...The Independents are anything but your typical horror punk band. Mixing influences from ska to rockabilly to straight up punk, the music of the The Independents covers a lot of musical bases, and with an 18 year career, the fans definitely like what they hear! Nothing better than seeing a bunch of drunk skins, hardcore kids and crusty punks singing along with the band with huge smiles ...on their faces.
Formerly managed and produced by the late, great Joey Ramone, The Independents have performed almost non-stop, touring with bands such as The Ramones, Misfits, Rancid, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Cheap Trick, and The Queers, just to name a few.
When people talk about Blood Red River, words like 'garage' and 'surf' inevitably seem to come up. I guess that's ok, depending how you look at it. The band themselves prefer 'Action/Adventure', whatever that's supposed to mean. Me? I think of it more like a 'roots' thing. Not middle-aged-white-guys-playin-the-blues 'roots' music, you understand, more like the roots of Rock n' Roll, if you can dig that. Punk Rock. 1976...1966...1956 and even further back if you want to figure in all those crazy pre-electric guys.
By the time Blood Red River got together a few years back, they were more than ready to do something that could provide the musical and stylistic freedom that your typical wall-of-distortion punk rock couldn't. It's all about the Freedom. Blood Red River do whatever they want. God Bless America. Want to hear a fast song? Got it. Slow song? Sad song? Happy song? Check. How 'bout a quiet song? No? Too bad. The music that you hear is just what comes out when these kids play. It might sound a little retro on the outside, sure, but it also sounds cool as hell. It's an ALIVE kind of retro too, not the slavish re-enactment or condescending mockery of the past that a lot of 'retro' acts depend on. Don't expect too many songs about tractors, trailer parks or girlfriends that sleep in caskets.
For fans of: Agent Orange, The Cramps, Flat Duo Jets.
