Gospel and Grit

On Monday night, Tulsa's new all-ages venue The Monolith, 2428 E. Admiral, will play host to Bellafea, an up-and-coming noise punk trio from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Known for its ferocious and highly memorable live performances, Bellafea has quickly become known as the "next big thing" in the hardcore world. That buzz, along with the endorsement and support of indie-elder John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats), has resulted in a record deal with Southern Records.

Now, on the eve of the release of its debut Cavalcade (tentatively set for May 6, according to the band's MySpace page), the band hit the road to tour the Midwest leading up to a performance at South by Southwest this weekend. After the stop in Austin, the band will be heading to Tulsa on its way back to North Carolina.

Bellafea is comprised of Nathan Buchanan on drums, Eddie Sanchez on bass and Heather McEntire on guitar and lead vocals.

Cavalcade is best described as an aggressive blend of modern hardcore and '80s no-wave, with a pronounced feminine touch that comes from the melodies of frontwoman McEntire. It's drenched in the feedback of Sonic Youth and obsessed with the collision of melody and dissonance that made early Blonde Redhead so compelling, but it's more driving than either of those bands, and both McEntire and the band's press release emphasize the influence of early '90s noise rockers Polvo.

Surprisingly, McEntire didn't discover the music that most influenced her until later in her childhood.

"I didn't really grow up listening to much music besides traditional hymns," McEntire said. "My first cassette tapes were Bruce Springsteen and the Beach Boys, who probably influenced my idea of performance energy and my sense of melody, respectively."

Due in part to her Southern Baptist upbringing, McEntire only later discovered the bands that would influence her more directly--Sleater-Kinney, Team Dresch, Rodan and Polvo, among others.

Much like Oklahoma, card-carrying Bible belt state North Carolina can be difficult territory for the young and defiant, but McEntire has been able to find inspiration in her fundamentalist upbringing.

"My spiritual beliefs have drastically changed (since adolescence)," she said. "But I'm still drawn to Christianity, in a secular way--observing it and investigating it and discovering the poetry in parables and aesthetics within the Bible. I never sang in the choir, but I was always fascinated with that musical collectivity and devotion. Take away the dogma and the meaning within the lyrics... it's the harmonies and plurality and soul and passion that I find enamoring."

That fascination is visible throughout Cavalcade.

"Some song titles are borrowed from Bible verses, i.e. 'Depart, I Never Knew You,'" McEntire explained, referring to Cavalcade's earth-scorching first track. "I (also) play in a folk/gospel band called Mount Moriah, which is the name given to a mountain range by the book of Genesis... I suppose living in the Bible belt has influenced me as a musician by inspiring me to find my own convictions and document them."

And what did all this spiritual searching and documenting lead to?

"Within those self-discoveries, I found punk music, and what it meant to resist social and religious and regional expectation," she said. "Living in the South forces you to make up your mind about things like dogma and religion and deconstructing morality and humanity."

This may seem a bit philosophical by today's standards--punk is rarely, if ever, used as a conduit for serious social or political discourse anymore (save for Bush and the war, which is such a ubiquitous protest that it can hardly be seen as a unique tenant of punk rock)--but McEntire is a thoughtful, intelligent musician whose passionate approach to songwriting elevates Bellafea above the trappings of the genre.

That passion is what drew many established musicians to assist Bellafea in the recording process. "They are all friends of ours and all live in town," McEntire said. "John Darnielle sang backup vocals on 'Depart, I Never Knew You,' Dave Laney (Milemarker, Challenger, Auxes) sang backup vocals/screamed on 'Run Rabbit Run,' Daniel Hart (Polyphonic Spree, St Vincent, John Vanderslice, Physics of Meaning) layered the album with string parts, Ben Davis (Sleepytime Trio, Bats & Mice, Ben Davis & the Jetts) played bass on a song, and Eric Moe (Zegota) sang backup/screamed on 'Arctic.'"

From this list, one can tell that Chapel Hill is a town that's not exactly starved for talent, and McEntire makes no secret of the fact that Bellafea's initial success is due in large part to the support of its community.

"(Chapel Hill) was nationally noted in the early to mid '90s as the geographic indie rock zone, but I think the scene now is stronger than ever," she said. "Artists and musicians move here to be a part of the community and that history, and because it's affordable, and because of all the resources and opportunities available. We could never have garnered the support or attention we have now if we had moved to, say, Portland or Brooklyn or some other cliché city; we would have just been another tiny ship in the sea of big city bands. We didn't want that. Not like we want to be hometown heroes or anything, but we wanted to create in a place that we could feel and see and affect the community, and there is just something different and special about creating and living in the South."

Now, with the release of Cavalcade right around the corner and a national tour in full swing, McEntire and Bellafea are focused on perfecting the ferocity of their live show. Regarding the Tulsa show on the Mon., March 17, McEntire is mischievously optimistic.

"There will be some sweat, I'm sure. Bring earplugs."

It's sure to be quite the night. In addition to Bellafea, An Albatross, Genghis Tron, Coliseum, Ume and El Paso Hot Button will be playing, so you might bring a back-up pair of earplugs.