by Adelie Salagnac
photo by Lindsey Brynes
You have probably already heard of Red Sun Rising, a five-piece rock band from Akron, Ohio. If you are not familiar with their name, chances are their song “The Otherside” rings a bell. It was played all over the radio and hit number 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock song chart. The band is still having a hard time believing it is true.
“It’s surreal,” sayssinger and guitarist Mike Protich. “I still remember the first time I heard it. I tried to let it sink in, but I think it just fueled the fire to work harder. This is our chance. We have the ability for people to hear us now. Pressure? Maybe a little, but more of a motivator.”
With member Ryan Williams (guitar), Ricky Miller (bass, vocals), Pat Gerasia (drums), and Dave McGarry (guitar, vocals), Protich is ready to make the band reach the top of the world. Breaking onto the scene in 2012, Red Sun Rising released two EPs, before putting out their debut album, Polyester Zeal, very recently. There is no way the band is going to stop there, after a one-off hit.
“The most difficult part about putting an album out these days is getting people to listen to the whole record,” confesses Protich. “This makes the first single so important to penetrate culture and hope it connects. There are many bands that I have discovered over the years through one song, but then realized I loved or didn’t care for the rest of the record. We hoped that our first single would grab enough attention so people would listen to the rest of The Otherside. We are proud of and worked hard on every song on the record. So, of course, we want everyone to listen to all of the songs. I think we are just starting to accomplish this several months after the first single.”
Protich and his bandmates are very excited about everyone hearing Polyester Zeal, an album on which they worked very hard. To make the best record possible, they were clever enough to surround themselves with la crème de la crème, picking Bob Marlette (Red Square Black, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper…), as a producer.
“Bob Marlette showed us, not how to write songs or create hits, but how to use the talents and skills we already had to our advantage. He once said to us, ‘You have all the paint to make beautiful art. I’m going to show you how to use it.’ He also taught us when to stop on an idea and not take it so far into obscurity that no one will get it. He knew when to say, ‘Stop. You’ve got it.'”
Polyester Zeal was released with the label they are newly signed to, Razor & Tie. Becoming a signed band was indeed a huge step in Red Sun Rising’s career.
“The biggest change we noticed right away was from the gate keepers, if you will,” declares Protich. “Signing to Razor & Tie made it a lot easier to get opportunities we did not have access to when we were independent. For example, we were able to get major festivals and tours. We were also able to get a lot of radio airplay.”
Speaking of tours, the band is about to make a stop in our very own city of Philadelphia, at Ortlieb’s on January 28th, as part of their very first headlining tour. Nervous? Protich is not. “It’s music,” he says, “I get to play music every day. How could I be nervous about anything? Maybe nervous about getting there on time! There is nothing like playing for a room of people that came to see you specifically. So that element of, ‘I have to win these people over’, is not there. It is replaced with, ‘These people came to see you, so you better make this awesome.’ Just that subtle difference creates a vibe and energy that’s unique.”
Whenever the band accomplishes something big, they keep on wanting more and more. “We just want to continue to grow. We also want our live show and songwriting to evolve. I want people to keep coming back because it just keeps getting better. That takes a lot of work but we are prepared for that. Hopefully, we can create something timeless.” Red Sun Rising is for sure a band we all should keep an eye on.
The band will release a music video for latest single, “Emotionless”, a song that is very special to all of them. “It’s been in our arsenal for so long and especially for me. The visual of the song came to me in a dream. I explained this visual and Dylan just seemed to capture it the best. He created his own spin on it and it became the amazing music video that it is.”
Meanwhile, check out the music video for the hit “The Otherside” and grab tickets to the show at http://ortliebslounge.ticketfly.com/event/1024789-red-sun-rising-philadelphia/
The band will also be a part of the MMRBQ festival, on May 21st. Tickets can be found at http://www.wanatix.com/mmrbq-tickets.aspx
