Music: Revengers strike back

Revengers formed from the ashes of local alt-hip-hop crew Biznautics in 2007.

And 21/2 years later, they’re finally ready to unleash their dynamic new disc “Scraps on the Badlands” with an early, all-ages release party Saturday at Hell’s Kitchen.

Revengers personnel includes former Biznautics Dale Coleman and Eric Quinn on vocals and Dustin Riecan on bass. Guitarist Mason Hargrove and drummer Jeff Berghammer, aka “Hammer,” round out the lineup of a band that’s really hitting its stride this fall.

“Coming from Biznautics, we had a 10-piece band and we were all young,” Coleman said. “We’re all older now, and we have a bit more perspective. But at the same time we’re more focused and into what we’re doing. It seems like everything moves a lot more smoothly and there’s less headaches.”

Chuckling, he added, “I don’t think we’ve had to have an emergency band meeting which were, like, weekly events in Biznautics.”

Not that the Revengers resolve hasn’t been tested along the way. A tumultuous 2009 began with Quinn undergoing a serious medical procedure as he battled epilepsy.

“We finished the record on Jan. 1, and I went into brain surgery on Jan. 3,” Quinn recalled. “There was a big delay in my life, and we kind of went through this large metamorphosis during sort of a lull period in our lives. And this project is a big reflection of that.”

Then tragedy struck twice last summer. Revengers worked on “Badlands” with Black Diamond-based sound engineer Tom Pfaeffle, of Tank Studio. And in July, the producer was gunned down during an apparent misunderstanding in Eastern Washington.

“He went to the wrong hotel room and tried jiggling the door handle, probably trying to get in,” Riecan explained. “And somebody shot him twice through the door. It was just a freak accident.”

“He’s really responsible for a lot of the way the record sounds,” Coleman added. “We’d get these mixes back that were just incredible. He really kind of had the vision of what we sounded like, and he was really supportive.”

Revengers were still reeling from Pfaeffle’s death when tragedy struck again in August. It was then that former Biznautics band mate Danny Cline, aka D-Child of Tacoma band Nasty Left, died from complications related to brain cancer.

“We had a hard summer, a really hard summer,” said Coleman, remarking at how tragic circumstances reinforced themes expressed on “Badlands.”

“A lot of the lyrical content of the record is about sort of just being beaten down and kind of rising up from that, not letting the hardships that we all face get you beaten,” he said. “Boy, we sure had to kind of live our message this summer. You take these experiences that can be pretty overwhelming, you know, and you just try and channel them and do something proper with it.”

Revengers have definitely managed to channel their energy in a positive direction, based on Quinn’s description of how he feels when the band plays live.

“Whatever caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, whether it was a volcanic eruption, an asteroid belt,” he said, “I feel like we reflect that energy when I play with these guys right here. There’s just this force, this monstrous energy that these guys have brought to the band that reflects outward. I feel like we’re throwing a spear at people. It’s definitely a metamorphosis in concert.”

Hey, I – um – feel like that when I write this column. And I guess that feeling explains Quinn’s intensely primal stage antics, which he talks about in the interview footage I’ve posted on Tacoma Rock City, blog.thenewstribune.com/tacomarockcity.

BONUS TRACK

Fresh from a few dates on the East Coast, Tacoma singer-songwriter Vicci Martinez is ready to unveil “Heart & Bones,” instrumental tracks she composed for MLK Ballet’s Move! performances this weekend. Those will go on at 7 p.m. today and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at SOTA Theater, 1118 Commerce St., Tacoma; 253-906-2190.

Meanwhile, you can hear some of Martinez’s new material on Tacoma Rock City, along with interview clips of her talking about the new songs’ inspirations and being nominated for the Dec. 8 Out Music Awards.

Ernest A. Jasmin: 253-274-7389

ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/tacomarockcity

Revengers

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Hell’s Kitchen, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma

Cost: $10

Information: 253-759-6003 or www.hellskitchenonline.com for details, and www.myspace.com/revengersmusic to sample cuts from the new album.