Published: June 15, 2009 8:07 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight June 2009 Edition
The Rhodes
The Rhodes
We are excited to bring you the awesomeness of The Rhodes. Their sound mixes rock and soul into a nice melodic tune that fans will gravitate towards instantly. What makes them especially exciting to listening to is that their sound is unique, soulful, rockin', and full of energy. Check out this recent spotlight that our Webzine had with the talented band.
Isaac: What was the best part of 2008 for you musically?
The Rhodes: The best part of 2008 musically? Tricky first question. Ah... the songs we created, and subsequently, recording and releasing our first independent album.
Isaac: What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment for 2008?
The Rhodes: Survival.
Isaac: Describe the music scene in New York.
The Rhodes: Complete and consistent shit. So few bands/artists we've encountered have bravery enough to make music that other people aren't. Another Hardcore band. Another Ska band. Another Emo band. Don't know when predictability became desirable, but The Rhodes stand out like a pumpkin in a bag o' cotton candy. We're fighting the good fight, and we're not sorry.
Isaac: What has been the best venue to perform at and why?
The Rhodes: There are a handful of good venues we've played in... The Bitter End and Drom in Manhattan, Maxwell's in Hoboken... We care more about sound quality than anything else, so that's where the preference is.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
The Rhodes: Assuming you mean recording artists... there are so many between the four of us, it's useless to try and rank them. Ray Charles was a true master, and HE deserved to be called The King, but they instead gave the title to Elvis... because being white is oh-so-important apparently. But - that's another discussion entirely. Richard Hell & The Voidoids... still the best punk music ever made. MOTOWN as a whole... the artists, the sound, the songwriting, the history... MOTOWN still inspires us in a big way. And James Brown? No one man has the right to that much soul.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry.
The Rhodes: A breath of fresh air. We're new blood. Something different than what's being churned out of the sloppy pop music machine. Great pop songs sung by the people who wrote them. Disney tells kids what music to like, who to idolize. Radio subjects people to what labels want you to listen to, and buy, and remember. They think people are incapable of recognizing great music on their own. We don't believe that's the truth. We couldn't. Otherwise, our hard work and dreams are null and void.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
The Rhodes: Maybe Stevie Wonder, maybe not.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
The Rhodes: We wouldn't.
...
But if forced, we'd call it a smooth, yet robust blend of Rock and Soul, crafted from exotic chord cadences and finely-ground human emotions. All Organic. TRY IT FROZEN.
Isaac: What type of feedback have you received from fans about your music?
The Rhodes: We have yet to discover a pattern in listeners' favorite songs. We play a wide variety of music, so opinions vary just as much. But, it's been publicly decided... that you can dance to it.
