With a new album due out in October, San Diego-based Rx Bandits are taking some time away from recording in their mom's garage to do a small West Coast tour to pay their rent, or so they say. Lead singer Matt Embree took some time after a band meeting to talk about life, music and how much they love their Arizona fans.
WILDCAT: How did you pick the name Rx Bandits?
EMBREE: Well, I really can't talk about it. We could all go to jail. I'd have to kill you and kill everyone reading this or listening to this. It's something that we know that everyone's done. Something that you know, but you don't necessarily talk about.
WILDCAT: How do you classify your sound? Is it different now?
EMBREE: It's definitely always changing. I'd definitely say our sound is different than a year ago, or even six months ago. I think it's the nature of a band who's trying to improve their music, or really just trying to express whatever it is that you express when you play music.
WILDCAT: What did you do differently on Progress compared to Resignation?
EMBREE: Resignation was recorded live. It feels the best that way. I can't describe it to anyone who hasn't done it, but anyone who has done it knows exactly what I'm talking about. It just feels great. I never really understood the whole method of recording one thing at a time. It's just kind of lifeless to me.
WILDCAT: What is your writing process like?
EMBREE: We basically all get together in our studio in the garage, my mom's garage. We have to give props to Mrs. Karen Embree for hooking us up all the time. We all just show up here at about 11-something. We just hang out - cook, eat, chill, play music all day and put songs together. And go surf when there's good waves.
WILDCAT: Would you say your fans have grown up with you?
EMBREE: Our music is, like, weird, you know? You don't really know what to expect song to song, but there's some sort of glue holding it all together. I do have a lot of people that come up to me and say I remember seeing you when I was 16 and now they're older than me. For the most part the core of our fan base has stuck with us. I see a lot of older people at the shows.
WILDCAT: What is Mash Down Babylon?
EMBREE: It's not really a record label. We put out music by our friends. Most of the stuff is recorded here or else where. There's no contracts. The money is split equally. I kind of feel like our own media channel in this incredibly overcrowded world, our community's voice in a way. It's cool to introduce people to music off that basis.
WILDCAT: Why do you guys come to Arizona so much?
EMBREE: Because Arizona is a rad place to play. Ever since 1998 people have been giving us some mad love out there. It's been cool. I remember the first time we played out there we played in the front room of The Nile. It was a weird show, but it was rad. People were stoked. Every show is good out there. The crowds are respectful. I tend to remember stuff like that. There's a very low jock factor out there for sure, at least at our shows. I know the jock factor is pretty high. I've seen the football team.