview. “I write about the world ... I hate to of the new Lauten Atlantis microphones in a live performance That musical style began to congeal due to sound egotistical, but I try to write about stuff that I’ve setting. Cyrille will also have her latest CD for sale and will be Brown’s joining the band. “At the time we were hav- been through ... things that I see and just everyday life. ing issues with our [former] singer because we wanted That’s how I write.” signing autographs for those in attendance. Don’t miss this to have singing in our music, not just screaming all the Even though SLS self-released their first album, incredible FREE concert! time,” Thacker said in the same interview. “It turns To Be Godlike, along with a video for the song “Re- out Lex was having trouble in her band as well be- mission” in 2006, the record resulted in little in the cause she wanted to tour and branch out farther from way of popular attention for the band. It did, however, Register for this special event at her hometown area. Patrick knew her the best, so he ultimately lead to the national distribution of When called her up and asked her if she would be interested Skies Wash Ashore which Koch Records released in www.sweetwater.com/local/events/. in singing for us. She was all about it. She packed her 2008. stuff and made the move to Knoxville. Immediately By that point the band had adopted a road war- there was an impact from her singing with us ... we rior mentality and continued to make progress through were able to write more melodic music with her and higher-profile appearances on the Vans , still keep the heaviness.” and the Rockstar Energy Drink and As is often the case with rock bands with female alongside genre heavyweights such as . In 2011, frontwomen, SLS sometimes receive as much pub- the band found themselves labelmates to the likes of licity for their vocalist’s looks as they do for their and when One Records music, with Brown even making an appearance in released The Fight of Our Lives, the title of which is Revolver magazine’s “Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock” less of a mystery than the band’s name. Call (260) 432–8176 issue. Her vocal skills can command attention on their own, however, with her powerful howls playing out in Continued on page 26 or visit Sweetwater.com. May 17, ’12------www.whatzup.com------5 Skip Book; See the Movie Road to The Avengers, Marvel Comics, 2011 If any of this year’s blockbuster comic On Books book movies requires a study guide, Mar- vel’s The Avengers is probably the one. The EVAN GILLESPIE Amazing Spider-Man is simply a reboot of the old webslinger story, and all but the follow Iron Man and address events that oc- youngest moviegoers should be able to re- curred between his first and second films. member the 2002 film of which this latest These stories also help introduce us to Black movie is a retread. The Dark Knight Rises, Widow and Nick Fury, two characters who on the other hand, catches the Batman fran- will get their first extensive cinematic treat- chise midstream; it will probably be another ment in The Avengers. By the time you work two or three years before Batman Begins, your way through these stories, you should the 2005 film that introduced the franchise’s have a good idea of where we’ve been and, Christian Bale era, will need to be remade hopefully, be willing to shell out some with a younger actor. The Avengers, cash in order to see where we’re go- however, is complicated. ing. Marvel has been There are some interesting omis- drawing this one out sions from the book, though. for a long time. The un- There’s no treatment of Hawk- expected super-success eye, a character who seems to of 2008’s Iron Man led to have substantial screen time 2010’s Iron Man 2, and the in The Avengers, and Thor is end of that film provided a missing, as well; maybe if segue into a film about the you can remember that Thor team of superheroes of which is a large guy who pounds Iron Man is a founding mem- things with a magical ham- ber, The Avengers. Meanwhile, mer, that’s all you’ll need Marvel was going about creating to know. The Hulk, that a marketing master plan for the massive green mountain new movie by releasing films – of rage, is also nowhere to hopefully blockbusters in their own be found, and one has to wonder if right – about other members of the the failure of his 2008 solo film, which is team. Thor had his debut first last year, the only unqualified box office flop among and Captain America followed soon after; these Marvel films (and which was itself a the Captain’s origin film was so definitively retread of an even bigger 2003 flop), has led tied to the upcoming team film that it was the publisher to believe that no one cares subtitled The First Avenger. about the Hulk. As you might imagine, given the com- I’m not sure that a book like this is at plicated cinematic heritage of The Avengers, all necessary. The Marvel Universe is not as there might be some concern that potential ridiculously complex and confusing as, say, viewers could be unprepared to enjoy The the Star Wars Universe – at least not yet – Avengers as much as they should and, most and the relatively simple plots of the prequel importantly, be reluctant to buy a ticket to films have not left a whole lot of questions the new movie. Enter Road to Marvel’s The unanswered. I’m also confident that writer/ Avengers, a graphic novel that attempts to director Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire fill in holes and jog memories in advance of Slayer”) has given us a film that can stand the new film’s release. securely on its own. First of all, the book is a refresher And it’s not as if Road to Marvel’s The course. There is a graphical adaptation of the Avengers is a gem of a graphic novel that first Iron Man film, as well as a treatment of needs to be experienced. The artwork is run- the first half of Captain America: The First of-the-mill, with that lifeless sheen that has Avenger. It’s been four years since Tony been too common since comic books have Stark first became Iron Man, and our memo- become far too digital in their feel. This ries are short. Captain America popped up book doesn’t look all that good, and I think just last summer, but he didn’t do nearly the you’ll do just fine if your road to The Aveng- box office that Iron Man did, so it stands to ers runs simply from your front door to the reason that he needs a little push, too. movie theatre without a stop at the bookstore In between these two recaps, there’s beforehand. some new material. A couple of storylines [email protected]

STRAIGHT LINE STITCH - From Page 5 “The album title is a statement,” Brown and function as a unit, they are apparently told Muen Magazine. “It’s not so much once again free agents in search of a label. whining about what you have to do to make “I think as a band we are looking for- it and stuff like that. It’s a statement about ward mostly to just getting back to basics, how we have gotten this far and we are not and at the very heart of that is hitting the giving up. We are here to stay. We are in the road and letting everyone know that Straight fight, we are not giving up and, whatever it Line Stitch [are] still going strong,” Brown takes, we are ready for the fight. That is what said. “There are some new faces in the mix, the album is about.” but the feeling and the essence of the band is It’s been over a year since the album still the same, which is to go out and give it came out, and while SLS continue to tour all we’ve got.” 26------www.whatzup.com------May 17, ’12