New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ HiCap Records) What does it take to make a modern post-punk album? Apparently it takes a partially scorched and drug-infested apartment complex, kleptomaniac neighbors, and two replacement vehicles. At least, that's what Portland, OR post-punk group
Radio Way found it took while preparing to release their latest album "What We
Dream Up".
After forming in 2007, these three friends from The Dalles, OR decided to share an apartment in Vancouver, WA while preparing their first release on HiCap Records, 2009's EP "Just Like the 80s". Shortly after they signed the lease on their new apartment, one of the buildings caught fire and burned to the ground. The next months were filled with multiple drug raids by the police and regular violence that included gunfire. It was against this backdrop that they began to write the material that would make up the album "What We Dream Up".
They took two short tours to Southern California to promote "Just Like the 80s", on one occasion making the trip from Portland to L.A. in one day. It was after the return from the last trip that keyboardist David Eldridge's '88 Oldsmobile died quietly in front of a red traffic light. It was quickly replaced by a Hyundai Elantra that died a violent death; blowing a rod on a return trip from a Pet Shop Boys show in Seattle, and only moments after Eldridge received a $550 speeding ticket.
As the band finished work on the new album, they moved to an apartment in Portland. After attending a local show, they returned home to find that their flat screen TV, XBox 360, iPod containing the band's performance tracks, and laptops had been stolen. It was only a few short days later that singer Colby Judah recognized their flat screen TV sitting in the front window of their neighbor's apartment. A quick call to the police helped them reclaim their possessions. The iPod and one of the laptops were never recovered.
All this culminated in the production of "What We Dream Up", an album designed to be energetic and danceable while begging the question; is this the best we can do? "It's about how a thinking individual reacts to society," Eldridge says. "An ambitious nonconformist."
Radio Way is a post-punk band from Portland, OR, formed in 2007, whose influences include Joy Division, The Bravery, and Cut Copy. Radio Way is David Eldridge (synths/bass), Colby Judah (vocals), and Phillip Wetmore (guitars). "What We Dream Up" is their first full length album, and will be released on HiCap Records on May 17, 2011. They have one other release on HiCap Records: Just Like the 80s (2009).
