There's a riot going on
Ra Ra Riot travels from building-shaking parties to poignant indie rock geography
By Reyan Ali |
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Three years ago, before Ra Ra Riot was linked to daydreamy, stargazing indie rock, the group had no intention of reaching the place they are now. Today, the outfit is signed to venerable independent label Barsuk Records, tours steadily, and faces a promising future. In 2006, the Syracuse University students prepared to face the ephemeral existence of most high school and college projects.
"For the majority of our members, it was their last show before they graduated," recalls cellist Alexandra Lawn. "It was a last hurrah."
With creative connections jumpstarted by communal networking (the band didn't begin as friends), Ra Ra Riot served to fulfill a modest proposition, namely that of being a funky, dancy house party band, but not without an investment of hard work.
"Band rehearsal was almost like another class to me," said Lawn of the nightly sessions. As a cello player, the routine led to some annoying, formidable strain as she lugged her stringed behemoth from class to practice and back again in a frustrating loop.
"I remember just hating that," she adds with a laugh. Nevertheless, she remained committed to the undertaking.
"It was like, alright, I will walk a mile with my cello on my back to do this. It's so much fun," said Lawn.
Early Ra Ra Riot shows were held in any space available - attics, basements, houses - and were "a whole other beast" compared to their current concerts.
Source: www.myspace.com/rarariot
"Those parties were just rocking," Lawn said. "[There were] a lot of drunk young people dancing."
One experience stands out: "There was even one show we played where we were on a second floor and things got so crazy and people were jumping so much that the floor made the ceiling break. People were going out the windows because they were like, 'the ceiling is falling!'"
Once that lineup graduated (save for Lawn and bass player Mathieu Santos), none of the regionally dispersed performers from Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey had any fixed ambitions to return home and settle down into post-college careers. The unripened act spent an empty summer on highways, taking their good-natured disorder to bars and small parties. By the fall, Ra Ra Riot's journey reached an early apex by landing a spot in the massive CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Only five shows later, festival buzz had been built in their favor.
"What made it all come together was all these industry people that approached you," said the cellist in reference to the sudden offers made by lawyers and booking agents.
"If these people are legit and this is really fun, why not continue this? That's when we buckled down to make it something meaningful for us."
The band's output found more nuance as their career became clearer. "You have this aspect now where people are coming to see your show, coming to hear the album [and] the songs that we weren't really playing at that time," asserted Lawn. "Those songs have evolved into something much more cohesive. They've grown into themselves. It's more on the artistic side and less on the party side."
Last August's The Rhumb Line established that refreshed perspective. Their debut full-length is built out of miniscule moments imbued with an auburn-hued emotional prescience. Among the most notable elements are Wes Miles' voice, a near-falsetto that hops between keen, soothing, and lost, and the complex wonders wrought from Lawn's cello and Rebecca Zeller's violin. Gaining its title from a navigational term that refers to a central point mapped the same way from one pole to another, The Rhumb Line was recorded in rural Washington. The studio's rustic location offered the band both an inspirational and comfortable place to finish mapping their material and much time to hone their skills at croquet - Ra Ra Riot's shared sport of choice.
Though the fortuitous trek has had its snares - most notably, the tragic drowning of drummer John Pike in June 2007 - the sextet continues to gain their passion from a simple tenet.
"Before the shows, Milo [Bonacci, guitarist] has always said, 'Have fun,'" said Lawn. "That's our creed."
Ra Ra Riot will perform at The Basement (391 Neil Ave.) on September 14. For more information, visit myspace.com/rarariot.
Originally Published: September 1, 2009
