Suicide City’s in a Frenzy With First Full Length
"Fun rock 'n punk with metal sprinkles on top madness" is how bassist Jennifer Arroyo described her band Suicide City, which features Biohazard guitarist Billy Graziadei. The band is set to release its first full length, 'Frenzy,' via The End Records in August.
"After Hellfest, Billy and I were shooting the shit outside of his car," Arroyo said, recalling the initial seeds of the band, which were sown in 2003. "He told me he was working with this crazy singer in Florida, named Karl Bernholtz. He wanted me to get in on it and I was like, 'Send me a lil' something and we'll talk from there.'" When Graziadei sent the tracks to Arroyo, she flat out hated them. "I was completely thrown off and it wasn't what I expected," she said.
Undeterred, Graziadei and Bernholtz called her daily, wearing Arroyo's resolve down to a nub. "One night, they called me from the studio and Karl said, 'If you don't join this band, you are FIRED!" It was so funny and cute that I called right back told them how I felt about everything." The trio met up in South Beach for a full rehearsal and the chemistry could not be denied. The band issued the 'Not My Year' EP and submerged itself in a period where it played two shows a day to spread the word.
For Graziadei, Suicide City represented his desire to express other facets. "After many years with Biohazard, I ventured off to find a place where I could express myself in a way that all sides of my musical creativity could be represented," he told Noisecreep. "Playing intense music my whole life, I longed for a balance between heavy and soft, fast and slow, light and dark, that line that separates an artist from over exaggerating themselves and not taking themselves too seriously."
He also looked to showmen like Kiss for inspiration. "Disregarding what they are now, I was a huge Kiss fan and loved the way they blew fans away with their live show," he said. "That's entertainment! When I discovered the world of politically and socially aware music, like punk and hardcore, I knew that was my calling. A band can be entertaining and retain their artistic integrity. Suicide City is just that: an awesome live band that keeps you at the edge of your seat for the whole show while keeping artistic integrity intact without taking ourselves too seriously. In the end, it's only rock 'n roll!"
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