red letter m

Only formed in the winter of 2003, red letter M seems like a fairly new band. But appearances can be deceiving. The four piece Southern California based band have been working relentlessly for years in other local bands, such as Low Pressure, Grovers, Inflatable Friends, and most notably, Codename: Rocky, improving and fine tuning their craft. Through those years of countless shows and some national touring, red letter "M" developed a musical kinship within itself and aspired to amalgamate the member’s own individual influences into a unique multi-faceted sound.

Their style hangs on the fringes of rock. Their heavy emphasis on instrumental jamming, either the mellow and jazzy sounds or the hard and driving, is balanced out with the presence of guitarists Mark Bush and Daniel Torres, flipping vocal duty back and forth while harmonizing with the other. In the back, Drew Baker and Matt Fitzgerald, on drums and bass respectively, bring the hard-hitting low end. While their sound retains a strong aggressive edge, musical guidance from hip-hop and down tempo to punk rock and hardcore, jazz to classic and progressive rock, reggae, ska, and dub to drum and bass, makes red letter M's sound one of their own.

When asked about the new self-titled E.P., Fitzgerald could only respond “I think it’s different. It has a diverse range of genres all blended together. We really put a lot of time into making sure everything was as close to perfect as possible.” Bush follows up with “It’s a ride.”

And part of that ride is red letter M’s lyrics. Even as the music grooves often on a mellower tip, the poetically driven words delve into the worlds of despair, self-loathing, and escape. Unique to red letter M is their incorporation of slam poetry to music. “To define slam poetry?” Baker pondered for a moment. “It’s performance poetry. It is much like spoken word but very hip-hop influenced. A lot of rhyming and a lot of emotion, intense or subdued.”

As the momentum behind red letter M builds, the four piece eagerly anticipates the release and national distribution of their debut self-titled E.P., tentatively slated for release in the early fall. Shortly after, the group will gear up for touring through California and the Southwest during the winter.

Whether the music floats in a celestial groove or crashes with ferocity, red letter M is always most comfortable in their element: on stage and in your stereo.