Click to Download or Stream at Daytrotter

When Matthew Embree sings, “She lives without emotion/It makes me better, but only for the night,” on the song, “Only For The Night,” the RX Bandits lead singer couldn’t be speaking any more directly about the way he is. He couldn’t have been speaking more poignantly about the way his band of 16 years is.

Each and every bit of music that these men play is charged with emotion, an energy that comes out of love and concern. It’s the sort of red, smoking hot passion that, if touched would scorch. You’d smell burning flesh, something like a disgusting hog cooking over a bed of charcoal. There are flares aplenty in the ways that Embree and his mates operate. There are all kinds of reasons to be agitated, to feel as if we’re being wronged and hurt. The Seal Beach, California, band began playing almost two decades ago, but turned a dramatic corner in 2001, with the release of “Progress,” an album in which they announced themselves as a significant band, with heady ideas and a sound that wasn’t merely a dabbling in ska and reggae sounds - the kind of trifle that any high school or college-aged pothead with an iconic Bob Marley poster up on their wall as an overseeing mentor - but was serious work of art. It was a record that was rock solid in its focus, its musical ambition and in its emboldened spirit. It felt a little bit like a minor revolution, and maybe it was just a personal revolution - some kind of awakening - but either way, we suddenly started hearing this band for something more than it used to be.

Read More

Orange County genre transcending band RX Bandits delivered an ear assaulting, heart tugging and cardio heavy last ever performance in San Francisco. This show was truly special, and everyone in attendance knew it as they belted out lyrics memorized long ago and collided with one another in the pit. This band has grown from a third wave ska band into a group with eclectic progressive rock, punk and world music influences, and they’ve amassed a giant following of loyal fans over 15 years of excessive touring. The intense energy of their live show has a magnetic pull that keeps bringing people back to experience their music again and again, and this was the last chance to be a part of a RX Bandits show.

El Paso prog rock outfit Zechs Marquise opened up the night with a set of heavy jams. Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, keyboardist for the Mars Volta, plays drums in this band alongside his bass playing younger brother, Marfred. Experimental rock juice must run through this family’s blood, as they grinded out song after song of complex drum parts, distorted muddy bass lines, metric guitar riffs, and melodic keyboard accents. All of these sounds intertwined with each other seamlessly, even while conforming to ever-changing time signatures. Zechs Marquise was a good choice to open the show, and the audience seemed to be in a trance while they nodded their heads to the multi-faceted sounds that came from the stage.

This trance was shattered by the time RX Bandits were about to take the stage. Chants of “RXB” melted away into cheers as frontman Matt Embree and the rest of the band took the stage and swung right into an adrenaline boosting set of songs pulled from their last three albums in mostly chronological order. “VCG III” and “Consequential Apathy” were played off of their 2001 release Progress, and they continued with a sampling of tracks off of the subsequent 2003 album, The Resignation.

The energy on the dance floor had been very high all night, but it got kicked up another notch during crowd favorites “Dinna-dawg” and “Decrescendo”. Fans yelled out lyrics in unison with Embree, and the dance floor grew more physical with the addition of many colorful mosh pit residents, including big shirtless sweaty guys, a couple who somehow could continuously make out while violently swinging each other around, and more surprisingly, a group of people that would daringly ballroom dance with each other through this precarious area when the floor opened up. I’ve always noticed that crowds at RXB shows are full of really friendly and happy people, and they create a very welcoming form of chaos.

Read More

When Fugazi came onto the scene around the tail end of the ‘80’s, they redefined punk rock onto a pedestal many will never be able to sit above, it turned a lot of heads for kids seeking progressive music from what they thought it was or could be. It was a band that for many, and still many of my friends years later, that defined how talented and forward thinking genres can be, but how reaching outside the box and being honest as a musician will make you sit atop the rest for a long time. “Legacy” is a word that over 80% of bands today will never reach. Possibly 90%.

That’s a fact.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Fugazi had that much influence on me as a listener when I was young. It was a band I didn’t discover until college and even begin to understand, analyze and realize the true worth until the last few years of my life. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the band I’m about to look back on will ever reach that level of broad influence, because time is yet to show us that. But picking up Progress by the RX Bandits for me was like others discovering Repeater. With each release and live show, I watched the RX Bandits band just stride when getting better and better and give birth to some of the best music that will forever stick with me and be passed down. It goes without saying that missing the band’s Hoodwinked set of Fugazi covers at this year’s Bamboozle will be regrettable for years to come. A tiny itch in the back of my mind.

Read More

The Glasshouse in Pomona has long felt like a home base for the progressive ska sounds of the RX Bandits. Crowded in a thicket of floppy-haired, bearded twenty-somethings, the swelling chants of “RXB! RXB! RXB!” on Saturday night were loud enough to drown out the thought that this would in fact be the second to last show of the band’s farewell tour, following 16 years, six studio albums and endless rounds of touring. This last L.A. County show came on the heels of a previous night at the Mayan Theater on Thursday.

Emerging from darkness and manning their respective battle stations with a hired horn section in toe, the sputtering drum line of “In Her Drawer” from their 2006 album “…And the Battle Begun” caused an irreversible seismic shift in the pit. Molten with excitement, testosterone and flailing dance moves, hordes of front row fans compressed into a cluster of whirling energy silhouetted by the glow of flashing stage lights. Off to the side, shards of brass from guest saxophonists added the kerosene, revitalizing the band’s sound after the departure of saxophonist Steve Borth and trombonist Chris Sheets in recent years.

Read More

I must have seen her face before 
I fell in love when I was born
Now they hide her with a whisper 
It’s over

If I were to list out all the bands that I’ve ever seen live and list them in accordance to how many times I’ve dragged my ass down to some dive of a venue to see them, RX Bandits would proudly sit atop that list. Since my introduction to them back when they were just a politicized 3rd wave ska act through their growth into one of the most forward thinking acts in modern music I’ve had the honor to see them one shy of a dozen times – but it was the last two shows, two of their last three shows ever (and last in the vicinity of their southern California home) that proudly affirm how special they really are/were. Their sets at the Mayan Theater in the heart of downtown Los Angeles and two days later at the Glasshouse a half hour inland in Pomona made the previous 9 RX Bandits shows that I have attended seem reserved in comparison, which is no easy feat.

Part 1: August 4th, 2011 @ the Mayan Theater

Read More

Over the course of 16 years and 6 studio albums, RX Bandits have crafted an instantly recognizable sound. Their blend of ska, punk, and progressive rock has won over an incredibly loyal fanbase, and their dynamic live show is one of the few places you can catch audiences moshing one second and dancing the next. The band’s last album, 2009’s ‘Mandala,’ saw them at the height of their instrumental prowess, showcasing Matt Embree and Steve Choi’s speedy, skittering guitar lines and drummer Chris Tsagakis’ fluid grooves.

Now, RX Bandits are nearing the end of their farewell tour and the beginning of an indefinite hiatus. Before one of the band’s shows in Boston, Chris was kind enough to speak with Rock Edition over the phone about the tour, the hiatus, and his future plans.

How’s it going?

Read More

RX Bandits Play July 25th at The Complex, Salt Lake City w/ Maps & Atlases and Zechs Marquise.

“Steve Choi gives interviews like he’s a politician. The RX Bandits’ guitarist/keyboardist doesn’t speak like a hypocritical scumbag of a politician, but rather a doggedly idealistic one—a guy with unwavering views and PR-friendly answers to any questions that come his way. Choi is so determined to convey a handful of certain ideas that, during a recent interview, it seemed like he was actively conducting a two-part campaign based around the image of his Long Beach, Calif.-based band.

The first part of his platform insists that RX Bandits have never made a conscious decision in altering their style. Instead, he insists, everything’s been a product of gradual evolution. “We always keep the mentality that it could go in any direction,” Choi says. “We didn’t have any views on the trajectory or where it was headed or how fast it would be heading there. It was kind of like, ‘Let it happen and keep doing it as long as it feels good and right.’ ”

Later, he makes another statement that runs along the same lines: “I feel like we were where we were supposed to be at each stage in our progression.” Try to ask him a question about how the band might hypothetically sound in the future, and he won’t rattle off anything from his imagination, instead vigilantly sticking to his POV that everything is up in the air until the whole group converges in the same room.

Read More

RX Bandits have been a long time staple in my musical progression through the ages. I can’t say this about many bands, but they’re one of very few; an elite list of bands that have survived the 2000s on to the 2010s. I first came to love this band during the Progress days of 2001, and have continued to follow and appreciate their progression through the years, the albums, the record label woes and the lineup changes.

When word of the ‘farewell’ tour came around, I was a bit bummed to say the least. One of the most consistent and impressive rock bands calling their live aspect quits isn’t exactly the best foundation for a tour, but alas – there was no way I’d miss this tour.

Read More

Sound Colour Vibration Interview

w/ Matt Embree and Chris Tsagakis of RX Bandits

On the edge of an indefinite hiatus, Rx Bandits are wrapping up a consistent schedule of touring with a string of summer shows. They are completing their summer tour in the place that birthed the band, Southern California. Having crafted a sound with foundations in rock, reggae, punk, and ska, Rx has evolved with every album and influenced many others in the process. With a slew of side projects (i.e. Matt Embree’s Love You Moon, Chris Tsagakis’ Technology, Embree and Tsagakis both in The Sound of Animals Fighting, Steve Choi in Machines, etc.), the group is looking to stretch new musical limbs while giving others time to rest. I sat down with longtime friends and musical partners Matt Embree (Vocals/Guitar) and Chris Tsagakis (Drums) to talk about collaborations, labels, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -Zack Lazar

This tour has been blown a bit out of proportion. You guys said you were going on a break, and people started saying, “they’re over, this is the farewell tour!”. But really, isn’t it more like an indefinate hiatus.

Matt Embree: That’s what it is, a hiatus. We’re not breaking up.

Chris Tsagakis: We’ve been pretty consistent with touring for a long time.

Read More

Emo’s was a sad site on Wednesday. By all appearances the place was hopping just like any other show on any other night but under the surface everyone was thinking the same sad thought: I wish RX Bandits would stick together and stay on the road. When the band announced in April that the 36 dates they are playing this summer would be their last, fans mourned what they thought to be the end of one of the most forward-thinking bands of the last 10 years. It turns out this is a bit premature. The band is not breaking up entirely, they’re just pulling a Beatles-circa-1966 move. As RX Bandits, the members energy will be channelled to writing new music without the intention of ever performing it live. 

Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez, bass player for psychedelic jammers Zech’s Marquise, reminisced about the first time his band toured with the Bandits in 2009, saying it was only after playing with them that he realized how much his band needed to step up its live game. The El Paso native felt that the Bandits had sent out a challenge and he felt compelled to respond. Rodriguez-Lopez and Co., have evidently taken that challenge to heart. After openers Happy Body Slow Brain finished their set of ethereal indie rock, Zech’s took the stage for a 40-minute for an extended spastic, tripped out jam session. Any review of Zech’s Marquise must make note of each member’s virtuosity. The band left no note unturned and no beat unplayed as they alternated between unrestrained brutality and understated beauty. The set was composed entirely of songs from the band’s forthcoming album Getting Paid, which is set for a September 27 release through Rodriguez Lopez Productions /  Sargent House. 

Read More

Like it or not, death eventually gets a chance to wrap its bony little fingers around every living thing. Bands, however, are fortunate enough to have some wiggle room with their time of expiration. The current status of Rx Bandits exemplifies this idea. In April, the Seal Beach, California-based four-piece announced that it’d embark on its last tour this summer—but by all indicators, the group won’t actually be gone for good as much as it’ll exist in the blurry state of “indefinite hiatus.” 

Still, this move does close the chapter on some 15 years of heavy touring and intriguing twists. Starting out as a rather innocuous ska/punk band, the Bandits gradually morphed into an inventive batch of prog-rock/reggae players, reveling in increasingly abstract imagery and eventually shelving the horns entirely. The band’s last album, 2009’sMandala, took its name from a Sanskrit term representing the cycle of life—a choice emphasizing the band’s natural sonic progression. With the act on its way out (however temporarily), now’s the time to see Rx Bandits, as it stops at Emo’s tonight, June 29, with Maps & Atlases, Zechs Marquise, and Happy Body Slow Brain. Before the band heads into the murky unknown, The A.V. Club caught up with guitarist-keyboardist Steve Choi to discuss spontaneity, boulders, and the question he’s never been asked.

The A.V. Club: In the past, you’ve spoken repeatedly about how the band hasn’t made any conscious decisions about its direction, instead letting things happen gradually. Why does the idea of evolution appeal to you so much, as opposed to carrying out an idea that’s already been decided?

Steve Choi: I feel like we try to base a lot of our creative philosophy on the natural laws of the world. In this case, we all trust in each other’s abilities and what we bring to the table. As songwriters, Matt [Embree] and I have the capabilities to make complete songs and dictate what everyone plays and that sort of thing, but I really feel like that wouldn’t be maximizing our potential. While there are cases here and there [of things] Matt and I have done completely on our own, it would be not maximizing the sound to not have that sort of spontaneous collaboration—because once you get into that territory, you’re dealing with the subconscious. When you deal with jamming and improvisation, you’re dealing with a different part of your brain. The ideas that come out of that, more often than not, work out to be really great for us. Our approach is to write a framework and create sounds, but within the boundaries of the song, utilize all the free space we have, metaphorically speaking, [by] exercising these spontaneous ideas and even turning mistakes into parts that in that realm aren’t really mistakes.

Read More

This is a long time coming, for sure. it’s hard for me to talk about those damn bandits without gushing like i’m 16 again, but i’ll try to manage. i got the chance to interview a band who i’ve been listening to since the year 2001. it’s always nice to be able to connect with some of the artists you’ve looked up to for so long.

anyway, i won’t waste too much time. hit the interview for chris tsagakis and joe troy’s thoughts on mandala , touring, dvd releases, chris sheets and a lot more.

Roshan Bhatt, weworemasks.com: First off, just wanted to say thanks for talking to us. I’ve been a huge fan for a long time and I know my co-bloggers are as well.

Chris [Tsagakis], RX Bandits: Hey, thanks a lot man.

Joe [Troy], RX Bandits: Of course. It’s a pleasure.

WWM: Alright, well let’s get started. How’s tour going? You’re only about a couple weeks in, right?

Read More