Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Scarlet Symphony

Sound description

Led Zeppelin-style classic rock ’n’ pop with an experimental punk groove.

RIYL

Lou Reed, Roses on Her Grave, Operatic, Pal&Drome, Padre Joe and the Foul Balls

Inception

San Diego , 2000

Current Status

Influences

David Bowie, Lou Reed, the Clash, Sonic Youth, the Pixies, Michael Jackson

Discography

Sponsored

Scarlet Symphony was founded in 2000 by Sasquatchian-born twins Josh and Zach Wheeler (Glorfindel Trio), on drums and bass respectively, with guitarist Aaron Swanton. A full-length album called Vulture was recorded, but little happened after promised label support failed to happen. The Vulture lineup only performed once, at a now-defunt all-age goth club near the Tubs bathhouse on El Cajon Boulevard, before splitting.

The band regrouped in 2003, alongside singer Gary Hankins, after several major labels expressed an interest in signing them.

“I once witnessed Scarlet Symphony give a Street Scene performance that I would call feral,” says columnist Dave Good. “They were loutish and excessive on stage, and that day the members were like rock gods culled from the legendary acts of the ’70s. They seemed a genetic fit with the stage and the whole scene unfolding around them.”

Major label buzz notwithstanding, the band split again in 2005. The Wheeler siblings played with Afro-funk band ¡Society!, which includes go-go girls, dual percussionists with painted faces, and dancers dressed in animal costumes. Singer Hankins and guitarist Swanton formed UV Tigers.

In 2007, the quartet decided to give it a go one more time, appearing at the 2007 94.9 Independence Jam and launching a west coast tour.

Less a commercial group and more a remembrance of rock-and-roll past, Scarlet Symphony is in opposition to the current spate of health-food rockers that blend scratching DJs and neutered rock guitar with rants about bad parenting. The Symphony have a gritty Brit-rock edge that, when they get it together with the various punk/funk/pop images that inform most of their music, showcases what it is about them as a band and lands them on festival stages with the majors.

The released a 2008 EP called At the Base of the Metropolis, and their 2009 full-length album is Foundation. They won Best Alternative at the '08 San Diego Music Awards and Best Alternative Album (Foundation) at the '09 awards.

As of 2010, the Wheeler Brothers also instruct students age eight to fifteen at the San Diego branch of the School of Rock. “Some of them are super good,” says Zach. “It’s gnarly. Twelve or fifteen years old and they’re just rippin’.”

Zach ran into a former student of his who is now playing in a metal band with a show booked at Soma. “I wish I had something like this when I was thirteen,” says Zach. “It’s an honor to be part of growing their talent.”

In 2011, the Wheelers founded a two-piece dance-music project, Pal&Drome, making use of samplers, an electronic drum set, guitar, bass, synths, effects, and software to construct electronic dance music. That year, they also founded a trio called Padre Joe and the Foul Balls, with Joe Guevara on keys, frequently performing at Petco Park before ballgames.

Sponsored

Upcoming Local Shows

No shows scheduled

Post a show View show history
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader