Akron rock lovers have had quite the pleasant trip through the warm and fuzzy haze of nostalgia these past few months. Chrissie Hynde brought her buddy veteran rock photographer Jill Furmanovsky and the BBC for a little retro rock and punk visual feast, and Mark Mothersbaugh’s Myopia exhibit has given Akronites reasons to revel in Devo’s rich audio and visual history.
But taking a quick look at the here and now and one of Akron’s latest musical exports, Red Sun Rising is coming home to play an opening set for post-grunge rockers 3 Doors Down. RSR, the melodic hard-rock quintet, has spent most of 2016 on the road promoting “Polyester Zeal,” its “debut” album (see, we’re pretending those pre-Razor & Tie label indie records they made never existed, because “music industry”). The album’s 11 tracks by high school buddies and band songwriters, singer Mike Protich and guitarist Ryan Williams, reveal their ability to absorb the lessons learned from a lot of the post-grunge and hard rock they grew up on and distilling the familiar good bits; some soft-verses, loud and catchy choruses, solid low-end riffage, big-ass drums, and Protich’s malleable tenor, which is able to reach the arena rafters via a classic power metal wail or get all grungy and gritty as dictated by the song. Oh yeah, and there’s guitar solos and a power ballad, ya know, well-crafted, mainstream, contemporary active “RAWK.”
The band’s songwriting chops garnered them some cherry opening spots for fellow active rock bands such as Godsmack, Sick Puppies and 3 Doors Down.
Many of those new fans jumped on the RSR bandwagon after hearing Polyester Zeal’s two singles Emotionless and The Otherside. The two singles earned RSR the distinction of becoming the first back-to-back singles to top Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart in more than a decade, a nice rockin’ feather in their collective cap, but the real work is still done on the road in front of real people.
“It went by quick, but we’ve been a little bit of everywhere all over this country probably four or five times east to west and back and Canada,” Williams said from a van (of course) on the way to a video shoot for the band’s third single the catchy, heavy pop-rocker Amnesia.
“It’s great we get to play music for a living what more could you ask for. It’s hard sometimes you’re on the road a lot and you want to be with friends and family, but every time we get on stage it’s totally worth it and we’re really psyched afterward. We have a good time and we’ve got a great group of guys and enjoy each other’s company,” Williams said.
Spending most of the year on the road — they did get a brief break in July — Red Sun Rising, which also includes bassist/vocalist Ricky Miller, guitarist/vocalist Dave McGarry and drummer Pat Gerasia, has experienced most of the standard touring situations.
“We’ve done some pretty cool stuff. We did direct support for Godsmack for a month, and that was probably my favorite tour we’ve ever done,” Williams said.
It’s 2016 and perhaps outside of the recent crop of big name rappers, the old-school romantic notion that fueled fan fantasy for the latter half of the 20th Century of hard-partying rock bands, regularly over-indulging and soiling their skin-tight leather pants and people’s daughters as they rip and rock around the country isn’t the reality for bands aiming for sustained success and survival, which certainly a goal for RSR.
“It’s funny, I think everybody has a different idea of what’s going on behind the scenes with these bands. But it’s just the professionalism, especially the bands that have longevity. Man, these guys are up in the morning working out and getting ready for their day and working on their production and their sound,” Williams said.
“That’s one of the biggest things we focus on as a band that’s kind of new to this national touring thing in comparison to the bands we’re touring with. How do they keep that show fresh and how do they make it better every time and that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s the kind of stuff we learn from these guys especially the good ones. They’ll sit down with you and break you off some advice, and we appreciate that,” he said.
“It’s an honor. Some of these guys we’ve been watching since we were kids on MTV when it was MTV and to be able to go out and tour with them and have them give us advice and have them appreciate what we do. Some of the people who have called me by name I was blown away that they even knew my name.”
If your a local fan of the local boys, catch them at Goodyear Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday because following the 3 Doors Down dates, RSR will be joining hard-touring Christian rockers Skillet, for a two-month tour of Europe and a Moscow date for the band’s first overseas trip.
Red Sun Rising’s busy itinerary has kept them moving and put them in all sorts of new situations, but building connections in and outside of the industry and building the fan base is all part of living the dream.
“It’s funny, you go to a bar in Birmingham and play to 200 people and then the next day you go to Jacksonville and play to 20,000,” William said.
“But they both have their own charms. Nothing beats playing that massive crowd that’s singing your songs back to you, but if you get a small, sweaty club and everyone’s really into it you can really fell that energy, too. It’s definitely an interesting juxtaposition but they’re both great.”
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758. Read his blog, Sound Check Online, at www.ohio.com/blogs/sound-check, like him on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1lNgxml and/or follow him on Twitter @malcolmabramABJ.