RED (TN)
Rock / Progressive
Nashville, TN
You do not have the current Adobe Flash Player
To listen to this audio clip you will need to upgrade Adobe Flash Player
You do not have Adobe Flash Player
To listen to this audio clip you will need to install Adobe Flash Player
About
Anybody whos banged their head to their debut LP End of Silence knows how RED rolls: the ambitious young Nashville quintets creative blend of industrial, classical and hard rock offers a beacon of hope for an
ever-growing army of fans. Silence has sold nearly 66,000 copies, the band has already scored their first Grammy nomination and theyve amassed an enormous, intense MySpace following - none of which means theyll be resting on their laurels anytime soon. RED will spend 2007 attacking concert halls to the tune of over 250 shows, joining forces with hard-hitters like Flyleaf, Three Days Grace and Sevendust. Although their
no-holds-barred live show has yielded numerous injuriesguitarist Anthony Armstrong has a bad habit of accidentally tomahawking Barnesthe guys simply shake them off and forge ahead, delivering their message of overcoming adversity, no matter the cost.
There are things that people are struggling with that they have the power to overcome, says Barnes. Halfway through Let Go, theres the lyric, You cant have me anymore, you cant have me anymore, let go. A girl on MySpace said she was dealing with bulimia and just hearing that song really helped her. It cant consume her anymore; it cant have her anymore. It was really empowering.
The members of RED wear their close relationship with and understanding of their audience as a badge of honor and see it as the first stage of their success. To be able to do what we do on a daily basis and share our music with people everywhere, says Rauch that is success for sure! Scenarios like the one with the
afore-mentioned fan on MySpace speak to the heart of the band their empathy, humility and warmth as individuals serves as the counterpoint to the heavy music that comes from their creative process as a group.
The band gelled when Barnes drafted boyhood pals/identical twin brothers Randy and Anthony Armstrongrespectively, bass and guitarto leave western Pennsylvania in search of like-minded musicians in Nashville. They forged fast friendships with recording studio worker and guitarist Jasen Rauch as well as drummer Hayden Lamb, and spent over a year and a half applying their diverse influences to create End of Silence.
Although Silence shudders with skyline-toppling distortion (Let Go, Wasting Time), it also exhales at just the right moments, offering somber reflections (Already Over, Pieces) that reflect the fragility of Barnes lyrics. The one thing we hope people see in our music is dynamics, Rauch says. We can have a stripped-down ballad, we can have a really heavy song, but first and foremost we do consider ourselves a rock band. When we play, some people tell us that were heavier live than we are on the record. For us, something soft makes the heavy part after it even heavier.
The band is constantly striving for balance. Already Over, for example, was so bleak that they finally agreed to close the record with a more optimistic reprise to even the scales. Thats RED in a nutshellguiding you through the darkest depths, but ultimately showing you the way out. And their devoted followers are happily strapped in for future turbulence, on CD or in the pit.
# # #
The Band:
Randy Armstrong (Bass) - twin brother to Anthony
Anthony Armstrong (Guitar) - twin brother to Randy
Jasen Rauch (Guitar)
Hayden Lamb (Drums) has a twin brother
Michael Barnes (Vocals)
End of Silence was produced by Rob Graves and mixed by Ben Grosse
Stats
- Plays today
- 0
- All-time plays
- 607
- Profile views
- 1,249
