Taking Center Stage: The CREEPSHOW View Recent Success with Eyes Wide Open
By Jeff AlexanderArguments can be made that artists should utilize their visibility to make impacting statements on captive audiences. Punk rock has its share of politically outspoken artists, but CREEPSHOW vocalist and guitarist Sarah Blackwood proudly stated her rockabilly band’s main objective is anything but political.
“I hold a lot of respect for bands that do their research and are out there playing music for different reasons and if they have to do with politics or making some kind of statement, that’s cool and an entity of it’s own. We’re doing this because we love it and it’s fun, we don’t have any opinions on political stuff that we need to share in our music.”
Blackwood brings a commanding and focused performance to the stage and despite her affirmation of CREEPSHOW’s motivation for fun, and she candidly affirmed the group’s struggle to achieve recognition. “It is most important to us to write good music that people will love that challenges us as musicians and that we can grow and learn from. Once people see that it’s not just some girl dancing around or playing keyboards or something and they see that we are a good band, they get stoked on us and hold a new respect for us.”
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The CREEPSHOW’s recent signing with Hell-Cat and an upcoming new record slated for October proves they’re earning the right kind of attention. Upon first glance, they happily celebrate Rockabilly/Psychobilly imagery, but Blackwood assures recent creative leaps. “I think we have grown because we are very open minded to what style we become and who and what we put in our songs. It’s not just all about establishing ourselves as band, we have done that, now we just want to keep making it fun and exciting.”
She expanded, “We won’t fall in to any specific category where we are constricted to writing a specific style of music. If we want to write a song about being buried alive we will, or a love song we will. We make sure as a band we like the music we are playing so no one gets bored and angry and holds resentment. We stay fresh because we keep moving forward instead of backwards.”
Blackwood’s dedication is reminiscent of a long-time front-person, but her stint in CREEPSHOW actually began only four years ago. She stated her membership in CREEPSHOW wasn’t a major story, but happily clarified her position. “The band had been together for about a year, ‘05-’06. My sister got pregnant so I took over for her “temporarily” while she was preggo. When she had the baby she decided she didn’t want to nor could she go on tour and play shows because of what the band had in store coming up for the next year, so she stayed a mom and I stayed the singer/ guitar player in The CREEPSHOW.”
Blackwood also debunked the gossip surrounding her and her sister. “Since that day a ton of people have taken the liberty to make up all kinds of stories as to what happened, some which include that my sister and I hate each other now and never speak. This is fucked, ‘cause we live together and are best friends.”
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In addition to her vocal and guitar duties in CREEPSHOW, Sarah Blackwood records and performs as a solo artist. The bulk of her solo material is Country, but she believes her music is accessible to a diverse fan base.
“I think somewhere a long the lines people started to see that everyone is always just writing and singing about the same thing. Whether it’s love, hardships, friends, life experience, etc. I think somehow punk, rockabilly and rock and roll fell together along those lines somewhere. And old country music came out of the same place. Some how they are all connected. I see that a lot of rockabilly people are in to old country music. There are always the people who we idolize and somehow they find their way in to everyone’s heart,” she said.
Asked if she could name a single impacting experience with a fan, she recalled the time a girl from Detroit e-mailed her. “I had a girl tell me that while her grandfather was on his deathbed he asked to listen to one of our (CREEPSHOW) songs. That is the most amazing thing ever!”
With the respect of fans behind them and a recent signing to Hell-Cat, CREEPSHOW’s possibilities look limitless. But Blackwood chooses to view newly earned accolades with both eyes open. “It’s very important to utilize every opportunity to become involved in learning how to run your band as a business and understand that because of that it makes everything WAY smoother and in turn it will eventually assist in things being more fun. Because things are organized, set-up properly, and no one gets fucked over time and time again because you have created a solid foundation for people to see you, take you seriously, know what you are about and from there and hold a respect for you. Having people’s respect is ultimate. A lot of people think that once you sign a record contract you will be famous. They are SO wrong! It takes A LOT of blood, sweat and tears my friends.”
Photography By Ashlea Wessel
