Louis, Carrie, Kaleen and Nova of The Amputees
Two years ago, I decided to say hello to three new people every day for a month. One of those people was Carrie of The Amputees. When I mentioned I was seeking a guitar teacher for my daughter, she suggested her husband, Louis Ramos, who soon incorporated my daughter, Nova, into the band.
Louis said the formation of the band was “like a weird series of events. A guy upstairs gave me an 8 track-recording machine and my father in law gave me a guitar. It was beyond my control. It just happened.”
“When Nova came for lessons, I knew she could sing,” said Louis. “I wrote these songs around what I thought her voice would sound like. As soon as she opened her mouth it was perfect with the songs. I thought she’d be perfect with the band.”
“Then when I met Kaleen and I saw her play with Misstallica,” said Louis, “at one point she got so excited that she stood up while she was playing and I thought, wow, she should be in my band.”
The Amputees bandmembers are Louis Ramos, Carrie Ramos, Kaleen Reading, Geena Spigarelli, Gary Young and Nova. John Meredith of the Mollusk Studio has helped bring the music to life in their recording sessions.
Cover Art for Scream by Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females
“Everybody who I want in the band is in it,” said Louis. “And Marissa Paternoster from Screaming Females is doing the art for the upcoming 7 inch “Scream” which is amazing cause we’re all big fans.”
Although The Amputees are featured on a Garage Punk website, their music is not easy to define by genre.
“It’s punk in essence because it’s kind of do what you want,” said Nova.
The Amputees’ upcoming 7-inch record, Scream, boasts five rock songs, ranging from the frenetic King Jubs through the rollicking Beaner about bassist Geena, and the haunting Holden, which was inspired by Catcher in the Rye.
“At the very end of the book, Holden says you better not tell anyone anything because when you tell people things you’ll start to miss them,” Nova said. “That’s why I say at the end of the song, “If I tell you I’ll miss you.””
The Amputees have 400 followers on Facebook, although Louis claims that not all of them are fans.
“Some are fake,” he said. “Prosthetic limb factories and amputee fetish people.”
Some people have criticized the band’s name and some of their lyrics and images.
“I got accused of having a bad message,” said Louis. “When I put up the video of Commence the Slaughter, somebody wrote to me and said this is vile which I thought was a great comment.”
Louis Ramos, Gary Young, Geena Spigarelli, Carrie Ramos, Kaleen Reading and Nova
“The best part for me is that the people in the band are my closest friends,” said Louis. “Music is what started it, but it’s gone beyond music.”
The Amputees next concert is Kaleen’s birthday bash at Don Pedro’s on March 23rd. All are welcome.