Marty Brass Drums / Percussion
Carter Luckfield Guitar / Vox
Adam Spektor Bass /Vox

Years Active Almost 3

Latest Release Pour Me Another One on Just Because Records

Current Album on Repeat Clube Da Esquina – Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges

Favorite Venue to Perform We’re a bit biased since we all work at The Happy Dog, but it’s a genuine second home for us. Locally, we also enjoy Now That’s Class, Grog Shop, and Maple Lanes. Beyond Cleveland, Buffalo’s very own Silo City, The Blind Mule in Mobile, Outer Limits Lounge in Detroit, the Monarch in El Paso, Barfly in Montreal, Silent Barn in NYC (RIP) and The Hi-Hat in LA (RIP).

The Best Kept Secret in the City We have three (presumably) extremely authentic Sichuan restaurants, which is absolute heaven for spice-heads.

Favorite Albums of 2020 Spiritual Favorites by Scraepers Papers of Mobile, Alabama. Drum-drum-organ-bass-VI quartet with incredibly clever tunes that generally defy categorization, outside of “what would it sound like if The Residents tried writing ‘normal’ songs?” A perfect record. Honorable mentions go to Knowso’s 2020 output (Specialtronics Green Vision and the two EPs) and The Hamiltones’ Dracula Invitational, 1791.

Biggest Inspiration Capsaicin

What do you think is the biggest lesson we can all take away from this past year?

The majority of us have almost certainly learned something from the last year. It’s very hard to spin all of this into anything positive, but whether it was understanding just how destructive late capitalism is during a global crisis, witnesing nationwide displays of militarized police brutality on the taxpayers’ dime, realizing the extent to which people refused to take the pandemic seriously, how effective the internet is at warping people’s brains, the fact that the government is almost certainly capable of providing people with universal basic income… the genie is not only out of the bottle, but the bottle is completely smashed. The real question now is how we will use everything we’ve learned to move forward as a society, something that has yet to be determined.

Tell us about how this project got started? / Craziest memory from touring?

Prior to Red Devil Ryders, the three of us all played in a fuzzed-out power pop band called Fascinating. While touring through the south, we blew our second tire in as many weeks on Carter’s ‘99 Chevy Astro (complete with temp tags, being bought just days before). Stuck in the middle of western Louisiana (7 miles past the nearest town, Crowley), we spent a good chunk of the day on I-10 waiting for help. After a local with the thickest accent imaginable got us to a Wal-Mart barely before closing so they could Frankenstein a new tire onto the van, we zipped over to Houston — only to play a very sad gig where we were the only band on the bill. We stayed in a terrifying, cluttered loft above the venue, sleeping on leather couches in 100+-degree Texas summer heat after watching the club owner pick up cat shit with his bare hands in the zone we were sleeping in. We also saw people fight over pizza earlier in the evening while sewage spewed into the streets. With all due respect to the people of Houston, none of us have been back since. Anyway, the events of the day largely inspired Carter to write and record an EP, Crowley 666, which soon after evolved into the Red Devil Ryders.

What’s the biggest thing that your band could use help with? (Promotion, Recording, Merch, Booking, Touring, etc)

Promotion, 1000%. Repping your own work is very easily our least favorite part of the creative process.

What does Cleveland or Akron have to offer aspiring musicians?

The bar of entry is very low to participate, and finding starting gigs, jam spaces, and recording opportunities is relatively easy. There’s a lot going on, but it’s all pretty accessible and doesn’t require a lot of money or status to get a project off the ground. If your band is good enough, building a band fund through just local shows is a lot easier here than in many other cities. Cleveland also has some of the best college radio in all of America, led by WCSB-89.3 and WRUW-91.1. It doesn’t have a publication like this one, though!

What has your recording experience been like?

Nothing but positive. Credit must be given to Paul Maccarrone, who recorded our first album, many other records we’ve been involved in, and the majority of local punk records over the last 15 years or so. The ancient, blown-out (smoke-laden) board that he used yielded a very distinct sound, although sadly, that board bit the dust about a year ago. That, combined with the quarantine onset forced us to record Pour Me Another One on our own, which worked out nicely, even if the process lacked the usual objective third-party input during the sessions.

What’s the next move?

Playing a damn gig! Which is usually the next move, but a lot more so these days.