Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Curtright.
Hi Sarah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Behind the formation of STRICTMACHINE is a decades old vision that drummer and founding member Sarah Curtright had as a teenager of one day being a drummer in a heavy rock band. In 2013, in between surfing for SDSU and raising two kids, she started teaching herself how to play drums in her garage to influential bands Nirvana, Silversun Pickups, ASG, and Muse. In 2021 at the age of 38, she moved her drums into a rehearsal room at Phaser Control Studios, determined to start a band. Finding band members was the next step of the process, and co-founding member and guitarist Patrick Smith was added. Immediately the two forged a bond of friendship centered around a love for Southern metal riffs, and the sound of the band started taking shape. Eli Haddad joined the band as the lead vocalist with a back ground in EU power metal, and shortly afterwards Chris Callan came on board as the bassist.
STRICTMACHINE played their first show in September 2024 and has run a string of shows since at local music venues playing with local favorites such as Owl Be Damned, Holy Tears, 16, and Dark Alley Dogs.
Currently the band is in studio with Timothy Joseph and Patrick Heaney recording their EP at Phaser Control Studios, one of the few professional recording studios in the city.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was quite a feat to get the band up and running. Sarah had never been in a band before, let alone managed one and it took an immense amount of perseverance and vision to stay the course with finding the right band members. Getting people in the door was easy enough, but the right personality mixes are important. We were fortunate to run into Chris at the Casbah and he has been looking for a heavy band to join. He was a great fit immediately and an excellent player.
Unless you are in the band world, it’s hard to understand the difficulties of getting four people to commit to the same vision and show up time and time again to practice. No one is getting paid, families are at home, but the love for creating music is a powerful driver. There are band fights, band parties, it’s really a brotherhood truly when everyone meshes well. That’s one of the best things about it, everyone’s unique personalities come into the room and together the music they make is a representation of each individual. Its an incredible symbiosis.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
STRICTMACHINE has a unique heavy edge to it. Yes, we technically are a metal band but would be classified as alt-metal or even grunge metal. Our vocalist Eli has an incredibly powerful voice reminiscent of David Coverdale or Dio. He has spent decades in the EU power metal scene honing his craft and brings a unique touch to the San Diego music scene.
While many heavy bands in San Diego tend to gravitate towards metalcore, STRICTMACHINE tends to shape shift a bit, fitting on bills with genres like post-hardcore, psych metal, indie, and surf punk. This fluidity lends to being listener friendly, and inclusive within the core of the San Diego music scene.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Glam rock and grunge seems to be the next trend in the music scene here. Bands like 12 Gauge Trixie and Doll Riot are setting the stage for the next gen. There’s also a real demand for female rockers; it’s encouraging to see the excitement the local scene has for women in bands. Everyone wants to see powerful women crushing drums or guitar these days- positions that are normally relegated to men. More and more musicians are recording their own music due to rising costs and low pay, but nothing beats the sound of a professional studio. It will be interesting to see how professional studios holdout over the next decade, as more technology comes out enabling amateurs access to higher quality production.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Strictmachinesd
Image Credits
David Blood
Trent Kitts
