Chain smoking on the third floor of a storage facility downtown, I had the chance to sit down with one of Columbus’ newest and most original bands. A metal band practicing below us provided the soundtrack to my insightful interview with the potential CD101 Day performers. Members Lizzy Morris, Dennis Tanner, Erica Sparks, Meghan Hutchinson, Dan (Danny Boy) Barnes, and Adam Scoppa round out this powerhouse of Motown-like jive, The Regrettes. Only an official band since the end of December 2011, even the trained eye couldn’t imagine that the group hadn’t performed together for years.
When listening to The Regrettes I feel as if I am in a cocktail club in the 1960’s sipping a dirty gin martini. There is nothing mediocre about the music this group is pumping out from their souls and into the ears of Columbusites. Comparing this group to another is difficult, but in a good way. The only way to describe their sound is a combination of a 60’s girl group without the demure voices heard during that time. In their place are the voluptuous voices of Meghan and Lizzy, in which they compare their sound to that of Aretha Franklin and Etta James (whom they name as two of their influences).
Morris wrote the song Been Around (Too Long) after a ten year hiatus without picking up a pen. She says, after blushing about the inspiration behind the song, that it is about a recent break-up. Drummer Adam Scoppa says, “We wanted it to have a James Brown sound”. It seems to be the favorite song of the band to play.
One can surmise that raw talent is playing a major role in why and how a band is able to be so good and so passionate after only a little more than two months of playing together.
After playing a packed house at Rumba Cafe in early February, The Regrettes are playing their second show this Thursday, March 1st at Circus in the Short North along side LVX and Dotti and the Riffs. For such an extremely young band, things are moving rapidly, even landing a nomination to play one of the CD101 Day’s after a recommendation from a CD101 staffer. Their next tentative show will be at Skully’s on Friday, April 13th for a 614 Magazine Showcase.
More information about the band can be found on The Regrettes Facebook Page.
Photo by Steven King.
