Scissorfight

Mantrapping For Sport And Profit

BY Chris AyersPublished Dec 1, 2001

From the snowy peaks of the White Mountains' Presidential Range to the curvy bends of the leaf-peepers' favourite Kancamagus Highway, this New Hampshire band of rebels has been terrifying the locals since 1996 with their confrontational brand of monster truckin' meat rock. Sordid tales of backcountry man things, big game hunting and barroom slugfests are woven into their songs, which front-man Ironlung bellows with controlled vengeance. The Karma To Burn-ing groove of "New Hampshire's All Right If You Like Fighting" contains no less than 15 references to state tourist spots and events; real life details with which Ironlung is admittedly fascinated. "It's more about a folk thing, the stories that people tell each other and the mythology that get created and handed down," he says. "It's separate from our modified mainstream culture; it's an identity outside all that and I think that's why people relate to it. There's a sense of humour that everyone appreciates there." Hence, most of their songs are autobiographical in nature. "'Blizzards, Buzzards, and Bastards' is about Buzzard Jam, an event our friends put on at their farm every year for Laconia Bike Week," he explains. "One year, the state troopers showed up in riot gear and took the mic out of my hand." "Deliver The Yankee Coffin" has bridges that smack of Josh Homme on the first Queens Of The Stone Age record, and the lurching chords in "Death In The Wilderness" sound like those of Transport League. Their close-knit fan base is more like a brotherhood, bound by Scissorfight's rock constitution. "There are usually alienated cats that identify with us," he states. "There's nothing fashionable about it; it's outside of any musical trend. We had a couple of fishermen who drove three hours from the north of Maine to see us. People relate to who we are and what we do. I'm no better than anyone else, and that's the most important thing. I won't ever forget that."
(Tortuga)

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