'THE WHOLE PACKAGE' Delgado, front and center.
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Olneyville's finest post-punk/goth/sludge metal outfit went missing for the better part of 2010, but we're ecstatic to report that Lolita Black has returned with a new lead singer in Ms. Scarlett Delgado. "We are back and we are ready to rock!" reads a recent post on LB's site (myspace.com/lolitablackprovidence), following an August announcement that bassist Jake Blanchette, drummer Kaleigh Melise, and guitarist Bob Otis had found their new vocalist after Jessika Pacitto relocated to Portland, Oregon late last year.
Melise and Otis founded Lolita Black five years ago as yet another metal-infused outlet for Bob Dead, as he's known — as in iconic crust-punk locals Dropdead, currently celebrating their 20th anniversary. Otis also sings and plays guitar in I, Destroyer.
"I had already done hardcore punk with Dropdead and metal stuff with I, Destroyer, so I wanted to get into some new territory," Otis told me in early '09 following the release of Lolita Black's impressive debut album, Into the Wasteland ($6.99 at Armageddon Records and armageddonshop.com). And as far as face-melting live acts go around these parts, Lolita Black remains at the top of my list.
"We bring a heavy, dark and atmospheric show with hooks that make you wanna rock your ass off," Otis told me prior to a memorable 2 am set inside a packed O-ville warehouse last summer.
Onstage or on wax, Lolita Black's rhythm section is a fucking beast — plain and simple. Blanchette's steady low end accompanies the jaw-dropping skills of Melise behind the drum kit. Take a listen to Wasteland tracks "Where's Your Reason," "Nosebleed," "Worlds of None," and album opener "Tightrope," with an audio sample from Stanley Kubrick's Lolita giving way to Bob Dead's chainsaw riffs and Melise's incredible hammering. West-end coffee barista by day, goddess-of-thunder by night.
"Kaleigh looked completely evil when she got behind the kit," Otis recalled. "I was jokingly calling her 'Lolita' and the band name just stuck."
Earlier this week we checked in with Bob and Scarlett (how about the arched tattoo across her midriff that reads "I'll Make You Famous"), as the band continues to write new tunes and line up winter tour dates, including a great triple bill at the 201 in December with She Rides and the Midnight Creeps.
HOW AND WHY DID SCARLETT ULTIMATELY LAND THE JOB? Bob: We had open auditions for eight months or so and tried out at least eight people, but Scarlett won the gig from pure vocal talent and an instant chemistry with the band. We had some really talented people try out, but Scarlett had the whole package.
Scarlett: Dan Brown [from She Rides] saw a flyer Bob posted at Armageddon Shop that said Lolita Black was holding for auditions for a new singer. He immediately called me up and said, "This is all you. You have to do this." I had seen Lolita Black before and really dug their sound, so I emailed Bob right away.
