Redcast
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Redcast

Portland, Oregon, United States | SELF

Portland, Oregon, United States | SELF
Band Pop Rock

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"Scope Magazine"

Say what you will about the 60s, but the era’s drug-addled singers and songwriters produced some of the most infectious pop rock tunes of all time. The fun, carefree, often silly melodies are what up-and-coming band of brothers Redcast aims to replicate in its debut offering, The Redcast EP.
From the opening of “Beside Myself,” arguably the album’s strongest track, the 60s influence is strong. The chord progression is instantly recognizable to the oldies buff as the into to The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” a song that is referenced once more in the 5-song offering. Midway through “Hopeless?” the infamous beginning of the Monkees song, in which Davy Jones asks what number it is to be met with a resounding “7A,” is added to the background, pleasing any listener with a little Monkees nostalgia.
The album is peppy. It’s catchy. It’s everything that the Monkees were, only with a more updated sound…and hopefully the influence of no illegal substances. Redcast isn’t trying to make you think, but if you want to have fun for 15 minutes and bounce along to these retro-sounding tunes in your car, at your desk, or wherever else you choose to rock out, this is the right album for you.
Redcast goes beyond 60s influences. “Hopeless?” is reminiscent of Barenaked ladies, from the prominent acoustic guitar chords down to the singer’s voice and the staccato vocal style.
Besides the nostalgia for an era that none of the band members remembers, what sets Redcast apart from other modern music? The singer gets the girl. The acoustic number “When You’re Falling” says it all in that aspect: “This dream is perfect, but it’s nothing like we planned.” No alcohol or depression necessary.
As a whole, the album sounds carefree and effortless. It’s light and fun more than anything else. For an oldies buff, it’s refreshing to hear something not so serious for a change. Redcast ventures into unseen territory, bridging the gap between what we listen to and what our parents listen to. - Valerie Williams


"Plug In Music"

With their perky and melodic bubblegum pop rock, Portland's Redcast sound like '90s indie rockers who grew a little disenchanted but decided to keep their chins up in the new millennium. Except that Redcast are actually a trio of brothers with the oldest barely in his mid-20s and the youngest not even out of his teens. These modern day Partridges ignore the '60s psychedelica in favor of a more commercial bounce that they deliver believably. - Corrine


"Space City Rock"

A friend of mine tried to convince me once that creating good pop music is practically science. Not that you have to do A, B, and C to make a perfect pop song, but more that there are things you just don’t do if you want it to work right. There are rules to it, and while they can be bent or broken, they really shouldn’t unless you know what you’re doing. Is he right? I dunno; I’m more of a “feel” person when it comes to music, honestly — if it makes me smile, makes my heart skip a beat, makes me so melancholy I want to jump off a roof, it’s done its job. That said, I’ve found that I do have a handful of “rules” (okay, “guidelines”) that I unconsciously use to evaluate all things musical, so I guess maybe he’s got a point.
Bands like Redcast also make me re-evaluate my view of the whole “rules” thing, because whether they meant to or not, with their debut self-titled EP, they’ve made a small pile of picture-perfect, sunshiny-day pop, the soundtrack for a perfect world where the birds are singing (all in the same key, of course), you’ve got your girl by your side, there’s not a cloud in the sky, and everybody you see around you is smiling. The music’s jaunty and endearing from the start, with first track “Beside Myself” a sweet, keys-heavy, heart-on-sleeve declaration of love that brings to mind Moods for Moderns, Ultimate Fakebook, or Semisonic’s Great Divide. Which is no mean company to be in, believe me.
Redcast cruises on from there, focusing on a more retro-’80s pop sound on “Hopeless?”, where the guitars get more electrified but still remain relatively low-key, and “When You’re Falling,” a bit of melancholy, understated acoustic pop that reminds me oddly of Tom Waits’ “I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You” (and not in an “oh, God — how dare they rip off Tom Waits?” way, which is a good thing). “Soap” veers very close to Barenaked Ladies territory, which isn’t somewhere you really want to be with me, personally, but even then the band pulls it off. This track’s a bit of an accomplishment, really; Redcast (band members are apparently brothers Seth, Jarrod, and Darren, but build a goofy metaphor for something (“rationality,” I guess?), then never really talks about it, instead spending the length of the song basically apologizing for the goofiness of it. And against all odds, y’know, that works just fine.
The band finishes up the EP with an amalgam of all of the above — “A Thought From You” draws in the aforementioned Ladies, Semisonic, and Ultimate Fakebook influences, melds ‘em together with a heavy glob of youthful insecurity and doubt (which is definitely understandable; the three brothers look like they’re barely of drinking age in all their photos), and hangs it all on a wide-open smile so unashamed and un-cynical you can’t help but smile back. These kids may not realize it, but they’ve apparently taken that whole pop rulebook thing and grafted it onto their musical DNA. Given that, how could they not hit the mark?? - Jeremy Hart


Discography

The Redcast EP (2008)

The Quarter Past EP (2009)

Talent Show Runner-Ups (2011)

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Bio


"While the cool kids were listening to Nirvana, we were jamming with our dad's old Monkees records" says Seth, one of three brothers that make up this fresh-faced Portland trio. From Redcast's formation, Seth, Jarrod, and Darren Brock have been decidedly optimistic, their sugar-coated approach to indie rock-and-roll garnering frequent comparisons to everyone from The Kinks to The Kooks. "Our taste in music was always a little different than the other kids', so it made sense that our approach to music would be different, too, and it might stand out."

Their first recording - dubbed The Redcast EP - was quietly released in late 2008. Within weeks of hitting the internet however, radio-friendly singles like "Soap" and "A Thought From You" made their way to the airwaves via 94.7 Alternative Portland.

Critics and label execs took note of the buzz as Redcast's fan base expanded beyond the Portland metro arena. Within weeks, Redcast was signed to a label in Seattle, WA with promises of a full-length record and a tour. "It was exactly what we'd always wanted", Seth recalls. "Yeah, we threw a party."

In 2009, the label re-released Redcast's previous effort under a new name, The Quarter Past EP, which charted on the iTunes Top 100 Alternative Albums within the first week. Despite the momentum, the following two years of inactivity led to Redcast's eventual split from the label. "We wrote a lot of good material, but the label was broke and we weren't even able to record it." In response to whether this experience discouraged them, "It was a valuable two years of hands-on experience in the industry! Let's just say we learned really quickly what we didn't want."

"In fact," he added, "I'm pretty sure we threw another party."

This Summer, as the Brock brothers prepare to release their very first full-length album Talent Show Runner-Ups, expectations are higher than ever. "We're so proud of [Talent Show Runner-Ups], we think it's a perfect introduction to who we are and what we're about." The album will be released online by 7/5 and in select stores by 8/2.