Ra Ra Riot
Encyclopedia
Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock
band from Syracuse, New York
, consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist
Mathieu Santos, guitar
ist Milo Bonacci, cellist
Alexandra Lawn (List of cellists), violin
ist Rebecca Zeller, and drum
mer Kenny Bernard.
campus. They recorded a demo in February 2006. The band started to attract attention due to their energetic live shows, enough to gain an appearance at the CMJ
Music Marathon, fewer than six months after their formation. Following this appearance, their live show received the first of several favorable reviews from SPIN.com
, who called them "one of the best young bands we've heard in a really long time". They went on to open for Art Brut
and Bow Wow Wow
in New York City
, toured the UK
twice on their own, then returned, opening for the Editors
(footage of which can be found on Crackle
); they also toured North America
supporting Tokyo Police Club
. Their first solo headlining tour of the U.S.
was completed in 2007, and in early 2008, they embarked on a second. The band was also invited to play the Iceland Airwaves Festival, in Reykjavík
, Iceland
. They have recorded three sessions on the national online radio station WOXY and three for the acclaimed Daytrotter
sessions at Futureappletree studio 1 in Rock Island, Illinois
.
In 2007, they made their first appearance at South by Southwest
and headlined a show at the Seaport Music Festival
in New York City. The band returned to appear again at the South by Southwest Music Conference in March 2008.
After a show in Providence, Rhode Island
, the band's original drummer, John Ryan Pike, of Hamilton, Massachusetts
, went missing in the early morning of June 2, 2007 at Wilbur's Point in Fairhaven, Massachusetts
. His body was discovered the following day in nearby Buzzards Bay
; Pike was believed to have drowned. Ra Ra Riot issued a statement a few weeks after Pike's funeral that they would continue as a band.
In July 2007 an eponymous EP of 6 songs was released on the Rebel Group label.
In the winter of 2007, the band signed to major label V2 Records
. To celebrate their new label deal, Ra Ra Riot released "Dying Is Fine
" and "Each Year (RAC Mix)" on 7" vinyl as an A/B single
. In December 2007, the band announced that they had finished recording new songs for their debut LP. During their show in Cambridge, MA on April 25, 2008, the band announced their new album "would be released in August. If not August then September" 2008.
On May 19, 2008, the band announced that they had signed to Barsuk Records
. Their debut album The Rhumb Line
was released on August 19, 2008 in the United States
and Canada
. It was released in Europe
via V2/Cooperative Music on September 22, 2008.
The music video
for "Can You Tell" won Best Music Video in the 2009 Finger Lakes
Film Festival on November 7, 2009.
In the spring of 2009, Barsuk released an EP, Can You Tell, featuring remixes, early demos and live recordings.
The band released their second album called The Orchard on August 24, 2010. "The Orchard" was produced by Ra Ra Riot and Andrew Maury
, and 9 of the ten tracks were mixed by Death Cab For Cutie
's Chris Walla
, and one mixed by Vampire Weekend
's Rostam Batmanglij
. The band played several new songs from the album during a February performance in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2011 their song "Boy" was used in the episode "A History of Violins" on the tv show "Royal Pains".
In January 2011, Ra Ra Riot were nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards under the Pop/Rock Album category for The Orchard.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Mathieu Santos, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Milo Bonacci, cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
Alexandra Lawn (List of cellists), violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Rebecca Zeller, and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
mer Kenny Bernard.
History
Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and venues around the Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
campus. They recorded a demo in February 2006. The band started to attract attention due to their energetic live shows, enough to gain an appearance at the CMJ
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
Music Marathon, fewer than six months after their formation. Following this appearance, their live show received the first of several favorable reviews from SPIN.com
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, who called them "one of the best young bands we've heard in a really long time". They went on to open for Art Brut
Art Brut (band)
Art Brut are a Berlin-based English and German indie rock band. Their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, It's a Bit Complicated, released on 25 June 2007...
and Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow were an English 1980s New Wave band created by Malcolm McLaren to promote his and business partner Vivienne Westwood's New Romantic fashion lines.The group's music is described as having an "African-derived drum sound".-History:...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, toured the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
twice on their own, then returned, opening for the Editors
Editors
Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
(footage of which can be found on Crackle
Crackle
Crackle is a digital network and studio, featuring commercially supported streaming video content in Flash Video format. It is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and its content consists primarily of Sony's library of films and television shows...
); they also toured North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
supporting Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It consists of vocalist and bassist David Monks , keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook , and drummer Greg Alsop ....
. Their first solo headlining tour of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was completed in 2007, and in early 2008, they embarked on a second. The band was also invited to play the Iceland Airwaves Festival, in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. They have recorded three sessions on the national online radio station WOXY and three for the acclaimed Daytrotter
Daytrotter
Daytrotter is a website for the recording studio Horseshack, which hosts recording sessions with many popular and typically upcoming indie music acts, although it works with local bands in the Illinois area as well. The sessions can be compared to that of a radio station's lounge recordings, where...
sessions at Futureappletree studio 1 in Rock Island, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
In 2007, they made their first appearance at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
and headlined a show at the Seaport Music Festival
Seaport Music Festival
Seaport Music Festival is an international indie-oriented music festival staged on Pier 17 at The Seaport in lower Manhattan during the summer...
in New York City. The band returned to appear again at the South by Southwest Music Conference in March 2008.
After a show in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, the band's original drummer, John Ryan Pike, of Hamilton, Massachusetts
Hamilton, Massachusetts
Hamilton is a town located in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts. It is primarily a suburban bedroom community, most commonly known for its equestrian estates...
, went missing in the early morning of June 2, 2007 at Wilbur's Point in Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located on the south coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean...
. His body was discovered the following day in nearby Buzzards Bay
Buzzards Bay
Buzzards Bay is a bay along the southern edge of Massachusetts in the United States. The name may also refer to:*Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, a village in Bourne, Massachusetts*Buzzards Bay , the name of the horse that won the 2005 Santa Anita Derby...
; Pike was believed to have drowned. Ra Ra Riot issued a statement a few weeks after Pike's funeral that they would continue as a band.
In July 2007 an eponymous EP of 6 songs was released on the Rebel Group label.
In the winter of 2007, the band signed to major label V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
. To celebrate their new label deal, Ra Ra Riot released "Dying Is Fine
Dying Is Fine
"Dying Is Fine" was one of the first songs written by Ra Ra Riot. It was released several times, being reworked for their first full album, The Rhumb Line, in 2008. The song was inspired by the e. e. cummings poem, dying is fine)but death...
" and "Each Year (RAC Mix)" on 7" vinyl as an A/B single
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
. In December 2007, the band announced that they had finished recording new songs for their debut LP. During their show in Cambridge, MA on April 25, 2008, the band announced their new album "would be released in August. If not August then September" 2008.
On May 19, 2008, the band announced that they had signed to Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
. Their debut album The Rhumb Line
The Rhumb Line
The Rhumb Line is the debut LP for the Syracuse-based indie rock band Ra Ra Riot. Recorded in late 2007 with Ryan Hadlock in Woodinville, WA, the band released their debut album on August 19, 2008, through Seattle-based indie label Barsuk Records. The album peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200...
was released on August 19, 2008 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
via V2/Cooperative Music on September 22, 2008.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Can You Tell" won Best Music Video in the 2009 Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
Film Festival on November 7, 2009.
In the spring of 2009, Barsuk released an EP, Can You Tell, featuring remixes, early demos and live recordings.
The band released their second album called The Orchard on August 24, 2010. "The Orchard" was produced by Ra Ra Riot and Andrew Maury
Andrew Maury
Andrew Maury is an American producer/engineer/mixer based out of New York City. Andrew also tours mixing front-of-house for Ra Ra Riot and GIVERS. Andrew co-produced and engineered the Ra Ra Riot's second album, The Orchard...
, and 9 of the ten tracks were mixed by Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
's Chris Walla
Chris Walla
Christopher Walla is an American musician and music producer, most notable for being the guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. He is also a former DJ of KCWU, 88.1 The Burg...
, and one mixed by Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band from New York City that formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings. The Band has four members: Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio. The band released its first album Vampire Weekend in 2008, which produced the singles "Mansard...
's Rostam Batmanglij
Rostam Batmanglij
Rostam Batmanglij is a producer and multi-instrumentalist of New York-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend and co-founder of electro-soul group Discovery.-Background:...
. The band played several new songs from the album during a February performance in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2011 their song "Boy" was used in the episode "A History of Violins" on the tv show "Royal Pains".
In January 2011, Ra Ra Riot were nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards under the Pop/Rock Album category for The Orchard.
Albums
- The Rhumb LineThe Rhumb LineThe Rhumb Line is the debut LP for the Syracuse-based indie rock band Ra Ra Riot. Recorded in late 2007 with Ryan Hadlock in Woodinville, WA, the band released their debut album on August 19, 2008, through Seattle-based indie label Barsuk Records. The album peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200...
(20082008 in music2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
, BarsukBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) U.S. #109 - The OrchardThe Orchard (Ra Ra Riot album)The Orchard is the second studio album of the Syracuse-based indie rock band Ra Ra Riot.On October 26, 2010 the song "Boy" was made available for 69 cents in iTunes store and garnered some interest reaching a current peak of number 152 on the iTunes popularity chart .-Track listing:All tracks...
(2010, Barsuk RecordsBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) U.S. #36
EP's
- Ra Ra RiotRa Ra Riot (EP)Ra Ra Riot is the self-titled EP and debut release of the Syracuse-based indie rock band Ra Ra Riot. Recorded in Brooklyn, NY in January 2007, the six-song EP was originally self-released before the band signed with The Rebel Group for distribution....
EP (20072007 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
, Rebel Group) - Can You Tell EP (2009, Barsuk RecordsBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) - Boy EP (2010, Barsuk RecordsBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) - Too Dramatic EP (2011, Barsuk RecordsBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
)
Singles
- "Each Year" (20072007 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
, Fandango Records) - "Dying Is FineDying Is Fine"Dying Is Fine" was one of the first songs written by Ra Ra Riot. It was released several times, being reworked for their first full album, The Rhumb Line, in 2008. The song was inspired by the e. e. cummings poem, dying is fine)but death...
" (2007, V2V2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
) - "Ghost Under Rocks" (2008, V2V2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
/BarsukBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) - "Can You Tell" (2009, V2V2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
/BarsukBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) - "Boy" (2010, BarsukBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
) - "Too Dramatic" (2011, BarsukBarsuk RecordsBarsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
)
External links
- Official website
- Ra Ra Riot interview on FABRIC magazine
- Ra Ra Riot at The Indie Music Database
- Acoustic Ukulele Session by Noahm for Le SoirLe SoirLe Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
- 2008 Ra Ra Riot Interview at Bandega.com
- SPIN Magazine feature on Ra Ra Riot
- New York Press Article Regarding Departure of Shaw Flick
- SovMag: Ra Ra Riot Concert Review - February 28, 2009
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93941360Ra Ra Riot on NPR MusicNPR MusicNPR Music launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music discovery. The Web site is a project of National Public Radio, a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797...
] - Ra Ra Riot bassist Mathieu Santos gives a track by track guide to The Orchard: Folk Radio UK: