Scissors For Lefty is a San Francisco Band with a sophisticated pop style combining elements of Indie, Yesteryear, and Dirty Glam. They are about as playful as an arty pop band can get: melodies in between melodies, jangly guitar, glittery keyboard, of Montreal-esque bass, galloping propulsion from a 6 foot 10 drummer, all fronted by heavy-breathing tales of romance and counter-culture glow. The group clearly sounds like they are enjoying themselves. Cute, sexy, and a little terrifying. Scissors For Lefty has played all over the United States and the United Kingdom, including tours with the following bands: Arctic Monkeys, Dirty Pretty Things, Erasure, Smashing Pumpkins, Metric, Panic at The Disco, Blonde Redhead, The French Kicks, Locksley, The Matches, The Fiery Furnaces, Semi Precious Weapons, Kaiser Chiefs, Rykarda Parasol, Elephone, Black Heart Procession, Suffrajette, The Pigeon Detectives, Paolo Nutini, Ben Kweller, Juliette & The Licks, Grandaddy, The Bravery, The Bloody Heads, White Lies, Mr. Loveless, and more... Bryan, James, and Peter started Scissors in 2000, while the former duo was attending college in the Central Valley town of San Luis Obispo, Calif. Even at the trio’s beginnings, they synthesized a wide range of influences. Bryan was an underground college radio DJ, who lived for dancing to 80’s every Monday night in San Luis Obispo. Both Peter and James studied classical piano for years and shared their mother’s gift for pop music (she was a Malaysian pop star in the mid-’60s and is still played on the radio in Borneo to this day). Tuesday thru Sunday, Bryan spent every waking hour learning the ins and outs of multi-track recording. “I wasn’t alone in that endeavor, everyone in the San Luis Obispo underground music scene would sit Indian-style at the local shows and really give new music a listen, almost as if they were taking notes”. Following a move to San Francisco in 2002, the musicians added Bryan’s young uncle Robby — who had been inspired to pick up the guitar after hearing Ace Frehley’s solo album. Initially refusing to let Robby near a guitar with a whammy bar, they assigned him to bass, where he quickly inspired the band’s herky-jerky rhythms and sexed up vocal harmonies, giving the band the brawn they needed. Scissors’ self-recorded, self-released debut, 2005’s Bruno, served as a sort of how-to primer for the band. For its follow up, the act wanted something more representative of their performances. “We wanted it to be playful and to capture the energy of our live set,” says Bryan. “We’re lighthearted and fun people, albeit quirky, and we wanted to let that show.” The group utilized an outside producer: Charles Goodan, who’s worked with the Dust Brothers, Beck, and Carlos Santana. Over several weeks, Scissors tracked new material in Silverlake’s Sonora Studios, as well as re-recorded two numbers from Bruno (”Ghetto Ways” and “Marsha,” which would be released as a double A-Side single by influential UK label Rough Trade). The disc was eventually mixed by Mark Needham, who’s worked with everyone from the Killers to Fleetwood Mac to Chris Isaak. The resulting Underhanded Romance album (L.A.’s Eeenie Meenie Records, released June 12, 2007) feels both wildly fresh and instantly recognizable. There are touchstones — the Cure-like guitar of “X’s Are Forever,” the Modern English breakdown of “You’ve Got the Moments,” the delicate Beach Boys-ish ballad of “Bring Us a Brick”. But, more than anything, there is exuberance and fun (remember fun?). Imagine the Strokes rip-snorting rock, if Julian Casablancas were smiling instead of sneering. Imagine the Gang of Four covering the early Kinks and Stones catalog, with a healthy dose of American mischievousness. Imagine pumping bass, chunka chunka guitar riffs, the kind of piano hooks that stay in your head for days, all topped off with Bryan’s hiccupping, lascivious vocals (not to mention the occasional whistled bit, hand clap, or Jew’s harp twang). Songs like “Ghetto Ways” and “Mama Your Boys Will Find a Home” (released as singles in the U.K. via Rough Trade) and “You’ve Got Your Moments” are as giddily insistent as anything Karen O could come up, without all that bothersome ennui. “Lay Down Your Weapons” may be the most joyous tune ever written from an ex-con’s point of view, and “Marsha” is the most festive kiss-off song since, well, the Violent Femmes’ “Kiss Off.” Following some vast travels across the UK, Germany, the band kidnapped soon to be pro-triathlete Stevie Garza, Bryan’s younger brother. Steve was initially brought on to cover for Robby (Robby’s job threatened to fire him if he didn’t return from tour). Steve stayed on upon Robby’s return, adding true charisma and to their live performances. After a year’s worth of shows, the band decided to work on a new album. Keeping afloat in San Francisco during the great recession proved to halt the band from touring. Scissors For Lefty went from playing 100 shows a year, to less than 10. This was intentional, and difficult, for the band loved playing live, but needed to record new material. They absorbed so much from touring with greats and meeting fantastic people along the way. The band’s focus was to not let their inspiration come from the lifestyle of hotels, hookups, and the rigors of the road (They claim this is the lyrical downfall of many bands). Their inspiration once again came from weirding out over the weekend with friends, scribbling post-it notes down at work, mocking absurd pundits, swimming in the ocean, getting boozed up at eccentric family reunions, and of course, sneaking off to their garage studio every waking hour to document it all. New songs galore arouse. Although heavily involved in the songwriting of the new album, Steve found himself a successful pro-triathlete not to mention, a new Dad. Ready to play live again, the band decided to give Steve some time to explore his other adventures. They kidnapped their 20 year old cousin, Eric Garza, to play bass this time. With tons of new songs under their belt, videos in the works, strobe lights from here to the moon, and a sincere hunger to blow up San Francisco’s music scene again.