RADKEY

You know that feeling you get when you go watch a band and you instantly know they’re going to make it big someday? Yeah, about 30 or 40 people got that feeling at The Rendezvous last Friday when the young trio Radkey rocked out.
Minds were blown. Faces were melted. Even the guys from IT, the show’s headliner, knew they had been upstaged.
“When they come back for their homecoming show when they’re on tour in four years, you can say, ‘Eh, I saw ‘em at the Vous,’” IT guitarist Todd Cooper said of Radkey. “... There’ll be like 800 people who said they were here.”
From vocalist/guitarist Dee Radke’s scorching solo in the opener “Where Do You Stand” to the last notes of the band’s cover of Japanese group Hihi Puffy Ami Yumi’s “Teen Titans,” the crowd was hooked. Radkey’s music mixes elements of garage rock, punk rock and hard rock and splashes it all against the wall. You’ll hear Strokes-style guitars, Ramones-esque rhythms and lyrics that hearken back to some of the best punk bands of the ’80s and ’90s. These are the kinds of tunes that take you back to the CBGB — the ones that make you feel like an up-to-no-good kid again.
Maybe that’s because the band itself consists of three teenage brothers — Dee, Isaiah (vocals/bass) and Solomon (drums) — who dress in tattered denim, flannel vests and superhero T-shirts. But the trio did more than look the part. Like the most revered punk outfits, Radkey offered no frills. After the band finished each song Friday, Isaiah would give a reserved “thank you” to the crowd and lunge for his glass of water in front of the stage. Then, the boys would get right back to thrashing.
Dee and Isaiah would lose themselves in the music at times. Dee’s dreads would flail wildly as he headbanged to masterful solos like the one he effortlessly blazed through during “Mind Ride.” Occasionally, one could catch Isaiah’s eyes rolling into the back of his head as if he was channeling the spirit of Cliff Burton to guide his fingers.
Believe me, Radkey is a throwback in all the right ways.
The band played five songs from its “Irrationally Yours” EP, as well as a few new ones and some covers like Fishbone’s “Servitude” and Faith No More’s “Digging the Grave.” I rather enjoyed “Spirals” — a song that Isaiah said was written about the brothers’ love for anime — and “Cat and Mouse,” which featured an incredible drum solo from Solomon, who was usually too busy pounding away to soak up any glory.
Watching Radkey was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. And the crazy thing is that these three boys are only going to keep getting better. If Radkey’s the future of rock ‘n’ roll, I’m buying.
After Radkey had metaphorically planted the crowd on its back, IT took the stage for a fun, loosey-goosey set of thrash metal tunes. Members Rick Hoffman (vocals), Cooper, Will Stuck (bass), Danny Thompson (drums) and Rik Howard (guitar) have used this band as an outlet that combines their passion for movies with their passion for rock. And it’s all set to a grunge-metal groove that results in songs like “Busey in the Sky With Diamonds,” “Mommy Don’t Wait For Saturday” and “American Vietnam.”
Throughout the set, Hoffman let loose grunts and blood-curdling screams into a vintage carbon mic as Cooper’s huge, squealing riffs and Thompson’s thumping drums powered the band. It was thrash at its finest — the kind that would earn a nod from Dave Mustaine and Zakk Wylde.
IT played mostly originals such as “The Juice” and “Obtuse in E Minor,” but didn’t refrain from playing its own twisted, ham-fisted covers of C.W. McCall’s “Convoy,” Clutch’s “Subtle Hustle” and Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”
While Radkey let the music do the talking, the guys from IT made it their duty to have fun with the crowd. They sang “Happy Birthday” to one of the patrons, Cooper went into the crowd to play on occasion, and Hoffman made plenty of wisecracks in between songs. At one point, he declared that he looked like Alice the Goon from “Popeye” when he made his metal face. Hoffman enjoyed throwing off the fans, too.
“Who likes The Misfits?” Hoffman asked. He was met with a resounding reaction.
“Who likes The Ramones?” This statement earned an even bigger pop.
“This next song sounds nothing like those bands,” Hoffman cracked as IT played the opening chords of “Filo Bedo.”
One band came to prove itself. The other came to party. Both came to rock. Any headbanger or Chuck-wearing punk fan who didn’t head down to the Vous last Friday truly missed a memorable gig. - St Joseph News Press

Radkey is made up of three brothers from St. Joseph, Missouri (ages 18, 16 and 14), about whom I'm not going to make a Hanson joke. Their energetic blend of punk and classic rock earned them an invitation to perform a few weeks back at the Afro-Punk Festival in Brooklyn — an event that ultimately was canceled due to a fake hurricane. - The Pitch

St. Joseph's Radkey is the best area band you've never heard of. I saw the band, made up of brothers Dee, Sai and Sol, open for Fishbone back in March, and they fairly much blew my damned mind. I wasn't sure what to expect from three young kids in denim, and when I asked them what kind of music they played, they simply replied, "Rock and roll." And fuck me sideways if they don't.
It's high-energy, remarkably nuanced rock for a trio of kids not even old enough to hang out at many of the venues they play. Dee and Isaiah's voices soar, and the whole thing's a mix of punk energy and classic-rock chops. It's unsurprising that they made it onto the roster of this year's Afropunk festival in New York.

They open the Bites & Beats stage this Saturday, August 27, at 2:30 p.m in Brooklyn's Commodore Perry Park, where they'll play along with other such up-and-comers as Bad Rabbits and Das Racist. The festival is free and features another act with an area connection — Janelle Monae plays Sunday night, right before Cee-Lo Green.

Radkey has a new EP due out in October, and you can catch the group locally at RecordBar Monday, September 12, with Ponyboy and at the Riot Room on Friday, September 16, with Birdhand. - The Pitch

“As more people become familiar with Radkey, the St. Joseph band’s sound will likely begin to draw comparisons to punk rock legends The Ramones. Which is fitting because, like The Ramones, everybody in Radkey has the same last name — except the members of Radkey are actually brothers. Dee (17, guitar and vocals), Isaiah (15, bass and vocals) and Solomon (13, drums) Radkey started writing music about a year ago, and it’s paid off quickly”

Kevin Krauskopf - St Joseph News Press

"Radkey is a trio of teen brothers, no, not Jonas. Watch what you’re saying before saying that nonsense. Radkey plays garage rock leaning towards punk and has been playing shows with the fervor and frequency only teenagers can maintain."

Corey Stephens - Keep St. Joe Weird

“At my age, when I think of three brothers in a band together the first thing (sadly) that pops in my mind is Hanson. Within 5 seconds of putting St. Joe band Radkey’s debut ep, “Irrationally Yours”, into my cd player it was made clear sonically that these brothers are less sugary sweet pop MMMBoppers and more hardcore warriors. ”

Danny Phillips - The Regular Joe