Though our hearts sink to think it could be goodbye, we must bid farewell to two formidable local bands at the same time. Orlando musicians Sam Crow and Kit Dee are soon off to Chicago and they're taking their projects and music with them. Meaning, Leatherette and Body Shop as we know them now are done.
"We have to harden up for the cold. We got a little too tender, a little too soft in Orlando," says Crow. "We've got to get industrial with ourselves."
For Leatherette, Crows's departure thankfully does not mean the end of the longtime friends working together. There's a lot of history here. Leatherette first started setting local stages afire purveying frenzied garage rock as Spoon Dogs in 2018, and the bandmates collectively mused that with time they've forged a stronger bond and more nuanced understanding of each other. "I can't even say exactly what it is, I just know that we are all more on the same page than we ever have been," says bassist Sam Leatherwood.
And this new same page demands total attention. The band allowed OW a preview of their newest two singles. Their wild and differing interests have never changed — guitarist Dan Delanois details the original sonic brief of the band back when they started as tweenies.
"It's funny now, but I was wanting the band to be like authentic '60s garage," remembers Delanois. From that starting point — with Crow adding in more bluesy sensibilities — the Spoon Dogs would become Leatherette, creating music sonically not far off from creeping around rained-slicked, cobblestone streets, trailing a criminal in the shadows. In the '70s, of course.
Neither is this an ending, but a new beginning for Body Shop. "No matter how Body Shop shape-shifts in the future, I just know that this lineup is an integral part of our identity," vocalist Kit Dee says of current Shop staff: Ian Sanz (guitar), Cammy Goreczky (bass) and Taylor Yackulics (drums).
Here's the rundown of what's next for the two bands.
Leatherette's drummer Christian Viguie is making playful electronic music as GUI backed by live drums in an intriguing combination. GUI's newest single, "One Trick Pony," is out now. Leatherwood and partner, Jumbo Jade, will be playing in the Velvet Underground-esque all-star project Tiger Beat. Delanois, meanwhile, is looking forward to some recharging of batteries before taking the leap into new music. Despite all these new projects, keep an eye out for those new Leatherette singles. All were produced by Radio Information Services, the production studio of Mother Juno's John Rousseau.
When Rousseau's name comes up, both bands sing unprompted praises. Crow affectionately mimics Rousseau's Eno-esque studio instructions: "You're playing it absolutely right, like your guitar teacher taught you. Now I want you to do the exact opposite."
On the Body Shop front, bassist Goreczky has previously released electronic music as Sixth Sense, but is now focusing on visual art. Body Shop proper will be releasing three new tracks soon — Dee says it's not quite an EP, not quite a single. "It is a secret third thing."
When pressed to talk about endings and beginnings, many of the musicians assembled for this "exit interview" sit in contemplative silence. Dee tries gamely to orchestrate a little: "Sam, you say something nice to Sam, you say something nice to Christian ..."
Crow inhales sharply and asks, "Can I go last?"
"I don't even know what we're talking about," mutters Delanois.
Leatherwood notes that Crow and Viguie are some of the hardest-working people he has ever worked with, and Crow follows up with memories.
On the first time Crow met guitarist Dan Delanois: "He gave me a test — I was covering the song 'Have Love Will Travel,' and Dan tested me. 'Are you covering the Sonics or the Black Keys?' The Spoon Dogs may have never existed, but luckily I said I was covering the Sonics."
Crow offers self-deprecating praise to Viguie as well: "On the record, I want to thank Chris because he is one of the most technically proficient musicians and he has put up with us slowing him down for six years."
"Simply put," follows up Delanois, "I feel really lucky that this was my first band."
Leatherette and Body Shop alike are excited to see how the Orlando scene will continue to evolve, making room for younger and perhaps hungrier bands to champion an ever-mutating scene. "The Orlando scene is a spectrum, with 0 Miles Per Hour on one end, and KT Kink on the other," says Dee. "It's their world and we're just living in it."
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