Scarce

Deadsexy (A&M)
by Sheril Stanford

It was a story with a happy ending. There was this great band, right, and they had it all: a new major label album set to go, a new video in the can, and already creating a buzz, loyal, some might say rabid fans, a tremendous reputation as an awesome on-stage act, playing alongside bands like Fugazi, Hole, Pavement, and Madder Rose, there was the Reading Fest, and the European tour with Grant Lee Buffalo and Shudder to Think. And then tragedy struck. Bill Berry was struck by a massive brain hemorrhage and the REM tour was put on hold. No, no, wait. I’m getting mixed up. That’s a different story. The band is Scarce and it was vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Chick Graning who was found by his bandmates on the floor of his house one day last June when he failed to show up for rehearsal. He woke up 18 days later, and had no idea what had happened. But there is a happy ending: Mr. Graning is now fully recovered and Scarce is back, stronger than ever.

Scarce was formed in 1992 and is Graning, drummer Joseph Propatier and Joyce Raskin on bass. If this cloud has a silver lining, it’s that the release of Deadsexy was postponed, allowing the band to go back into the studio and record four new tunes, along with new versions of several songs they’d previously recorded. The disc captures the essence of the band’s live shows; it’s filled with high velocity, bold, ruggedly powerful tunes packed with musical detail. They paid, now they’re playing.