Heavy pop-punk band Run The Riot was a rare guest on It’s News To Us with Eddie Barella and Jason Newcomer on idobi Radio the week of November 17. Emerging in the space pioneered by other Florida bands like A Day To Remember and Less Than Jake, the Tampa five-piece appeared on Episode 184 in their debut interview as a band.
Currently recording their first album, their March single “Falling Down” is on rotation on idobi Radio as a “Fresh Pick.”
The self-described DIY band has no manager, label, or publicist, and three of them live under one roof with their converted garage studio. So far, their neighbors have been putting up with them. “We haven’t had any cops show up, at least not for us,” vocalist Joe Voccia shares.
While Run The Riot may be doing it all on their own—they’re all-in. “We’re making the moves and taking the steps to get where we want to be,” Voccia continues.
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Run The Riot started about a year ago with lead guitarist Nick Rubright and drummer Billy Waas, and when Voccia was hanging out at a practice, they invited him to come up with some lyrics. “One of the guys was like, ‘Why don’t you sing?’” Voccia recalls. The band realized they had something with Voccia, and that first collaboration became their single “Falling Down.”
Soon after, rhythm guitarist/backup vocalist Vlad Odiiak brought his prowess and music production background into the mix. Bassist/backup vocalist Bradley Klein is the newest member of the band, joining after the departure of their previous bassist. “So now that we have the full band together, we’re trying to get our stuff together so we can do more shows and write more stuff,” Voccia shares.
While the band has released various singles, they don’t have an album yet. Odiiak says they have about 15 songs written, and 12 of them are processed and sorted. “We’ve been working hard for the last year, actually putting everything down,” he says.
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Odiiak continues, sharing that the worst thing about being DIY is having to be their own managers.
“Well, the ‘no money’ thing,” Rubright adds. “Having a job also, and having to shuffle everything. Doing marketing, writing music. It’s like another job.”
While they’d rather focus on creative, the band is taking initiative to get their name and music out there, and using their resourceful nature on the tech front. Their gear is mostly their personal instruments and equipment, but they have a fund they occasionally throw money into and divide to spend on gear.
“We record on the same stuff we play live on,” Rubright says, “because we want a really consistent sound, so yeah, the gear selection is all really important.”
Odiiak hopes Run The Riot inspires others to go DIY. “There’s no better time or year or decade to actually do this, where everything is available, and there are so many resources as far as distribution, recording, rights management, all of that stuff. Everything is available, you just gotta invest time, and be proactive, and be interested.”
The band agrees that the journey is the real dream, more than playing stadiums and arenas one day.
Rubright says it’s important to enjoy the process. “Being in a band is about always ‘making it,’ you know? I don’t think you’ve ever ‘made it,’” he says. “When we reach our first milestone, we hit the next one, and then the next one, and then the next one. You’re always in the chase.”Listen to Run The Riot’s full interview on Episode 184 of It’s News To Us here, and visit the Run The Riot website to stream their music.
