RED Interview with Jasen Rauch
Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 6:30 p.m. CST
RED is a Christian metal band from Nashville, Tennessee. RED has been nominated for a Grammy and several GMA Dove Awards. Jasen Rauch of RED and I discussed their Grammy and Dove nominations, their debut album End of Silence, their musical influences and their next album tiled Innocence and Instinct.
AARON KEKER: Hey everyone! This is Aaron Keker from Always Acoustic™. Backstage with Jasen Rauch from RED. So, how’s it going dude?
JASEN RAUCH: It’s going good man. It’s going good, really well.
AARON KEKER: So, I saw online that you guys have switched labels from Essential to Epic Records?
JASEN RAUCH: Yes, EPIC’s actually… We haven’t technically switched. Epic’s jumped on board. They’re doing a partnership. Even though, Epic’s kind of spear heading how things are going. Epic is still there. They’re doing our small market Christian distribution. Epic is taking over as far as promotions and things like that. It’s been good. It’s been a good transition.
AARON KEKER: That’s cool. Um… I watched that horrific video on RED’s MySpace page late last year. How is everyone doing?
JASEN RAUCH: Good! Yeah, we had a pretty bad wreck at the end of last year. It was such a fluke thing because it was… We had finished wrapped up in the van and finally made the conversion into a bus. And um… One week, fluke weekend we had to get back in the van because there was something being worked on in the bus. We um… Twenty miles from dropping the van off again, that’s when we had wrecked. Got on to a pretty serious wreck. Our tour manager at the time was pretty banged up. He’s still pretty banged up. And our drummer’s out still. He’s got some shoulder issues from an injury that needs physical therapy. Fixed and getting all that fixed and worked out. But… Everybody’s been good and we’re back on the road. And back on the bus and not driving ourselves too much.
AARON KEKER: That’s awesome! Who decided to call the band RED?
JASEN RAUCH: Um… Gosh. That’s a good question. I think originally it was… The idea come brought to the table by the drummer we had at the time. Um… It was about five years ago. Something like that, so…
AARON KEKER: And RED’s not short for redemption?
JASEN RAUCH: No. No. I mean it’s kind of been thrown into there. It’s been… Yeah, it’s been used for a lot of things. But yeah no, not short for anything, just RED.
AARON KEKER: I’ve seen RED cited various ways online. Is RED cited in all CAPS?
JASEN RAUCH: Um… Yeah usually, I think. Nothing we had made official. But um… It’s something we done. Yeah.
AARON KEKER: What are some of your favorite songs on End of Silence?
JASEN RAUCH: Some of my favorite songs on the record probably would be, um… I think “Let Go.” It’s a really dynamic song and one of the last songs we wrote for the record. We felt like we had our radio songs out of the way and our fun songs out of the way. We just had one or two more tracks kind of just do whatever we wanted and that was one of them. I think I really like how it ended up. And I think, probably my other favorite song would be… Probably some of the… Probably “Already Over.” Both parts 1 and 2. I think, together they fit really well.
AARON KEKER: You don’t like “Pieces?”
JASEN RAUCH: “Pieces” is a good song, yeah.
AARON KEKER: Are there any songs that did not make on End of Silence that you wished they would have?
JASEN RAUCH: Um… No, actually we wrote one extra song that we thought would make it on this next record. Which actually did not make it on this record either. But um… We needed ten songs and we wrote ten songs. So, every song that we used was written for the record.
AARON KEKER: Any idea when additional videos will be available for purchase on iTunes?
JASEN RAUCH: Um… Actually, we just shot the video for “Already Over” about two weeks ago. So, we just got a new video. Like an edit tonight that kind of improving. It should be available really soon. So, next month at the latest.
AARON KEKER: No video for “Pieces” yet?
JASEN RAUCH: Not, yet. Not, yet.
AARON KEKER: Yeah, I am looking forward to that.
JASEN RAUCH: Yeah, yeah. That would be cool.
AARON KEKER: What was the bands reaction when you were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album in 2007?
JASEN RAUCH: Being nominated for a Grammy was unbelievable. It was something we never really even foreseen or anticipated happening. We were on tour at the time and it was a smaller tour. And we um… Just woke up one morning. Our manager had called us at 9:00 in the morning and much earlier than we are usually used to waking up. And kind of asked us … He had answered the phone saying, “how’s it feel to be a Grammy nominated band.” We all flipped out. There was this really cool moment. Everything about it was really cool. It was something we never expected and have a lot of pride in. It was a great experience.
AARON KEKER: Although RED was unsuccessful in winning a Grammy; the band did win an award at the GMA Dove Awards in 2007 and are nominated for another GMA DOVE Award in 2008. Do you think RED, will take home the award for Rock Recorded Song of the Year for “Break Me Down?”
JASEN RAUCH: That’s a good question. We are up against some great bands, so. Um… I don’t know. Again just to be nominated is always an amazing thing. You know what, we are not really one band to get hung up on whether we win or lose or not. Just to have the nomination is pretty exciting. Getting a nod in anything is awesome.
AARON KEKER: Two years in a row, though.
JASEN RAUCH: Yeah. It’s great. And on the same record too. That does not happen a lot.
AARON KEKER: No. Which bands or musicians inspire RED?
JASEN RAUCH: We’re all over the map as far as influences. We grew up listening to different stuff. A lot of the stuff that directly influences RED are… We like a lot of heavier music. We grew up listening to you know Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Pantera. And stuff like that. And then we have the other side of things, that we’re all really classically influenced too. So, we are into a lot of modern composers Paganini, Rachmaninoff and Russian pianist. And things like that. The more eclectic side, we listen to that side too.
AARON KEKER: Well, “Pieces” has some sort of classical feel?
JASEN RAUCH: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
AARON KEKER: RED has toured with bands like Flyleaf, Seether and Puddle of Mudd. Are there any other bands or musicians that RED would like to tour with?
JASEN RAUCH: Awe, man. Sure. We have not gotten the chance to go out with Chevelle yet. We keep crossing paths all the time. But we would love to do some dates with those guys. Papa Roach, we have done a handful of shows with but never done a tour with. But we would love to do a tour with them. And any bands we already toured with they are such good friends of ours that any time we get to go out on the road with them, we’d love too. We have this trend of that we find a band that we tour with that we end up doing three, four, five tours with them. Anything that works, I guess.
AARON KEKER: Do you own an iPod?
JASEN RAUCH: I do.
AARON KEKER: So, if I looked at our iPod, what would be on it? What kind of songs?
JASEN RAUCH: Awe, man. Well right now, I just had my iPod battery replaced, so my library is still transferring over. So, it’s not that big at the moment. Before I did, I had 6,000 songs or something. I get made fun of how much stuff is on there but um… A lot… I mean, right now a lot of stuff is working on the new record. Improving stuff. Constantly, mixing it. And so, I got hundreds of demos ands stuff on their that I listen to forty times a day. So, that’s probably what you’d see. Most played.
AARON KEKER: I read the posting on February 15, 2008 on RED’s web site that the band was taking time off from touring to record for their next album. Any idea what your next album will be titled?
JASEN RAUCH: Innocence and Instinct is the name of the record.
AARON KEKER: Sounds good. What about any songs?
JASEN RAUCH: Songs, I mean. We still have working titles and things that we are working on. That’s kind of the point we’re finished up right now is the lyrics. So, titles may change. But the whole concept of the record all the subjects that we are dealing with. So, that’s why we coined the name Innocence and Instinct. The duality of good and evil. Just as humans and our stories, you can’t have one without the other.
AARON KEKER: All right. Final question. I have asked a few musician friends and they really did not have a definitive answer. Just like an actor or actress prepares to hit the stage and someone says to them “break a leg.” What is said to the band right before you perform?
JASEN RAUCH: Awe, man. That’s a good question. Um… I think… We kind of have this saying that our friends of ours. Wess from Puddle of Mudd. Lead singer of Puddle of Mudd. He kind of coined the phrase but. We would be… It started as we get off the bus, maybe at a festival or somewhere in the middle of nowhere. And well before all the fans and stuff get there and the people coming into the show. We would be out throwing the football or we would be bored or whatever, just reading. Any time we would see each other, he would just start saying, “Live in the Dream, One Part at a Time” and it kind of stuck. So, its something we always say for one of those days. Just “Live in the Dream,” here we go. Kind of remind yourself, what your doing.
AARON KEKER: That’s better than the ones that I’ve heard. I’ve heard like “Kick ass.”
JASEN RAUCH: Yeah. (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: That kind of stuff. I mean, “Rock and Roll” is fine.
JASEN RAUCH: Yeah, Yeah.
AARON KEKER: “But, kick ass.” I’m like, oh, my gosh!
JASEN RAUCH: (Laughs) That’s funny.
AARON KEKER: The guy was a lot older. So, that’s probably why. But you know. Well, all right, well thanks a lot…
JASEN RAUCH: No problem, man. I appreciate it.
AARON KEKER: For the interview.
JASEN RAUCH: Sure. Thank you so much.
