2013 was a big year for Spiritual Rez, who was nominated for The 2013 Pier Awards for Music Video of the Year with their first independent video entitled “Agapoula Mou”. And now they’re featured in The Pier’s 2014 Most Anticipated Albums article with their pending release of Apocalypse Whenever.
If you don’t know Spiritual Rez, they definitely impress with front man, stand up comic and free-styler Toft Willingham leading the way. The international six-piece consists of two Hawaiians, a sax player from Wisconsin, a trombone player from Arkansas, a keyboardist/keytarist from Sudan, all currently residing in Boston.
Gearing up for the 2014 release of their fourth album Apocalypse Whenever, they dropped their second video entitled “Don’t Be Afraid” on December 28. That same day I got the chance to catch up with the guys backstage before a show in Philly, PA at The Blockley.
Apocalypse Whenever drops on February 15th – Here’s what the group had to say: “This is the fourth album that we’ve done, and the second one we’ve self-produced, and we really got to express ourselves this time. We got to add jam sessions and fun different style changes that we’ve always wanted to have on an album. On this one we got to do it exactly as we want, just like our live shows,” said bassist Jesse Shaternick.
As far as being more funk, rock, or reggae, Jesse said “At the time, the stuff coming out of us was very rock driven. We had some stuff we had to let out. This was the one where we let the gate open, and we had this Apocalypse theme, getting closer to 2012. We wanted to kind of make light of it and we have all of these songs that have that are Apocalypse themed.”
The album was recorded at 9B Studios in Milford, MA and self-produced, with mastering by Howie Weinberg (RHC, Deftones, Beastie Boys). As far as 2014 goes, the fellas are hopeful that it’s going to be an even bigger year with “Videos, Singles, and music. Our goal is just to put out as much content as possible,” said drummer Ian “Meat” Miller.
So be on the look out for their newest album Apocalypse Whenever and I highly recommend getting a chance to see these guys jam, and get yourself Spiritual Rezified. Also don’t forget to look out for the meanest keytar on the east coast, provided by my man Mohamed Araki.
Spiritual Rez Links:
Spiritual Rez Website
Spiritual Rez Facebook
Article by: Andrew McClatchy
Watch: Spiritual Rez – “Don’t Be Afraid”