Rx Bandits "Resignation" LP vinyl Circa Survive Finch

$

60

Rx Bandits "Resignation" LP Drive-Thru Records (US)

Brand New and Still Sealed!!

Rx Bandits is a five-piece band based in Seal Beach, California. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California, originally known as The Pharmaceutical Bandits. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, and The Bamboozle.

Drive-Thru years (1999-2006)

The band explored new styles with Halfway Between Here and There, but continued to hold on to their ska roots while exploring a larger element of distorted punk rock. The album worked to branch out past the third wave ska sound.

The album's success allowed them to tour with well-known acts such as The Bloodhound Gang, Goldfinger, and Reel Big Fish, and later headline shows with up-and-comers such as New Found Glory and Freakdaddy frequently opening for them.

In 1999, the album was re-released with a new track list, 2 remastered songs and new artwork. The '99 release was also released under the bands new name, Rx Bandits.

In the time between Halfway Between Here and There and their next release, Progress, bassist Franz Worth and saxophonist Noah Gaffney quit the band. Worth was replaced by James Salomone, formerly of My Superhero. Gaffney's position was left open.

With 2001's Progress, the band moved further beyond third wave ska. The album contained the song "Analog Boy," which was made into one of their two music videos. The band at this point consisted of Embree, Tsagakis, Balling, Salomone, and the album included a number of guest performers, including former member Noah Gaffney.

Shortly after the release of the album, Chris Sheets joined the band on trombone as well as Steve Choi on guitar and keyboards. Choi had played keyboards on the demos for Progress, but when it came time to record, they decided instead to have Rich Zahniser of The Hippos, who was touring with the band, play on the album. Former Jeffries Fan Club trombonist Chris Colonnier also played with the band at times, in the same role as Zahniser. While they had just gained the two new members James Salomone and Rich Balling left the band. They had many temporary replacements for Salomone, most notably Johnny Tsagakis, Chris' younger brother, but eventually Joe Troy, a longtime friend of Embree, who helped to write the song "What If?" on Halfway Between Here and There, joined the band as their bass player. Balling was replaced by saxophonist Steve Borth, who had played formerly in the popular East Bay ska-punk band Link 80. Their line-up of Embree, Tsagakis, Sheets, Choi, Troy and Borth would go on to create the next two albums, The Resignation and ...And the Battle Begun.

2003 saw the release of The Resignation, a CD/DVD combination. The production of the album was unique to the band; guitars, bass, drums, and some keyboards were all recorded live in studio and vocals, horns, percussion and additional keyboard parts were then overdubbed. The band allowed themselves a limited number of takes for each part, and once a take was recorded it was left as it was, with no punch-ins. Embree also shared songwriting duties with Steve Choi, whereas he had previously been responsible for all of the band's material.

Musically, the album continued the genre mixing of Progress and experimented with unconventional time signatures. It featured overtly political lyrics, and saw the band evolving even further from their ska-punk days as the Pharmaceutical Bandits; a subject that drummer Chris Tsagakis commented on in an interview conducted by former member Rich Balling for Skratch Magazine:

The album cover is an original composition called "Predictable" by Aaron Nagel, a Bay Area artist and member of both Link 80 and DESA.

In 2004 the band released a DVD of live performances that were filmed during their many live shows. It was one of the first released on Embree's Mash Down Babylon Record label (aka MDB Records). It contains two Easter Eggs: a performance of the song Up to No Good, the only song recorded during the sessions for The Resignation that was not included on the album as well as studio footage of the band working on the album. During the DVD's slide show, the background music is performed by Apotheke, a side project run by several members of the band.

...And the Battle Begun was initially released online on June 24, 2006 and was made available for purchase during the band's 2006 US Tour. The album's title is, notably, in reference to a number of Lord Byron's poetry, in which the phrase appears repeatedly.

The album was originally slated to be released in 2005 through Drive-Thru Records (with one album left on their contract), but for unspecified reasons, the band and label chose to part ways, causing lengthy delays in the release date. Finally free of any legal setbacks, the CD was made available via online order from MDB Records and on specified tour dates. Officially it debuted in retail stores in October 2006, after which the band performed a Northeastern CD release tour to promote the album.

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