Each Thursday, we continue to share our radar of some up & coming artists we feel you should discover. Each Artist Radar feature is accompanied with FREE music added to our FREE music section inside our MP3 Massive. Radical Something is the next addition to our Radar & Masssive, discover them today…
The story of Radical Something began as two former football players and one singer, each trying to make their own path in music. The day they met in New York City they recorded their now hit song, “Be Easy”, and after living in a home studio for two weeks, they emerged with what would become their 2011 coming out EP We Are Nothing.
Since their initial success, the group has since charted on iTunes as high as #3, and Billboard Heatseeker chart as high as #9. The witty and fun music videos have garnered millions of views on YouTube and their songs have surpassed hundreds of thousands of downloads. The band has headlined three national tours and have shared the stage with major artists like Slightly Stoopid, SOJA, and 311 just to name a few. Now they have recently embarked on a tour with Matisyahu via the Built to Survive tour spanning 50 dates.
Radical Something is made up of Josh Hallbauer aka Josh Cocktail (lead vocals), Mikey “Big Red” Costanzo (bass, keys, percussion) and Alex “Loggy” Lagemann (vocals, guitar). For the interview I was able to speak with Loggy, who handles a majority of the rap verses for the group, about the past, present and future of Radical Something.
You can download FREE music from Radical Something inside our MP3 Massive section by clicking HERE!
Artist Radar: Radical Something
The Pier: So all three of you are from Cali, but what influences or attitudes do each of you bring individually to Radical Something that create your unique sound?
Lagemann: We all grew up in different parts of California (Josh is from LA and Mikey and I are from opposite sides of the Bay Area) but we were raised on music and sports and all went to college before we started the band. Josh has a soul and R&B background and Mikey and I actually became friends because of our mutual loves for reggae and hip-hop. Our writing style is pretty personal and detailed. Songs like “Be Easy” and “California” paint a very honest picture of our lives. 
The Pier: As far as the writing process goes, are all three of you involved in every aspect or do each of you perform certain responsibilities?
Lagemann: The song creation process is pretty much organized chaos. We write all of our own songs, but the process from start to finish really varies. Ideas usually begin with creating the basic music first and building off that with different concepts and ideas. Either way we are very collaborative — not a single song was written by only one of us.
The Pier: You guys are on tour with Matisyahu & like Matisyahu, you guys have a lot of hip-hop intertwined with some other diverse sounds. Would you point to a guy like him as an influence or perhaps someone you guys might look to collaborate with in the future?
Lagemann: Matisyahu has definitely influenced us — the first time I heard “King Without A Crown” from Live at Stubbs I was immediately hooked. We love his ability to use reggae to cross over into the mainstream as well (songs like “One Day”, “Sunshine” and “Live Like a Warrior”). We’d definitely love to collaborate with him in the future.
The Pier: Are there any other reggae rock artists that you guys might want to look to work with?
Lagemann: We’re all massive reggae fans. The reason I got my first guitar was because I heard “Feeling Alright” by Rebelution. Same with Mikey, who heard Sublime’s “Badfish” and went out that day to buy his first acoustic guitar. Artists we’d like to someday work with in some way are artists like Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Iration, Collie Buddz, and The Dirty Heads. Rome is also on that list — the work he’s done with The Dirty Heads and Sublime with Rome is killer.
The Pier: What’s on each of your playlists right now?
Lagemann: We’re listening to a really eclectic mix of stuff right now. Off the top of my head: Rage Against The Machine, Bob Marley, D’angelo, and YG. We’re also really enjoying the new albums from Rebelution, Trevor Hall, and SOJA.
The Pier: What’s in store for the end of 2014 headed into 2015 for Radical Something?
Lagemann: We’re releasing a new EP through Pledge Music and we’re super stoked about giving the fans a truly amazing experience surrounding the release. The EP is almost done and is sounding crazy. We got to work with some great producers, like David Kahne (Sublime) and Matt Wallace (Pepper).
The Pier: Thanks so much for your time and good luck on the fall tour fellas.
Lagemann: Likewise! Big ups to everybody at The Pier! We’ve been fans of the site for years and are stoked to be featured! Much Love.
Radical Something Links:
Radical Something Website
Radical Something Facebook
Radical Something Preorder
Article By: Andrew McClatchy
Watch: Radical Something – “Cali Get Down”