Ra is an American
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...
band from Los Angeles, taking their name from the
Egyptian sun god, Ra. The band was formed in 1996, and took off around 2002, when their song "Do You Call My Name" from their album ''
From One
''From One'' is the first major label album by American alternative metal band Ra, released on October 22, 2002. It features the band's hit single, "Do You Call My Name", which had a music video and was followed by their second single, "Rectifi ...
'' was released. Their music was described as "exotic yet familiar, heavy yet funky, direct yet sophisticated, sensual yet soulful, unrelenting yet cathartic."
The band is known for their hit songs "
Do You Call My Name
"Do You Call My Name" is a song by American alternative metal band Ra. The song was released as the first single from the band's debut album ''From One
''From One'' is the first major label album by American alternative metal band Ra, release ...
", "
Fallen Angels A fallen angel is an angel that has been exiled or banished from Heaven.
Fallen Angels may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Fallen Angels'' (1948 film), a Greek film by Nikos Tsiforos
* Fallen Angels (1985 documentary film) by Gregory Dark
* ...
", "Don't Turn Away", and "
Broken Hearted Soul". To date, Ra has sold 400,000+ albums in North America alone.
History
Origin of band name
Frontman Sahaj Ticotin has commented on the origin of the name Ra in multiple interviews. "...There's an underlying theme where 80 to 90 percent of the songs have the word sun in it. So I have a little sun fetish and I thought that Ra was appropriate." He has also stated that he likes the idea of the name because it's short -- "If your name is Ra you've got two giant letters taking up the same amount of space so it looks like your name is bigger"—melodramatic, and "sort of an odd thing and really unique."
Early years: 1996–1998
Marcus Ticotin, Sahaj's older brother and Abandon Entertainment president, financed Sahaj's first record while Sahaj was living in Greenwich, CT with mentor and friend Rob Jones. They held open auditions in New York City to fill out the lineup with a drummer, guitarist, and bassist. Skoota Warner was chosen as a drummer who fit in well with the blend of funk and hard rock in Sahaj's writing style. R&B bassist Kirk Lyons and guitarist Ben Mauro, the latter of whom would later play with
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
and
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
, completed the initial configuration of the band. The members' influences did not completely mesh, but the lineup did produce one commercial track in "Crazy Little Voices," which appeared as the end title track for the movie ''
The Rage: Carrie 2.''
1999–2001
The moderate success of "Crazy Little Voices" led to the band signing with
Edel Music
Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
* Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist
* Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter
* Apoula Edel ...
. Ra recorded many tracks including "Rectifier", "Fallen Rock Zone", "Only", "End of Days", "U Need Me", "What I Am", "Sky", "The Foundation" and the first real version of "Do You Call My Name". Edel, unbeknownst to the band, was on its last legs and was weeks away from closing shop upon album completion.The band also have the song "anything you want" on the end credit a 1999 movie "the time shifter".
''One'' and ''From One'': 2001–2002
"Do You Call My Name" received significant airplay on WAAF in Boston, Massachusetts. Due to this local success, the band released the EP ''One'' with the guidance of their then manager, Arma Andon. The band sold 7500 CDs in a month and a half, which led to a two-album deal with
Universal Records who had otherwise not seen the band perform live.
Sahaj's friend, Will Pendarvis (K-rock NYC, Sirius), introduced him to Hip-hop Producer/Engineer Paul Logus (
Puffy
Puffy can refer to:
* Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur
* Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More
* Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minneso ...
,
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
, 112,
Notorious BIG
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
,
Pantera
Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...
) with whom the band spent over $170,000 redoing "One" and turning it into "
From One
''From One'' is the first major label album by American alternative metal band Ra, released on October 22, 2002. It features the band's hit single, "Do You Call My Name", which had a music video and was followed by their second single, "Rectifi ...
".
The album ''
From One
''From One'' is the first major label album by American alternative metal band Ra, released on October 22, 2002. It features the band's hit single, "Do You Call My Name", which had a music video and was followed by their second single, "Rectifi ...
'' was released on October 22, 2002. Its lead single, "Do You Call My Name," reached a peak position of 14 on the
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
music charts in early 2003.
''Duality'': 2003–2005
Super-engineer Dave Schiffman (
Rage Against the Machine,
Audioslave,
Red Hot Chili Peppers and
The Mars Volta) was originally slated to co-produce the next LP with Sahaj, however, due to a close family member's health condition, Schiffman could no longer produce the album. This left Sahaj to produce the record alone. Universal was unhappy with the album the band delivered to them and recommended using Bob Marlette (
Saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
,
Seether
Seether are a South African rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion wit ...
,
Shinedown) to record an additional few songs to give the album more radio potential. The band was given a budget of $400,000 to produce new songs. With Marlette, Ra recorded "Got Me Goin'", "Take Me Away" and "Say You Will" and submitted these songs to Universal only to receive yet another lukewarm reception. Desperate and unsure of the right course of action, Ra went to Los Angeles to make one last attempt at a first single for ''Duality''. The outcome was "Tell Me"; a huge arena rock anthem shouting out to the world for guidance. The song was approved by Universal, but the record was originally left unreleased due to cost.
In the winter of 2004, Universal/Republic hired radio promotion director Dave Downey. One of his first activities was to listen to all of Ra's records. After listening to "Duality", he made Universal aware that they may have made a mistake with Ra, and that they were missing out on a potentially great record. By this point, drummer Skoota Warner left the band to find a more stable income. Universal released the album June 21, 2005, with little promotion. However, the album sold 80,000 copies on the strength of tracks like "Fallen Angels" and "
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by British rock group the Police from their fourth album, ''Ghost in the Machine''. The song, notable for featuring a pianist (uncommon in Police songs), dates back to a demo recorded in the house ...
", a
Police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
cover.
''Raw'' and ''Black Sun'': 2006–2008
The band left
Universal Records and signed with
Cement Shoes Records. On October 2006, Ra released their third album entitled ''
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'', which includes 11 live tracks and one new studio track, "Don't Turn Away". The new song (and single) was meant to be a teaser for their next album, ''
Black Sun'', which was said to be "dynamic."
''
Black Sun'' was released September 23, 2008, under Sahaj's new label, Sahaja Music Records. It featured their newest single, "
Broken Hearted Soul". The song "Faulty Information" was going to be the album's second single, but due to a lack of funding and time, the song was not released as a single.
''Black Sheep'': 2009–2012
On June 10, 2009, Ra released a compilation album called ''Black Sheep''. It contained 13 rare tracks including their debut single, "Crazy Little Voices", as well as their new single, "Supernova". The album is only available digitally.
Sahaj's solo album is tentatively titled, "Sahaj – Another Minute", named after the first single, "Another Minute".
In August 2011, Ra released the single "Running Blind", perhaps the first piece of their next studio album.
Frontman Sahaj Ticotin began the "Ra New LP 2012 Fan Drive" on Kickstarter, and wanted the new Ra LP to be "for the fans, by the fans".
Beginning with a $7 donation, supporters are offered a plethora of gifts. The fundraiser expired on July 13, 2012. The band managed to raise $31,465 in support of the new album.
As of September 17, 2012, Sahaj Ticotin announced that original drummer Skoota Warner would be tracking drums for the new album.
''Critical Mass'': 2013–2019
In July 2013, Ra released "Supermegadubstep", the debut single from their upcoming album,
"Critical Mass".
The studio album, their first since 2008, and fourth overall was released on October 14, 2013. The new record marked the return of the band's "Duality" lineup: guitarist-vocalist Sahaj Ticotin, bassist PJ Farley, guitarist Ben Carroll, and drummer Skoota Warner, as well as guitarist Travis Montgomery on "Tragic Empire."
The following June saw the release of "The Best of Ra Unplugged" EP. Recorded at Sun God Rock Studios in Los Angeles, California, it features "Duality" lineup members PJ Farley on bass, Ben Carroll on guitar, with both contributing to background harmonies, and Sahaj Ticotin on drums, guitar and lead vocals.
''Intercorrupted'': 2020-present
On June 10, 2020, Waylon Reavis of A Killer's Confession and Wake Up! Music Rocks announced via Social Media that the band has signed to the label. The band worked on their new studio album,
Intercorrupted
Intercorrupted is the fifth studio album issued by American alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late ...
and premiered the title track as its lead single in October 30, 2020. The song Jezebel was released as second single in March 5, 2021. The whole record was published on March 19, 2021.
On March 9, 2022, Sahaj announced that drummer Skoota Warner would be leaving the band and would be replaced by Fear of Water drummer Dave Perry and that the band would be announcing the dates for their new tour soon.
Musical style
Ra is generally called "nu metal with an exotic twist".
The twist is the Indian or Arabian mode that is used in many songs. Sahaj says, "The great thing about it is that you can play the meanest Meshuggah, heaviest rock riff you could possibly imagine under any scale and you
icif you sing over it in a harmonic minor scale it doesn't lose its heaviness, but it also doesn't lose its melody. It still manages to be cool, but also melodic." Notable songs that use this scale are "Do You Call My Name", "Violator", "Skorn", "The Only One", and "Broken Hearted Soul".
The band has also been said to use the genres of
progressive metal,
[Parks, Matt]
''From One''
. Fazed. July 26, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2012. modern
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
, and
heavy metal.
GarageBand.com says: "Twisted melodies, polyrhythmic beats, and heavy guitar chords fuse together with middle-eastern motifs, hip-hop, and melodic balladry to make a cohesive visionary statement percolating with emotional fervor."
/ref>
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Extended plays
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
Band members
Current
* Sahaj (musician), Sahaj Ticotin – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1996–present)
* Ben Carroll – lead guitar (1996–present)
* P. J. Farley – bass, backing vocals (2003–present)
* Dave Perry – drums (2022–present)
Former
* Skoota Warner – drums (1996–2004; 2012–2022)
* Andy Ryan – drums (2004–2012)
* Sean Corcoran – bass, backing vocals (1996–2003)
Timeline
References
;General sources
Ben Carroll Exclusive Interview at WeirdMusic.net Magazine
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ra
American alternative metal musical groups
American hard rock musical groups
American progressive rock groups
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quartets
Nu metal musical groups from California
Republic Records artists
Egyptian mythology in music