Childish puns, weak jokes and tired parallels? Yes. But LA band, RACES, has sort of invited this all on themselves. With a debut album entitled Year of the Witch and a most bedazzling single called Big Broom…well, this lighthearted list of questions practically seemed to write itself.
Fronted by songwriter/guitarist/lead vocalist Wade Ryff and rounded out by Garth Herberg (guitar), Devon Lee (vocals/percussion), Breanna Wood (piano/vocals), Oliver Hild (bass/Moog) and Lucas Ventura (drums/percussion), RACES recently released Year of the Witch via Frenchkiss and have had little difficulty—despite brooding themes and songs of heartbreak—eliciting near-amorous reactions from bloggers and seasoned critics alike. Releasing two strong singles from the LP thus far, with two corresponding, spellbinding videos (below), their future appears chock full of magical things.
For this themed exchange we ask nothing but the obvious, but despite this—and despite our ‘giant’ humor fail when it comes to big brooms—Wade Ryff ultimately uses his powers for good and casts light on all we wish to know re: witches, brooms, copious glitter, and balloons.
___
The archetypal witch has black hair, a green face and crooked nose…but what do witches look like to you?
Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a winning smile.
Would you say all women have powers?
Yes.
Has a woman made you do things you’d swear you’d never normally do?
Made me do? That would imply that I have no control over my choices…but yes, I’ve done things that maybe at one time I thought I would never do.
What about men? What powers do they have?
Infinite powers.
And do you have an innate powers to speak of?
None.
If you could have a supernatural power, what would it be?
The power to rid the world of disease, violence and hunger. If that’s too tall an order I’d ask for the Neuralyzer from Men in Black. It was that little thing they would click and it would erase someone’s memory. On the device you could input how far back into someone’s memory you wanted to erase. Just think about what you could do with that bad boy.
If you could cast a spell on anyone to achieve anything, what would you do?
I’d save the planet by casting a spell on all of humanity that would turn everyone into vegans.
Have you ever wished you could hex someone?
No. I would never channel external forces to bring harm to somebody else.
Have you ever felt hexed yourself?
No comment…
Witches…flying brooms… Hey, I bet you needed a very big broom indeed to clean up all that confetti and glitter after the Big Broom shoot.
Haven’t heard that one before. [Insert sound of a deflating balloon here.]
Was being surrounded by all those unpredictable balloons unnerving?
A little bit. A balloon would pop every couple seconds so in the beginning we were all a little jumpy, but after a while you get used to it. The real unnerving thing was the lawn blowers stuffed full of glitter that was being blasted in our faces.
2012: Year of the balloon scare, or year of…?
RACES.
___
RACES’ will tour this summer in support of Year of the Witch.
Jul 06 – Troubadour – West Hollywood, CA
Jul 17 – Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO
Jul 19 – Der Rathskeller, Memorial Union, University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI
Jul 20 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
Jul 21 – Schuba’s Tavern – Chicago, IL
Jul 22 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
Jul 23 – The Drake Hotel – Toronto, ON
Jul 25 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
Jul 28 – Glasslands Gallery – Brooklyn, NY
Jul 29 – DC9 – Washington, DC
Jul 31 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Aug 01 – High Watt – Nashville, TN
Aug 03 – Rudyard’s British Pub – Houston, TX
Aug 04 – Stubb’s BBQ – Austin, TX
Aug 06 – Lowbrow Palace – El Paso, TX
Aug 07 – Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ
