STYGIAN VEIL BIO
Stygian Veil continues to do what bands should do, really. Write songs, get onstage, play. Maybe get in a van after loading out and then drive. And of course there are the requisite periods of holing up in the rehearsal space and working on new songs. And then maybe back into the studio. They make albums that still elude the patently predictable; albums that still elude the radio-friendly, “File under contemporary pop†formulas celebrated by the geniuses running major labels. Ah, trajedy. Alas, it is 2006 and there is the iTunes music store. Still, fans are surely broken-hearted to not have the band taking ten years off their age in bios like this one. We, the fans, we weep that Stygian Veil aren’t featured in a commercial for women’s razors or, say…a darker, more unique, and sonically compelling minivan.
Musically, they map strange currents somewhere between a strong undertow of the dark and discouraged and the melodic promise of something somehow sweet and unscathed. Gina Degnars (lead vocals/piano/songwriter) is essentially putting into words and infectious melody, the daydreams and nightmares that have fueled the aforementioned drive up to this point. Her range somehow spans between adolescent weekends spent reading Plath at a small town cemetery, and everything bigger and better that one hopes to find by making the escape from that long string of days. Guitarist Ben Whitten, bassist Ric Tutlo and drummer Rich Degnars (Gina’s brother) play as almost the resulting storm-a pop-sonic weather pattern of dark clouds and brilliant silver linings.
Does any of this make sense? It doesn’t make sense, does it? It would. If you had the headphones I’m wearing and they were on your head at this very minute, listening to Stygian Veil.
-Dan Kennedy (critically acclaimed author, “Loser Goes Firstâ€)
Stygian Veil has been playing sold out shows throughout the Philadelphia area (Tin Angel, World Café Live, The Khyber), and has captured the attention of grammy nominated producer, David Ivory (Eryka Badu, The Roots, Patti LaBelle), as well as Grammy winning producer, Phil Nicolo (John Lennon, Sting, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, Dishwalla, Billy Joel, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, etc, etc), with whom they have been working on their latest recording. Despite the aforementioned comments regarding their ability to “elude the patently predictable and the radio-friendly†formulas, Stygian Veil, after years of starving for their art, would be more than thrilled to be featured in the aforementioned commercials, or perhaps a darker, more unique television series or film. And they actually also do receive regular airplay on local stations WXPN (Philadelphia), WSTW (Wilmington), and WVUD (Newark).
