Otep Aims to Unleash Madness and Genius in TC

Aug. 18, 2004

Streeter’s Ground Zero will host the heaviest night of music that Northern Michigan will hear in the summer of 2004 on Friday, August 20. Headliners Hatebreed will be bringing the core of that sound, and their friends in Otep, DevilDriver and Throwdown will also be appearing.
Otep is one of the highlights of the heavy rock show, and the band features something rather unusual in the realm of hard music: a female vocalist.
“Once I broke through the gates, it became a lonely place not only because of my gender, but the overall environment,” vocalist Otep Shamaya says. She fancies herself a poet and says that she is a conductor for the muses.
On Otep’s current album “House of Secrets,” the band decided to record with producer Greg Wells, who has produced for the Deftones and Michelle Branch. “For this record I wanted to conspire with a really creative producer who not only could write music but was willing to test the limits of it. I met Greg and within five minutes I knew I wanted to work with him... and it’s been the best creative experience I’ve ever had,” Otep says.
According to the band, “House of Secrets” is even louder, angrier and more aggressive than Otep’s debut “Sevas Tra,” but at the same time it is also more inventive. “I wanted extremes on both ends; I wanted to unleash madness and genius; I wanted to challenge right now, who I am at this moment, at this time. For art to be successful you have to make yourself vulnerable. In this industry lots of people are afraid to be thought of as weak; my only fear is not being creative,” Otep says.
Tickets for the show can be purchased at Streeter’s or at Square Deal Country Store for $15, and only those 18 and up gain entrance with proper ID.
Hatebreed’s latest release is “The Rise of Brutality,” while DevilDriver (featuring Dez Fafara, formerly of Coal Chamber) is touring behind their debut self-titled album and Throwdown’s newest is “Haymaker.” All four of the bands are currently touring with Ozzfest and have been given slots on the second stage, but will be taking a day off from the festival to appear in Traverse City.