The indie rockers in Ra Ra Riot are preparing to release their fifth studio album Superbloom. The release is set to drop August 9th via Rob the Rich Recordings. The band's North American tour as support for Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World, kicked off in Los Angeles on June 14th. See all of Ra Ra Riot's upcoming tour dates on their official website.
We caught up with the Syracuse, New York natives' frontman Wes Miles while they were in Los Angeles to talk about some of his favorite musical memories as a fan. Watch our exclusive Marquee Memorises episode below:
Numbers
"Numbers was one of my first shows I ever went to on my own basically, as in, not with my parents. I remember just going in and thinking like, "God where am I? I feel like I'm in another side of the world." There was no stage to speak of, it was like it was the floor of a bar. At some imaginary point the floor turned from the floor, to the stage. But they just kind of, had this energy that was undeniable and captivating. And a few days later I still reeked of cigarettes, and I have never been a smoker. But it was like a kind of oddly comforting smell, because it was like this kind of punk feeling."
Thundercat
"I think you really need to see the type of players that were playing with Thundercat. The level of musicianship, and the communication between each of them, was just on another level. You know, that's something I've tried to take in small amounts to our band. You know, not do everything the same way every time, and take a step in some direction, whether it's forward, backward, or sideways. You know, it's change something, try something, and you know, commit to it. And that was what I saw, so it was pretty special."
U2
"Growing up they were one of my favorites. When my brother got "Achtung Baby" on tape cassette, both our lives were changed, and mine certainly was forever. You know, I got to see them for the 360 Tour in like a giant stadium. So it was, you know, we were in the nosebleeds, we couldn't really afford the closeup tickets. Seeing these like old timers playing their music from the '80s, some of their, before I was born. And still really just slaying it. It was so fun."
