Sweet Summer

Chico, CA native Marty James, a.k.a. Scapegoat Wax, has had a pretty crazy summer.
"About two months ago, we played in Chico in front of a full house at The Brick Works — cool crowd there — and then the next night, we played in Monterey, where there was, like, a hundred people, and then the next night we played Atlanta, and when we did ‘Aisle 10,’ there were like 34,000 people there by the time our set was done. It was insane," recalls James, who’s at home in Los Angeles, getting ready to spend a weekend in Philadelphia, where Scapegoat is playing at an X Games after-party. And though going from playing for hundreds of people to playing for tens of thousands is a big jump, Marty says it’s the small gigs that concern him. "Actually, playing in Monterey in front of a hundred people who were just standing there in a little dive bar, pool hall-type place was way, way harder than playing in front of 30 thousand. Like, I just wanted to get [Monterey] over with. I was thinking about all the factors, like who was supposed to be promoting the show."
Marty doesn’t have time to think about much else these days. With his debut album, Okeeblow (Grand Royal) building sales number every week, and a video for "Aisle 10" in regular rotation on MTV2, James and the rest of Scapegoat concentrate on little else than the live show and touring at this point.
"We’ve been doing so many insane runs lately, where we’ll just do flight dates. We’ll do Philly for a show, then go to New York for a couple of days and then come back home. Then we’ll fly back out to Chicago for two shows and then fly home," explains James, referencing the Philly X-games gig, and adding that being on stage isn’t not the only thing keeping him busy on the road. "Plus, I’ve been doing a lot of press in New York and LA. It’s been hectic."
Hectic, sure, but it’s all been paying off. Scapegoat was recently in tight contention for the opening spot on the upcoming Weezer tour, but that didn’t work out. That doesn’t mean things other aren’t panning out, though.
"We’re going on tour with Dave Navarro," reveals James. "We join up with his tour on September 4^th, and we’re gonna be on that tour for two weeks. It’s only, like, 10 dates, and it was a personal request from him to have us play, so that was a really good feeling. It might be an interesting mix live, but we’re just gonna get up there and do our thing, plus we’re gonna be playing in a couple of markets we haven’t played in yet, like Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."
James is interested in getting Scapegoat on stage as much as possible, and in addition to a hectic live schedule, the group maintains a pretty rigorous practice schedule as well.
"We rehearse pretty much everyday and it’s been kinda’ hard because we’ve been moving rehearsal spaces and stuff, but these guys are dedicated. They want this as bad as I do and they’re right there with me and I love ‘em for that."
A big part of Scapegoat Wax’s success has come from their hit single and video, "Aisle 10," and James has no illusions as to the power the medium of video carries with it.
"The video for ‘Aisle 10’ has been the best tool we’ve had so far," he says flatly. "First of all, it’s a ‘handpicked’ video on MTV2, and in the industry, MTV2 is looked at as kinda like ahead of the curve, ya’ know, like the next shit. The video even sneaked onto MTV a couple of times, but MTV doesn’t really show too many videos anyway. But ‘Aisle 10’ is the perfect set-up single for the next single, ‘Crawlin.’"
A slower ballad, "Crawlin" is slated as second single from Okeeblow. The video shoot was supposed to be done weeks ago, but because the single isn’t set to hit radio until September (though Los Angeles’ KROQ has been playing it already), the video shoot was pushed back to coincide with radio. Evan Bernard (Beastie Boys, Green Day, Dixie Chicks, Lit) is lined up to direct the video, and this will be his second Scapegoat project; Marty and Bernard first worked together on "Aisle 10." In the meantime, though, "Aisle 10" has been getting plenty of MTV airtime, and hasn’t just helped James and Scapegoat get over with the music consuming populace, it’s also helped them within the music business.
"I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start off a relationship with MTV," he figures, and things only got better after the initial video run. "I went and hosted the MTV2 request hour for a week, and it went over really well — they were really happy with it and I know I benefited from it. The booking agents are talking now about doing Craig Kilborn. There’s all kinds of press stuff coming out right now — Spin just did a little write-up…"
"It’s crazy, man, just trying to keep up with all this shit and still trying to focus on the music," says Marty after pausing for a second. "There’s so much now. When I was just working on shit in my bedroom, it was all just music and writing. Right now I’m really far removed from that, and it’s weird. I’ve always been a really cut-and dry person, but now shit is so hectic, I’m getting calls to work with other people, and I can’t even do it. So now I’m at the point where all I’m doing is focusing on the live show, and trying to figure out what I have to do to help out on the marketing angle."
Things have happened relatively quickly for James and Scapegoat Wax since it all started to take off, but James has managed to take it all in stride. Still, things can’t get that big that quickly and not leave a staggering impression on someone, and James has seen and experienced things that have made a lasting impact.
"Getting in front people in cities I’ve never been to in my entire life — let alone played a concert in — and seeing kids singing my lyrics, especially ‘Aisle 10,’ is a real trip," he says. "We show up, play our whole set and people are into it, then we play that song and people just lose it, you know? That’s crazy. Me and (keyboard player) Joel Stites have been playing that song for the last three years. We’ve played that song at places like LaSalle’s in Chico, and places in Lake Tahoe to, like, six people. Now we play that in places like Atlanta and St. Louis, and people flip. We look at each other think, ‘man, what radio and MTV can do.’"
People are singing along with that song and others because they love the music, and they’re buying the album. Okeeblow has cracked the "heatseeker" charts, sales statistics for new and up-and-coming acts, beating out other known artists like Paul Oakenfold and Alkaline Trio, and it keeps climbing.
"The record’s gotten really good reviews, too. I wasn’t sure how it would be accepted. A few people though it was kinda’ all over the place, but a lot of critics have given us good reviews in magazines like Alternative Press, Spin and Billboard, and that feels good," beams James. "I’m just glad it’s getting a reaction. This is my first album, and people are taking to it. It’s been a nice summer."

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