The tulip is a vibrant, luscious, spring-blooming perennial flower that is seen as an indication that spring has sprung, the dark, cold days of winter are ended, and the promise of renewal has been fulfilled. Along similar lines, the vibrant, potent, and memorable music created by Texas-based symphonic metal band Tulips shares many of these traits.
It is a harbinger of a new form of metal, but more specifically and more significantly, it is a metaphor for the blossoming on a personal and creative level of the two principal creative forces in the band, vocalist/songwriter Ashleigh Semkiw and her husband, guitarist/songwriter Colin Parrish.
The band’s self-titled five-song EP is infused with deeply resonant melodies, enough crunching chords and blazing solos to please the most ardent of metal adherents, topped off by powerfully introspective and revelatory lyrics and exceptionally moving and commanding vocals of Semkiw herself.
Boasting a host of influences, from traditional Scandinavian symphonic metal to the film scores of Hans Zimmer, and with touches of modern industrial and the chugging rhythms of bands like Meshuggah, Tulip is set to burst out of the dusty confines of the American southwest and into the hearts and minds of metal lovers everywhere with the recent release of their debut EP, which was produced by noted veteran producer Troy Glessner (Disturbed, Devin Townsend, New Found Glory).
There is profound meaning to the band’s name, beyond the floral reference. TULIP is used as an anagram otherwise know as the Five Points of Calvinism, a strict Protestant Christian sect, which has millions of adherents around the world and from which Semkiw and Parrish bolted a few years ago for the sultry climes and freer lifestyle of Argyle, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.
The name of the band, the title of each song {the first letter of each, spell out Tulip) and the lyrics contained therein is in reference to Semkiw and Parrish’s story of love, ostracism, escape, and sense of freedom that mirrors the journey the couple as taken over the past few years. The song titles are Total, Unconditional, Limited, Irresistible and Perseverance. For Calvinists, the letters represent Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Preservation of the Saints.
“This EP was one of the most personal things that we have ever written, because we had just been excommunicated from our church. Each letter of TULIP stands for a terrifying idea about God under Calvinism, so we found that was actually kind of a perfect backdrop to write lyrics from, especially for metal. A lot of the lyrics I wrote open-endedly talk about what happened to us, and also, they mix within them some scripture, and some Puritan poems, which are also really terrifying on their own. The next EP will be a continuation sort of, on themes of mysteries of the universe. You will be able to tell who I am writing about in some of those songs. I want to be as open and honest and vulnerable with listeners as possible. That’s the best way to connect, especially in today’s world when we’re all so disconnected,” said Semkiw.
“That’s our daughter in the video for Total. She was loosely representing me as a child, so I am carrying her through the garden, which is sort of a Garden of Eden reference. It was the first song that we wrote and it’s exactly what I am singing about; our world is on fire, and we were these now fallen people and we never wanted to be thought of that way, especially by our former faith community. Total Depravity is how they thought of us, they felt the level of sin that we indulged in because we wanted to divorce our spouses and be together, was depraved.”
Limited sees Semkiw tackling the long-held, rigid Calvinist doctrine of Limited Atonement, otherwise know as pre-destination.
“It’s pretty messed up when you break it down. It says that God chooses who he chooses to save, and it’s finite. So, from the beginning of time he has chosen who he has chosen, and if you’re on the list good for you. And if not, too bad – there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s such a weird concept that we were raised with and that we always believed in,” she said.
“I wanted to deconstruct that idea. I started thinking about the people in our life who helped us in that time in our life and it was obviously no one from the Christian community. It was all our, surprise surprise, secular friends. Our friends became our family at that time, and that’s sort of what this song is about. In the bridge it’s saying you are going to die one day and asking, ‘am I going to burn forever?’ And that’s a legitimate question. I cried and cried over it for months. In our faith community you are raised in such a way that it is indoctrination. We have four kids between us, and we are fighting with our ex-spouses, so they don’t teach them that.
“You can get a child to believe anything if you tell them they’re going to burn in hell for all eternity. It still keeps me up at night sometimes, because I still have that backlog of fear from being four years old and learning about that concept. That’s what Limited is about. I admit, it’s not an uplifting song, but there are moments in it that are, especially when I am referencing people who helped us out.”
Parrish is originally from Waterloo and Semkiw from Oakville, and the couple moved to Texas less than a year ago, with Tulip forming in the fall of 2018. Texas was one of number of options available as Parrish is a consulting engineer by day and had his pick of transfer locations. They chose the warmth of Texas, which is not only in reference to the weather, but the welcome they have received since taking up residence in the Lonestar State.
“We always have this conversation with our Canadian friends about this place being full of gun-toting rednecks. Certainly, if you went way out in the sticks you would probably find people like that. But around what we call the Metroplex, which is the equivalent of the GTA down here in Dallas, it’s very multicultural. It’s more libertarian than conservative. It’s more about live and let live and people don’t get on each other’s nerves about stuff. Its very welcoming, and there is a lot of art, culture and music,” said Parrish.
It is frightening to hear of the harrowing ‘escape’ the couple had to make from their homes, leaving so much behind, and losing so much because they were simply in love, and the cognitive and spiritual rigidity of their former faith would not allow for such sentiments or such freedom.
“We’d given everything to this community and within a day we were completely cast out. Honestly, it was like Scientology. You are ostracised and it was like we were being followed. I had elders at my house at all hours of the day and night. We were sent registered mail; everything you can imagine from a movie, and then some, it happened to us – for real. And we were leaders in that community and we just wanted to be together and get divorced. We were both married young, because that was what was expected of you. I was married at 22 and Colin was married at 20, and I don’t think anyone has any business in today’s society getting married that young. We both felt the pressure of the community because you can’t live together, you can’t sleep together, the puritanical nature is so strong. You can’t even date. We met each other later in life and if we were in any other community, we would have broken up with our spouses and been together,” said Semkiw.
“As a woman, as a wife and mother, you’re encouraged not to work. You’re encouraged not to have your own life. You’re encouraged to get married and have children, and your place is in the house, and that should be your greatest blessing and your greatest joy. You should never complain about that kind of thing. I am very grateful for my children and do feel very lucky to be in my home now, but what they were preaching wasn’t enough for me. It might be enough for some women; it wasn’t enough for me. I am an artist, which was also something that was discouraged. As Colin and I started to get together, I kept getting rhetoric that I wasn’t ‘released’ by my husband, so I couldn’t go anywhere or be with anyone else. It’s so medieval.”
“We have run into a few people who want to talk about our story. The band is still in its infancy, so we don’t have a huge reach at this point, but that is part of our motivation for doing it too. Obviously, we love creating music, and that’s our primary motivation. But secondarily, we just want to have a platform to talk about this stuff,” added Parrish.
“We were both vilified through this whole thing, but especially Ashleigh as a woman. There are so many young girls growing up in that sort of atmosphere who just feel trapped. A man? Yeah, I am a villain in this narrative to some degree, but at least I had enough autonomy to be able to walk away at some point. But the dependency that’s created in these communities between husbands and wives and families and children, as a woman you feel really stuck.”
So, fittingly, the EP ends with the song Perseverance, which is the conclusion of that tumultuous chapter of the journey – a hopeful, humanizing and happy note on which to end what is a remarkable life and musical episode. It is a testament to the courage, fortitude and the love the pair have for one another that they are able to look forward with such optimism and joy. And it is reflected so much in the bands, energized, lush production throughout the entirety of the EP.
“We had days where it was like the lowest of the low – psychological and spiritual warfare of the worst kind. We just can’t believe how free and happy we feel and are now. The only thing we regret is not doing it sooner, which is what everyone we meet says who is on the other side of it as we are,” said Parrish.
Besides Semkiw and Parrish, Tulip is comprised of Canadians (who still live in Ontario) Brandon White and Ryan Claxton.
“We’re in the midst of finishing up recording our full length, which we hope to have out later in the fall. Basically, I wrote everything from an instrumental perspective. I don’t do the orchestrations until Ashleigh is done with the vocals and melodies, just so I don’t end up stepping on her toes. I will give her the instrumental tracks with drums, guitar, bass and keyboards and then she has a blank canvas for lyrics and melodies,” Parrish explained.
“With the other guys in the band, Brandon is a really talented guitar player, more so than I am, to be frank. So, he is going to take care of the solos and the lead duties on the album. Ryan is going to play the drum parts, mostly as written but he also has some leeway in terms of adding his own kind of flair to the parts. The drums you hear on the Tulip EP are just programmed, but we’re going to have Ryan track his parts for the album. When we play live together, its an amazing sound.”
Although the band is new, each of the players has vast experience as touring and performing artists, with Semkiw, being a noted operatic vocalist for a number of years. The band is set to do a run of shows in North America, opening for Swedish melodic metallers Evergrey starting Aug. 23 in Los Angeles, and ending in Toronto at the Velvet Underground on Sept. 8.
For more information on Tulip, the new EP, the forthcoming album or tour dates, visit https://wearetulip.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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