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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Scatterbox’s latest work is short, sweet


Scatterbox brings punk-thrash to The Detour at 6:30 tonight.
 (Photo courtesy of Scatterbox / The Spokesman-Review)

The longest song Scatterbox has ever recorded runs a little over four minutes.

It was a total fluke. Everything else in the punk-metal quintet’s catalog barely clocks out at three minutes.

Scatterbox’s latest release, 2003’s “Infection III,” lasts 22 minutes – all 11 tracks of it.

“We never know how long our songs are going to be, but they’re always under three minutes,” said Scott Rozell, drummer for Scatterbox. “If it goes forever, you might lose audience. I guess I just have a short attention span.”

The crunchy punk syncopation may come in short bursts, but Scatterbox has earned a strong following in the local music scene since forming a couple of years ago.

Scatterbox brings its hard-and- fast punk-thrash to The Detour, 175 S. Monroe, tonight at 6:30 p.m. Other bands on the bill include locals and hardcore punks The Show Bombers, young punkers Kickenkunt and Portland’s Valid Effort. There is a $5 cover.

This is Scatterbox’s first Spokane show since its tour along the West Coast this summer.

Scatterbox takes the outdoor stage Saturday at 1:45 p.m. at the all-day Ear Fest music festival at The Long Ear record shop, 2405 N. Fourth St., in Coeur d’Alene (see Nightwatch on page 7 for a full schedule).

“We’re trying to tour as much as we can,” Rozell said. “There’s nothing like playing at home. We get an amazing turnout when we play here, but we get a better reception in larger cities, and that was only our second long trip out of the area.”

Scatterbox’s high-energy punk rock is ideally heard in front of an equally high-energy all-ages crowd. But with no true all-ages venue in Coeur d’Alene, it has to rely on building its fan base in Spokane.

“Coeur d’Alene really has no music scene. There are a lot of bands but not many places to play. It’s mostly about the bars,” Rozell said. “All-ages shows in Coeur d’Alene are rare events that happen mostly in the summer. We can get a handful of people to come to our Spokane shows from Coeur d’Alene. But people in Spokane who go to bars aren’t there to hear music. Our best crowds are younger crowds.”