Rita & the Rhythm Assassins
Boulder, Colorado, United States
Music
Press
Dwindle in Time
Signature Review: clash?
very late 70's sounded with brilliant vocals. i like this a
lot. you have a promising future
Rank
Active contest: #31 of 55 in Reggae
All-time: #202 of 870 in Reggae
Best #31 of 55 on 1Jan2010
Awards!
Track of the Day on 30Oct2009 in Reggae
Track Of The Week on 7Dec2009 in Reggae
Best Female Vocals in Reggae, week of 2Nov2009
Best Production in Reggae, week of 2Nov2009
Best Lyrics in Reggae, week of 23Nov2009
Best Melody in Reggae, week of 2Nov2009
Most Original in Reggae, week of 2Nov2009
Mood in Reggae, week of 25May2009
Track of the Day on 30Apr2009 in Reggae
Track Of The Week on 25May2009 in Reggae
Best Female Vocals overall, week of 4May2009
Best Female Vocals in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Female Vocals in Reggae, week of 11May2009
Best Female Vocals in Reggae, week of 25May2009
Best Female Vocals in Reggae, week of 22Jun2009
Best Female Vocals in Reggae, week of 29Jun2009
Best Guitars in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Guitars in Reggae, week of 11May2009
Best Guitars in Reggae, week of 25May2009
Best Drums in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Drums in Reggae, week of 11May2009
Best Bass in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Lyrics in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Melody in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Beat in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Beat in Reggae, week of 11May2009
Best Mood in Reggae, week of 4May2009
Best Mood in Reggae, week of 25May2009
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excellent
Well first off, the performance is great. This is a classic mellow style reggae, rather generic(this is not an insult, i happen to love this kind of feel). The female vocals are a very welcomed surprise and a very nice performance. Nice mellow groove that you can kick back, smoke a phatty, and chill too.Production is rather good, The lyrics are great too. Excellent...
- ezedzl from Outskirts Of Intelligence, New York on 23May2009
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Rather Awsome
Rather awsome, I play in a reggae band and we've been trying out some stuff like this so im interested to listen to this. Female vocals are pretty much flawless and backing synth drums etc is unoffensive, doesnt add an awful lot to the song but helps set the mood. like it.
- rejectedwombat from North Berwick, United Kingdom on 22May2009
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Hip, trippy and move you foot kine song
She sings SO sweetly, backed by a good fun band, tight drums and bass with dancing melodies and back-beat rhythm guitar.
Upbeat and hopeful, like rain after a dry spell.
Irie and Fine!
- ArthurDavenport from Aloha Aina, Hawaii on 21May2009
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great full band sound
Everything, even the lil tamborine here and there sounds great.
The things that stand out are the full mix including nice low end bass and fluid, relaxed and confident vocalist. The keys sound great and guitar nice n swanky blues style.
A real good listen gonna kick back.
Engineer did a fine job and the band has all the right members. Wish I knew what hi hat mic he used. Real nice drum sound as well. Is that a wah pedal on the keyboard? Good and hypnotic.
- PYRAMIX from Virginia Beach, Virginia on 18May2009
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good
good track sounds official. like you know what youre doing and you knew what type of track you were going for from the start. keep at it.
- The_Prospects from San Diego, California on 16May2009
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good tune
the performance on this song is good....the tempo is also nice...powerful message on this song too..overall nice reggae tune with a point to it
- BFDCLIQUE from Jacksonville, Florida on 12May2009
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sunshine in my head
Good sound, although not all transitions are really smooth. Vocals are good, laidback and sexy. I definately like the guitarpickin. The drummer is tight, but the bass is not really defined, it might need some extra bottom. the bridge at 2.25 needs to be tighter.
- Snikkeldrift from Amsterdam, N-Holland, Netherlands on 12May2009
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dance time
the beat makes me want to dance. the light guitar is sweet. the vocals could be a bit louder but go well with everthing else.
- onedizzylizard from Jansen, Colorado on 4May2009
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soulful reggae
This band has potential. A unique sound, great beats and melodies, an awesome singer, and enough soul to make you want to reach out to someone.
- PDSb from Ashville, Alabama on 4May2009
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Good song
Muy buena melodia, good lirycs.
- renatroots from Argentina on 2May2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIce melody
Thanks for avoiding canned synth sounds. The performances sound live and alive. The instrumentation varies little over the course of the song. Recommend more changes.
Nice background vocals. Excellent melody. Has a very 70's feel. Strong voice.
The lyrics are compelling.
- circusinthesky from Portland, Oregon on 20Jun2009
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rude boy guitar
nice guitar and beat guys. I like it. Really grooving. Vocals just set the whole thing off. Very impressive singing. Nicely executed. Well done on the production and arrangement.
- downbeatswitch from Richmond, Virginia on 20Jun2009
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Up on the deck of a cruise ship
This song has a very Sade feel to it, or another woman I've heard named Indio (I think) here on GB, look on the reggae charts she's on there towards the top..Great jazzy guitar comping in this tune and a really nice warm hollow body guitar tone too. Nice use of chords in the verses. Perfect example of interplay between the drum and bass going on. Might wanna bump up the bass mix-wise but it's not bad by any means. The ending kind of fell apart though but other than that this was a great track. Very classy and relaxing.
- out_of_left_field from Reykjavik, Iceland on 18Jun2009
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Smooth and relaxed
Although most Reggae could be coined as smooth, there is an almost R&B, Sade-esq sweetness to the mix on this tune. This overall polished sound and feel gives this track a more accessible approach which would open up more possibilities for both fan-ship and radio play. At any rate, the cool and collected vibe is most welcome in a genre that sometimes gets too constrained within it's own identity.
- paultheriault from Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 10Jun2009
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- www.garageband.com
Discography
KGNU (88.5)
Greenlight Radio (95.3) Internet Radio
www.garageband.com
Released "What's It Like" in May 2009
Photos
Bio
The Rhythm Assassins formed in the summer of 2008 as a reggae jam band. In Aug 2008, they added Rita Batiste to the band as the primary vocalist. The Rhythm Assassins popularity continues to grow highlighting this summer by playing at the Poudre River Reggae Festival IV at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre in July and the Fox Theater last summer. Our style embraces old school roots reggae with rich powerful lyrics and vocals.
Rita Batiste - Vocalist Rita was born in Honolulu, HI. and spent her earliest years growing up in Japan. Rita has sung in many bands with the genres ranging from Pop, Jazz, Funk and R&B. Rita moved to New Orleans in 2007 where she married world-renowned drummer Russell Batiste. Rita was performing with Russell Batiste & Friends and her band TRIM. Rita had the opportunity to perform at the House of Blues New Orleans, the Maple Leaf, Howlin' Wolfe, Sugar Mill, Bank St. Bar, the VooDoo festival and the famous Tipitina's where she was teaching songwriting for children. Last summer Rita moved back to Boulder, CO.
Mike O’Brien – Bass Born & raised in Boulder, CO. He met Kit Slater in high school. Kit and Mike formed a punk & ska band that toured the country in the late eighties playing with Green Day, Alice in Chains, NOFX, 7 Seconds & Filth. Kit & Mike then went on to form Roots Revolt with the current members of Heavy Weight Dub Champion. Roots Revolt toured with Burning Spear, Michael Franti & Spearhead as well as opening for Jimmy Cliff, Stephen & Julian Marley, Culture, Pato Banton, Dread Ashanti, Itals, Eek a Mouse, The Meditations, Israel Vibration, Lee Scratch Perry, Mighty Diamonds, Hazel Miller & The Roots. Roots Revolt also was awarded best reggae band in Westword Magazine’s Music Showcase 1996.
Kit Slater - Guitar Kit was born in Boulder, CO and grew up in Lyons, CO. He has been playing, touring and recording with bands since the late '80's. He was a founding member of Roots Revolt and Wailer B and Axiom.
Leon Arguello - Drums
Darren Roebuck - Guitar Born and raised in Southern California, Darren started playing music at 5 years old, and began playing professionally at 16. He moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1988, and has lived there ever since playing guitar and bass in many bands including Hazard with Andy Sheldon of the Samples, Swindl, Djate', and with Dana Kyle Stokes. Although known as a "hired gun," Darren has written, recorded, and produced many of his own compositions.
Ryan Spinharney - Keyboards
Links
