The Razorblades
The Razorblades are a German surf rock band from Wiesbaden . The band was formed in 2002 by lead guitarist Rob Razorblade. Influenced by 3rd wave bands such as Slacktone and The Mermen and Dick Dale , the band indulges in an aggressive, energetic and danceable variant of surf music, which they refer to as 21st Century Surf .
style
The Razorblades combine the aggressive Dick Dale double picking style with the progressive songwriting of 3rd wave bands like Slacktone and The Mermen. Due to the diverse musical experiences of the band members, the band is less retro-attached than many other surf bands. Lead guitarist Martin Schmidt caused a sensation in the international instro scene on several CDs with instrumental music between surf, country and blues under the name The Incredible Mr. Smith. In addition to his musical activities, he also worked as a journalist and editor for surf and guitar magazines such as Banzai, Pipeline, Guitar, Soundcheck and Blues News. Bastian Emig and Stefan Schmidt were active in the heavy metal band Jesters Funeral, while Christoph Herder, who studied bass, worked with a wide variety of musicians from jazz, funk, rock and pop.
Live the band presented themselves faster, harder and louder than most other surf bands and could therefore also inspire punks and metalheads .
occupation
First phase
In 2002 the band played the CD “Get Cut By The Razorblades “Which was released in 2003 on the Belgian label Surf Waves Records. Supported by promoter Freddy Spaepen, the band toured Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France and Italy and published articles on several samplers (including "Evil Fuzz", a tribute album for Davie Allan).
The band combines classic surf elements with styles such as punk, rock, jazz and rockabilly.
Reshuffle
In 2005 Christoph Herder left the band (afterwards he was active in the band Planlos) and was replaced by Ray Razorblade (Daniel Wicke). The band recorded their second CD "The Dark Side Of The Beach" on their own, which had an even clearer musical direction. The artwork for the CD was done by the Californian designer Douglas Paulin, who designed posters and CD covers for bands like Slacktone and The Phantom Riders. At the same time, The Razorblades stepped up their concert activity and appeared together with numerous other surf bands (including Slacktone with the Fifty Foot Combo, The Turbo Acs, The Kilaueas and Surfpatrouille) and became an integral part of the German and European surf live scene.
In 2006, Bastian Emig was replaced by Rodrigo Razorblade (Marius Todor). In 2007 this line-up produced the 7 "vinyl EP" Shake Your Ponytails ". The band continued their extensive concert activity and toured Belgium for the first time in 2007.
trio
Rocco Razorblade left The Razorblades in spring 2007 to devote himself entirely to his new band, van Canto . He was briefly replaced by Rick Razorblade (Simon Faiss) before the band decided to continue with a trio line-up. Rodrigo Razorblade withdrew from live operation in mid-2007 and was replaced by Regina Razorblade (Tobi Zeller). The CD "Twang Machine" was created in 2008 with this stabilized line-up. The previous heavy metal influence took a back seat. Instead, elements of reggae, punk, ska and garage were found in the music of the Razorblades.
Discography
- 2003: Get Cut by the Razorblades (Surf Waves Records)
- 2006: The Dark Side of the Beach (General Records)
- 2007: Shake Your Pony Tails (General Records)
- 2009: Twang Machine (General Records)
- 2011: Gimme some noise! (General records)
- 2013: Snapshots From The Underground (General Records)
- 2016: New Songs For the Weird People (General Records)
- 2017: 15 Years In The Van CD (General Records)