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They're back, they're pissed. They're not kids, and they're definitely
not rich. LSD? None of your business. After a decade of international
touring, numerous recordings and fighting for the front seat of the van,
Rich Kids on LSD have released " Riches to Rags," a take-no-prisoners
collection that pretty much deconstructs any erroneous inpressions that
the band was going soft on its fans. One of the most enduring(or
persistent - take your choice) bands on the California hardcore scene, RKL
have been charming(Well, They've annoyed a couple) punk audiences all
over the world with their wild musical meltdowns, take-you-by-the-throat
stage presence and aburd nihilistic lyrics, not to mention their stubborn
insistence on great chops. Founded in Santa Barbara, CA in the early '80s, the now San Francisco-based RKL have gone through more than a few personnel changes in pursuit of the ideal lineup. Watching Joe "Boba" Raposo on bass and Dave "Bug" Raun on drums pound out a slamming backbone to the dual guitar attack of Barry D'live and Chris Rest confirms that the band is back with a fury. The icing on the cake (or tattoo on the butt) is the return to RKL of vocalist and all-around intense guy, Jason "Jaystink" Sears, one of the most controversial punk frontmen around. No one is safe (especially the front row) when Jason is on stage. RKL now say that the latest release, "Reactivate" (Epitaph, 1993) was actually the work of their evil twin band, a group of malcontents called Slang. When they brought "Riches to Rags" into the studio , the band insisted on that...FAT...sound. To accentuate their fireball rhythm section and blazing guitar assault, unleashing the full fury of RKL on the world(and the world's car speakers). "Riches to Rags" was literally "cooked up", says the band, by "bumping the heads, throwing all our ideas into a big ol' stewpot, adding the right licks, removing the cheese, and stirring around." After baking... out came a souffle of songs." The results are gritty tales mostly drawn from experiences they've had in the past year. Losing friends to drugs, losing drugs to friends, breaking down on the road and the annoyingly "hypocritically politically correct" - all are fair game for RKL's twisted view of life. Though their intrepid acid-munching mascot, Beanie, is not starring in this episode, he does make a cameo appearance, along with the band, in their partially animated video, "Betrayed", a fierce visual rant on friendship and trust gone wrong. They're back, Oh yeah, you bet. So, don't miss RKL this time around. They'd really be pissed then. |