In order to provide readers with more in-depth band coverage, Chorus and Verse presents an interview-based introduction to Shirley Temple of Doom, along with a review of their latest album.  It’s a different approach to a CD review, but Chorus and Verse focuses on not just listening to the music being made, but also finding out how it is created.

Introducing Shirley Temple of Doom
by Josh Davidson

New York based Shirley Temple of Doom was founded by vocalist/guitarist Jeff Perez in 1990. Through the years, the band has stayed alive despite line-up changes. Matt Volpe joined the band on bass in 1994, taking another member's place.

Volpe spoke of the band’s directional change after his arrival.  “It got more serious in terms of creative input,” Volpe said. “Jeff and I clung together and created a songwriting team.”

All three members, including drummer Billy Atwell, take part in the songwriting.  “I’ll come in with a line or two on the bass,” Volpe said. “Jeff will come in with a vocal melody or guitar riff. Billy is trained music-theory wise, so he kicks ideas around and bounces them off us. It’s amazing because we constantly evolve and, with any band, that’s good to do.”

A lot of the band's music develops from free-flowing jams. One member will play a musical part and it will lead to something else. Conceding and compromising are important for being in a band, Volpe said.  “It’s really about listening to each other and what another person is playing,” Volpe said. “Now that I’ve gotten older, I realized that that’s so true. We all consider ourselves to be equal in terms of the creative process.”

The band is currently working on a follow-up to its second full-length compact disc, Notification of Termination, to be entitled The Mad Hatter and released early next year, Volpe said.

While the band’s name may have you thinking heavy metal, the group, Volpe says, is far from it.  “We’re kind of a hybrid,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to pigeonhole us and put us in one kind of category.”

In 2000, the band was involved in an off-Broadway production of the rock version of “Godspell.” Theatre friends landed them the six-month gig, in which the band provided a “rough edge” to the play, Volpe said. The play was like touring within the band’s hometown, Volpe said.

The play itself saw success going from off-off Broadway to off-Broadway, eventually giving the band a chance to record its soundtrack for Universal Records.  “That was our first touch with working with the [music] industry,” Volpe said.

While the band's primary focus is having fun, it wouldn’t turn down the chance to further its career.  “We’ve been having a great time,” Volpe said. “We play in the city, we’d love to tour. We haven’t toured yet. Just from a general vibe, we’re not looking to be hugely famous. Obviously we wouldn’t turn that down, but that’s not anything in the immediate goal. It’s all about having fun, when it comes down to it. When it starts to become a chore, you know you’re going in the wrong direction.”

Volpe said the band would not turn down a major-label deal, but the band itself is independent and business-minded.  “We enjoy doing what we’re doing and not having outside influences,” he said. “We’re really smart in terms of how we market ourselves. Definitely, we’re looking to get signed, but making the music is the most important thing.”

All of Shirley Temple of Doom’s band members are employed full-time, barely drink and don’t do drugs, Volpe said.

Kiss, Helmet, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addition influence the band, which Volpe said has been compared to Faith No More. Personally, band members separately listen to styles like be-bop, country, funk and jazz.

The band has a nice resume in the New York scene, and, Volpe says, it has made a name for itself and become known at the legendary CBGB’s club. They mostly play in Manhattan, but recently played its first big out-of-state show in Rhode Island. Aside from CBGB’s, the band has played New York clubs like the Elbow Room and Arlene’s Grocery. As for New Jersey, the band has played Long Branch’s Brighton Bar, Hoboken’s Maxwell’s and Asbury Park’s The Saint.

“We’re definitely moving along and we’re completely focused,” he said. “We’re lucky to [have] that chemistry. One day, we would love to get hooked up with a label and start a career.”

Notification of Termination has been distributed through Indigo Promotions’ Northeast Division to radio, the media, stores and online retailers. It is available at the band’s web site, www.shirleytempleofdoom.com.

CD Review: Shirley Temple Of Doom – Notification Of Termination (Watergate Records) by Vinnie Apicella

And Indiana Jones finally gets his … so what’s in a name?  I love the feature spread that accompanies the latest release from S.T.D., not to be confused of course with S.T.P., though if we go simply on the last few years, there are more than a few blurred lines present in the picture.

So, about the “name,” it’s catchy, though isn’t there a pending lawsuit lurking somewhere?  Hell, who cares about that, I’m gassed about the label they threw together - that’s “Watergate” with an unflattering little profile shot of one Richard M. slapped on the back, brilliant!  Poor guy, so many years later and now a new generation gets to smile at his shame.

Shirley Temple of Doom’s a fairly new act, tooling around the rock circuit since ’97, doing some impressive club work in and around NYC and noted for live performances on the “Godspell 2000” off-Broadway revival that no one beneath the age of, say seventeen, is gonna give a toss about, but impressive enough given their talents.  Notification of Termination’s got an attitude about it where the music, for all its “metal”-led excursions, is an extension of challenging sounds, far off from the momentary clichés; We’re moving in several directions here - don’t miss the “Gravy Train” hoe down that comes off near the end, and settling into no one place in particular, though for simplicity, they’re a rock band with playability at the core and none short on composure.

When we point to “classic” bands of the day, often it means little more than something that was far ahead of its time and too eclectic to be fully appreciated at that moment, fits no general predilection and subsequently cast aside for later digging.  Suddenly, something unimaginable happens, there’s the band six or eight years later, long since split up, having smoothed the rough road for the rest to follow and oh, isn’t that convenient how the latest rage sounds just like so and so.

It happened with Faith No More, who did some of their most diverse work after The Real Thing, but nobody cared to listen. Yet, some people just get it right away, like with bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Incubus, combining the core of classic rock guitar with incandescent mood switches and funk, folk, and momentary fusion to carve a style that’s singularly unique.  But, timing’s everything and even they’ve got the force of major and industry glamour behind ‘em.  The same could happen for S.T.D., a group that should appeal to a vast audience without the obvious fan-friendly chart topper to guide their ride - though we could point to the underground groans of “Lit Up,” the Kravitz-like cruise of “Better Days,” though “I had to bite hard” (thanks to “Get Me High,” for inspiration; see, I’m no plagiarist) to keep from getting D’arby’s name in there somewhere, or the funkadelic groove of “Josh,” and still not have million-selling singles, but they sound good anyway.  These guys are more about stringing together strong musicianship, racked beats complementing fluid instrumentation and vox overlaying a street corner production and heavy vibe than the 'hey, we’re rock stars' three chords and a jump moves.

Wait long enough and the world comes around to you.  At worst, S.T.D. will break a great club career, packing houses with their catchy and sublime beats and, at best, land a major position at some summer jam band or Vans’ festival. They’d blend well with both and probably sell a lot of shirts and sandals.