Getting to Know: The Raygun Girls, a One-Man Cold Wave Band
In today’s Getting to Know, we meet The Raygun Girls, a one-man band that is described as “cold wave.” Not quite sure what that is? Please read on. If you are in an up and coming band that would like to partake in a Getting to Know feature, contact editor@riffyou.com to receive the questionnaire and instructions. Thanks!
Band Name: The Raygun Girls
Band Members: Geoff Saavedra (vocals, guitar, bass, synth, and drum programming)
Years Active: 10
City of Origin: New York, NY.
Who are you and what do you do?
“I am Geoff, and I make music”
In 100 words or less, tell us how your band has gotten to this point.
“I’ve got music to make, so I keep making it. And if it weren’t for the fans, there’d be no one to make it for!”
What is your latest release and how would you best describe it to someone who hasn’t heard your band?
“My Self-Titled album was released in January 2014. It is a hard rock ode to revolution, and a call to arms against the apocalypse. CDs and digital downloads are available on my official website.
“I am currently finalizing a new album which is heavier (more metal), with contributions from female vocalists palliDust and Kindel, as well as some guitar solos from one man death metal band Abomnium (he also appears on the Self-Titled album).”
When making an album, which aspect of the process do you put the most time into and why?
“I think it’s equal parts song writing and production. Because I write all of the music on my own, there isn’t any rehearsing. I lay down a beat and start riffing on the guitar. I tend to re-record all the parts as the song comes together, as the vocalists I’m working with at the time send me their vocals. Sometimes a person’s delivery will change how I want to have the guitar or drum play.”
What is the best part about your band and why?
“The songs. The songs are hard and heavy, but not to the extreme. They have catchy hooks, choruses that you can sing along to, and beats that make you want to crank up your speakers and drive really fast!”
What makes your band unique from the rest?
“I mix punk, goth and metal to create a style of music that is somewhere between Industrial, metal and hard rock. I think the closest genre that you can put it in is cold wave – which is a name that came and went in the ‘90s to describe music that’s too heavy for hard rock, too fast for goth, and too goth for metal.
“The music fits well next to Slayer, or Rammstein; Ramones or Mastodon; Sisters of Mercy or Motorhead.”
How does your band survive the challenges of touring/gigging?
“I haven’t toured since 2008. In May of 2009, I had emergency heart surgery, and that took me off the stage. I now record all the music at my home studio. When I did tour, though, it was important to have a band that was able to laugh. Humour is the only way to get through it, or else you’ll end up a miserable depressed asshole.”
Would you rather be critically-acclaimed; rich and famous; or an under-the-radar band with a dedicated fan base?
“Somewhere between critically-acclaimed and a band with a dedicated fan base. You can’t be rich and famous without a dedicated fan base. Critically-acclaimed means that people are listening, but not necessarily buying. But, I would love to be able to make money from the music, which is tough to do when you don’t tour. After all, I do need to be able to pay for strings, electricity, and food. I just want as many people as possible to be able to hear the music.”
If you’d have to compare your band to another one out there, living or dead, who would it be and why?
“Killing Joke – they are a gigantic influence on me. They can’t be categorized because they are able to play goth, industrial, metal, punk, and it all sounds like it fits together. Also, the older they get, the angrier they get. And, I think the music that I’m writing now (to be released in late 2014), is the heaviest I’ve ever written.”
Which band/musician would you like to share many drinks with? What would you talk about?
“There are so many: Siouxsie Sioux, Rob Zombie, Joey and Johnny Ramone, Scott Ian, Sascha Konietzko, Dave Grohl, and Lemmy. I might add Al Jourgensen in there, but he scares me. I’d talk about music, touring, living, and how they’ve survived the music lifestyle (I know Johnny and Joey are dead, but we’re imagining a scenario here). It would blow my mind to sit there with any of these people.”
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