ARTS DEVO: Severance Package has sharpened its scissors

By Jason Cassidy - jasonc@newsreview.com

Lately, I Keep Scissors In these stinky times, if the shit’s gonna keep hitting the fan, do we cut the damn cord or start nicking some of the monkeys who keep flinging turds at everything that moves?

Severance Package’s scissors are sharpened and ready to slice, and the Chico garage-punk power trio has created the “unfriending anthem of the century” to serve as the soundtrack to cutting the BS out of our lives. “Scissors Gonna Cut Ya” is the just-released first single from the band’s new album (coming this summer), and to properly introduce the sassy, riffy, damn catchy raver to a drama-weary world, the band teamed up with local animator/filmmaker Josh Funk to create a video for it.

The key word there is “create,” because Funk crafted his own little meticulously edited animated world with a video with characters that look like living, rocking paper dolls. Funk filmed the band members (vocalist/bassist Robin Indar, guitarist/vocalist Josh Indarand drummer Mike Erpino) and a few familiar locals (Claire Meehan, Katie Norris, Claire Fong and Moshin’ Dave), all decked out like bee-hived characters from John Waters’ version of the 1950s and then cut them out and placed them against various animated environments. It’s really impressive, and all the cutting (hey, I see what he did there) matches the song’s herky-jerky energy.

Best Local Act!

See it for yourself for the first time at the band’s video-release party this Friday (April 7) at the Maltese. Funk will be on hand for back slaps and congratulatory shots, and Severance Package, The Empty Gate and new Chico crew Licky Lips (playing their first show), will be rock ’n’ rollin’.