By Jane Matthews
Flapjack Chronicle
If you’ve been a part of the Arcata music scene at all lately, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of something called “Spiff Moth.” Spliff Moth is a local Arcata band that has played upwards of 10 shows in Arcata, with the largest audience being around 100 people. Though they haven’t entirely risen to fame, Andrew Soto, a guitar player in the band, reports that that have gotten some recognition.
“One time, I was walking from the bus stop to class and I saw this person, this dude coming out of the library,” Soto said. “I saw him from my periffs and he started walking towards me and I, kind of, don’t know what he wants and I’m thinking ‘What the heck, man. Like, what do you need from me?’ Then he goes, ‘Hey, Spliff Moth!’ and I go “yeah!”
The impressive part about all of this is that the band has been making music for less than a year now and they still manage to get a rowdy crowd reception at every show. If you find yourself in the crowd of a Spliff Moth show, you will undoubtedly find yourself in the middle of a horde of pushing and shoving. It’s not that easy to get a crowd dangerously stoked, but Spliff Moth has a certain element to their music that can get a crowd gong within seconds of playing.
The band plays an eclectic style of music, ranging from garage and stoner rock to various styles of punk and metal. If you ask them what their musical influences are, you’ll get an answer about as vague as that.
“I would describe our music as that one soup that’s, like, a bunch of everything mixed together. Is it called Gumbo?” Soto asked. “I would describe our music as Gumbo.”
As far as tours and albums go, Spliff Moth doesn’t have any absolute plans in the works, but they are working on recording some music as well as planning a tour to Canada. However, it’s all up in the air for now as the band will be breaking up relatively soon.
“Luke, our drummer, is leaving to go travel the world,” Soto said. “We don’t know when or if he’ll ever come back, so we’re thinking about starting a new project.”
KK Flory, an avid lover of the Spliff Moth, says she feels very sad about the band’s eventual demise.
“I’m bummed that they’re breaking up because Luke is a great drummer,” she said. “But I’m stoked about the stuff they’ll be doing in the future because they’re all great musicians.”
If you want to hear Spliff Moth, you can go to facebook.com/spliffmothband to get updates on all of their upcoming shows and projects.
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