TO BE HONEST I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH RX BANDITS` WORK
UNTIL I GOT YOUR LAST ALBUM THE RESIGNATION. AND IT WON
MY HEART IMMEDIATELY. SO I DECIDED TO DO THIS INTERVIEW
BECAUSE IT IS ANOTHER WAY TO DISCOVER YOUR BAND. SO, LET`S
USE THIS CHANCE TO MEET THE OTHER SIDE OF RX BANDITS.
WHO ARE THE "BANDITS"?
|
RxBandits is Steve Borth:sax,
vocals / Steve Choi:guitar, keys / Matt Embree:guitar,
lead vocals / Chris Sheets:trombone, vocals / Joe Troy:bass
/ Chris Tsagakis:drums
|
TO UNDERSTAND RX BANDITS WE SHOULD
KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOUR PAST AS MUSICIANS. IT SEEMS
LIKE YOU HAVE HAD AND STILL HAVE MANY DIFFERENT SIDE PROJECTS?
|
Indeed. We are all in other projects
from time to time as it is almost impossible to satisfy
everything that is dormant in our souls creatively with
only one outlet. SEEKRET SOCYETEE is one, SATORI as well
and you can check out most of `em right now @ www.mdbrecords.com
. It is basically a musical collective hatched by members
of RXBANDITS.
|
SO, IS RX BANDITS YOUR "MAIN"
BAND, SOMETHING THAT YOU ENJOY THE MOST WHILE PLAYING
BOTH LIVE AND IN STUDIO?
|
RXBANDITS is definitely our "main"
band as of right now. It is a vessel for traveling the
Earth, meeting and interacting with new people and also
for satisfying financial ends.
|
I WOULD LIKE TO GET BACK TO THE
RESIGNATION, YOUR LATEST ALBUM. IT IS YOUR FOURTH ALBUM
AND I DON`T FEEL TOO COMPETENT TO COMPARE IT TO YOUR PREVIOUS
WORK, BUT FOR ME IT`S QUITE A REVELATION. WHERE HAVE YOU
BEEN UNTIL NOW? DID YOU HAVE ENOUGH MEDIA SUPPORT WITH
PREVIOUS ALBUMS?
|
| There has been little to no media
support with any album. Mainly because in order to facilitate
those responses you almost always are required to sacrifice
some part of your integrity as a band. For us personally
we want to offer our words and music as honestly as possible.
We are not willing to take on corporate sponsors or logos
in return for more advertising or endorsements. For us
it just seems like totally unpertainable to music, to
do a thing like that. Our music, and other music with
a positive message, will be heard almost always due to
a major word of mouth push because some people just want
to hear something real, that they can relate to, and will
look for it. |
…AND ARE YOU SATISFIED
WITH WHAT`S BEEN DONE AND WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS WITH
THE RESIGNATION?
|
| We didn't ever really have any
expectation with The resignation and due to that I believe
the only feeling that could have manifested itself was
that of satisfaction. It is an honest depiction of the
members, their musical influences and emotions, and of
the time. |
WHY THE RESIGNATION? I DIDN`T
GET IMPRESSION THAT YOU ARE RESIGNATED. I THINK YOU ARE
MORE PISSED OFF OR EVEN MAD ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN
THE WORLD TODAY?
|
| The title of the record is really
up to the listener to interpret for themselves. It has
very much to do with the world, as everything does, and
the surrounding climate. |
I CAN`T HELP MYSELF TO ASK YOU
ABOUT LYRICS SINCE I FEEL LIKE THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT
SIDE OF WHAT YOU DO AS A BAND. THERE ARE SO MANY SOCIALLY
ENGAGED LYRICS. SO, MATT, IS IT YOU WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR LYRICS AND WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR SUCH
EMOTIONALLY CHARGED LYRICS?
|
| I am indeed the main lyricist
though Chris Sheets wrote lyrics to one tune as well.
I personally find inspiration to write from everyday life
more than anything else. It is almost impossible for me
to conceive that from reading the news, or books or watching
stop and go traffic or the sunset or what have you, that
one would not be inspired to write something. The lyrics
reflect where I am emotionally and physically in that
time in my life. They tend to be socially charged and
emotional because society and politics are what interests
me. I feel as though I have been given a tiny opportunity
to possibly influence the lives of others and I want to
convey honest emotion as well as possibly create a catalyst
to critical thinking. |
AND YOUR MUSIC IS SOMETHING REALLY
REFRESHING SINCE YOU DIDN`T OBEY TO MODERN TRENDS AND
BIG MUSICAL BUSINESS DEMANDS. SOMEHOW IT`S VERY RETRO
BUT IN THE SAME TIME PACKAGED IN NEW PRODUCTION`S ENVELOPE.
THEY COMPARED YOU TO REEL BIG FISH, BUT I WOULD DARE TO
SAY THAT IT`S THE POLICE WITH PUNK ATTITUDE, WOULD YOU
AGREE?
|
I think our music is definitely
closer to The Police than Reel Big Fish though market
analysts will put a label on anything if it means to sell
more records. We identify greatly with the early punk
bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Subhumans, just
the whole vibe of singing about something definitive,
making cultural criticism, asking questions both subjective
and objective. Our music has always had a root in dance,
which is why we have maintained a ska/reggae undertone
throughout every record. I feel that it is incredibly
important with music that the listener is excited by the
primal physicality of music as well as the mental.
|
| IS IT DIFFICULT TO WORK IN A
BAND WHERE YOU HAVE SIX VERY GOOD MUSICIANS KNOWING THAT
IT CAN BE VERY PROBLEMATIC TO FIND A COMMON GROUND ABOUT
IDEA FOR A SONG? |
| It can be difficult at times I
will agree. However with any organization of like minded
individuals you must come to an agreement about where
you want your music to go, what feelings to convey, and
the basic generality of how it will be executed. We have
all known each other for years and our small disputes
have long since been alleviated. We try to run the band
as directly and democratic as possible as it can only
hurt the group when miscommunication is rendered. |
| THERE IS A STRONG AND ORIGINAL
ARTISTIC APPROACH ON COVER FOR YOUR LATEST CD. IF I UNDERSTOOD
CORRECTLY, ONE OF YOUR BAND`S MEMBERS IS AN ARTIST. DID
HE DO THE ARTWORK? |
| No. I think you are talking about
Chris Tsagakis who is indeed an artist and an amazing
one at that. Aaron Nagel did the art for The Resignation.
He is a good friend and was gracious enough to help us
out by contributing his expression as well. |
THERE IS DVD INCLUDED ON YOUR
NEW ALBUM. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT IT?
|
It is basically just a sampler
of the full length DVD that we put out on our own record
label, MashDownBabylon. It includes an acoustic session
and some pictures.
|
| I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE CONFLICT
BETWEEN ART & COMMERCE. WHAT`S YOUR VIEW ON HOW THE
NEED TO MAKE MONEY AFFECTS ART? DO YOU LET IT AFFECT ON
YOU? |
| The need to make money and the
need to stay creative and, moreover, honest about your
creation constantly conflict. I think a lot of bands feel
that pressure, especially if they are involved in the
punk scene because in the past ten years I feel like punk
has become a prominent commodity, capable of making bands
rich and famous, even elevating them to a somewhat pop-star
status. "Punk" bands now write pop songs while
maintaining the "punk" image of defiance (spiked
hair, chains, studs etc.) and thus capitalizing off of
the predominantly adolescent market who is seeking an
identity that doesn't relate to their parents but doesn't
cause them to change their convenient lifestyle. I don't
consider bands like that to be "punk" because
to me punk was never defined by appearance or sound but
by attitude. Songs about nothing which are riddled with
pop-culture references, processed and packaged and than
sold to the commercial "sub-culture" are just
straight pop in my opinion. Nothing like a plastic revolution
to make a few bucks..... RXBANDITS personally want nothing
to do with that scene. We unfortunately are commonly associated
with it because of there affiliation with DRIVE-THRU RECORDS
who has over the years spawned many of the bands that,
indirectly or directly, helped with the over commercialization
and commodification of "punk". We just play
honest music that is true to the moment and more importantly,
ourselves. In that regard money has never affected the
shape of our art. |
| HOW MODERN TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS
YOUR WORK. THERE ARE HUGE OPPORTUNITIES WITH INTERNET
USE, BUT IN THE SAME TIME IT`S A REAL THREAT TO RECORD
COMPANIES? HOW DO YOU FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY? IS PUTTING
DVD WITH REGULAR CD ONE OF THE WAYS TO MOTIVATE LISTENERS
TO BUY ORIGINAL RELEASES? |
| Actually a very recent study came
out linking the numeration of downloads in direct cooperation
with record sales. Basically the study concluded that
the more songs pirated from the artist the more records
sold. Check it out under the words section on mdbrecords.com.
I think the majority of companies who have been hurt by
this are major labels who bank on a pretty package and
a marketing scheme. When people download a record which
was basically built around 2 singles and the rest of the
songs suck than people are much less likely to buy that
record. Adversely when a record which has little or no
promotion is randomly discovered and downloaded and is
good, the record will most likely be bought and recommended
because people generally want to support more obscure
artists, especially if they dig the tunes. In addition
cd's are sold for such ridiculous prices in record stores
that as a whole I think the independent music scene (which
usually charge much less) is benefiting from the downloads.
I feel like it is more of direct capitalism, you wouldn't
buy a bicycle if you couldn't ride it first the same as
you don't want to buy a record if you don't know its good
or not. I always tell kids at our shows to download records
and if they dig `em than support the artist and buy the
record or just come to a show. |
| YOU HAVE A TINY INDIE RECORD
COMPANY. TELL US MORE ABOUT WHAT BANDS DO YOU RELEASE
AND ABOUT YOU RECORD LABEL`S POLICY? |
| MDBrecords is basically a musical
collective that was based loosely on the members of RXB's
side projects but has more recently grown to include other
interesting stuff as well. We put out records of our friends
music, run all the mail-order out of our garage and also
tend to record most of the projects ourselves. There are
no contracts and as little hierarchy as possible. As of
right now the whole endeavor is run by my mother and myself
with my friend Noel helping out with correspondence. We
do not and will not ever have an affiliation with corporate
money or power. The whole collective is a pretty progressive
organization where we try and encourage critical thinking
without telling people what to think as well as, like
RXBANDITS, focusing a very strong emphasis on the peace
struggle. |
| WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MUSIC TODAY?
DON`T YOU FEEL LIKE MUSICAL TRENDS COME AND GO QUICKLY
THAN IT WAS LIKE, I DON`T KNOW, TEN OR TWENTY YEARS AGO? |
| I think there is a lot of incredible
music coming out today just as there was ten or twenty
years ago. The difference now I believe is that there
is just so much of it. With the increasing technological
advances of today's musical society it has become possible
for just about anyone to record a record for fairly cheap.
Because of that I believe trends are more apparent as
that luxury has allowed many bands to quickly record and
jump on the next passing trend. Adversely though it also
means that many very good bands have the opportunity to
record as well so I think that the balance remains the
same, people will decide what they do or do not want in
their frames of reference. |
| YOU ARE ON TOUR IN EUROPE AT
THE MOMENT. CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE YOU SOMEWHERE NEAR SERBIA? |
| I don't know if we will come to
Serbia. I personally would love to. We would need someone
to book us over there. Any Serbian bands that want to
rock with us??? |
| I THINK THAT WOULD BE ALL. THANX
FOR YOUR TIME AND KEEP ON ROCKING. |
| Thanks very much Mike. Much respect.
PEACE!!! |
Posted on July 2004
Questions: Miroslav Mike Lazic
Answers: Matthew Embree
|
