The best part of the Capitol Hill Block Party is that you know you’re seeing bands on the verge of something big. For example, I had no clue who The Lumineers were back in 2012 outside of “whatever that song was on the Bing commercial.” Next year: headlining Sasquatch. Grimes, Twin Shadow, Blouse…all had a similar year of success.
I know Radiation City through friends of friends. We’ve never officially met, so I was anxious to see just what made these five so special. Portland loves them, but did that mean Seattle would?
I sat down with Radiation City in Cal Anderson Park to discuss the Outkast cover at Mississippi Studios that people still can’t stop talking about, but also making music that’s “authentic and enduring.” We got offered weed cookies mid-interview (they politely declined), and also spent probably three hours in a hot tub together somewhere in Ballard later that evening. My conclusion? Radiation City is definitely on the verge of greatness, too.
Portland really loves you guys. What do you think the advantage is of being a band in Portland?
Randy Bemrose: The cost of living. And the quality of life is very high.
Matt Rafferty: There is an avid music scene and I don’t think there is a music scene that is as flourishing, but also as accessible, anywhere else.
Lizzy Ellison: There’s more camaraderie than there is angst.
Cameron Spies: The competitive spirit is almost a turn-off for people. There’s definitely a supportive thing going on. And anyone who is trying to blow themselves up too hard is shunned — well, maybe not shunned — but it isn’t encouraged behavior. There’s not the L.A. kind of thing…
Lizzy: It’s not perfect.
Cameron: Right — it’s not perfect and it does have its drawbacks. But it is great for fostering creative talent and people being supportive of it.
That brings me to A Different Animal, your collaboration with G-Force (Calvin Valentine). One thing I like about Portland is that you don’t see as much as a divide between artists in different genres as you do in other cities.
Cameron: Not divided? Well, that’s actually why we did the project in the first place because my impression was that it was different crowds going to different shows. And we wanted to do something that would hybridize them. The reason we met Calvin was in a basketball tournament about music and bands…so maybe there’s more of that crossover than we think there is.
Matt: I think it’s all relative. Like Yoni Wolf from WHY? I know has collaborated with a lot of hip hop and indie acts. I know Das Racist in New York has collaborated with a lot of indie acts like Chairlift.
Is there anyone else in PDX you’d like to work with?
Cameron: There is a lot of people that as inspiration strikes I’d like to work with. But it’s tough because they are making so little money playing music and trying to make a living out of it. It’s really hard to find time to collaborate on something meaningful.
Lizzy: Well, let’s say aside from that….
Randy: I’d like to work with the OBT (Oregon Ballet Theatre) or the Oregon Symphony. They’ve done shows in the past with pop groups. I know the Portland Cello Project is already doing that — earlier this year Blind Pilot did something with them.
Cameron: I actually just ran into JUMBO The Garbageman from Lifesavas the other day and it inspired me. I know we just did a hip hop collaboration but I want to work with that guy!
I was actually at your New Year’s Eve show at Mississippi Studios in 2011 when you covered the Outkast album. Is there anyone else you’d like to cover?
Lizzy: The Fleetwood Mac Rumours album would be so dope.
Cameron: We were going to cover Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life but it didn’t work out. We did one song from it but it didn’t quite work. It was really hard.
Patti King: I would like to do Peter Gabriel. I would love to do “Sledgehammer.”
Lizzy: Oh, my god, me too!
How long did it take you guys to prep for the Outkast thing?
Lizzy: It should have taken us a month and a half — it took us two weeks. It was like cramming for a final basically.
Cameron: A very stressful two weeks.
Lizzy: Honestly, I think people’s expectations really weren’t that high because of what we were trying to do. But once we met that, it didn’t matter about the perfection of it because it was just so fun.
How have you all grown with Animals in the Median? How is it different from past records?
Cameron: It’s more collaborative. We took a longer time to make the record and massage things in a more careful manner. We mixed it with somebody else as opposed to mixing it ourselves — which we’ve done before.
I read that some soul and R&B inspired you guys as well.
Cameron: Definitely. We started reaching into different territories.
Lizzy: We started off with our first record just easing people into the idea that we were going to be making music like this. It’s ambitious being like white kids from Portland who want to make R&B and soul music. Now we’re not only trying to do that but were also learning a lot about ourselves as musicians. We’re also looking to incorporate possibly more bossa nova and soul combined on the next record, as opposed to separate tracks having those sounds. Even though we had a lot of time and worked with other people, we also learned more about our own capabilities.
What would you always like your music to communicate?
Randy: Goosebumps. For me that’s the gold standard of a good at home listening experience or even in a live setting. If somebody gives me goose bumps, I’ll follow them for a long time.
You don’t have a certain type of sound you’d like to stick with?
Cameron: No — that’s one thing I think we always strive for. To always be progressing and doing something slightly different. Even if there’s a common thread throughout the whole arc of the project, I want us to always be pushing ourselves to try new things.
Lizzy: I think we choose the type of music that we’re referencing because it gives us goosebumps and it’s super heartfelt.
Cameron: It’s authentic and it’s enduring. I think it’s an important quality.
Moving here from Oregon — it seems like there’s the feud between Portland and Seattle. Portland people hate on Seattle and vice versa. I’m trying to end the feud. Do you guys have a good memory from here outside of today?
Cameron: It took us a long time to be embraced here. It took us like five shows or so where we had no more than twenty or thirty people. But then we did Doe Bay Fest thanks to Kevin Sur and all those guys. And after that, it took off from there.
I’m interviewing Pickwick tomorrow and I know you guys have toured with them. Is there any question I should ask them?
Lizzy: Yes!
Randy: Ask them about, “I shit you not.”
Lizzy: You have to ask them! Just say, “Tell me the story behind ‘I shit you not.’” That’s all, just open with that. (Laughs)
