the Read

Read Like Red
Three piece punk/funk/party all the time band from Cincinnati, Ohio, the Read will make you think equally as much as they will make you dance. With their disco driven beats, funk inspired bass lines, dissonant guitar, and politically conscious lyrics, they will do just that. Live shows are laden with group sing -alongs, claps, cowbells, tambourines, maracas, hip hop samples, and occasional protest messages written on amplifiers. Audience involvement is key in their performance, as it is hard for anyone to watch the set without any form of movement or participation. The Read feeds off of this interaction which ultimately links together their thumping performance.

The Read came together in the winter of 2006 with the intention of playing dance music, wanting to bring a sense of community back into their music scene. With Mitchell Watson on bass, David Huster on drums, and Jerome Westerkamp singing and playing guitar, they quickly composed songs and began really working on their live performance. The result is a fast-paced 40 minute dance party, with incredible energy and very few pauses. At every show, the Read make it a point collect donations of canned goods and articles of clothing in exchange for discount admission, and/or free merchandise, which they hand make and personalize as much as possible. It is obviously clear that the Read loves what they do, and they want that love to positively affect every pair of ears and legs they play for, be it in a basement or living room or a 300 plus venue.