Singer Aimee Echo tired of playing with testosterone-filled metal bands last spring and decided it was time for a fresh start.
"While I was in the band called Human Waste Project, we were put on tours that were predominantly filled with macho new metal bands," Echo said during a telephone interview from the top floor of a stone pagoda in a Japanese tea garden in San Antonio. "It got tiresome, and I wanted a change."
Echo hooked up with guitarist Jamie Miller (a founding member of Snot), drummer Scott Ellis and bassist Jeff Jaeger to form The Start, which will open for Incubus at Saltair on Friday, Nov. 9. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available through all Smith'sTix outlets or by calling 467-TIXX (8499).
"We actually had big ideas when we got together," Echo said of the band. "One of them was revolution. But not to take over the world. We were really tired of playing angry songs hour after hour, day after day, month after month. So we decided to take on a new direction."
That new direction is a step into the fun, punky new wave sound that dominated the early 1980s.
"We also wanted to find ways to play with other bands we loved to hear," she said.
That dream came true when the band opened for Weezer at the E Center on Sept. 17. In addition to Weezer and The Start, the doom and gloom band Cold was on the bill.
"It was an amazing tour for us," Echo said. "(Weezer leader) Rivers Cuomo really had big aspirations. And for the most part he pulled it off."
The part that didn't go so well was Cold. The band dropped off the tour shortly after the E Center gig.
"I think the Weezer fans were too ruthless," Echo said. "They wanted happy fun songs like Weezer's and ours, but they booed Cold every chance they could get. I feel Weezer fans are like Slayer fans, but in the opposite, like a picture negative."
Still, for Echo, The Start has been gradually gaining momentum, and things are going the way she wants.
"It was a fun tour with Weezer, and now we're opening for Incubus," she said. "I've known these guys for years, and it's great to see how they have slowly made a name for themselves. They've turned into one lovely little band. I hope that's what we'll get to do as The Start."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com