What is Rage Funk? Usually funk is all about good feeling and making love.
But Vancouver based female fronted , saxophone -centric Raincity add punk energy to funk music in their new CD “ A Proper Latte.”
They are just beginning their first cross- Canadian tour which stops at the Slice, May 27.
The core of the band, Clare Twiddy, saxophonist Kayla Chan and guitarist Riley Kirkpatrick formed as a jazz trio in 2010 but expanded their sound into Rage Funk, along the lines of Five Alarm Funk.
“We started as jazz trio in 2010 and played for over a year. But we wanted to expand the group and expand our sound into something a little more harder,” said vocalist Clare Twiddy, noting Rage Against the Machine is one of their biggest influences.
“ We don’t want to be put in a box. We like everything including rock music, flamenco music, classical and punk music,” said Twiddy.
Saxophonist Kaylar Chan uses guitar effects to take her instrument to the next level.
“I play through a lot of different guitar effects. I’ve got a Danelectro chorus, a flanger and an octave pedal,” she said.
They are excited to be playing live shows again.
“ It’s an amazing feeling said vocalist Clare Twiddy. They released their album "A Proper Latte" on April 15.
“ We played a few shows but we’re excited about going on a proper tour for ‘A Proper Latte’,” she said.
“Our music is about self liberation and just being yourself and standing up for yourself,” Twiddy said, adding the new album expands on those themes.
Like all bands they were sidelined by Covid, but took advantage of downtime to learn a few new skills which they used to create a couple of creative videos for ‘Wayo’ and ‘EZ,’ plus some animated lyric videos.
“ I learned how to do animation during the pandemic, so we made a few videos of animation, which was a lot of fun,” Chan said.
Founding member and guitarist Kirkpatrick learned how to operate drones during the pandemic.
‘ So that’s been a lot of fun learning to do that. It’s been really cool to use them for the videos,” he said, adding it has been a lot of fun exploring different styles of music in the band as they evolve..
“It’s a really fun process. I’ve been playing with Kayla for 11 years. The goal has always been not to be too repetitive. We give a lot on the band,” he said.
Twiddy is looking forward to the band’s Lethbridge debut.
“ We are really fun. There’s a lot of energy. We want to audience to have a lot of fun,” Twiddy said, adding they are exploring costumes , like a silver glitter helmet she used in one of her solo videos.
“ That’s just something I made up because it was a fun thing to do. We’re going to start using more costumes, she said.
They have a similar feel to Five Alarm Funk, who play their own brand of hyperactive funk music and incorporates a lot of costumes.
“ We’re friends with them and we}ve got to open for them. Couple of times. They’re great,” Twiddy enthused.
Raincity play the Slice at 9 p.m., Friday, May 27. There is a $15 cover.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
