JobsCarsHomesRentalsPlace an ad »
         E-mail          Print          Text
Music: Revengers strike back
New album: Tough year can’t stop former Biznautics members

Timothy Bostelle photo
Guitarist Mason Hargrove, from left, drummer Jeffrey Berghammer, vocalists Eric Quinn and Dale Coleman and bassist Dustin Riecan make up local band Revengers, which will play Hell’s Kitchen at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Similar Stories

Similar stories:
Published: 11/20/0912:05 am | Updated: 11/20/0911:19 am
Comments (0)

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.

 

Comments

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service.

Comments are displayed newest first. If you would like to read a thread from beginning to end, select "Oldest first" from the drop down menu.
Presented By
Previous Ad Next Ad
0/0
Homes By
Previous Ad Next Ad
0/0
A Single Man AAA Travel American Memorial Anderson Appliance Annual Tacoma Home & Garden Show At Your Service Plumbing AT&T Bergman Draper & Frockt Big 5 Sporting Goods Blue Mouse Theatre Boyle's Foreign Car Repair Broadway Center For the Performing Arts Brownie Morrison Charles Schwab Chevrolet Classy Chassis Coast Home Improvement, Inc. Comcast Corvette & High Performance Meet Crazy Heart CreditGuard CSC Brands, LP Deja Vu Dr. Thomas Young NMD, DC Early Bird Swap Meet EB5 Facial Cream Farmers Insurance Group Franciscan Health System Franciscan Medical Group Frank Tobey Jones Senior University Fred Meyer Galaxy Theatres Gene Pankey Motor Company Harbor Lights Harkness Furniture Homestead Restaurant Item House Warehouse Jane Thompson Russell Cancer Care Center Johnny's Dock Restaurant & Marina JP Morgan Chase Bank Kantor Diamond Company Kenneth P. Ring, DDS Lakewood Family Medicine & Chiropractic Lakewood Ford Les Schwab Macy's Memory Wellness Program Muckleshoot Casino MultiCare Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Museum of Glass Narrows Glen New Tacoma Cemeteries & Funeral Home Northwest Charity Donation Service Northwest Flower & Garden Show O'Loughlin Trade Shows / Washington Sportmen's Show Oreck Clean Home Store Pacific Northwest Ballet / The Sleeping Beauty Pacific Northwest Shop Party World Pfizer, Inc. / Lipitor Port of Tacoma U.S.A. Prostalex Plus Pulmonary Consultants, PLLC Puyallup Fairgrounds / Collectible Auto Swap Meet Radiant Research Red Canoe Credit Union Red Wind Casino Roof Therapy, Inc. Rush Custom Homes, Inc. Russ Dunmire Sears Seattle Boat Show Smith Alling Lane, P.S. Sonus Sound Credit Union South Tacoma Mazda Sprint Star Ice & Fuel State Farm Insurance Sterling Savings Bank Subaru of Puyallup Tacoma Athletic Commission / Annual Golden Gloves Championship Tacoma Boys / H & L Produce Tacoma Dream Home Raffle Tacoma/Valley Radiation Oncology Centers The Grand Cinema The Imperial Dragon Restaurant The Orthopaedic Center The Young Victoria Titus-Will Ford / Toyota / Scion Titus-Will Ford / Toyota / Scion / Pre-owned at Stadium T-Mobile USA, Inc. To Save a Life Tooth Fairy Toyota Truckcity CB, EV and Solar University of Puget Sound Van Lierop Bulb Farm Vargus & Associates, Inc. Verizon Wireless Video Only Walmart Washington Sportsmen's Show Washington State Department of Corrections Watson's Greenhouse & Nursery Wendover Resorts Western Air Defense Sector Yelm Cinemas Video Only Walmart Washington Sportsmen's Show Washington State Department of Corrections Watson's Greenhouse & Nursery Wendover Resorts Western Air Defense Sector Yelm Cinemas Video Only Walmart Washington Sportsmen's Show Washington State Department of Corrections Watson's Greenhouse & Nursery Wendover Resorts Western Air Defense Sector Yelm Cinemas Video Only Walmart Washington Sportsmen's Show Washington State Department of Corrections Watson's Greenhouse & Nursery Wendover Resorts Western Air Defense Sector Yelm Cinemas
Front page PDF