Monday, December 12, 2011
We discovered Black Jesus almost two years ago via that one site no seems to remember anymore, MySpace, and knew right away that we had roughly 6-8 months before L.A. caught wind. So we did what we normally do, quietly stake out shows at small venues (Echo Curio, Dinner House M, and Crane's to name a few), watch them evolve into a great band, and then when the time was right ask them for a show or two. Everything went accordingly to plan and now the band is signed to French Kiss Records gaining new fans with every show under their new name Races.
But we but we still remember the band that we fell in love with at 2HeadedHorse back in February 2010. It's inevitable, but when bands get signed things always change. All of a sudden, band decisions are business decisions and some of that innocence we see at the beginning is lost, which is why we treasure the early days of a band's lifetime. It must be also noted that we sorely miss the presence of Barrie Rose. Sure, she's now in the great band Tes Elations along with doing solo shows and collaborative projects with other beloved friends but we still miss that sweet, "regular" girl who smiled for us in this pic. And while we do mourn the passing of Black Jesus we celebrate the life of Races and wish them all the best on what will likely be a great year for them in 2012.
Lead singer Wade Ryff recently told us that this song "The Next Best Thing" was the first song he ever wrote and apparently they don't play it anymore. They should since, by now, everyone knows the band has a knack for beautiful build-ups to epic choruses (and repeat) and none showcase that better than this song. In any case, along with this video we're posting a few pics that have also been sitting in private mode for a long time. We're missing a few in there but this will do for the purpose of this ode to Black Jesus/Races. We love them.
Races perform 12/31 at The Satellite with The Henry Clay People and LA Font and 1/17 at The Roxy with The Silent Comedy and Taylor Locke and the Roughs before going on tour with El Ten Eleven in January.
"Big Broom" EP available on iTunes. Debut album out March 2012.
RACES:
Bandcamp
