Month: April 2016

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Ra Ra Riot

After being a band for a decade, it’s easy to get disillusioned with the tedium of adulthood, but Need Your Light, the fourth full-length from RaRa Riot, is the sound of a band being reinvigorated by their own existence. Correspondingly, the album sees the group—which originated in Syracuse but has now dispersed all over the country—getting back to their house party roots without abandoning the more heady soundscapes they explored with 2013’s Beta Love. The result is an album that’s celebratory without being saccharine, and that sees the group collectively mining their prior experiences to craft something that looks toward the future with an optimistic gaze.

The original plan was for the band—which features vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard—to take the first extended break of their career after the year and a half they spent on the road supporting Beta Love. After a few months, however, they couldn’t help themselves from working on new music. “The inspiration came very quickly,” Miles says, explaining that he decided to fly out to Los Angeles to start fleshing out ideas with previous producer Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello). Shortly afterward, the group went on a writing trip to Milwaukee and began the process of creating what would eventually become Need Your Light. To fully realize their vision, RaRaRiot ended up working with a host of previous collaborators, including Ryan Hadlock (who produced 2008’s debut The Rhumb Line); longtime friend and sound engineer Andrew Maury (who co-produced 2010’s The Orchard); and Vampire Weekend producer Rostam (who is also half of the avant garde R&B duo Discovery alongside Miles).

In fact, Rostam and Miles’ approach to that liberating project—which released its debut LPin 2009—helped influence the end result ofNeed Your Light as well. “In January of this year, Wes came to stay with me on the West Coast for five days, and we set out to write songs not knowing where it would take us,” Rostam explains. “There was something I’d heard in Wes’ singing in the earliest days ofRaRa Riot that I felt had never been captured on record.” Influenced by their shared love of U2’s Achtung Baby, the pair spent five days writing the songs “Water” and “I Need Your Light”. “The attitude of these two songs was only able to come because of over ten years of collaboration,” Miles adds. “These two songs were written with no expectations, and wequickly realized that we wanted them to be played live.” So the duo took another week to record bass, drums, guitar and violin in Los Angeles with the full band.

“Working with people we had a history with was comfortable in the sense that it enabled us to continue growing and focus more on the music than relationships,” Santos adds. “ We already trusted everyone.” Additionally, the group collaborated with previous drummer Gabriel Duquette on the track “Bouncy Castle,” and with longtime friend Maury on“ Absolutely,” “ Call Me Out,” and “ Bad Times,”— further expanding the reoccurring theme onNeed Your Light of a band incorporating their past into the future.

Listening to Need Your Light, it’s quickly apparent that the heightened level of experimentation and expansive soundscapes wouldn’t have been possible without the band’s synth-heavy approach to 2013’s Beta Love. This is clearly evident in the opening track “Water,” which starts off with a syncopated groove and minimalist instrumentation before gradually building into a triumphant, 90’s soul call to arms. Alternately, “Bouncy Castle” resides on the opposite side of the sonic-spectrum with its carefree neo-soul refrain. Yet both of the songs were created with the group’s incendiary live performances in mind. “We wanted to make sure all of the songs on this album could be reproduced live because performing has always been our greatest strength and something we felt we got away from with our last record,” Miles says. “A lot of these songs incorporate the same instrumentation we’ve used in the past, but the vibe is somewhere we haven’t gone before, which is exciting.”

Lyrically, Need Your Light parallels the transitional nature of the members’ lives as they enter their thirties and begin leaving Brooklyn to start families without abandoning the band that they’ve spent their lives cultivating. “It’s more of a grown-up record, but with our still invariably raucous attitude,” Miles explains, adding that this evolution was entirely organic. In other words, the aforementioned “ Bouncy Castle” may revolve around an adolescent’s first erection, but it’s not merely an attempt at humor. “On this album we talk about serious things in kind of a funny context, but it’s presented very earnestly,” Santos says. “We really tried to have that type of balance and dichotomy on all of these songs.”

From the carefree, orchestrally tinged vibe of “Absolutely” to the shimmering falsetto pop of “Instant Breakup,” Need Your Light sees the band mining their career to come up with songs that transcend categorization. This ability to get back in touch with their roots was only encouraged by their decision todo a short tour of warehouses and basements late last year before they reentered the studio. The experience reminded them of why they began RaRa Riot in the first place. “Because we started as a house party band, we never wanted to lose sight of having fun and engaging with the audience through visceral live shows,” Santos says.

n the past RaRa Riot have latched onto cerebral concepts like the Singularity or futurism, but with this album they cast a wider net, focusing on everything from sexual relationships to the Challenger explosion. “ It was fun to write songs about Internet affairs and retain a kind of tech-aspect, but it’s much more understated,” Miles explains. The stories are conveyed in such a way that it leaves the listener the chance to attach a more personal meaning to each of the 10 tracks. Whether Miles is singing about something fantastic or mundane, there’s an enduring energy to the songs onNeed Your Light, which illustrates that in many ways, RaRa Riot are still only getting started.

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Jason Derulo

HITS 97.3 Presents ‪#‎HITSSessions‬ Starring Jason Derulo at Revolution Live (official) in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Wednesday night April 27th! The ONLY Way In Is To WIN! This event is 18+

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Santigold

As a solo project with a revolving door of members, the heart and face of Santigold is vivacious frontwoman Santi White. White and John Hill, her former counterpart from ska-punk band Stiffed, use their common backgrounds as production-savvy musicians to make bombastic, bass-oriented songs that fuse punk, reggae, grime, and indie rock with electro. Tribal island rhythms merge with flavorful digital chirps and blips, culminating in an original sound that is comparable to M.I.A. but draws from too many other influences to be considered just another M.I.A. knockoff.

While showcasing her array of vocal styles at a Stiffed show, White was spotted by Martin Heath, who made her an offer to record a solo record on Lizard King, the label responsible for the successful promotion of the Killers. After failed attempts with a few mainstream pop producers, White and Hill(now calling the project Santogold) decided to pair up with a crew of like-minded musicians — includingFreq Nasty, Disco D, Switch, Spank Rock‘s Naeem, Xxxchange, Steel Pulse guitarist Clifford Moonie Pusey, and none other than M.I.A. herself.

In only three weeks, the full-length Creator was completed and scheduled for release in January of 2008, though it took until April for the album (retitled simply Santogold) to actually hit shelves. She spent time supporting headlining acts ranging from Coldplay to Jay-Z for the rest of the year. Then Whitedecided to change the name of the project to Santigold in early 2009 for reasons related to an impending lawsuit from wrestler and “personality” Santo Gold. Although a follow-up under the new name was not immediately forthcoming, she kept busy featuring on tracks by N.A.S.A. (The Spirit of Apollo), Beastie Boys (Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2), andthe Lonely Island (Turtleneck & Chain). She started recording solo again in January 2010. Once the dynamic sophomore follow-up was completed, the release date was delayed when she briefly joined and left Jay-Z‘s Roc-a-Fella Records, but eventually she signed with Atlantic Records, and Master of My Make-Believe was unveiled in April of 2012.

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NOFX

Formed in Berkeley, California, in 1983 and relocating to Los Angeles not long afterwards, NOFX steered clear of major labels and commercial exposure over the course of their career, recording an impressive number of full-length albums plus an assortment of EPs and singles. The band started out as a trio comprised of vocalist/bassist Fat Mike (Mike Burkett), guitarist Eric Melvin, and drummer Erik Sandin (aka Erik Ghint/Erik Shun). Sandin quit in 1985, and his place was taken by Scott Sellers; that same year, NOFX also recorded two 7″ EPs for the Mystic label, No F-X and So What If We’re on Mystic? Sellers quit shortly thereafter and was replaced by Scott Aldahl for only two weeks, at which point Sandin rejoined the band; vocalist Dave Allen also joined in 1986, but his tenure was tragically cut short by a fatal car accident. Dave Casillas joined as a second guitarist later in the year, by which point NOFX’s touring schedule had become far-ranging and rigorous. The EP The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This was released on Fat Mike’s own Fat Wreck Chords label in 1987. Casillas departed the group in 1989 and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller for NOFX’s first full-length album, S&M Airlines, which was released on the legendary punk label Epitaph; the band remained there ever since, despite the release of several albums — such as 1995’s I Heard They Suck Live — and EPs on Fat Wreck Chords, which gradually grew into a premier stable of punk revival artists.

Having appeared on 1990’s Ribbed and 1991’s Liberal Animation (which was actually recorded in 1988), Kidwiller left the band in 1991, and Aaron Abeyta became the permanent second guitarist (as well as trumpeter), adopting the nickname El Hefe. Dragged into the mainstream spotlight by the mid-’90s success of labelmates Bad Religion and the Offspring, NOFX compensated with albums like 1992’s White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean that were even closer to the anti-commercial extreme, exemplified by White Trash’s accompanying single, “Please Play This Song on the Radio,” which lured un-alert radio programmers with a tight melody, but ends with a stream of obscenities. The El Hefe-anchored lineup continued to blossom with 1994’s Punk in Drublic; often regarded as the band’s best, the album was eventually certified gold. Releases on Fat Wreck Chords continued throughout the ’90s, as did the full-length Epitaph albums, like 1996’s grungier, less uptempo Heavy Petting Zoo, 1997’s punkier So Long & Thanks for All the Shoes, and 2000’s Pump Up the Valuum and Bottles to the Ground; the latter album followed an experimental Fat Wreck Chords EP titled The Decline, which consisted entirely of the 18-minute title track. Next up was the Surfer EP, which showcased select sloppy cuts in spring 2001, with the first 500 copies on colored vinyl.

In 2002, NOFX sifted through countless tapes and recording sessions, eventually collecting 47 songs for 45 or 46 Songs That Weren’t Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records. “Pimps and Hookers,” which was the only new song on the album, was recorded in one day. Later that year, BYO Records got the band to release the NOFX/Rancid split album BYO Split Series, Vol. 3. This particular album had Rancid covering six NOFX tracks while NOFX returned the favor by switching up six Rancid songs. The four-song EP Regaining Unconsciousness came out in March 2003 and served as a teaser for May’s The War on Errorism, released on Fat Wreck and littered with political criticisms. Given the band’s outspoken and leftist nature, it was not surprising when they launched Punk Voter, a movement of punk bands that sought to politically empower disenfranchised youth and vote George W. Bush out of office. The organization still remained in action, even after Bush’s 2004 re-election. Back on the music front, NOFX next released the EP Never Trust a Hippy in March 2006, the full-length Wolf in Wolves’ Clothing one month later, and the live album They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live! the following year. The band’s 11th studio album, Coaster, arrived in 2009, paired with a documentary of the band’s international 2008 tour in the form of the Fuse network’s series Backstage Passport. In 2012 NOFX offered up a more self-aware set of songs on their 12th studio album, Self Entitled. A number of singles followed, and were collected on 2013’s Stoke Extinguisher, which featured a new track, as well as the b-sides from the previous years 7″ releases. Fat Mike spent much of 2014 writing songs for a punk rock musical entitled Home Street Home. Along with the rest of NOFX, he collaborated with members of Alkaline Trio, Dance Hall Crashers, The Living End and even Tony Award winning vocalist Lena Hall on the soundtrack, which arrived in early 2015 as the final touches were put on the theatrical production.

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Living Colour

During the 1980s, rock had become completely segregated and predictable, the opposite of the late ’60s/early ’70s, when such musically and ethnically varied artists as Jimi Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone, and Santana ruled the Earth. But bands such as New York’s Living Colour helped break down the doors by the end of the ’80s, leading to a much more open-minded musical landscape that would eventually pave the way for future bands (Rage Against the Machine, Sevendust, etc.). The group (singer Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Muzz Skillings, and drummer Will Calhoun) first formed in the mid-’80s, with Reid being the only member with real prior band experience; he was a member of Ronald Shannon Jackson’s experimental jazz outfit, and had recorded with Defunkt, Public Enemy, as well as issuing a solo album with Bill Frisell, 1984’s Smash & Scatteration.

It took the fledgling band a few years for their sound to gel, as they honed their act at N.Y.C.’s famed CBGB’s. But the group found an unlikely supporter in Mick Jagger, who took the band under his wing, produced a demo for the quartet, and helped them secure a record deal with Epic (just prior, Glover had to take a brief leave of absence from the band, as he landed a role in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War epic movie, Platoon). Living Colour’s debut album, Vivid, was issued in the summer of 1988, yet it would take a few months for momentum to build. By the winter, the band’s striking video for their anthem “Cult of Personality” was all over MTV, pushing Vivid to the upper reaches of the charts and to platinum certification. Living Colour also took home their first of several Grammy Awards, as “Cult” won Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1989 ceremony, and the band supported the release with a string of dates opening stadiums for the Rolling Stones’ first U.S. tour in eight years that autumn.
Starting with Vivid and continuing on future albums, the band showed that rock could still convey a message (as evidenced by such tracks as “Open Letter to a Landlord,” “Funny Vibe,” among others). The quartet regrouped a year later for their sophomore effort, Time’s Up, an album that performed respectably on the charts but failed to live up to the expectations of their smash debut. An appearance at the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in the summer of 1991 kept the group in the public’s eye, as did an EP of outtakes, Biscuits. Skillings left the group shortly thereafter (replaced by studio vet Doug Wimbish), as their darkest and most challenging release yet, Stain, was issued in 1993. Although it failed to sell as well as its predecessors, it retained the band’s large and dedicated following, as Living Colour appeared to be entering an interesting and groundbreaking new musical phase of their career. The band began writing the following year for what would be their fourth full-length, but an inability to settle on a single musical direction caused friction between the members, leading to Living Colour’s demise in early 1995.

In the wake of Living Colour’s split, all of its former members pursued other projects. Reid issued a solo album, 1996’s Mistaken Identity (as well as guesting on other artists recordings), while Glover attempted to launch a career as a solo artist, issuing the overlooked Hymns in 1998 and finding time to appear as a VJ on VH1 and acting in the 1996 movie Loose Women. Calhoun and Wimbish remained together and launched a new outfit, the drum’n’bass-inspired Jungle Funk, who issued a self-titled debut release in 1997 (Wimbish also issued a solo album, Trippy Notes for Bass, in 1999). With Living Colour out of commission for several years by the early 21st century, Calhoun and Wimbish teamed up once more with Glover in a new outfit, Headfake, playing often in the New York City area. A few days before Christmas in 2000, Headfake played a show at CBGB’s, and were joined on-stage by Reid, which led to rumors of an impending Living Colour reunion. The rumors proved to be true, as Living Colour launched their first tour together in six years during the summer of 2001. In 2003, Living Colour returned with a deal with Sanctuary and their most experimental release to date, Collideøscope. Two years later the rarities collection What’s Your Favorite Color? was released, followed by Everything Is Possible: The Very Best of Living Colour in 2006 and the all new Chair in the Doorway in 2009.

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