RADKEY : The Start Of Something Special?
It has been a busy productive October so far for the trio, spent pounding multiple UK stages post Download Festival appearance, with their support slot to Drenge’s recent UK Tour. Receiving wide-spread support for their recent EP ‘Devil Fruit’, but to most it was the TV appearance on Later that galvanised the growing European fanbase. A fair time then, to look a little closer at Radkey, especially after impressing so many a WithGuitars writer, good for all then, when Nick Hutchings beat the hunger pangs to work through a much deserved lunch break to get a better idea of what makes Radkey tick. If this be the first you’ve heard from the brothers, we suggest you’re in for a treat.
First a brief introduction…
Radkey are Dee Radke – guitar/vocals. He is into learning to read and write Japanese, watching anime and enjoys books by Stephen King, Michael Crichton and Edgar Rice Burroughs. He hates milk and not only because of his lactose intolerance. It’s the kind of hate that comes from deep down inside, the kind of hatred you would hold towards someone that has wronged you in an unmentionable way. He does have a soft spot in his heart for cheese though.
Isaiah Radke – bass/vocals: Isaiah is the middle brother and watches a shit ton of movie. Some of his favourite directors include Guy Ritchie, Robert Rodriguez and Wes Anderson. Please don’t mention X-Men 3 around Isaiah because it may cause a rant that will make you wish you had never been born. He reads comic books, manga and fiction by J.R.R Tolkien, George R.R. Martin and C.S. Lewis. He plays all kinds of video games including first person shooters, RPG’s and no he does not play Angry Birds “phone games don¹t fucking count.”
Solomon Radke – drums: The drummer and youngest brother has burned hundreds of hours playing Halo, Mario 64 and several other video games. He loves the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs and doesn¹t care what anyone says about it. He can’t get enough spicy food and he can be found putting sriracha chili sauce on and in just about anything. Comic books and anime are high on his list as well as the movies of Edgar Wright. He hates flying insects with stingers, but he loves beef jerky.
Radkey – Out Here In My Head – Later… with Jools Holland
Radkey first caught my eye when Jools Holland introduced the bands in the round, one edition of Later. As he passed Radkey, the bass player Isaiah Radke stood poised, hand in the air, giving a salute as they were mentioned. When their turn to play came, Isaiah looking like a young Phil Lynott, was a whirl of arms and legs, the bass guitar another flailing limb while singer Dee barked like Joey Ramone. Meanwhile the cool-as-a-cucumber drummer Solomon kept metronomic time. Suffice to say Isaiah ended on the floor and it was clear they’d all had fun which is more than can be said about most guests on the show. The overall effect was cartoonish but as a result a breath of fresh air.
It didn’t surprise me to learn that these three brothers named Radke (which explains the otherwise unedifying band name) were all into superhero movies, anime and comic books – not just because of their youth, but also because of their look – all drainpipes and angular haircuts – whirring by in a hyperkinetic ball of energy. I had a chance to chat to singer and guitarist Dee and asked him which comic hero attributes they all had? “I’d have to say I have the most attitude, so I guess the closest would be Raphael from the Ninja Turtles. Isaiah is a funny character. He’s charismatic, full of wisecracks. Solomon is the quiet one. Though he doesn’t say much, you can tell there are a lot of dark memories running through his head. You don’t wanna mess with him. He lets out all his energy on the drums.”
Energy is everything for the band it transpires. When I mentioned their confident showmanship on Jools Holland, this is a given. “It’s really important to have fun. If you’re having fun, you’re giving the crowd permission to have fun and you can feedback from the energy in the room”. I recounted how the night previously I’d actually been “sssh’ed” for singing loudly at a very MOR gig, and Dee was disgusted on my behalf. “My brother would have yelled right back. We love people to sing along. A great gig is where people come up real close and participate in the songs. I like it if in a quiet part they start clapping or if they know the words. There’s no such thing as over-enthusiasm – the crowd should bring as much to the party as they can”.
RADKEY – ‘Cat & Mouse’ (Wreckroom Session)
How did this band of young brothers from Missouri get so adept at their grunge meets punk sound? It’s clear they’ve been listening to a record or two of those other larger than life characters – the Ramones (self-styled brothers) – but where from? “Mostly from our dad’s record collection” (my own old heart sinks) “that’s also where we got into The Damned. And Nirvana’s a huge influence too”. Not all the family have been quite so supportive it transpires. On their new EP Devil Fruit on Little Man Records, a song also called “Little Man” is a paen to a condescending maternal grandfather who apparently can’t give two hoots about the boys’ adventures in sound “he thinks he knows what he’s talking about, but he doesn’t look into it. Into us. He doesn’t support us”. It’s clear they are very angry about it. Perhaps anger of this kind belies their innocence and lack of life experience so far, but if it can be harnessed to this degree and this volume – then they’re at the tip of a ferocious career.
They have a healthy list of extra-curricular past times on their biog – ranging from reading books by Edgar Rice Burroughs to Tolkien; watching movies ranging from anime (current favourite is film franchise One Piece) to Robert Rodriguez; playing video games like Halo; or supporting the Major League Baseball team the Kansas City Royals. How did they ever fit enough hours in the day to have honed their musical skills? I’ve got it the wrong way round it transpires. They put the hours in gigging around the States, and had to find hobbies to suit “we’ve had a lot of long drives”.
Being brothers though, does this make so much time on the road full of fun and frolics or fraternal fury? The Radkes are another chapter in the hefty tome of Rock & Roll brothers. Where do they git in a canon that includes The Jacksons, The Isley Brothers, the Davies’, Gallaghers and Followills? “We’re close to each other. We definitely have a close connection. We don’t argue like some of the brothers you mentioned?” Did it extend to some kind of ESP I wondered, furthering their cartoon like super hero powers “Well, we’re not triplets, but yeah you can during a show throw each other a quick glance. We don’t even have to talk. It is like some kind of invisible connection”. With an explosive debut album due to drop in Spring, I’d advise you to make a connection with Radkey at the front row of the gig now before you can’t even get close.
Enjoy the official video of lead track ‘Romance Dawn’