On August 2nd, Victoria Scalisi passed away after her battle with colorectal cancer. She was best known as the vocalist of Damad, the doomed-out sludge hardcore band who set the tone for the heavy Savannah, GA scene and beyond. She later fronted Karst and, most recently, Lies In Stone. In addition to music, Scalisi also designed cover art for some of her bands' work as well as for Phobia and Unpersons, among others.
While I don't believe I ever met Victoria, I've been a big Damad fan since my late teens. In the following years after their initial break-up, I was fortunate enough to play several shows with bands Phillip and Scott formed after (Kylesa and Chronicle A/D, respectively). For a time recently, it seemed as if I'd finally get to catch Damad live earlier this year on their planned east coast reunion tour. I was looking forward to reconnecting with Phillip and Scott, neither I've seen in many years, and finally meeting this person it seemed everyone talked up, whether it was a tale of her kindness or something of a more entertaining nature (I once, long ago, heard a rumor she was asked to sing for Damad after the other bandmates saw her sing a Slayer song at karaoke. I'm pretty sure this isn't true). Suddenly, I saw the show was cancelled and my tickets had been refunded. I didn't realize until I heard the news Wednesday as to why.
Even if I never got to know her personally, this one feels like a huge loss. From the stories I've been hearing, it seems as if she was a massive mother/big sister figure to many who've met her over the past 25 or so years in the punk scene. To be such an influence to, not only people who know your work, but to those even remotely close to you, is a very special gift. It's nice to see so many got to experience that.
One story I found especially touching came from Eric Nelson (Jack Palance Band, Hidden Spots, Dark Rides, etc etc), likely the biggest sweetheart I've ever met. This is what he wrote and posted on social media, hence the long paragraph format:
"A few weeks ago, A good friend was over at our house. We were sitting out on the porch talking and somehow the conversation turned to an old mutual friend from Savannah GA named Victoria. My friend told me that she recently reconnected with her via internet. My friend told me also that she was very sick. Yesterday, I heard that she passed away. I hadn't talked to her in years. Years. I guess we just fell off of each others radars. Back when we were hanging out there was no social media really and alot of friends just slipped away. The very first time I ever played an out of town show was with my old band Audacity. We went to Savannah and played with Victoria's old band Rogues Gallery. She was our contact and when we got there she found out that we had never left Dalton GA before and became very protective of us. Like she wanted to make sure we had a great experience!! We totally did! Show was great, she bought us food, and we stayed at her place. May seem silly now, but it was the first apartment/house that I'd ever went to that had Christmas lights up in the summer. "Yeah, I like colored lights. So what?!",she said. I have hung colored lights at every place that I've ever lived since then. Time rolled on and we'd see each a couple of times a year, usually on tour (and we would watch her sing in her amazing band, DAMAD) or me and an old buddy, who used to be her roommate, would drive down for the weekend. I've said before that because of punk rock, I got to travel all over the country. But it was really because of her. That first time we went to Savannah, she showed us a community, a possible family that was out there.....we had just realized that we weren't alone. She Affected me. Thank you Victoria. I'm so sorry. Rest easy old friend.❤ My heart goes out to all of the wonderful people who were in her life. I'm so sorry for your loss."
And now, to lighten the mood for a sec, here's a funny one I saw on the internet regarding Damad:
"I remember seeing them in Savannah way back when. At the end of the show they got on Ninja motorcycles and drove away. I remember looking at each other saying 'did that just happen?'"
While I have not heard anything about donations being given for funeral expenses or the likes, there is a GoFundMe you can visit here which Victoria set up months ago to gather funds to recoup hospital costs. My heart and love go out to her family and friends, there's a lot of yall I'm thinking of right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment