Assassinate The Scientist

from volume 03 issue 10

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Words: Joel Mora

It was a special moment for bassist and singer Nick Sessions and the rest of Gainesville punk band Assassinate The Scientist when they sat down with Less Than Jake’s Roger Manganelli to plan an EP that Manganelli agreed to produce.

“It is really weird to think about me being 15, just playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and listening to this Less Than Jake song and being like, ‘this band is awesome,’” says Sessions. “And then have someone from that band show so much excitement for our band.”

For guitarist and singer Gary Kreitzer, the most mind-blowing part is that it was only a year ago when he and drummer Roger Cohen joined forces with Sessions to form the heavy pop-punk trio.

“We were just going to give the songs all away for free,” Kreitzer says. “We had no intention of being signed. We played two shows with nobody and then our buddy put us on a Voodoo Glow Skulls bill and we were going to give it away for free.”

But when Assassinate The Scientist put seven songs on MySpace, they received a call the same day from Gainesville label Fail Safe Records asking them to take the songs down and record a full-length album.

“We jumped at every opportunity we had with such childlike excitement,” Sessions says.

The band credits their success and sound to the community of bands and affiliated labels in Gainesville.

“When I started listening to punk music, I started listening to a lot of West Coast mid-’90s skate punk, and I liked it a lot,” says Sessions. “When I was 15, I went to a Today Doesn’t Count show and ever since then that vocal style completely captivated me.”

Kreitzer adds, “I’m more freaked out when I’m in the same room with one of those underground bands from when I was a kid than I was when Roger said he wanted to record us.”

The band’s sound is a powerful force founded on Cohen’s hard double-hitting drums and Sessions’ bass runs, coupled with the southern-style guitar solos coming from Kreitzer. The vocals are the sounds of anger, despair and a lot of whiskey, but they balance it with their up-tempo style. The lyrics stretch from Kreitzer’s freestyling in “Garfield” to Sessions’ tales of radio mystery shows in “Desperate in the Country.”

“If I could be a novelist, I’d be so happy, but I can’t do it,” says Sessions. “I only have the discipline to smash it into a three-minute thing.”

With Manganelli’s knowledge and experience, the new songs sound much tighter and fuller. Assassinate The Scientist’s short-term goal is to promote these songs, and try to conquer the Southeast.

The long-term goal, Kreitzer states with passion, “is just kicking ass, because I think we are. I’m not ashamed to say that.”