Thursday, February 13, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Music: Let the good times roll

Local newbie Shotface defends the party line

By Brock Radke

Like his band Shotface, Taylor Falkstada is still relatively new to the Las Vegas music scene. But the San Francisco native and veteran of many bands has some news for all those local scenesters who bitch and complain about what's going down in Sin City.

"I've been in a lot of different scenes, and you know what? It's the same everywhere," he says. "I really like this scene. I know a lot of people just love to talk shit about it, but I have nothing but good things to say about it. It's got a lot of promise."

Falkstada says the local band environment is not too different from that of his home Bay Area, where he still commutes to work on a semi-regular basis.

"You get the same fickleness in both, and there's a lot of things going on to compete with music in both. But there's really nothing that bad here. I think most people are just doing the grass-is-greener thing."

If his outlook seems optimistic, then it perfectly matches the good-times vibe of his band's music. Formed in late 2001 when vocalist Falkstada hit town and met bass player Nick Ford, Shotface has forged a reputation as a party band with its reggae and ska-tinged heavy rock. Rounding out the quartet are John Lere on guitar and Mark Molloy on drums. Falkstada takes the music seriously, but he also embraces the reputation.

"We're definitely that," he says. "That's the most important thing to us--having a good time. We know we're not going to change the world or anything, but we're definitely going to get the party started."

With songs with names like "Celebrate" and lyrics citing the joy of partying and being able to pack a bowl in the studio, Shotface clearly doesn't have to worry about being grouped in with punk bands or aggro-crews that cloud the Vegas scene.

"We try to come off original and maintain some integrity, but more than that we just worry about writing good songs and maintaining what we like, what makes us happy," Falkstada says. "It sounds like a cliché, I know, but it's true."

Soon after the band got together, the members recorded a 10-song disc on their own. After a few shows, the easygoing guys decided they needed something a little more professional to showcase their abilities. So Shotface is currently working on a new CD at Chief Audio with engineer John Buckles. Falkstada says after a year of gigging together, the songs are starting to morph a bit.

"This disc is going to be a good mix of our old and new stuff. We're not getting rid of the reggae element or anything, but some of the songs have a little harder edge, kind of that 107.5 feel."

But that's not to say Shotface is contorting its sound to fit in with the local hard rock radio formats. "That's just the way things are going," Falkstada says. "I'm cool with it. Songs are like kids, you know? You've got to nurture them a little bit before you send them out to the world to be heard. They get better with time."

Once the new disc is completed, which should happen by the end of March, Shotface will be looking to get out of town. Trips to San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco are in the works.

"We'll still be around town, too," Falkstada says. "We're still a new band here. We have a lot to do."