| Renfield is a veritable taste treat for the intensively
hungry mined. A musical journey that is at once an
affirmation and an affrontation to everything one
holds sacred. The term "Evil Jazz" has been used to
describe the dark, mysterious force behind the
awesome power that is Renfield.
The six members of the band have found
much difficulty in the classification of thier own genre,
when asked, they have mostly succumbed to the title
"Experimental Rock", with variations thereof: "Acid
Jazz", "Funk", "Contemporary Rock",and
"Alternative". When given the power to create a title
to thier own unique style, a host of answers were
indeed more telling, "We are Scary Funk with an
Attitude," (James Michael Robinson), "Freak Core,"
(Marz Richards), and "Off-The-Beaten-Path
Anti-Conformist Folk," (Brett Banducci).
The one thing they do agree on, however, is
that this band really works. "We mutually respect
each other's musicianship. We have a deep
admiration for one another, and we all have a sense
of humor, " replies Samantha Blake. Oliver May
agrees, "Everyone's collective attitudemakes it work.
We seam to 'click'. Most people are not lucky
enough to experience the feeling of someone else's
ability to bring out the best in your own playing. We
feed off each other.
The combined musical experience of the
band totals nearly sixty-five years of both formal and
informal training. This is astonishing considering the
average age of the band is only twenty-two years
old. Although Marz Richards is new to the scene,
what he lacks in seasoning is more than made up for
with his unbridled enthusiasm and raw natural talent.
Brett Banducci, Oliver May, Samantha Blake, and
James Michael Robinson have had Classical and
Jazzas the mainframe of their education; while
Buddah got his early start in ethnic music including:
African, Irish, and Moorish Flemenco. Funk has been
a large part of everyone's schooling.
Robinson, Blake, May and Banducci are
students in the California State University, Northridge
Bachelor of Music program. Buddah is currently
majoring in Cognitive Neuroscience and minoring in
Mathematics. Marz Richards has graduated from
USC with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting
and minor in Directing.
No band is without its outside influences, and
Renfield is inspired by the truly wierd, the outright
abnoxious, and the time-honored heroes that bend
our ears and shape our world. Renfield, by its
namesake gives homage to veteran Tom Waits (who
played the character Renfield in Bram Stoker's
Dracula), the top favorite among the members. The
first bands to be named by everyone are: Fish Bone,
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Residents, Sonic Youth,
King Crimson, Drive Like Jehu, and Charles Mingus.
The divergent list continues with: Praxis, Primus, Mr.
Bungle, John Coltrane, Stravinsky, Charlie "Bird"
Parker, Cab Calloway, Tool and Boingo. If one was
hopeing by some clarification in the music style by
way of influences, it may sound Tao-istic, as it is
Here and Not Here.
So what exactly sets Renfield apart from every other
band in L.A.? First of all, they are able to pull off a
deep, rich sound without the use of a guitar or
keyboards. Secondly, distortion, horn squeaks, and
off-beat times (the bane of most musicians) are
strategically placed as an integral part of the show.
Finally, the eccentric personalities of the people
involved draws audiences from all walks of life. This
is hinted at the activities engaged in when not playing
music: ham radio operation, cyberspace, and
physics (James Michael Robinson), kung fu and
skepticism (Buddah), reading classical literature and
the LA club scene (Brett Banducci), meteorology and
auto repair (Oliver May), personal writing and playing
basketball (Samantha Blake), and playing
videogames and writing comic books (Marz
Richards). The entire band is computer-literate, on
the internet with the official Renfield web page at
http://www.renfield.com, heavily into coffee, and
according to Buddah, "Everybody likes my dog". The
band mascots, as seen on flyers and t-shirts, include
extra-terrestrial Allen Grey and Renfield the Rat,
which have been stylized by professional cartoonist,
Jeret Ochi (Hanna Barbera).
Renfield has come a long way from its humble
beginnings nearly three years ago, when it was
called Serendipity (changed from
Seren-fuckin'-dipity---Samantha couldn't tell her
parents the name of the band!). Buddah and
Samantha Blake are the only two original members
and have seenmany musicians come and go. It took
a while before finding the right mix of people and
sound, but like a bottle of good Scotch, it was well
worth the wait. In the future, Renfield would like to
get a record contract, and be able to go on tour, but
that is NOT the most important thing to them, Buddah
confides, "It's nice if other people like our music, but
we are the most important audience--we play for
ourselves, for the sheer love of music." |
