Left to Right: Melanie Makaiwi, Angie Scarpa, Steinunn Ósk Axelsdóttir and Blaire Chodor.
METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello. So glad to be catching up Black Sabbitch. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.
Black Sabbitch are a Black Sabbath tribute band from Los Angeles, California. What else can you tell the readers about the band?
BLACK SABBITCH: All of us come from the world of original music and have been in touring bands since we were teenagers. We had never thought about playing covers or being in a so-called tribute band and never really use those descriptors when talking about Black Sabbitch. We have known each other through the music scene, (playing shows on the same bill or touring together) since we were very young. Angie and Melanie were previously in an original post punk band called The Art of Safecracking together and have been playing together most of their adult lives.
MPAP: Who started Black Sabbitch, and what inspired you to do so?
BLACK SABBITCH: Black Sabbitch started with the name…we just loved it and Angie and Blare got together one night and were messing around with some Sabbath covers when they realized it was too good to not do. So, Angie recruited Melanie to join in and the rest is history. Angie has a very deep knowledge of Black Sabbath, she literally learned to play drums by playing along to the early Sabbath catalogue and is very well known around Black Sabbath circles as being one of the people who really can get inside the swing of Bill Ward. The band has always been her baby.
MPAP: Did each of you grow up listening to Black Sabbath?
BLACK SABBITCH: We are all big Sabbath fans but Angie is like a walking Sabbath encyclopedia so she keeps us all in check when learning new material. We basically come up with lists of songs we really want to add to our set and can usually agree on where we want to go next.
MPAP: What made you decide to take Black Sabbitch beyond the local bars in your hometown of LA and take it out on the road?
BLACK SABBITCH: We’ve always been touring musicians so wanting to tour the band was a very natural thing since day one. We get offers from all over the world and people really appreciate the authenticity we bring to the music.
MPAP: Black Sabbitch were handpicked by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne himself to open the inaugural Ozzfiesta in 2015? How did this make you feel? Must have been an honor?
BLACK SABBITCH: We’ve received communication from just about every member of the original band, always saying positive things but being asked to open of Ozzy was quite an honor. We have always been driven to capture the essence and spirit of what a Sabbath show was like in the early 70’s… not so much sound just like the records, or wear silly costumes and wigs, but to really explore what made the band fantastic live. The way Bill and Geezer could swing together, Tony’s guitar explorations and Ozzy’s ferocious use of what felt like photo-punk vocals mixed with Beatle-esqe melody, laid over heavy Jazz. It’s always amazing when that is appreciated by fans but even more so when noticed by the creators themselves. We were overjoyed.
MPAP: Black Sabbath has quite the song catalog to choose from. What are your favorite songs?
BLACK SABBITCH: Our favorite songs tend to be deeper catalogue stuff in our set like ‘Sabbra Cadabra’ and ‘Killing Yourself To Live’. Right now, we are deep into preparing a Vol. 4 tour set and are really digging playing ‘Under the Sun’ and ‘Cornucopia’.
MPAP: Playing Black Sabbath songs must be great, but have you ever wanted to create your own original music before?
BLACK SABBITCH: We have all been writing and recording original music our whole lives, having made records for both major and Indie records. Angie and Melanie continue to write and record music together both for live performance and film and TV soundtracks. They are currently working on a new record. Blare continues to work with her former band Betty Blowtorch as well as several other independent projects.
MPAP: What are the plans for the future of Black Sabbitch? What can your fans expect?
BLACK SABBITCH: As we speak we are confirming shows for our fall tour which will bring us as east through Texas, making stops as far south as Arizona and as far north as Las Vegas...look for us in Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, Dallas, Austin, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio, Amarillo, Okalahoma City, Albuquerque, Vegas, Bakersfield, LA, San Diego etc etc.
MPAP: Would you like to venture even further out to other countries to play live for everyone some day? Or is Black Sabbitch a long weekend band only?
BLACK SABBITCH: We’ve never been a long weekend band and have done several multiple week tours. We are currently working on a European tour as well as offers to come to Japan and South America. Obviously international touring is more challenging as the logistics are more daunting but as the offers become more doable we are able to do more of it.
MPAP: Where is the best place you’ve played so far?
BLACK SABBITCH: We love playing in Southern California and our home town fans are amazing. We also have a really strong base in the Pacific Northwest. Our Portland and Seattle shows are always loads of fun. We just did a sold-out show to around 1,000 people in Seattle on New Year’s Eve and it was one of our favorites so far.
MPAP: Now you don’t play Black Sabbath after the Ozzy Osbourne era correct? Why is that?
BLACK SABBITCH: To us Black Sabbath is all about the original four members and the real spirit of those first 8 records. Our band has a real sound, identity and way of playing together that we don’t want to simply adapt to the vastly different styles of the later lineups of the band.
MPAP: Ronnie James Dio did some great Sabbath songs as well? You don’t want to cover anything by him?
BLACK SABBITCH: We have always said that if we happen to be playing a show on RJD’s birthday we very well might play a song from Heaven And Hell to commemorate the man but it would be a special onetime thing and not something we would add to the set long term. We did something similar the night David Bowie died, learning Ziggy Stardust at soundcheck and playing it that night (you can find that on youtube I’m sure). To us Sabbath is all about Bill, Tony, Geezer and Ozzy and without any of those elements it just doesn’t hit the same nerve. We’re not saying we can’t enjoy those other records as listeners, it’s just a different band…so just as we don’t play anything from Heaven And Hell or Mob Rules, we don’t play anything from 13.
MPAP: What advice would you give to fellow tribute bands out there just starting?
BLACK SABBITCH: Our philosphy has always been to have our own identity. Although people may be originally drawn to us by the Sabbath songs we play, most of our hard-core fans are Black Sabbitch fans and appreciate us for who we are and how we play even more so than what we are playing.
MPAP: Is there another tribute band out there you like and you’ve played with before that you’d want to give a shout out to?
BLACK SABBITCH: We really like the girls in Hell’s Belles. They are not only a great great band but also really good people. We enjoy playing shows with them and they have a real fire that we respect.
MPAP: Any last words for everyone out there reading this?
BLACK SABBITCH: People can see us on tour, find us on Facebook, instagram and twitter or at www.blacksabbitch.com
MPAP: On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you for spending some time with us. Look forward to what Black Sabbitch does for the rest of 2017 and beyond?
Black Sabbitch are a Black Sabbath tribute band from Los Angeles, California. What else can you tell the readers about the band?
BLACK SABBITCH: All of us come from the world of original music and have been in touring bands since we were teenagers. We had never thought about playing covers or being in a so-called tribute band and never really use those descriptors when talking about Black Sabbitch. We have known each other through the music scene, (playing shows on the same bill or touring together) since we were very young. Angie and Melanie were previously in an original post punk band called The Art of Safecracking together and have been playing together most of their adult lives.
MPAP: Who started Black Sabbitch, and what inspired you to do so?
BLACK SABBITCH: Black Sabbitch started with the name…we just loved it and Angie and Blare got together one night and were messing around with some Sabbath covers when they realized it was too good to not do. So, Angie recruited Melanie to join in and the rest is history. Angie has a very deep knowledge of Black Sabbath, she literally learned to play drums by playing along to the early Sabbath catalogue and is very well known around Black Sabbath circles as being one of the people who really can get inside the swing of Bill Ward. The band has always been her baby.
MPAP: Did each of you grow up listening to Black Sabbath?
BLACK SABBITCH: We are all big Sabbath fans but Angie is like a walking Sabbath encyclopedia so she keeps us all in check when learning new material. We basically come up with lists of songs we really want to add to our set and can usually agree on where we want to go next.
MPAP: What made you decide to take Black Sabbitch beyond the local bars in your hometown of LA and take it out on the road?
BLACK SABBITCH: We’ve always been touring musicians so wanting to tour the band was a very natural thing since day one. We get offers from all over the world and people really appreciate the authenticity we bring to the music.
MPAP: Black Sabbitch were handpicked by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne himself to open the inaugural Ozzfiesta in 2015? How did this make you feel? Must have been an honor?
BLACK SABBITCH: We’ve received communication from just about every member of the original band, always saying positive things but being asked to open of Ozzy was quite an honor. We have always been driven to capture the essence and spirit of what a Sabbath show was like in the early 70’s… not so much sound just like the records, or wear silly costumes and wigs, but to really explore what made the band fantastic live. The way Bill and Geezer could swing together, Tony’s guitar explorations and Ozzy’s ferocious use of what felt like photo-punk vocals mixed with Beatle-esqe melody, laid over heavy Jazz. It’s always amazing when that is appreciated by fans but even more so when noticed by the creators themselves. We were overjoyed.
MPAP: Black Sabbath has quite the song catalog to choose from. What are your favorite songs?
BLACK SABBITCH: Our favorite songs tend to be deeper catalogue stuff in our set like ‘Sabbra Cadabra’ and ‘Killing Yourself To Live’. Right now, we are deep into preparing a Vol. 4 tour set and are really digging playing ‘Under the Sun’ and ‘Cornucopia’.
MPAP: Playing Black Sabbath songs must be great, but have you ever wanted to create your own original music before?
BLACK SABBITCH: We have all been writing and recording original music our whole lives, having made records for both major and Indie records. Angie and Melanie continue to write and record music together both for live performance and film and TV soundtracks. They are currently working on a new record. Blare continues to work with her former band Betty Blowtorch as well as several other independent projects.
MPAP: What are the plans for the future of Black Sabbitch? What can your fans expect?
BLACK SABBITCH: As we speak we are confirming shows for our fall tour which will bring us as east through Texas, making stops as far south as Arizona and as far north as Las Vegas...look for us in Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, Dallas, Austin, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio, Amarillo, Okalahoma City, Albuquerque, Vegas, Bakersfield, LA, San Diego etc etc.
MPAP: Would you like to venture even further out to other countries to play live for everyone some day? Or is Black Sabbitch a long weekend band only?
BLACK SABBITCH: We’ve never been a long weekend band and have done several multiple week tours. We are currently working on a European tour as well as offers to come to Japan and South America. Obviously international touring is more challenging as the logistics are more daunting but as the offers become more doable we are able to do more of it.
MPAP: Where is the best place you’ve played so far?
BLACK SABBITCH: We love playing in Southern California and our home town fans are amazing. We also have a really strong base in the Pacific Northwest. Our Portland and Seattle shows are always loads of fun. We just did a sold-out show to around 1,000 people in Seattle on New Year’s Eve and it was one of our favorites so far.
MPAP: Now you don’t play Black Sabbath after the Ozzy Osbourne era correct? Why is that?
BLACK SABBITCH: To us Black Sabbath is all about the original four members and the real spirit of those first 8 records. Our band has a real sound, identity and way of playing together that we don’t want to simply adapt to the vastly different styles of the later lineups of the band.
MPAP: Ronnie James Dio did some great Sabbath songs as well? You don’t want to cover anything by him?
BLACK SABBITCH: We have always said that if we happen to be playing a show on RJD’s birthday we very well might play a song from Heaven And Hell to commemorate the man but it would be a special onetime thing and not something we would add to the set long term. We did something similar the night David Bowie died, learning Ziggy Stardust at soundcheck and playing it that night (you can find that on youtube I’m sure). To us Sabbath is all about Bill, Tony, Geezer and Ozzy and without any of those elements it just doesn’t hit the same nerve. We’re not saying we can’t enjoy those other records as listeners, it’s just a different band…so just as we don’t play anything from Heaven And Hell or Mob Rules, we don’t play anything from 13.
MPAP: What advice would you give to fellow tribute bands out there just starting?
BLACK SABBITCH: Our philosphy has always been to have our own identity. Although people may be originally drawn to us by the Sabbath songs we play, most of our hard-core fans are Black Sabbitch fans and appreciate us for who we are and how we play even more so than what we are playing.
MPAP: Is there another tribute band out there you like and you’ve played with before that you’d want to give a shout out to?
BLACK SABBITCH: We really like the girls in Hell’s Belles. They are not only a great great band but also really good people. We enjoy playing shows with them and they have a real fire that we respect.
MPAP: Any last words for everyone out there reading this?
BLACK SABBITCH: People can see us on tour, find us on Facebook, instagram and twitter or at www.blacksabbitch.com
MPAP: On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you for spending some time with us. Look forward to what Black Sabbitch does for the rest of 2017 and beyond?
Band Members:
Angie Scarpa (Drums)
Melanie Makaiwi (Bass)
Blare N. Bitch (Guitar)
Steinunn osk Axelsdottir (Vocals)
Angie Scarpa (Drums)
Melanie Makaiwi (Bass)
Blare N. Bitch (Guitar)
Steinunn osk Axelsdottir (Vocals)
FOLLOW
BLACK SABBITCH
HERE
BLACK SABBITCH
HERE
©metalpulpandpaper