![]() Soundcheck with Ra Ra Riot: Life after deathIn 2007, Ra Ra Riot was on the cusp of success when a tragedy nearly ended the young band’s career. The founding members, a group of Syracuse University students, had begun generating buzz at the 2006 CMJ Music Marathon and Film festival, and were starting off on the right foot. And then Ra Ra Riot’s original drummer and songwriter, John Pike, went missing when the group attended an after party for a show in Providence, Rhode Island in early June, 2007. Pike was eventually found dead from an apparent drowning. ![]() Soundcheck: Seven years in, Matt & Kim still have that feelingWhen Brooklyn based duo Matt & Kim arrived in Philadelphia as part of their “Sidewalks” tour in early June, the temps were so sweltering that drummer Kim Schifino says she almost threw up on stage. Good thing their next stop brought them to Atlanta on a thick, humid day, where the heat from outside was felt even more in the grungy confines of The Masquerade, where the two were set to play. But the sticky weather actually hit the perfect note for the band, consisting of Kim and singer/keyboardist Matt Johnson, since they love nothing more than to throw a “sweaty dance party.” |
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