WORDS WITH THE REBEL EMERGENCY

May 30, 2009, 05:37 PM

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WORDS WITH THE REBEL EMERGENCY

Rebel Emergency has been making their way through the music industry, working the Canadian scene and the American bouncing back and forth from New York to Toronto just to solidify their musical path. Nothing kept them from trying to reach their goals no matter what obstacles they came to face. Rebel Emergency has been creating a buzz growing a strong following and it continues to multiply largely due to their music and energetic live shows, they are not to be ignored! Just for you, two of the larries from Rebel Emergency Roddy Soul and Neil (Yagga Bucci) were fabulous enough to send over their thoughts to a few questions.



Fridae: Who is the current band?


Roddy: "The current band is Roddy Soul (Vocals), Geoff Star (Guitar), Yagga Bucci (Bass) and Sir Jeremy (Drums)."


Fridae: When I first saw the band you were under a somewhat different name, what is the reason behind the change?


Roddy: "We were formerly Panic & The Rebel Emergency. Tony Panic was a Dancehall DJ from Kingston Jamaica that we met in a Bronx studio jammed with him a bit and then decided to record a full album. Put the album out "Captured By a Vision" toured around the US, Canada and Jamaica. We were in San Diego for a show, on stage doing sound check, and the Feds busted in, guns drawn and took Panic away. That was about 2 years ago, haven’t seen him since, he'll be locked up for awhile."


Yagga Bucci: "The next day we had to play the UCLA Reggae Jazz fest in front of 15,000 people and Rod had to sing all of Panic’s parts, it was pretty crazy! I don’t know how Rod pulled off being a DJ in one days notice! I think he did a great job!"


Fridae: That is so crazy!



Fridae: Some bands are formed for the love of music; others for the love of perks. Why did you guys choose to form the band?


Roddy: "Definitely the love of music with us! We weren't very good musicians when we started. It was Bucci, another friend named Adam and I, who started the band in his basement just messing around. I only decided to sing because the other guys were horrible singers. We loved the same bands and loved playing together so we started doing it more and more. Then we invited Geoff to come and play with us. He was light years ahead of us technically, so he taught us a lot and brought some professionalism to the band that let us move forward."


Yagga Bucci: "We started in an unfinished basement, so we didn’t do it for the perks cause we spent way too many hours down there learning our instruments. We pretty much wanted to make music with friends and never really thought we would be headlining places like the Sound Academy."




Fridae: Where is everyone from?


Roddy: "We are all Toronto boys, except Jeremy who grew up in South Africa, which definitely has affected the way he plays. I think it’s a great asset to our band and to the style of music we play."




Fridae: Has music been an integral part of life growing up?


Roddy: "The radio was always on in my house, my brother had a huge record collection and he would make me listen to bands like The Beatles, The Who and The Animals. He taught me a lot about music and recognizing what makes a song or band special. Music is special in the sense that everyone has their own soundtrack growing up. It never stops always evolving, finding special bands and songs that make you feel something or maybe help you through certain difficult times. I have been lucky to find bands and artists that have affected my life in major ways."


Yagga Bucci: "Yes it has, I would call the ‘Pearl Jam – Ten’ album and ‘Bob Marley - Legend’ record my uncles cause I probably spent more time listening to those albums than with my actual uncles."




Fridae: Are you guys working on any new material?


Roddy: "We just finished recording a new album in NYC! We are pretty excited about it; it's a bit more diverse than our previous stuff. The record is being mixed right now and should be out in August. We did it with the same producer that did the Panic album, "Commissioner" Gordon Williams. He won a few Grammys for his work on the big Lauryn Hill album and Damian Marley’s. He has been somewhat of a mentor to us and has had a huge effect on our band and our sound."




Fridae: How many records has Rebel Emergency released?


Roddy: "We put out the Panic album around 2005 and then the Rebel Emergency EP in 2007. We've had a few demos scattered here and there."




Fridae: How hard has it been for Rebel Emergency to break into the Canadian music scene?


Yagga Bucci: "It’s been very hard and taken a very long time, I think every band that breaks on any music scene has some kind of luck on their side. I can honestly say some higher power has definitely helped us along the way. I understand why some rappers Thank God!"


Roddy: "A long road for us, especially going through the changes we went through. We've been lucky to meet a lot of cool people that have believed in us and helped us along, especially in Toronto which has helped us grow a great following here, and we try to make being a fan of our band a rewarding thing."




Fridae: What is the R.E plan for the summer?


Yagga Bucci: "Our game plan is to make Rebel Emergency a top band in the Canadian music scene. We are also currently talking to some record labels in the U.S, UK and Asia which will bring us exposure all over the world."


Roddy: "We have a few Festival shows, The PeaceDotLove festival, which I think is gonna be awesome, at The KoolHaus on June 18 with USS, Down With Webster, and Dragonette. We are also at SceneFest, The Cutting Edge Festival with The Roots and Ill Scarlett, and The Burlington Sound of Music Festival also with USS. Our big show is gonna be at the Mod Club in August and that will be our CD release party."



Fridae: What bands/artists are you feeling at the moment?


Yagga Bucci: "Everyone in the band is different but I would say I have been listening a lot to Jimmy Cliff, USS and the Talking Heads at this moment."


Roddy: "I listen to a lot of Pearl Jam, I like Kings of Leon a lot, mostly their older stuff, and the new Doves album is really good. I’ve been into a lot of different stuff lately. Amy Winehouse, Vampire Weekend, Nick Drake, Tool, Toots and The Maytals, it's always changing."


Fridae: Anything you would like to pimp out? The power is yours!


Yagga Bucci: "Our new album called ‘Love Ain’t Free’ will be out in August, we are playing a headlining show at the MOD club in August."


Roddy: "Thanks for the interview! People can check us out at Rebel Emergency on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloadsor on facebook. The shows this summer are gonna be awesome and lookout for the new single and album soon!"


Fridae: Thank you for taking the time to hook it up!©2009FRIDAE™

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