Saifa is a progressive hard rock band – Tony Aiello ...



Saifa is a progressive hard rock band — Tony Aiello (guitar), Bob Oakes (bass), Scott Friends (vocals) and Ed St. George (drums). The melodious, seemingly harmless name masks a hidden aggressive nature that also describes our musical style. Our sound blends heavy textures with atypical time signatures and complex chord progressions, forming the basis for energetic and thought-provoking songwriting.

Saifa started in July 2001. Tony and Bob had been playing music together since college, with Bob on drums. Searching for a like-minded rock vocalist, Tony and Scott fatefully answered each other's ads. Seduced by the harmonic possibilities, Bob moved onto bass and Ed was recruited on drums. And four months later, Saifa was advancing into the semifinals of Budweiser’s WAAF/ Matt's Music Battle of the Bands, the first battle we ever entered. Saifa has also been the catalyst in bringing a new club in Somerville onto the Boston scene, by handling bookings, specifying and installing the PA, and even building the stage. In June 2002, Saifa released our debut EP, Dislocate. The material was recorded and produced mostly at Prism Sound Studios from December 2001 through April 2002. The EP features the single "Myles" about the unsolved heist of priceless artwork from Boston's Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum. Dislocate also includes two tracks done in our own home studio, the Fun House.

Fans have said that they hear elements of artists such as Tool, Rush, Queensryche, Dream Theater, System of a Down, and Steve Vai from Saifa. In Boston, Saifa's music has been dubbed "intelligent Berklee rock but with more soul." Other reviews include:

• “The lyrics are moody and thought-provoking, and their arrangements unique. They're not going to pander to you by playing junk-food rock and roll; this is roughage, and you'll like every last bite.” - Jonas Cox, Cheap Shot Productions

• “These guys are really good at what they do... lotta good heavy riffs... Tony kicks on guitar when he gets in the groove... if you're into heavy concept kinda metal, then this is your band to keep an eye on…” - Chris-cah, Musclecah

• “Scott has a great voice… they had some cool 'metal' sh*t going on… the singer gets the award for crowd interaction.” - T. Maciag, CHUG

Our short-term goal is to continue playing clubs in the New England area and getting national radio airplay while expanding our fan base as wide as possible. Towards that end:

• We regularly promote gigs with ads in: The Weekly Dig (The Din), SoundCheck, The Noise, The Phoenix (Stuff at Night), and NE Performer.

• We keep our schedule up to date on , , and . We also post bulletins at , , , , TheNoise-, and . Our website Saifa- logs ~100+ new hits per month.

• And we promote via an active email list and by postering the local music stores such as Mars, Guitar Center and Newbury Comics.

Oh, and by the way… Saifa is pronounced “sigh – fa”. Figured you might be wondering about that.

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