It's a chilly fall night when I pull up to Oak Park Brewery, off of Broadway in Sacramento, leaves crunching under my feet as I walk up. I walk in and the bar is full of people, but I have two objectives tonight at this place. One is to try a particular brew they have on tap, called Race to the Bottom Lavender IPA. The second objective is to interview the band behind the beer's name, Race to the Bottom.
A band that has their own beer? Yes, please.
I had tried a variety they produced before at First Festival, which served as a good fuel source for prime music viewing, writing, and rambling.
The beer I am getting on this particular night is a departure for me, just by looking at the name. Lavender in a beer? I'm not skeptical, for the record, it was just unexpected.
I order my beer, and take a sip. Immediately I get a rush of hops that makes me feel warm inside in a way that is only felt here in Northern California. The hops are upfront, but not overpowering. The lavender is subtle and refreshing, which helps make for a good aftertaste. It also helps the beer smell good.
Long story short, that's a good beer.
Satisfied, I settle into a table outside and enjoy the rest of my beer as I patiently wait for RTTB's band members to show up. I don't wait long, until I am joined by lead singer, Art Barrera. We chit chat for a bit, and are soon joined by guitarist Joe Whitworth. As we sit and continue to chat, Joe fills me in on the particulars with their beer, seeing my empty glass.
The beer they have on tap was brewed on site at Oak Park, and debuted during May's Beer Week celebrations that all local bars and breweries get in on. Soon enough, we are joined in by their drummer, Sean O'Leary, and we settle in for our chat.
Unfortunately, bass player Jim Peoples wasn't able to be present that night, due to time constraints beyond everyone's control, but I was able to reach out to him via email for his input on what we talked about that night.
The first thing I was curious about was the band's formation. Joe explains that he moved to Sacramento from Carson City, Nevada, where he started meeting people in the local music scene. Soon enough, he crossed paths with Jim, who was living in Woodland at the time. Jim was also making his way in the local music scene too, playing in cover bands and other original projects over time. He explains, via correspondence,
"Somehow I connected with guitarist Rick Perego, and drummer Tom Amberson, of the Knockoffs, and we formed a band XL. Danny Secretion was in the band for a while, too. We played around Sacramento for a couple of years, and recorded some songs...But, the band never really went anywhere. Many years later, after playing in a cover band some more, I wanted to play original music again. I ran into Tom [Amberson] at a gig, and found out he was playing with Joe [Whitworth] in a new project...Tom e-mailed me to see if I was interested in getting together with them. Eventually, this band became Race to the Bottom."
From there, Joe adds that Sean came in as their drummer soon after that. This led to them getting Art as their vocalist as the final piece of the puzzle. In this formation, they have been rocking steadily for nearly 3 years.
Curiosity peaked, I ask them about their influences. Sean goes first by saying,
"Oh man, all over the place...maybe Meg White? (laughs)...Neil Peart of Rush for a lot of it. I listened to a lot of classic rock growing up. Bands like Rush, Yes, Genesis, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and The Who."
Listening to the drum quality on a lot of their songs, its obvious that Sean's technical ability comes from these influences, giving the band a solid rhythm section base.
I ask the same question of Art, which he says,
"From what you hear, Steven Tyler, Robert Plant, Joe Cocker. I've always liked that raspiness, you know? When you're young you don't have that, and I always wanted it. I didn't like sounding like Boyz II Men all the time, you know? (laughs). When I got into my first band, my guitar player pushed me, since he could see that I could do it. Eventually, I just got the growl in my voice. Smoking and drinking helps too (laughs)."
That last one made all of us at the table laugh. He also added a country music as an influence, specifically Dwight Yoakam.
Turning to Joe, he initially mentions his admiration of Queens of the Stone Age, saying,
"[They are] as prog as I'll get...they have a lot of experimental tones I like to find."
He also goes on to add,
"I first started with guitar in the 1980's, when I saw a picture of Eddie Van Hale smile, and I knew what I wanted to do. It looked like fun...Then I heard him! I knew I had a lot of work to do, so I worked on my shredding, again and again. Then the 90's came and taught me a lot about songwriting. Stone Temple Pilots, The Toadies, you know, a lot of crunchy guitars, feedback...even Jimmy Buffett, for more simple songwriting stuff. It [my influences] changes all the time...I mean, right now, I'm listening to the latest Beck album, "Colors".
Jim also had a pretty interesting list of influence. He fills me in by stating,
"My primary influence is the Ramones. They are, by far, my favorite band and had a huge influence on me wanting to be a musician. I was playing the a bit before I discovered The Ramones, but I found I could ply along [with] Ramones songs on my guitar, and it really encouraged my guitar playing. Other influences include Kiss, King's X, Metallica, and Drivin''N' Cryin'."
With this very broad, but very hard-rocking, list of influence among the band members, it's no wonder their music stands out among fellow musicians. They were selected to open the first day of First Festival 2017, and they gave the show it's much needed jump start to get the day started off right.
If you wanted to hear what I am talking about for yourself, check out "Stereotypical" their EP available on Soundcloud, as well as the couple of songs they have available on their personal YouTube page. According to Joe, they are going to get 2-3 more sons together for a new EP that will be out around New Years. They are particularly excited for these new songs, since they are recording them at Fat Cat studios with local recording wizard, Sean Stack. They are filled with good things to say about him. Joe mentions,
"[Sean Stack is] more of a gear nerd than anybody."
Sean backs up this admiration by saying,
"He can figure out a musicians personalty and get them to put their best out there."
Art adds, a slight smirk on his face,
"He knows how to get things out of you...he'll tell me 'I hear it, I hear it, you got it! C'mon you can do it! Hit that note!...Ahh here we go, I got it! That's good I can take that. Now do it two more times.' (laughs)."
Joe continues by saying,
"I'll hear something on a record and I will bring it to him and ask, 'What is that? And how can we emulate that on this song?' Like on the recording of "Not So Invincible", we had electric piano...I heard something different on another album, brought it to him and he said, 'Oh yeah, it's an electric piano with an acoustic [piano] mixed in, so lets do that' and we mixed it in."
Needless to say, their partnership with Fat Cat is going to pay dividends in the near future. Their respect and admiration of Stack, along with his mastery of his craft is going to be a partnership I look forward to hearing.
Soon enough, hands are filled with more Lavender IPA as our conversation turns to a subject I enjoy, since answers vary all over the place. Favorite venues. Sean starts us off with a smile on his face,
"Does The Stag count? (laughs) The Stag is always fun, man. Out in Woodland, where the crowd has to walk through the band to get to the bathroom. A bunch of drunk ass people singing songs they don't know. It's great."
Despite how that may read, Sean means it honestly. You can just tell by the nostalgic smile that lingers for a bit, even as Art speaks up next, by saying simply,
"I like Old Ironsides, personally."
Everyone agrees with him there, as Joe also interjects by adding,
"The Press Club is definitely my favorite place. Even though it's reserved [for live music] Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, it can be hard to get people out to the gig. But I still love that pace, I don't know why (laughs)."
Jim also had his personal favorite,
"Playing at Ace of Spades was fun, because it's a big stage with a big sound system...But I think my favorite place is Old Ironsides. I like how intimate it is and how there doesn't need to e a lot of people in the audience for it to be real fun."
In addition to playing these local venues, among other local spots, they have also branched out and played in Sunnyvale and San Jose. They also played at Toot's in Corckett, near the Maritime bridge. According to Joe, they have always been looking to branch into the Bay Area, for further gigs to play. he clarifies,
"We have always been working on it, but its tough because there are also so many other bands who want to play the Bay Area."
Not to seem discouraged, Joe simply smiles and shrugs.
We chat one for a few more minutes until more glasses of beer are gone, and the night is suddenly not so cold anymore. Between all these guys, there is a wealth of positive energy, excitement, and all around goodness that I feel will sustain them in there future endeavors. I leave with a feeling inside that this band will continue to put out good music and play great shows for many years to come. Please be sure to keep these guys on your radar, because great music is always just around the corner with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment