Finally Whole Again, A SPREAD THE RUMOR Interview

(Photo Credit: Alexa DiMaio)

Spread the Rumor is one of Staten Island's best and brightest upcoming bands in the scene, although it has taken them awhile to get there.

Consisting of five passionate and hardworking girls, STR is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. The lineup goes as follows:

Sabrina Fracchiolla- lead guitar/vocals
Katie Fasulo- Rhythm guitar/vocals
Valerie Bond- Bass/vocals
Hilary Davies- Keyboard/vocals
Terri Caputo- Drums/vocals

The band started in early 2005, when Valerie and Hilary realized that music is what they wanted to do. They started jamming out, eventually adding members along the way. After about three years of shows and hard work, they have reached the place they want be. "It's a coincidence that we are all girls...We want to change everyone's perception on who can play music," says Valerie.

The name "Spread the Rumor" came from the mutual liking of the band "Socratic" who had a song and album titled Spread the Rumors. The band, liking the name, dropped the "s" and the rest is history. And speaking of liking, the band gets its influences from the same sources. Rarely is there ever a band that is so closely knit together. With this being said, STR draws their similar styles from bands like: Greenday, Relient K, Motion City Soundtrack, Paramore, Ben Folds, Evanescense, and even the Beatles.

As far as the song writing process goes, they ususally independently bring ideas to the table and work off each other. Lately however, they've been getting better results jamming as a band. "The newer stuff is more mature," said Hilary. Using their constant self motivation and persevering attitude, STR pushes themselves to the creative limit of their liking.

Although Spread the Rumor considers the fact they are all girls coincidence, there's no doubt that this effects them as a band. "It's like we always have to prove ourselves because people expect us to suck," said Terri. Valerie explains, "Guys with muscles always want to help carry our equipment. We make sure to do it ourselves like everyone else." Often times STR finds themselves blowing away a new audience and far exceeding expectations. They know what they have to offer as musicians, and at the end of the day "We want to please ourselves," as Valerie said. They combat any pressure by going out there and doing their thing.

So far the "exceeding expectations" part is paying off because they have caught the attention of two record producers: J.J. Appleton and Matt Powell. Appleton is a freelancer who has wrote songs for Kei$ha, and was signed in the UK. Powell is an independent producer who has recorded Ingrid Michaelson. In addition to this, Terri just became endorsed by Bess Heads Drums.

It's clear to see why Spread the Rumor would stand out among a crowd. For starters, they are girls doing a "boy" thing by being in a band. Two, well... they're just so good! With so many bands doing the "power pop/pop punk" thing, it's easy to get tired of the same thing. All the bands sound alike, and to be honest, most do not do it well. STR goes above and beyond the standard. "We are more vocally driven," said Katie. If you notice on top where the band is intro'd, you'll see all five members sing. This makes for some amazing harmonies, and an influx of different voices from song to song. Each vocalist adds their own flair to a song, and it's easy to tell how hard they work together to make it sound tight.

So what's on the horizon for this very driven quintet? "We want to finish recording an EP... We now have the lineup we want, and we're heading in the right direction," said Sabrina. In addition to playing more shores, they would love to get off the Island and make this their livelyhood. "In the future, I hope we're not on Staten Island," said Valerie. "I want to be signed by somebody. Any label that helps [its artists]," said Sabrina. Hilary wants to "see the country." While Katie wants "our music to continue to grow." Of course Terri, in all her rockstar glory wants to be "On an air conditioned bus with a hot tub filled with biddies."

Spread the Rumor has come a long way since their self-described "worst show ever" at the Art Cypher. But what else can you expect for a first show with an incomplete band? Now two years later they've got a number of big shows under their belts. They won the Battle of the Bands at Sullivan Hall in November of 2009 playing in front of over 2oo people. STR also made it through the first round of "the Break" contest at the Stony Pony, also playing in front of over 200 people. They've been interviewed for Bamboozle TV, and were also involved in a photoshoot and interview for "What's Good Magazine". Spread the Rumor has a number of shows coming up over the next few months so stop by their page and find out when!

Be sure to stay on the look out for this group of rising and talented individuals. Be sure to check their music out on (Myspace.com/spreadtherumormusic) and check out STR videos on SpreadtheRumorTV on Youtube.

Look them up on Facebook and Twitter, and for any questions email them at Spreadtherumormusic@gmail.com