US by way of Oz and NZ? That’s a new one on us…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
I’m from Hamilton, New Zealand. I moved to Australia when I was 19 and in 2014 I relocated again to America.
How did you meet?
This project is essentially just myself. However, I have various musicians from around the world on the tracks. Some are peers of mine that I contacted that their sound I loved and asked if they wanted to be a part of it and some are musicians that I loved listening to growing up and wanted them to be a part of the album.
How long have you been playing as a band?
As it’s more of a studio project, the live set up hasn’t really taken shape as of yet. I did a couple of trial shows a year ago to run some of the tracks live but put that on hold in recent times to focus on getting the tracks all finished properly in the studio first before taking them to a live setting.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Just a random name I came up with a while ago that I always wanted to use for something. I like the idea that it doesn’t really mean anything related to the music, I like that there isn’t any preconceived notions of what the sound is going to be before pressing play.
What are your influences?
I tend to either go from heavy to soft rock, anything with a strong vocal line or groove will draw me in pretty quickly. I also appreciate bands that aren’t afraid to diversify their sounds. FNM was a huge influence on me and each record of theirs almost sounded like a different band and I thought that was incredible. There are a lot of bands that tend to ‘find a sound’ but then get stuck or are too afraid to steer away from it. Then you find that the tracks on their records all start to blend into one track. When Metallica did ‘Nothing Else Matters’ it came across as such a ‘fuck you’ at the time to metal fans but in my eyes, it shows that the guys were fearless and made me love them ever more.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Well because every track on the record has a different singer and drummer on there, naturally each song is going to go off in its own direction. For me musically when writing the guitar/bass parts I really wanted to find singers that I loved and put them into a genre that they may not have been normally comfortable in. For example, a singer from Cairo, Egypt who sings Arabic, being the main chorus hook in a metal track. Hearing something to my ears that I hadn’t really heard before was exciting. I didn’t just want to write another 10 rock tracks.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
The lyrics are all written by the singers, so there is a lot of variety amongst them all with the way they approach their lyric writing. The music is dark a lot of the time so the vocals on this record are definitely more lending towards heartache, mistrust, worldly issues. There are some very intense lyrical moments on their that really make the record stand out.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
I am still really figuring that all out. How it will work with the various vocalist on the record etc. Most likely hope to have that all develop over the next 6 months and have a strong diverse set list together that can be played live.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I was on tour in New Zealand and mid-set swung my bass around and accidentally connected the headstock with the guitarist’s head. It was pretty graphic and not the greatest way to start of Show #1 of the tour… but a good story to tell in the tour bus!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I am a bassist first and foremost and I live by my Lakland (Skyline Series) 5 String. I run through various pedals and either an Aguilar or Gallien Krueger Head. Guitar-wise for this record I played a lot of rusty old acoustics, the older sounding the better and various electrics from PRS, Gibson and Godin. Again, with each track in mind being different to the next I didn’t want to stick with the same guitar tone for each one, so the variety of guitars helped shape the sound.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
The debut Rav Medic record The Battle to Survive Yourself, there is a couple of singles out already ‘The Sisters with Blood in Their Mouths’ and ‘Rise Again’ which can be found on YouTube.
What are your plans for 2020?
Get the album out there finally and release more tracks. The plan is to have a solid live ‘band’ and show ready to go as well.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Would love to play a show with Faith No More and One Minute Silence. Both amazing bands and that would be a hell of a tour. I also manage some bands through Rav Medic as well so any of those bands would be a pleasure to tear some stages up together, you can check them all out at: ravmedic.com
Rav Medic: official | facebook | instagram | bandcamp | soundcloud | youtube
