RX Bandits

Initially known as the Pharmaceutical Bandits, the band first came together in 1995, featuring Matt Embree (lead vocals/guitar), Franz J. Worth (bass), Chris Tsagakis (drums), Noah Gaffey (saxophone) and Rich Balling (trombone). A debut record, “Those Damn Bandits,” appeared in 1997, before the band changed their name to RX Bandits a year later.

Signing to Drive-Thru Records, they released a new album under their new moniker, “Halfway Between Here & There,” a more accomplished effort. Gaining support slots with Goldfinger, New Found Glory and Reel Big Fish, RX Bandits were able to raise their profile, before 2001’s “Progress” arrived.

The band’s lineup changed dramatically after the album, with Worth, Gaffney and Balling leaving, replaced by Steve Choi (keyboards), Joseph Troy (bass), Chris Sheets (trombone) and Steve Borth (saxophone), alongside a changing musical direction. Choosing a harder-hitting, progressive sound incorporating downbeat reggae with visceral post-hardcore, 2003’s “Resignation” became the first album to break into the Billboard 200.

Following a nationwide headline tour, their first album for new label MDB appeared in 2006, titled “…And the Battle Begun.” “Mandala” arrived in 2009, before RX Bandits announced their decision to go on an extended hiatus in 2011.

However, a year later, the band turned their decision around, embarking on a tour of Brazil and releasing a new EP in 2013, titled “The Resignation,” a collection of covers. After a North American tour, Chris Sheets left the band, leaving them as a four piece without any horns, changing their sound for their tenth release, “Gemini, Her Majesty” in 2014.

For a good couple of decades now, the general feeling has been that non-classical bands and artists who play music with a high degree of technical proficiency have been exclusively heavy metal acts. You think of virtuoso guitarists and you think of Joe Satriani, or Dimebag Darrell, or Randy Rhoads and while those are all spectacular players, there are more than a few indie rockers that could hold their own against them. White Denim and Marnie Stern both incorporate mind boggling technical feats into their songs but no-one does it quite as successfully as Maps & Atlases, quite possibly the first math rock band to ever soundtrack a Nintendo DS advert.

The bands story begins in 2004 when the founding quartet met while studying at the Columbia College Chicago. Bassist Shiraz Dada, drummer Chris Hainey, singer/rhythm guitarist Dave Davison, and guitarist Erin Elders formed to try and play a kind of music that was as technical as it was organic. The group gelled immediately and began touring soon afterwards. In 2005, their earliest recorded songs became something of an unofficial E.P passed around by the bands earliest fans, earning it the name “Bird Barnyard” and the same year, their first official release came in the form of a split E.P with The Antenora.

Their first major exposure came with an interview with Guitar Player magazine in 2006. The interview, combined with the cult following they had gained around the Midwestern states of America, gave them enough momentum to record and self-release the E.P “Trees, Swallows, Houses”. The E.P was a massive success, adored by audiences and critics alike to the extent that they sold out two pressings of it by selling it at gigs and on their website. The success of that E.P meant that Friction Records picked up the band to re-release it on a separate vinyl pressing, which also sold out.

This kind of success secured the band a deal with the management company Sargent House, and not just any old deal either. The band meant so much to the company that they agreed to put out the bands records as well as a one off deal for Maps & Atlases only. The band continued to release critically acclaimed E.P’s with Sargent House until 2009, when they parted ways. When they released their first official L.P “Perch Patchwork”, they signed to Barsuk Records and it was, as everything the band had released had also been, highly critically acclaimed.

Since then the band have just gotten better and better. Releasing another acclaimed album with 2013’s “Beware And Be Grateful”, touring with everyone from mewithoutYou, The Fall Of Troy and Foals and slowly but surely making a name for themselves on the global stage. They could be a cult band for the ages, and where they go next is a very, very exciting prospect. Highly recommended.