Cyclone Static is a power trio based out of New Jersey with a sound that is above all else, hooky. “A fuzzed-out nod to the punk frays of an early ‘90s flannel rock outfit," AFI's Davey Havok describes the band's songwriting approach in their press kit, and I can't argue with his assessment. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist James Salerno, drummer Jonathan LeVine, and bassist/vocalist Danny Patierno, Cyclone Static will be dropping their debut full-length album, From Scratch, next month.
Produced by Neil Sabatino (Pencey Prep, Fairmont), From Scratch is a catchy fucker, and I got my hands on a lyric video for the album's first single, "Company Man," for you to hear what I'm talking about:
"'Company Man' was created early on in our process of James and I writing music together," Jonathan tells me. "It sort of developed out of this driving riff and thumping bass drum. There is a funny story about this song. James has a tendency to write lyrics as we develop the songs and I typically don’t know what they are until much later in the process. I kept thinking he was singing, 'I’m a company man,' but he was actually saying, 'I’m a confident man.' I started calling the song 'Company Man' and he never corrected me, so that became the title. I had this whole idea about what the narrative was based on the title but I was totally wrong. I didn’t find this out to very recently."
In addition to his duties in Cyclone Static, Jonathan is a well-known curator and art gallery owner in the NYC area who has worked with many notable artists in the underground worlds of Pop Surrealism and Street Art including Shepard Fairey, Gary Baseman, Shag, and many others. Check out his website to see what I'm talking about.
Speaking of art, the striking cover design for Cyclone Static's From Scratch album was created by Orion Landau, an artist who has also worked with the likes of Mastodon, High on Fire, and Voivod:
From Scratch will be out on Feb. 8 via Mint 400 Records and can be pre-ordered here. If you prefer vinyl, stay tuned!
Cyclone Static live dates:
Feb. 7 – Jersey City, NJ @ FM (From Scratch record release show)
Feb. 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Agent Orange, The Atom Age
Tagged: cyclone static
