Raw Footage Band
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Raw Footage Band

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"Definitely RAW!"

Published October 16 2008
By Stephen Markley
For RedEye

Raw Footage is the kind of band that has to use percentages to describe its music.

Emcee Morris Brent breaks it down like this: "Maybe 40 percent hip-hop, 40 percent rock, with the last 20 percent being a blend of R&B and funk."

Brent's calculation is open to interpretation, but the band has spiked its fusion sound with socially active lyrics and an affection for diverse and varied musicality that can lead to provocative hip-hop flows as easily as it can lengthy jam-band interludes.

"With most hip-hop you have an emcee and a producer laying down a beat," bassist Scott Schaeffer said. "Two isolated elements. What we like is that we have this group effort and a lot of avenues to pursue. The band might come up with a guitar riff or a drum beat that leads Mo to his lyrics or the other way around."

Schaeffer was working in New York as a freelance musician when he met Brent. He uprooted his life to return to his hometown Chicago and join Raw Footage.

"I just listened to what Mo and these guys were doing, and that was it," he said.

The band has a large supporting cast, including Saya Goyal on vocals, Chris Ellison on drums, Brian Keys on Keyboard, Josh Eloge on guitar, and a second emcee and lyricist named Sin City.

Brent said he enjoys the experience of working with a band far more than operating as a lone emcee.

"There's a level of musicianship with a band," he said. "I was a solo artist for quite a while, but I wanted to work with a live band. There's just such an enormous difference in what you can do, and I think in the last few years hip-hop has lost respect for that musicianship."

Schaeffer said he thinks hip-hop has lost its message. "It has these negative messages about money and denigrating women," he said. "I'm happy to be a part of a project that actually wants to make people aware of things that are relevant: Racism, poverty, injustice, you name it."

Added Brent, "I was part of that scene. Two years ago I was performing in a club and listening to this stuff from other emcees and bands--you know, just out there screaming loud but not saying anything. What we try to do is make every song a story in itself, talking about life as it is on a daily basis."
- Chicago Tribune - RedEye Publication


"Interview with SoRaw Magazine"

www.sorawmagazine.com - SoRawInc


Discography

Raw Footage "Live And Direct" (2008 Live Recording)

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Bio

Raw Footage Band was formed in 2006 by Chicago Music Awards Entertainer of the Year, Sin City, now the band’s MC. Since then, the band has exploded onto the Chicago music scene with a rock, hip-hop, R&B, and funk fusion style that aims to shatter existing genre divides. Commonly compared to artists like The Black Eyed Peas, The Roots and Rage Against the Machine, Raw Footage prides itself on versatility, socially conscious lyrics, and a high-energy, interactive performance style.

Raw Footage consists of members: Sin City (MC/Songwriter), Saya Goyal (Vocals), Heather Mathews (Vocals), Amanda Davis (Vocals), Josh Eloge (Guitar) and Scott Shaeffer (Bass).

The band was originally assembled to back up former solo artist Sin City, with the goal of upholding the respect for musicianship that has been lost during the commercialization of hip-hop. However, the talent and musical diversity of each member eventually led the group to develop its own voice and the fusion style that is now Raw Footage Band.

In 2007, Raw Footage had the opportunity to open for Nas’s “Hip Hop is Dead” tour in Milwaukee, and is currently busy headlining Chicago hotspots like Elbo Room, Subterranean, Navy Pier and the Cubby Bear. Their first album, Live and Direct, was released in Oct. 2008, featuring eight original songs performed live. Next up? A music video for the band’s new single “Motivation,” has been released.

For booking, contact Morris Brent at 847.456.9700 or soraw@sorawinc.com.