Rx Bandits: Best Band Ever

Before you launch yourselves into an extremely long-winded piece I wrote about the Rx Bandits I'm going to make you all suffer through this little rant at the beginning here. The way I see it, bands these days have very few options. They must either be completely awesome or throw themselves into a furnace. I've witnessed the live hijinx of bands like Gogol Bordello, Polysics, Going Steady and the Aquabats. They've earned my respect as much through their energy as through their music. The Rx Bandits aren't psychotic or wacky on stage like those bands, but their live performance reproduces the quality of their recorded material nearly perfectly. It helps that their recorded material is far more innovative and intelligent than any other band in existence. At this very moment I will state that the Rx Bandits are the best band in the world. As a whole, musically, lyrically, in concert, on record, they have no equal.

Sunday the 13th of July I drove to Oakland to see the Rx Bandits perform at Imusicast. Opening for them were Dexter Danger, Desa, Fairweather and No Motiv. I found it very ironic that Dexter Danger was opening up that night. Though band politics and friendly intentions would prevent the Rx Bandits from overtly expressing their displeasure with DD's insincere, mass-produced musical tripe, the Bandits' lyrics and every interview I've read with them gives hints into their secret disappointment that bands like DD are popular and exist for that matter.

Desa (former members of Link 80, Steve Borth of the Rx Bandits was also in Link 80) followed Dexter Danger with an interesting new approach on punk and hardcore. Focusing on technical riffs and song structures, Desa manages to write very accessible yet original music.

I failed to watch Fairweather and No Motiv as I was focusing on looking cool whilst leaning against a brick wall outside the venue. Maybe they were really good that night, but my previous experience watching No Motiv tells me otherwise. As for Fairweather, a prejudice against them with no grounds was my justification for avoiding them. I occasionally indulge in such unreasonable prejudice, but at least I admit it when I do. Someday I'll be proven wrong and then I'll feel dumb.

The Rx Bandits took the stage finally in front of a packed house inside of the stuffy Imusicast. The complete lack of ventilation turned the room into a sauna and the complete lack of bathing habits amongst the concertgoers turned the room into a sewer. The set began with "Who Would've Thought" off of their album Progress. Their album consisted nearly equally of material from "Progress" and their new album The Resignation. Among the tracks from the new release were "Sell You Beautiful", "Overcome (the recapitulation)", "Never Slept So Soundly", and "Decrescendo". Only one song from the Halfway Between Here & There album was played, "What If". The band also played a song or two I've come to recognize as live-only, used as bridges between other songs. With or without those songs, their set was still fluid from start to finish with nary a break during the set.

Trombonist Chris Sheets and saxophonist Steve Borth occasionally took up drumming duties and pounded away on an extra floor tom, as accompaniment to drummer Chris Tsagakis, in a fashion very much like the Rum Diary. I'd seen the Rx Bandits do the same thing when they were opening for New Found Glory back in the fall of 2001, but they added even more this time around. During the last few songs, Gunnar, drummer for the Exit (former Rx Bandits tourmates) took up a spot next to the drumset playing an additional snare drum and hi-hat. The dual drumming, both supplementary and complementary, was intense to say the least. The guitar work was fairly raw but nearly flawless at the same time. The keyboard work from Steve Choi and Borth was spotty on occasion, possibly my only complaint with the show. Some of those problems can be blamed on the lazy technical staff at Imusicast who lagged on turning microphones and direct inputs on throughout every band's performance.

The band's encore was hampered by a bass amp that wouldn't cooperate so the rest of the band played a couple new songs without the bassist while he got his stuff together. After plugging into a direct input to the PA bassist Joe Troy was able to join the rest of the band in performing "Infection". Ending their set with the final song on Progress pleased me as well as the cute Asian girl in front of me and the guy standing behind me to my right.

I left the show with a completely soaked Hi-Standard shirt stuck to my back causing me to shiver. I managed to withstand the sweaty conditions inside the venue and bear witness to the rock 'n' roll power of the Rx Bandits.

Two days later I purchased the Rx Bandits' new album, The Resignation. I had heard an earlier demo of track one, "Sell You Beautiful", and found the new version to be less heavy but equally desperate, and the vocals were much cleaner and easily understood. The song's syncopated rhythms are jagged yet dancy while the guitar riff during the chorus is infectious as all heck. Upon hearing the demo version I was convinced that Matt Embree's lyrics are as cynical, yet hopeful as any intelligent lyricist could hope to pen himself. With lyrics like "Music played to advertise / logo shirts and hair styles / chop and cut monopolize / i've got scars in my mouth" it's obvious that I'm not the only one upset by the masses of teenagers wearing offset mesh hats, Volcom shirts, and listening to Mest.

"Prophetic" follows next and begins and ends with a slightly eastern European polka vibe. The main body of the song is a math-like punk tune. The lyrics recall those of "Analog Boy" from their previous album, as they deal with needlessly self-imposed depression in someone's life. "Too busy occupied with dying to stop and consider life". As with the lyrics on much of the album, those on "Prophetic" seem hopeless yet offer some optimism with the catch that people must find happiness and optimism for themselves.

Clocking in at 2:50, "Newsstand Rock (exposition)" is the shortest song the album. That doesn't mean that it's underdeveloped, but the arrangement on this song is possibly the most simple on the alnum. The lyrics are another example of intelligent writing, this time protesting against the war and the propaganda surrounding us.

"Overcome (the recapitulation)" continues with the anti-war/politics message. When Embree sings "We've had enough of these politicians wars / what we need right now is love" he establishes this song as a simple yet classic protest anthem. The reggae beat on this song contrasts against the harsher punk of the first three. Tight harmonies accompany Embree's leads as the song begins slowly. Progressively the song speeds up and the songs swithces into a slightly brighter sounding key signature. An overwhelmingly positive message permeates this song, exemplified by the these word emboldened in the lyrics sheet: "The positive will always overcome the negative". This is another very simple song but it carries a lot of spirit with it.

The next song, "Never Slept So Soundly", kind of reminded me of "Analog Boy" off of "Progress" at first listen because of the keyboard introduction. While alternating between sharp upbeats in the verses to punk rock choruses, this song gave off a very regretful vibe, one seeking desperately to make things better. Definitely one of my favorites on the album.

The most skankable song on the album is "Taking Chase As The Serpent Slithers". The horns play the hook on this song front and center, possibly the only instance on this album of such a thing with the exception of "Mastering the List". The guitars play the upbeats at a nice fast tempo, more straightforward than on most of the album. This is the song that will please all the third-wave nerds I guess. I don't mean to bad mouth this song in any way, because I like it a lot.
With that said, time to move on...

"Republic". More lyrics about individuality and standing up for yourself. Good stuff, the Rx Bandits know how to kick out this stuff like it ain't nothin'! This is another of the faster more rockin' songs on the album, alternating between the skankin' verses and punk choruses. Two songs in a row like this, uh oh!! But in all seriousness, the strumming during the verses refrains from being simple upbeats and gives the verses a little more flare.

Now it's time for the hit single, "Mastering the List". An earlier recording of this was included on some overpriced Drive Thru records sampler that came out about a year ago. This was the first song co-written by guitarists Matt Embree and Steve Choi. About half of the Resignation was composed by those two. This recording of the song sounds more fluid and dense, yet not as overproduced as the other one. The crazy harmonized guitar solo is more fully realized in this version too, just as when it's performed live. The solo always disappointed me in the first recording of this song. The texture of the trombone and saxophone also compliment each other very well, moreso in this song than others for some reason. Definitely an improvement, though the other version was awesome as well.

A slow dreamy jam follows as an interlude with crazy, unintelligible, bubbly vocals throughout. Then we're hit with "Falling Down the Mountain". This song starts off so chill, with a little double picked guitar thingy, then a rapid-fire dual guitar/snare thingy comes in and launches us into the song thingy. I can't explain this song's mood, it's kind of sad, but not really, and then this is where the English language fails me. When the chorus arrives the mood becomes more defiant. Then all of a sudden we're hit with this crazy, jazzy, break it down where the saxophone and guitar go crazy! Then the song goes back to normal... as I write this I realize how much I like this song. The lyrics are good too. Niiiiice.

"Dinna-dawg (and the inevitable onset of lunacy)" starts of really interesting with a really interesting drum beat and guitar arpeggios. A very subtle keyboard arpeggio is layered behind the guitar. Everything starts off so subdued, it all sounds so good. When it gradually builds up to the chorus the mood doesn't get killed off somehow, but the song does get stronger. Even when it gets a little frantic towards the end, the song still seems pretty subdued somehow. Not subdued in a bad way, I just can't explain what theheck I'm thinking.

"Pal-Treaux" always hits me as odd. The song sounds really happy, in such contrast to the rest of the album. Just plain happy. This is like the song you play at the end of a movie right after the bad guy's been defeated and the heroes are rejoicing. This song plays around with different time signatures and has some nice guitar work going on. Good stuff.

Then all of a sudden we're hit with "Decrescendo", my favorite song on the CD. After the total happiness of the last track, this track just tears it all away and hits you with some more cynicality. The harmonized guitar hook is really good, and the crescendoing horn hits add so much to the mix. I haven't the energy left to explain why this song is so good, but just when you think you can't be rocked any further some hella crazy drums start pounding away at your ears and you fall to the floor in thorough rock spasms. Uh huh, that's what happens. In fact, this has the same effect as the ending of Progress where the final song tears you in two and sticks a rock n roll dagger into your brain.

I hope everyone notices the point somewhere in the middle of this where my writing style changes and I've lost the ability to write without being stupid.

A certain anonymous friend of mine complained that The Resignation didn't have enough horns. AAARGGH. So frustrating... it's not like the band dumped their horns in order to mature, but it wouldn't have been better if they wrote every song to have a horn hook that would repeat before each verse and after every chorus. As a certified ska fan I can attest to liking bands that do that kind of thing, but the Rx Bandits are so much better than all of them. You can't even call them a ska band anymore. It's not because they've abandoned ska music, but because their music is so complex an amalgamation of styles and influences. Some other dope called "Sell You Beautiful" a song you could really skank to. I'm not denying the catchiness and dance-worth of the tune, but there isn't a single ska upbeat riff in the entire freakin song (which is what he was really trying to say). If the guitars in the verses are playing syncopated rhythms that doesn't automatically turn them into ska upbeat strumming. While the song structures are fairly straightforward on The Resignation, the instrumentation within these structures is beyond most other bands out there, and the guitars avoid simple ska or punk categorization.

At the risk of seeming like a snob, it seems to me that the Rx Bandits are much too mature for most people to truly appreciate. They've gone from being a terrible, So-Cal third-wave ska band, to being a passable, So-Cal third-wave band, to being the most amazing yet unclassifiable band around. To their credit, they've managed to hold on to all of their old fans while not compromising their own creative energy and evolution.  If my acquaintances are anything like those fans though, I can't help but feel that those fans would be more comfortable if the band went back and pigeonholed themselves into a little ska niche. We all want to be able to categorize things, easily describe them, and compare them to other like things. The Rx Bandits won't let us do that to them and I applaud them. I hope that everyone will murder my snobbish leanings and buy The Resignation and Progress too, and appreciate the innovative music of the Rx Bandits for what it is. I can't really tell you what it is, but hopefully you'll get that same vibe I do that can't be put into words.

Bob V.