Sunday, April 17, 2011

RX is Calling it Quits and the Fans Reflect

This past week, the Rx Bandits informed their fans that this 2011 Summer Tour would be their last. While initially this came as a huge shock, after letting it soak in for a few days, it honestly wasn’t as shocking as the initial punch to the gut made it seem. I have thought long and hard about why so many fans love RX and why this past week has been hard for them. To provide a little history, the Bandits have been my favorite band for the last 10 years, and in that time, I have had the opportunity to co-run their unofficial fan site/forum which, at times, was the most popular source of information for the band (at least until Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr sites made our website all but irrelevant). During the last 8 years that I have helped with rx-bandits.com, I have had the opportunity to interview Matt, and other bandits multiple times, and have been able to feel a connection to the band that most other fans have not. At least that’s what I thought. After reading stories from fans, and their responses over the past week, I was wrong, and I’ve determined why.

Part of what made the Bandits so loved amongst their amazingly passionate fans is that many of the fans felt the same way that I did. RX fans felt a personal connection to their music and the band. I have been to around 50 RX live performances, and I’m going to take a stab at why the fans feel this way.

RX has progressed over the last 16 years. It still irks me when you see RX classified as a ska/punk band. I used to love ska. That is what got me into the Bandits. But as the band has progressed and matured both musically and in their lives, so have I. I have grown as the band has grown. So have all of the fans that have been listening to RX. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that RX is the reason that they are so into music, or that their musical tastes have matured because of this band. RX fans feel like they owe their musical tastes to this band and are thankful for the band opening their eyes to new music.

Those who have been to an RX show will most likely tell you that it is one of the best live shows that they’ve been to. It is an experience. Whether seeing a performance at the 500 person capacity Nile Theater Basement in Mesa, AZ, the Food Not Bombs Shows at the Chain Reaction, or Bonnaroo and Coachella in front of thousands, each RX show has an intimate feel. It feels like the band is playing to all the fans that are there, and are playing for themselves, as a band collectively. The improvised jams between songs and the drum battles during the shows give each show a unique feel and experience. The band definitely feeds off of the crowd energy, and there is just something about Matt Embree, the RX front man, during their live performances. His continual call and response with the fans where you can see the musical notes in the air, the way he pleads with moshers or crowd surfers to stop, dance, enjoy the music and the people around them, and the pure joy you can see on his face when he steps away from the microphone and focuses on the guitar riff, the band around him, and the dancing to the beat. Dare I say, Matt Embree made it feel that the fans were at their generations own Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, or Jimi Hendrix live performance.

Fans connected to RX on a personal level. It was fun to stand in line with your friends, waiting to get into the venue, and have Steve Borth come up to you to chat music with you and promote the new Satori release. It was easy to find Steve Choi and Matt Embree hanging out outside the venue after the shows and they never seemed to mind chatting with the fans, signing the occasional autograph, or even heading back to a fans house to party, or crash on their floor for the night. The band was real, and the fans appreciated that. When an interview was done well, (and by that, I mean, by asking pertinent questions, and not questions like “What kind of Ska band are you?” or “Why don’t you play teen idol anymore?”), it just seemed like Matt and the rest of the Bandits opened up and gave honest and thought provoking answers to their fans. They inspired the fans and they asked the fans not to blindly listen to everything that they say, but to search out information and to think for themselves.

I once asked Matt Embree in an interview if letting the members of the band have side projects allowed the Bandits to still come back and continue making music as “Rx Bandits”. He said that he had never really thought of it that way, but there are so many things that he, and other members of the band, want to do musically, that they need to have these other outlets for musical expression. I’m sure that without these other creative outlets, we would have had to say goodbye to the Bandits when we said goodbye to Borth or Sheets, cutting short one or two LP releases. I will probably miss some here, but Bandits fans have become all too familiar with The Sound of Animals Fighting, Love You Moon, Apotheke, The Machines, Technology, Coke vs. Bills, Satori, Seekret Socyetee, and 2 Drunken Poets and many other MDB Community Artists. They all seemed to have some sort of Rx Bandits influences, but were uniquely their own. Maybe this is why fans feel like RX have given them their musical tastes. We get to hear and experience what the band does outside of the Bandits, and it gave us an outlet to find other music outside of the Bandits that inspired us, as fans, musicians, and people.

The fans new that RX wasn’t making hundreds of thousands of dollars on each tour and living it large, but hearing the band talk about the music industry was refreshing. I can only imagine how pumped these 18 year old Bandits were when they got signed on Drive Thru Records, after releasing Those Damn Bandits at 16 years old. But as these musicians and young men learned the music industry, they determined that this record label wasn’t necessarily the best thing for the band, and for them as people. The fans got to read a very personal letter from Rich Balling as to why he felt he no longer could continue in the music industry in the same capacity. We heard in countless interviews from Matt Embree that they played for the love of the music and that the restrictions that DTR put on the band was wearing on them. RX just wanted to make their music, without any interference. They wanted to do their music, their way. When DTR wouldn’t allow that, they did what they needed to do to make music on their terms. Part of the included Cathy Pellow and Sargent House. Cathy has connected to the fans in the same way that the band has. From joining the community message boards, to twitter, to letting fans ask any questions they want of her on formspring for hours upon hours. There was something about buying and listening to an album that the band personally put out, and you knew that most of the money was going back to them. The way that the last couple of albums have been recorded live, and you can hear the musical imperfections. That is what makes them so perfect. There is no over-produced quality to these albums, just shear honest music, heard best through the Vinyl and Turntable medium.

Full album shows on back to back to back nights, Matt Embree cycling down the west coast on the 2005 Cycle for Peace Tour, maturing from a 6 piece ska band to a 6 piece band to their current 4 piece, fans being with the band in 2003 for the Food Not Bombs shows the same night that the US started bombing Iraq, listening to “Overcome (The Recapitulation)” over and over on repeat and listening to “…And the Battle Begun” for the first time, remembering a time when you could yell “Gun in Your Hand” or “Andrea” at a show, and it was already on their set list to be played. These are the memories that I, and so many of the Rx Bandits’ fans have.

When I heard the news that the Rx Bandits were done after this last tour, I was genuinely happy for them. They made the music they wanted, the way they wanted to, and are ending on their own terms. I took the last week to be nostalgic and look through old flyers, concert tickets, and set lists. If RX are really moving on to bigger and better things, we have a hell of a future in front of us. Thank you, Rx Bandits, for the last 16 years of music, and for letting me grow up with you. Best of luck in your future musical endeavors, and please rock out like you never have before on this final tour. I presume that as much as you will be thanking the fans, the fans will be thanking you as well.

Feel free to reminisce through some of my old interviews with Matt:

2003 - Resignation Release Show - 2003 Interview

2004 - 2004 Interview

2007 - 2007 Interview

14 comments:

  1. The bandits have been my favourite band since the release of Progress... this news stung like a paper cut. I hope they know the love their biggest fans felt for their vibe and their message. Much love from Canada.

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  2. Saw RXB at Block Party in New Orleans last night and I will never forget it!!!

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  3. they have had some bad experiences in Houston, and I pledge my allegiance to all that is holy to see them this summer, whether they will come to Houston or not. I can only pray for more technology or tsoaf.

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  4. I actually heard about the Bandits because of TSOAF. The reverse of most. But eventually I became a very big bandits fan. Im extremely sad to see them go, but I know there will be more projects after this. Maybe another TSOAF album???????? haha I can only dream.

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  5. I was at both of the Food Not Bombs shows at Chain Reaction back in '03. When Matt broke the news of the invasion of Iraq, the disappointment was palpable. But RXB played on, and the performance of Overcome became so much more meaningful to me and everyone else at the show.

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  6. I have never been so emotional while reading a blog. You sir have managed to put into words exactly how I feel about Rx Bandits. And for that I thank you with all of my heart.

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  7. Thanks, Eric, for so eloquently putting into words all the things floating around in my brain. I would add one other way that RXB contributed to my musical tastes: through the bands with which they toured as well as all those who have become associated with Sargent House. Those damn bandits will never be replaced, but I count myself lucky to have found other amazing acts like Portugal. The Man, Maps & Atlases, Tera Melos, and many more thanks to RXB and Sargent House.

    Can't wait to rock out with everyone at these final shows. It's going to be SICK. Let's send our boys out in style!

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  8. Every single word in this post is exactly how I feel about the Rx Bandits. They are more than just a band to me. This summer is going to be so extremely difficult. Watching them say good bye will most likely bring tears to my eyes. But, as you said.. they are leaving on their terms and I wish nothing but the best for all of them. Some of my favorite memories EVER in life involve the Rx Bandits. Whether it's rockin out at a show, cruising around SB with Embree in my mom's convertible or listening to my rxb playlist after my dad died... it's near impossible for me to put into words how much this band means to my life.

    Can't wait for this summer. I will be at every single show I can.

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  9. Great summary on what it was like to be a RX fan for the last decade. I'll write more later but I wonder how many of us hardcore fans were there at the Foods not bombs show. I was a fan before that but after that show everything changed and no other music had the effect that RXB did. As hard as it is to hear that this will be the end I have nothing but love in my heart for every member and fan of RXB. Something special was created that may never be replicated but my life has been forever enriched by the RX experience.

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  10. Such a great post about what it was like to be a fan since those damn bandits to now. Rxb was such a huge part of my youth and now, a huge part my adulthood. I still get excited to see their shows and convince myself that every show I go to was better than the last time. I have been to over 40+ shows and can remember seeing steve for the first time at a csuf show. The band made a change for the better and I was totally on board. Rxb has progressed and so has my musical taste but rxb will always be my favorite band. Im so thankful that i was for fi ding that "those damn bandits" cd at a warehouse music clearance bin back in 1997. If I never found that cd it would have taken me a lot longer to get to listen to this band. Thanks for the memories and thanks for all the great music.

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  11. Well said.

    I love music, because I love their music. The ability to play like they do for us is uncanny. The bandits are my reason for music-I remember oh so long ago downloading random songs on Kazzaa, and finding some random "Halfway Between..." Bandits songs in the mix...it all changed from there.

    Im sorry, I cant help but be selfish-I want them to keep playing. Luckily I know they love music too, and will not be stopping anytime soon.

    I owe a lot of my foundational beliefs to the Bandits, and I learned a lot from Matt's lyrics. I have never loved something so much.

    Much Love & Respect, Alex Braun

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  12. Fantastic piece Eric. I love you buddy.

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  13. Can only say one thing: Spot on! From your name-like buddy in the UK/Netherlands, thanks for this brilliant blog.

    Think I have never felt, joy, pain, tears, goose bumps, smiles and hope in one go. RxBandits is a daily routine for me and I will miss them like a serious drug addict missing out on his daily 'new' shots of RxB. However, looking so much forward to the new sounds they will produce and ever-ever-ever keep on progressing!

    Love and Peace,
    Erik.

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  14. Well said, my friend! My first show was the Food not bombs at the Chain. It was definitly a life changing experience. I walked out of that show feeling like I experienced something special. I know I did. I've been to as many SoCal shows since then, multiple on the same tour, folling them from Pomona, to San Diego, and back to LA all in one weeked. Hearing Matt sing so patiently often sends shivers down my spine. They will be missed greatly. I can't wait to see what is to come of these amazing musician!

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