“We’re Rock Stars! everything we do we
do like rock stars! We live like rock stars, we
play like rock stars and we party like rock
stars.” The sultry woman sitting to my left
exclaims. She only goes by one name
Intergalacticali, pronounced (enter-ga-lack-tick-
alley), Ali for short. Ali sits comfortably
lounged back in a chair smoking a cigarette on
the patio of The Crowbar in Ybor City, Fl. Ali
looks more like a young Grace Slick rather than
the keyboardist for Indie band with her jet black
hair cut just above her collar bone, perfectly
cropped bangs that hung just above her
tweezed eye brows. Her lips were garnished
with cherry red lipstick, a long sleeve yellow
dress stopped just above the knee, a dress that
I thought only existed in the Wonder Years TV
show. Needless to say it must of taken
sometime to find that dress. On any other given
night, with any other given person, I would
have to ask myself is she got dressed in the
dark, but somehow it works for her. Then again
I guess that’s why she’s Intergalacticali.
Ali’s statement may seem a bit facetious or
just plain arrogant considering that her band
The Vera Violets are pretty much unknown
even in their hometown of Tampa, Fl. Currently
signed to Safranin Sound, a small indie label
based out of the New England region, the
Violets have just dropped their third full length
effort, Dirty Rainbow, which shows Ali and
fellow ‘Violets abandoning their shoe gaze
sound of the past for more radio friendly tracks
such as Love Candy, that infuses everything
from the 1990’s with smaller burst of Jesus &
The Mary Chain.
It appears to finally having come together,
after a few member changes, and the addition of
guitarist Neil McCamis. Originally formed in
2004, with a completely different line up from
which they released Last Kiss, the only original
member that exist today is Vocalist and Guitarist
do like rock stars! We live like rock stars, we
play like rock stars and we party like rock
stars.” The sultry woman sitting to my left
exclaims. She only goes by one name
Intergalacticali, pronounced (enter-ga-lack-tick-
alley), Ali for short. Ali sits comfortably
lounged back in a chair smoking a cigarette on
the patio of The Crowbar in Ybor City, Fl. Ali
looks more like a young Grace Slick rather than
the keyboardist for Indie band with her jet black
hair cut just above her collar bone, perfectly
cropped bangs that hung just above her
tweezed eye brows. Her lips were garnished
with cherry red lipstick, a long sleeve yellow
dress stopped just above the knee, a dress that
I thought only existed in the Wonder Years TV
show. Needless to say it must of taken
sometime to find that dress. On any other given
night, with any other given person, I would
have to ask myself is she got dressed in the
dark, but somehow it works for her. Then again
I guess that’s why she’s Intergalacticali.
Ali’s statement may seem a bit facetious or
just plain arrogant considering that her band
The Vera Violets are pretty much unknown
even in their hometown of Tampa, Fl. Currently
signed to Safranin Sound, a small indie label
based out of the New England region, the
Violets have just dropped their third full length
effort, Dirty Rainbow, which shows Ali and
fellow ‘Violets abandoning their shoe gaze
sound of the past for more radio friendly tracks
such as Love Candy, that infuses everything
from the 1990’s with smaller burst of Jesus &
The Mary Chain.
It appears to finally having come together,
after a few member changes, and the addition of
guitarist Neil McCamis. Originally formed in
2004, with a completely different line up from
which they released Last Kiss, the only original
member that exist today is Vocalist and Guitarist
Jonathan Beadle. In 2006 they released their
sophomore effort Sunshine Dust, with yet
another line up along including bassist Mark
Bustin, who is still in the band. Now a six piece
consisting of Beadle, McCamis, Mitzi Gordon
(backing vocals and Tambourine),
Intergalacticali, Bustin, and drummer Kevin
Pytlak, The ‘Violets have just released their
third effort, Dirty Rainbow.
Dirty Rainbow manages to combine everything
from the past two records, that eerie
psychedelic rock is still lingering in there, with
that Garage Sound along with mucho, mucho
over dubs that manage to give it that vintage
Vera Violets sound that a few have managed to
grow to love. You can take the band out of the
garage but you can’t take the garage out of the
band. If you have been listening to The Vera
Violets since 2004 you will be pleasantly
surprised. The sound is the same just more with
more layers all bundled up each layer having its
purpose, time, and place, kind of like dressing
for a winter’s day in Adak, Alaska, Yes it’s a
real place, everything is there for a reason.
“There was more of a collaborative effort on
this record, than the first two.” Beadle explains.
Beadle has been the primary songwriter up to
this point. “The first two records were primarily
written by Jonathan, he still wrote most of the
basic songs [on Dirty Rainbow] he and I
collaborated on how they came across.”
McCamis adds. “I definitely have been waiting
to collaborate more, the only reason I haven’t
done it [collaborate] in the past is just trying to
find other artist to connect with.” Beadle
reiterates.
I can’t help but go back to the last line of the
last thing Ali said to me, “…we party like rock
stars.” People say crazy ass shit all the time, but
not many mean it. As I stand at the bar inside
The Crowbar waiting for The Vera Violets to
take the stage at their CD Release
sophomore effort Sunshine Dust, with yet
another line up along including bassist Mark
Bustin, who is still in the band. Now a six piece
consisting of Beadle, McCamis, Mitzi Gordon
(backing vocals and Tambourine),
Intergalacticali, Bustin, and drummer Kevin
Pytlak, The ‘Violets have just released their
third effort, Dirty Rainbow.
Dirty Rainbow manages to combine everything
from the past two records, that eerie
psychedelic rock is still lingering in there, with
that Garage Sound along with mucho, mucho
over dubs that manage to give it that vintage
Vera Violets sound that a few have managed to
grow to love. You can take the band out of the
garage but you can’t take the garage out of the
band. If you have been listening to The Vera
Violets since 2004 you will be pleasantly
surprised. The sound is the same just more with
more layers all bundled up each layer having its
purpose, time, and place, kind of like dressing
for a winter’s day in Adak, Alaska, Yes it’s a
real place, everything is there for a reason.
“There was more of a collaborative effort on
this record, than the first two.” Beadle explains.
Beadle has been the primary songwriter up to
this point. “The first two records were primarily
written by Jonathan, he still wrote most of the
basic songs [on Dirty Rainbow] he and I
collaborated on how they came across.”
McCamis adds. “I definitely have been waiting
to collaborate more, the only reason I haven’t
done it [collaborate] in the past is just trying to
find other artist to connect with.” Beadle
reiterates.
I can’t help but go back to the last line of the
last thing Ali said to me, “…we party like rock
stars.” People say crazy ass shit all the time, but
not many mean it. As I stand at the bar inside
The Crowbar waiting for The Vera Violets to
take the stage at their CD Release
show, I watch as Ali and Mitzi go into the
bathroom together, no biggie girls do that
routine all the time. I finish my beer and go to
the men’s room, and I do my thing and wash
my hands. As I’m washing my hands Beadle
and McCamis pass behind me give me a nod
and they both pile into the handicapped
bathroom stall at the end of the men’s room. I
just used that stall so I know there is only one
toilet. So of course, anyone would have the
same assumption. Yes, they were most likely
doing lines off a back of a nasty toilet, or
taking bumps off their keys. I looked at myself
in the mirror, shrugged my shoulders, and said
to myself “I guess they do party like rock
stars.” [End]
bathroom together, no biggie girls do that
routine all the time. I finish my beer and go to
the men’s room, and I do my thing and wash
my hands. As I’m washing my hands Beadle
and McCamis pass behind me give me a nod
and they both pile into the handicapped
bathroom stall at the end of the men’s room. I
just used that stall so I know there is only one
toilet. So of course, anyone would have the
same assumption. Yes, they were most likely
doing lines off a back of a nasty toilet, or
taking bumps off their keys. I looked at myself
in the mirror, shrugged my shoulders, and said
to myself “I guess they do party like rock
stars.” [End]
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