NYC/Brooklyn’s Growing Music Scene - The Flesh
by Lio Cerezo | 00.00.0000

Starting this week, I’m going to hit you with a new format to our little music/gossip column. I’ll be concentrating on highlighting a new band from the area. So for the first week you get the pleasure to learn more about NYC’s dark secret The Flesh.

Vivian Sarratt (Mommy and Daddy) recently spoke with singer/guitarist Nathan Halpern and keyboardist Gabriella Zappia, two members of the muscular, explosive NYC-based quartet The Flesh (www.putontheflesh.com). Along with Jason Binnick on bass and Greg Rogove on drums, the foursome has won over much of NYC, and is currently holding the music scene by the neck. Often described as “dark and sensual,” I see other qualities to their particular brand of rock: a heavy R&B influence, a shameless love for pop music, as well as a distinct hip hop side. Their live show is packed with a striking, tight chemistry between the band members. The four of them are absolutely in love with what they’re doing, and it’s so refreshing. Death Connection, the unyielding 4-song EP, clocks in at 14 minutes and places them firmly in the Next Big Thing category.

Since the band started, your sound has evolved into the swaggering sex machine that it is today. Care to elaborate on the different transitions?
N: I formed an early lineup of The Flesh in 2001, we played a few shows, and recorded an EP. The whole thing crumbled before my eyes. I was crushed, but I kept at it. Jason and Gabriella joined last summer and I knew we had a shot at making something special. Then we got the best young drummer in the city, Greg Rogove, and I knew everything was gonna be alright.

What's up with all the shark imagery on your record cover and on your website?
G: They’re gorgeous, they’re fascinating creatures. I love the combination of textures on the EP cover, the velvety water, smooth white teeth, that visceral inner wall of the mouth… It would’ve made a fabulous cover for Sheena Easton’s single, “Sugar Walls.”

How would you describe what you do on record vs. what you do on stage? It's very different, I think.
N: You have to get across to the audience. You do whatever you gotta do to make it happen. Stage and studio are different, so you just embrace your environment and commit to it.

Nathan, do you and Jason get hot in those jackets?
N: It’s always hot up in my skin.
What makes a good song good?
N: Inspiration, craft, and an agenda.

So in your agenda, what would you say are your top two lyrical themes?
N: Love and death.

Do your songs tell a story?
N: Its all just desire: wanting it and wanting it bad. And you can never really get it and death is right around the bend. But you gotta want it.

How do you write a song? And how does it come together?
N: A flash of inspiration. Then you gotta give it a life of its own and make the dream real, so it’s just a question of knowing your craft, working hard, re-writing, and experimenting. And then BAM! Solid fucking gold.

Someone told me that The Flesh sound like Mystikal meets The Birthday Party. I think that's pretty spot on. So how does contemporary R&B and hip hop influence how you write and arrange a rock song?
N: Some of these guys – Dre and Timbaland especially – their stuff is otherworldly, immaculately crafted, and pointed as hell. They’re brilliant.
G: Like us, the hip hop artists we admire tend to favor erratic beats and dramatic instrumentation, so it really isn’t much of a reach at all to incorporate these elements into our style of rock.

Who are your favorite players? Songwriters?
N: Dr. Dre, Kurt Weill, The Stooges, The Birthday Party, Led Zep, Serge Gainsbourg.

Were you guys brought up religious? I ask because live, you guys are like a Pentecostal revival.
G: That’s a good question, and no one’s ever asked. I was brought up in the great Roman Catholic tradition. Sacraments, schools, hymns et al. But you have to let loose every once in a while, right?
N: I wasn’t, but I adore the bible, especially the Old Testament. It’s full of perfect parables for life: You’re born and you try to get yours. God torments you for some ill-defined reason. Then He gives you a little taste of the good life. And then, just when you’re starting to feel cool, He smites you.

How often do you practice?
G: Around 3 times a week, sometimes more.

What other bands have you seen lately that are inspiring?
N: Peaches – great songs, aggression, honesty. Her imitators are unfortunate, but her influence is cool. She’s one of the best performers out there.

The Flesh loves some smutty music. I know you are into movies; would you ever want to do a soundtrack? What kind of movie would it be?
G: Oooooohh. It absolutely must be a teenage horror flick. I would also like to do a nature documentary.
N: Jason and Greg have each scored some independent films. Jason also composes music for theater productions; he’s working on one as we speak.

Tell me about your EP.
N: It was produced by Sanchez from The Fever, a brilliant producer who I’ve been working with for years now. Chris Ribando recorded it, fresh off of sessions with Wu Tang and Michael Jackson and shit. He has loads of funny stories, obviously.
G: It was a really friendly, supportive atmosphere, due to our band chemistry, the people we recorded with and their professionalism.

How long did it take to record?
G: It took no time at all. A lot of decisions were made in the studio, but it was still a surprisingly smooth process for our first recording.

So how does one make a Death Connection?
G: You know what it’s like to be desperate.

I do. Once I had to pee but was stuck in traffic. I was so desperate I bent over and took a leak in a milk carton. I guess that was a Death Connection. Okay, now some short questions. Plans for tour?
G: I can’t wait – we’re currently setting up a tour for early autumn.

Plans for a full-length?
N: We’ve got the songs…

First concert?
G: Maynard Ferguson
N: Guns N’ Fuckin Roses

Last movie you saw?
N: City of God
Right, I saw that with you. Last book you read?
G: Rimbaud, The Complete Works
N: Les fleurs du mal

Last record you bought?
G: Goldfrapp “Black Cherry,” Salt ‘N’ Pepa “Push It”
N: Jay-Z Vol. 2

Worst job you ever had?
G: A cake factory in North London. The shift started at 5:30am, so you’d stumble in straight from a hard night out and then, well, operate dangerous machinery.

What is your ultimate goal as a band?
G: Make great records. Get kids to let loose. Push it real good.

When someone puts on The Flesh EP, “Death Connection” on Kanine Records

or goes to see you guys play live, what do you think she should take away from the listening experience?
G: That unmistakable stench