>>Preview
Red Jumpsuit Aparatus
Thursday, July 5
Race City Speedway
Nailing down an interview with guitarist-vocalist Elias Reidy of Florida pop-punk band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is not an easy task. In their first two weeks "off" since October 2005, the band is making a video, doing photo shoots on an airplane runway and making the press rounds before joining the inaugural 2007 Warped Tour stop in Pomona, California. When Reidy does connect via telephone, however, he is affable, sincere and upbeat.
Despite the average age of the band members being a mere 21 years old, RJA was a fixture in their local scene for a number of years before attracting industry attention. Reidy’s explanation for the delay is simple: RJA wasn’t willing to be confined or categorized in conventional ways.
"Initially, we went into this with the mindset that we just really wanted to play whatever we wanted. We just wanted to have a good time with the music, we didn’t want to limit ourselves and the possibilities of our music," he says. "Whether it was screamo or pop music, we wanted to play both; we don’t care what we’re playing as long as we’re having a good time. Because we are the number 1 fans of our music. We’re definitely not too cool to like our band.
"We’re not superstars by any means, (but) I guess it’s a little offsetting seeing such young people being successful. We’re kind of like rookies even though we’ve been touring for the last two years straight."
Most of the set list for those years has been a blend of beguiling singles such as "False Pretense" and accessible pop-punk numbers like "Face Down" that effectively combine catchy hooks and social commentary with unceasing energy. Don’t You Fake It blasts from speakers in an enjoyable blur from the first note to the last.
"For our first record, it’s really stripped down and raw and that’s the way we wanted it," Reidy says. "We definitely felt that was necessary to establish an identity. We didn’t want anybody else, any detractions, and we didn’t feel like we needed someone else to help us. We wanted to get up on our own feet. Now it’s a different time, we’ve met a whole bunch of different people, established relationships with other musicians," he continues, referring to potential collaborations on their next album. "(It) might be a different story, we might have fun working with some people that we’ve known."
With only half the material for the next album created and international tours on the horizon, RJA won’t commit to the studio until early next year. Until then, the van wheels will keep on turning. |
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