American Hard Rock band ARTIFAS formed in ten years ago in Jackson, TN by lead guitarist Cody Criswell and lead vocalist Scottie Somerville. Immediately they recruited an assortment of hometown musicians and began looking to record their debut EP, Enemy Inside in 2013. After numerous regional/national tours to support the EP, the band got the recipe right with guitarist Mikey Miller, bassist Anthony Mattox, and drummer Jared Wainscott.
Now, ARTIFAS has released the official music video for their new single “LEAVE ME FOR DEAD”! from their forthcoming album titled Reflections, due out November 19, 2021 – and we are more than pleased to have them as our latest INDIE BAND OF THE WEEK! We had a brief moment with Scottie and got to know the band a little bit better!
Why did you pick your band name?
Artifas is originally spelt Artifice. We were looking into Sanskrit, which is the first recorded language. The meaning of the word is the balance of duality and surviving through your art. It seemed fitting for us, so we changed the spelling a bit and it’s there to stay.
It is quite fitting. How would you define the word success?
Success, to me, is accomplishing what you set out to do. Success isn’t just measured in money. At the end of the day, if you are happy with what you’ve done, that’s success to me.
How did you form?
Cody and I started the band in 2011. We had been in different bands for years, and we had always worked together. Once our former bands broke up, we joined forces and that’s all she wrote. We were two dudes with a dream and nothing was gonna stop us.
When and why did you start playing?
I had always loved music, but a life changing moment for me was the first time I saw Garth Brooks actually. He was flying over the cloud like Peter Pan with a guitar, and I knew in that moment that that’s what I wanted to do.
What was the first tune(s) you learned?
The first tunes that I learned was first off “Smoke on the Water” and then “Proud Mary”. These were the only two songs my dad knew how to play, and he made sure I could nail them.
Who writes the songs? What are they about?
We all write the songs. It really is a group effort. A lot of times I’ll write the main body of the lyrics and the guys will help me iron them all out. The songs on this new record are about inner struggle and reflecting back on your life and the choices that you’ve made. A lot of the content deals with mental health, as we’ve all had our own struggles in that area.
Do you think that online presence is important for fans to find you and critics to find your music to write about?
Online presence is so important these days. Most people are glued to their phones looking for the next thing to catch their attention and we want to be the one grabbing that attention. It’s also a great way for us to stay in touch and communicate with our fans. I honestly don’t know how bands did it back in the day.
What advice would you give to fellow bands?
Persistence is key. If this is something you want, you have to dive in and keep swimming. It’s not an easy path but anyone can do it if they have the will. Also….read and dissect all contracts (laughs)
