After a nearly 7-month hiatus from shows, Future Scars prepares to debut the groups' new line-up and new sound this month at Rufina Taproom on Saturday the 31st as part of a benefit show for Changing Woman Initiative. Future Scars, first formed in 2015 by former As In We members, has undergone a number of transformations since their inception, often wrought with trauma. Bassist Paul Wagner joined the band in 2017 after front-woman Eliza Lutz experienced sexual assault by a former member. Later that year, longtime drummer Ben Durfee left to pursue other projects, leaving the band at a cross-roads for how to move forward.
Says Lutz of the band's difficult history, "For me Future Scars is a story of triumph and resilience, not unlike its name. As a woman in music, sexism and sexual harrasment has been a daily experience for me as a musician, business owner and promoter. Learning to confront sexism and sexual assault from within my own band, from someone close to me and not just from the music community at large, really changed my relationship to feminism in my music and transformed my priorities as a musician. I realized how important it was for me to honor my voice and experience as a female musician and to not be afraid to write songs about and collaborate with people who understand and respect that."
At the end of 2017, Lutz and Wagner brought local musicians Marcus Difilippo and Dylan Blanchard on board (on drums and keys, respectively) and begin cultivating a new, more developed sound. As Lutz had written most of the material for the groups' forthcoming full-length a year before, the change was an opportunity to take a step back and build on a live sound that better reflected the songwriting and tone of the band.
"I am just so unbelievably grateful to play with such talented, imaginative and kind humans," says Lutz. "This change has been such a reset and a welcome challenge to write songs that are both personal and universal and give a voice to the experience that many women and gender non-conforming folks face in music. We are all looking to the future now and healing old wounds."
Future Scars record their new album this spring with US regional tours in the works for summer and late fall. The group premiers their new sound at Rufina Taproom on March, 31st with label-mates Chicharra as well as Weedrat, Treemotel & Sex Headaches. More on that show below!
Changing Woman Initiative Benefit Show
Featuring: Treemotel, Weedrat, Future Scars, Chicharra & Sex Headaches
Saturday March 31st
Rufina Taproom
Second Street Brewery
2920 Rufina Street
8:00pm Doors / $5-20 Sliding Scale /
ALL AGES
For more information,
visit the event page.