Listen to This: March and Beauty Celebrate Friday the 13th by Covering “Scary Monsters”
Austin rock foursome spins a fun and spooky tribute to David Bowie
By Kevin Curtin, 12:05PM, Fri. Aug. 13, 2021
On this most cursed of calendar dates, Friday the 13th, it seems fitting to share March and Beauty’s spooked-out cover of “Scary Monsters.”
The track arrives as the B-side of the Austin indie rock quartet’s David Bowie tribute, having released a version of “Heroes” yesterday. March and Beauty’s spin on the 1981 single hits comparatively melodic, animated, and punchy – reminiscent of how Blondie might have handled the track.
The band of Austin rock veterans took to the studio in early 2021 to record both songs, with Spencer Gibb handing production. Around that same time, lead vocalist Terri Dittmar, who’s spouse Tim Dittmar anchors the group on drums, received a shocking breast cancer diagnosis and was set to undergo chemotherapy. March and Beauty persevered and channeled the situation’s intensity into what became a delightful creative experience.
“The recording turned out to be so fun,” recalls Tim Dittmar. “When Terri was recording her harmony parts with a vocoder, we just couldn’t stop laughing. As we were making it, ‘Scary Monsters' started to sound like a song that would be in a kids monster movie – it was real playful.”
The Bowie composition, detailing one woman’s descent into madness and disassociation from society, feels appropriate amongst the mental crush of another COVID-19 surge – something Dittmar acknowledges.
“The scary monsters to us right now are COVID, [Terri] going through cancer, and the state of Texas politics,” he says. “But we turned that into fun and instead of darkness and madness.”
Check out March and Beauty’s send up of “Scary Monsters” here:
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March 29, 2024
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March and Beauty, Tm Dittmar, Terri Dittmar, David Bowie, Scary Monsters