In 2017, after posting the band’s early demo of “Living Low” on Facebook, the song was quickly picked up by Sirius/XM Octane and several terrestrial radio stations across the USA, without any record label, promo team, or industry machine pushing the product. The music was unique, and people were responding. “It went over like gangbusters,” proclaimed Frank Pain, Program Director for KEYJ Rock 108. “One listener said, ‘This is the next generation of rock’.”
This response was quickly noticed by Sony RED Music, who signed the band shortly afterwards.
On CODE RED RIOT’s debut album ‘MASK’, Corky played almost all the instruments himself (vocals, drums, bass and rhythm guitar), and recruited a fantastic unknown guitar slinger, named Tyler “Taz” Azure, to round out the album’s lead guitar work. “The songs were fantastic,” Taz explains. “So, I took a chance and moved from Minnesota to Las Vegas to be a part of this band. Great people and great music – you don’t pass up an opportunity like that.”
Unconcerned with the latest media-defined trends and fashions, their music is full of honest and earnest material, filled with heart, soul, blood, guts, angst and relentless passion.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Code Red Riot about the latest release, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I grew up near Seattle, WA (in the city of Monroe); went to college near San Francisco, CA (at Stanford University); and currently live in Las Vegas, NV.
I make aggressive music that grooves. Sometimes it’s abrasive, sometimes it’s melodic, and sometimes it’s rap-like with a rapid-fire vocal delivery.
I’ve been a professional drummer for over a decade, playing with the Blue Man Group and numerous other shows on The Strip in Las Vegas. Having that fundamental foundation as a “drummer first” often inspires me to write music with a strong rhythmic element, which can really come from any musical instrument in the song: drums, vocals, bass, or guitar.
The music I write is often aggressive because… I enjoy the fine taste of chaos every now and then.
What led you down this path of music, and what motivates you to stay the course?
I’ve always been around music. My Dad was a bass player, and his band practiced in our house when I was born. I’m told that I used to crawl out behind the drummer and watch them play during band practice.
Not long after I started playing drums myself, I attended my first four concerts: Motley Crue, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Metallica… and I was hooked. I’ve focused on writing, recording, and performing music ever since. And, aside from a few breaks in college (because I was TRYING to follow a “respectable” career path), I’ve never stopped.
I’m motived to stay the course because I’m always looking for that “next great moment” as an artist: writing a cool riff or lyric, recording a killer song, or having a palpable connection onstage with my bandmates and the audience. Those are all experiences like nothing else in life, and as soon as one of them happens, I anxiously look forward to the next one that’s potentially around the corner.
How is Mask different than previous releases you’ve been a part of? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Mask is completely different than any other release I’ve been a part of.
It’s the first album where I wrote every lyric and almost every musical note that’s played. Other than lead guitar, I performed all the primary instruments (drums, vocals, bass, and rhythm guitar), and I also functioned as the album’s co-producer. In essence, this one is truly my baby.
The goal of this album was to prove – to myself – that I could make my mark as a legitimate artist; to prove that I was a bona fide songwriter, vocalist, and producer; and to prove that I could create something truly as I envisioned it.
There were a lot of people who doubted me along the way, and throughout the process that just made me want to prove them wrong.
Overall, I primarily aimed to make myself happy as an artist, and simply hoped for the best from there. If it connected with an audience along the way, then that would simply be a bonus.
Do you face challenges as a musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
If I was to judge one way or the other, honestly, I’d say technology has hurt musicians more than it has helped.
For fans, music has become more easily accessible than ever before, but from a musician’s business standpoint, it’s only cheapened the product and made it more difficult to survive. It’s forced the industry to change in so many ways, and now we’re all just trying to adapt and find new ways to navigate the process and create a sustainable business model, often unsuccessfully.
Who makes a living writing, recording, and performing their own original music these days? Fewer people than ever before, or more specifically, since the age of modern multitrack recording began.
Why? Because technology has allowed the public to consume music for free. The public now perceives music as a cheap/free service, rather than a viable product to purchase. And now, after almost two decades of free music consumption, the Music Industry is following suit.
Case in point: one of my most heartbreaking conversations as a musician occurred when my record label told me they would NOT be printing CDs of Mask. It truly broke my heart. Ever since I started playing music, one of my most satisfying accomplishments was finishing an album and HOLDING IT IN MY HAND. It served as proof that my artistic creation was complete, and psychologically, that made it a success.
Unfortunately, for a newer band like Code Red Riot, digital distribution is now the main focus, because there simply isn’t a large enough CD-buying audience to warrant their duplication and distribution. Thankfully, the label decided to print a handful of CDs that we could sell at our live shows, but that’s it.
Bottom line, now that technology has completely changed how music is consumed, it has directly affected every musician’s income – negatively.
So, if you’re reading this and you really like a band, I urge to you go to their shows and buy a t-shirt. That’s literally what will keep them afloat and allow them to make more music!
I’m not saying all this to complain. If I was complaining, I’d change careers and stop playing music altogether. But I can’t stop, because I LOVE CREATING, RECORDING, AND PERFORMING MUSIC. So, I’ll continue to do that until I die.
In summation, if you ask me, “What challenges do musicians face in the digital age?” I’d say we’ve gotta embrace the fact that the money ain’t what it used to be, we gotta be willing to endure the unstable business madness that comes our way, and hopefully throughout the process we’ll find new ways to generate extra income for our bands to keep ourselves afloat as artists.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
All of our social media is @coderedriot so we’re very easy to find:
- www.coderedriot.com
- www.facebook.com/coderedriot
- www.instagram.com/coderedriot
- www.twitter.com/coderedriot
- www.youtube.com/coderedriot
- www.indiemerch.com/coderedriot
Our album can be found on all digital download/streaming services via https://red.lnk.to/mask
We’re already starting to write for Album #2, so we’re hoping to get more music out there soon!
Anything else before we sign off?
Play with passion, and never quit.
