Carving Out S.P.E.A.R.
cover art by @cuero_negro
It took a lot to weaponize our anger, but after 4 years of writing, recording, and re-recording - S.P.E.A.R. has finally released our debut record ‘Invasive Species’’ on all streaming platforms. The band is on the cusp of our release show and I still can’t believe we are now at this point of the process. This was a great deal of work to get here and that’s before we even took this form. For me, it starts with my history of playing hardcore music on Guam.
As a teenager, I found MY TRIBE among the sea of black shirts and misfit culture that manifested on thIS island. It was the age of nu-metal and the impact it made meant seemingly never-ending bands of kids with anger issues being formed. Metalcore bands. Deathcore bands. you name it. it was A glorious time. In the late 2000’s I established myself in the local music scene through the only post-rock band here (to this day) called Ellipsis. BY then breakdowns landed on our shores and were all the rage.
aDHERENCE AT sKINNER’S pLAZA, 2008.
I was asked to play bass in the only hardcore band on the island (ADHERENCE) and the rest is history. In the age of tik-tok (an age coming to an end I guess), hardcore is having a resurgence with a vengeance among a broader audience. It was a different thing back then. If you weren’t watching people get beat by FSU online, you were watching the local promoter get beat behind the club at the show you just played. Ah maybe it’s not so different but you just had to be there, literally. You could never call yourself a punk without getting a first-hand education on how radical the world WAS outside your bedroom. For me that included more than just sick sets and violence, it was personal. As a first-generation American, my life encompassed a political and socioeconomic reality that made me frustrated and enraged. sOMETHING I SHARE WITH A FEW OF THE LOCALS.
s.p.e.a.r.
I found my outlet for all those emotions and it is hardcore punk. The world is even more fucked all these years later and this is still how I CHOOSE TO COPE. s.p.e.a.r. IS A TESTIMENT TO THAT AND i’M INCREDIBLY PROUD OF the MUSIC WE CREATED AS A BAND. TO HAVE THE PRIVLEDGE TO CALL OUT OUR OPPRESSORS AND ABUSERS WITH THE POWER OF NOISE IS WHY I PICKED UP A GUITAR IN THE FIRST PLACE. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE IN EVERY NOTE, LYRIC, AND RIFF. iT IS TO BE OUR TRUE SELVES, UNGOVERNABLE AND FREE.
AND tHOUGH WE MOVE WITH GREAT INTENTION EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, I’D BE REMISS IF I DIDN’T APPRECIATE THE LUCK IT TOOK TO BUILD THIS HISTORY BEFORE FORMING. eVERYTHING FROM OUR GUITARIST tHOMAS COMING UP TO ME AT HIS FIRST JOB TO BEFRIEND ME, TO HIS LITTLE BROTHER kYLE (IF YOU COULD BELIEVE IT) PLAYING MAD DRUMS IN HIS YOUTH, OUR LEAD mACHALEK MOVING BACK ONLY TO APPROACH ME AFTER A SHOW AND SAY they’d LISTEN TO MY MUSIC, OR THE FACT THAT WE ARE ALL FAN GIRLS TOWARDS Chris’ WORK IN THE SCENE, TOOK A COSMIC AMOUNT OF FORTUNE TO ALIGN. tOGETHER WE CARVED MORE THAN JUST FATE, WE PRODUCED ART THAT I BELIEVE WILL LAST THE TEST OF TIME. I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL.
tHE ANTICIPATION FOR OUR RELEASE WAS JUST AS SURREAL AS THE RESPONSE. tHANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND SUPPORT AS WE’VE TWEAKED AND PERFORMED THIS BODY OF WORK FOR SOME YEARS to GET IT RIGHT. I CAN’T SAY WE DIDN’T WARN YOU THOUGH, jUDGING FROM HOW MANY THROW DOWN AT THE LIVE SHOWS. WE KNEW WHAT WE HAD WAS DANGEROUS. That’s WHY IT TOOK SO LONG TO SHARPEN THE MATERIAL. I’M THANKFUL FOR EVERYONE THAT HELPED shape us. That’s why I HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE THAT HAS BEEN A PART OF THIS and WILL BE A PART OF THIS, sATURDAY jANUARY 25TH AT OUR RELEASE SHOW. Slam dance with us.