DS Interview: Crimson Riot Are Back To Prove The Third Time’s A Charm

For nearly a decade, Crimson Riot have been at the heart of the Las Vegas pop punk scene. Their infectious songs and dogged work ethic have made them a staple in the sin city, and throughout the country thanks to years of diy touring. In recent years they’ve even put that tenacity to work as the creators and of the Riot On Fremont Street Festival. Even with all of this on their plate, they’ve found time to create a fantastic new album, the aptly titled Third Time’s A Charm. The band were kind enough to chat with me ahead of the album drop this Friday!

DS: Hey friends! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me. First things first, can you introduce yourselves and give a little history of Crimson Riot for those readers who haven’t yet been converted by your excellent tunes and vibrant live show?

Roxy: Hi! I’m Roxy and I play guitar and sing. Have been since we started in 2017 in Las Vegas! We started this band after our lead guitarist left another band we were all in. We were at a fork-in-the-road and decided to go this direction as a three piece. It’s worked out well so far! 

Chris: Hey Andy! I’m Chris Reject and I’m the bassist and vocalist for Crimson Riot. 

Ryan: Hey, I’m Ryan. I’m the drummer and founding member for Crimson Riot. 

DS:  I’m really impressed with the new record. It sounds fantastic! I’d love to get into the recording a bit. Where did you track the record and who helped bring these songs to life?

Chris: Thank you so much for the kind words. We recorded the album in Lake Havasu, Arizona at Ice House Recording Studio. We’ve recorded all of our albums there. We took a different approach with this recording and used live guitar amps mixed with digital. Mixing and mastering was done by Michael Tucker in Utah. As for who helped us; we did everything in house as much as we could. Luckily the guys in Buck-O-Nine (Craig and Dan) were stoked to write some horn parts for “Here’s To You” and Chris Graue from Lo(u)ser laid down an awesome organ arrangement on that track as well. Other than that everything you hear on the album is us. 

DS: The initial singles had a distinctly aggressive feel. Between the righteous anger of “Cross The Line” and the political rage of “State of Despair”, I was expecting a very dark record. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a lot of lightness, humor and affection present in the collection as well. Was there any discussion as to where you wanted to go with this record thematically, or did you just let the muse lead you?

Roxy: One of the most fun things about being in this band is we don’t shove ourselves into a box. We collectively have a lot of influences that we draw from and it helps us add some variety to our songs. We go from dark to poppy to garagey to even a little ska. We like to play with the different sub genres of punk whenever we can while also holding onto our own style and sound. The muse is definitely leading most of the time. 

DS: I find the writing process to be an infinitely interesting subject. Some work their writing muscles daily and separate the wheat from the chaff in the studio. Some turn their writing on like a tap when the pressure builds up. What is the process like when you all are sitting down to write a new album and how do you divide the writing duties? 

Chris: We don’t technically stop writing. We pick a time to start putting things together, but we never stop writing riffs and ideas. I have so many different riffs and ideas floating around. When we finally get ready to start writing, we get together and show the group whatever idea or riff we have and say “what can we do with this?” It’s rare that we bring a completed song to the table, but sometimes it happens. Like “My Story” on this album was done when Roxy brought it in. Our biggest rule in writing is that we demo the song, listen over and over, then come back and make changes or whatnot. Most of our songs are in their 4th or 5th draft before making it to the album. 

Roxy: I think people would be surprised to learn that, although I’m the guitarist, it’s Chris that brings a lot of riffs to the table. I’m the lyricist. There will be times where Chris will come to me and say, “I’ve got these words. Make them make sense”. I’ve been a songwriter damn near my whole life so it’s hard for me sometimes to just riff without writing an entire song. Creating in general is an interesting experience. Some days I can’t think of anything coherent and other days I’ll sit on my bathroom floor for three hours and come out with half an album. My notes are full of half written lyrics or hooks of a chorus that haven’t been put to music yet. But they’re always floating around in my noggin! 

Ryan: This new album was a bit different for me, as I had stepped away from the band for a year and my son, Roxy’s brother RJ, stepped in and filled the drumming spot, creating the songs with Roxy and Chris. Once I came back, I had to learn all the songs with RJ’s parts he wrote, which were amazing. “State Of Despair” was the only tune that was a part of creating. 

DS: It’s famously difficult to keep a relationship together on the road, and even more so to keep a band afloat with your significant other. You seem to have cracked the code, and it’s leaked beautifully into your music. What is the dynamic that makes Crimson Riot such an effective machine, and how do you balance your creative and personal relationships?

Roxy: Chris and I have the same dreams and goals even outside of our relationship. This band means the world to us and playing this music and touring and doing all the things that come along with it is everything. Obviously our relationship means a lot to us as well and we work well together not just as a couple but as business partners. It’s not always the easiest thing to do but it helps that my dad and brother have also been in this band and are more than willing to tell us when we’re being idiots. Lovingly, of course. 

Chris: Learning to shut my mouth hahaha. It definitely isn’t easy, but we have the same goal in mind. Our path is the same and I think that’s what helps. We also separate our relationship from the business. Any problems we have stays at the door. We are there to entertain and not bring drama. 

DS: Anyone that has had the good fortune to attend one of your shows can attest that you have built a fine tuned live act. Being a Vegas band, I can imagine you have to work hard to stand out in a crowded entertainment hub. How do you think location has helped or hindered your progress as an independent punk band?

Roxy: It can be a challenge being from Vegas for sure. There’s always something else going on. But we work as a cover band and it’s our job to entertain. I’d say that has helped a lot with how we’ve been able to do Crimson Riot, knowing what it takes to be able to do music for a living. We’ve done it for 15 years now and we understand, in depth, the amount of work, business sense, creativity, and dedication it takes to do this. We also have a wonderful support system in our local scene and across the world. We’ve been very lucky and grateful to have such a loving family of fans and bands that have lifted us up over the years. 

Photos courtesy of Stephy Muzio

DS: I’d imagine you are excited to start playing the new material on stage. What are your plans for the release and where can people catch you live?

Roxy: We are indeed! We’ve road tested a couple new songs but kept a lot of the new stuff under wraps. We are doing our album release show at Grey Witch in Henderson, NV on Release Day, March 20th. We promote all our other upcoming shows on social media and also our website crimsonriot.com. 

Chris: We also stream live on Twitch with our cover band Roxy Gunn Project. 

DS: Thanks for letting me check out the album and pick your brains a bit! I hope everyone reading this goes out and gives Third Time’s A Charm a listen! Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers before we wrap this up?

Roxy: Thank you for taking the time! We hope to meet anyone and everyone reading this at a show in the future. 

Chris: Thanks for this! We appreciate you and all you do! To the readers out there, we understand times are difficult and you can always help bands out by just liking and sharing their social medias. It’s free to give a like and tell your friends. 

Ryan: Thanks for having us. We always dig doing these. 

Check out the new record Third Time’s A Charm over on Bandcamp this Friday!