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EP T I P P I N G P OIN T M ilo Bonacci wanted as many people as possible in his band. Dozens of musicians would be preferable, and no musical possibility could go unexplored. But when the Ra Ra Riot guitarist asked Rebecca Zeller to join, the classically trained violinist agreed with two caveats. “I told him, ‘Yeah, I’m interested, and I might be awful the first two practices, but I promise I’ll get the hang of it,’ ” recalls Zeller, sitting with her bandmates in her Brooklyn apartment. “ ‘And I won’t sleep in a van.’ ” That second stipulation didn’t last long, though the troupe recently upgraded to two hotel rooms on tour—which is useful when you have six band members. In 2006, Ra Ra Riot began as a gaggle of Syracuse students (areas of study: physics, painting, etc.) that smashed together bits of Radiohead, Kate Bush and contemporary classical music. This past August the group released its lively full-length debut, The Rhumb Line (Barsuk), to acclaim from the likes of the New York Times and Rolling Stone. But the journey has been far from riotous. The group’s original singer, Shaw Flick—who, Zeller says, had a predilection for knee socks, micro shorts and jumping on the audience— quit once the band graduated from the house-party circuit. And shortly after signing with V2 Records in Europe, Ra Ra Riot watched as Universal bought the label, leaving the group in a since-resolved state of corporate limbo. Following the release of a self-titled debut EP, the band’s then-drummer, John Pike, went missing after a Rhode Island performance. His dead body was later recovered on the coast of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. “We all felt it was important to continue,” says Zeller calmly, as if she’s accustomed to speaking about the tragedy. “I always think that John wouldn’t have wanted us to break up, and I think it helped preserve his memory a bit.” The Rhumb Line mixes surging new-wave energy with dramatic, everbuilding crescendos. Before his death in 2006, Pike submitted a song that eventually became the album’s opener, “Ghost Under Rocks.” “It was tough for me, personally, to write lyrics and trying to think of what his vision was,” says singer Wes Miles, who helped complete Pike’s contribution. The group labored with the elegiac “Ghost” for months before changing the arrangement to a minor key. “We were all struggling with it because it hadn’t completely clicked yet, and suddenly, it came together within an hour,” Bonacci says. “We added a bridge and laid it out that afternoon.” The resulting song illuminates The Rhumb Line as a tribute to Pike’s talent. “I definitely think about him every day,” Zeller says, “but it’s turned into a positive remembrance of the times we had together, as opposed to focusing on the sad parts.” MICHAEL TEDDER 33 http://www.rarariot.com/ http://www.barsuk.com/ Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of self-titled - no. 2self-titled - no. 2ContentsMarnie SternSpinto BandMichnaLindstromFlaming LipsThe Faint on Aphex TwinHarvey MilkOf MontrealGrowingTricky - The self-titled InterviewContents (continued)A Place to Bury StrangersJay ReatardThe Melvinsself-titled - no. 2self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 1)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 2)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 3)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 4)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 5)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 6)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 7)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 8)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 9)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 10)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 11)self-titled - no. 2 - self-titled - no. 2 (Page 12)self-titled - no. 2 - Contents (Page 13)self-titled - no. 2 - Marnie Stern (Page 14)self-titled - no. 2 - Spinto Band (Page 15)self-titled - no. 2 - Michna (Page 16)self-titled - no. 2 - Michna (Page 17)self-titled - no. 2 - Michna (Page 18)self-titled - no. 2 - Lindstrom (Page 19)self-titled - no. 2 - Flaming Lips (Page 20)self-titled - no. 2 - Flaming Lips (Page 21)self-titled - no. 2 - The Faint on Aphex Twin (Page 22)self-titled - no. 2 - The Faint on Aphex Twin (Page 23)self-titled - no. 2 - Harvey Milk (Page 24)self-titled - no. 2 - Harvey Milk (Page 25)self-titled - no. 2 - Of Montreal (Page 26)self-titled - no. 2 - Growing (Page 27)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 28)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 29)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 30)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 31)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 32)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 33)self-titled - no. 2 - Tricky - The self-titled Interview (Page 34)self-titled - no. 2 - Contents (continued) (Page 35)self-titled - no. 2 - A Place to Bury Strangers (Page 36)self-titled - no. 2 - A Place to Bury Strangers (Page 37)self-titled - no. 2 - A Place to Bury Strangers (Page 38)self-titled - no. 2 - A Place to Bury Strangers (Page 39)self-titled - no. 2 - A Place to Bury Strangers (Page 40)self-titled - no. 2 - A Place to Bury Strangers (Page 41)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 42)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 43)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 44)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 45)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 46)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 47)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 48)self-titled - no. 2 - Jay Reatard (Page 49)self-titled - no. 2 - The Melvins (Page 50)self-titled - no. 2 - The Melvins (Page 51)self-titled - no. 2 - The Melvins (Page 52)self-titled - no. 2 - The Melvins (Page 53)http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/popmartmedia/self-titled_no5http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/popmartmedia/self-titled_no4http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/popmartmedia/self-titled_no3http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/popmartmedia/self-titled_no2http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/popmartmedia/self-titled_no1http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com

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