OC Music Awards 2012: Railroad To Alaska Embrace The Darkness With Grunge Art-Metal

[Photos] OC Music Awards Showcase Series…

“ It's a feel-good music in a weird sense. It's not like we're trying to promote happiness or that we're trying to promote sadness...The idea is more to make people aware that there's pain and depression and that it's a very normal thing and it's something that you should accept.
” Celebrating its 11th anniversary, the OC Music Awards kicks off on January 3rd with seven weeks of free showcases at different venues across the county. 35 local artists will compete for the titles of Best Live Band or Best Live Acoustic and a performance slot at the 2012 OC Music Awards, March 3 at the Grove of Anaheim. And, the voting is open now!

“I was thinking about this today when I was going to work because I was wondering what I would say, wondering who I was today,” thoughtfully said Justin Suitor, vocalist and guitarist of grunge alt-metal band Railroad to Alaska.

“I thought, I don’t know if I can speak for them on this,” continued Suitor, “But for me, when I write music and stuff,  it’s a direct reaction from all of the experiences that I’ve had. Basically, I have this terrible feeling inside me all the time that I subdue. For me, I write dark sh*t. I’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been this dark all along and now we’re finally all feeling that.”

Suitor points to his bandmates, Jeff Lyman (guitar), Justin Morales (vocals/bass), Derek Eglit (drums), and Ryan Williams (lyricist/artist), emphasizing that they are all, whether they hide it well or not, are on the same wavelength when it comes to expressing the “darkness” within them as a band.

Williams, the not-so-silent fifth member, replied that there is something cathartic about Railroad to Alaska’s “dark” music that makes people who listen to all different types of musical genres feel comfortable in sharing the shadowy sides of their souls.

“It’s a feel-good music in a weird sense. It’s not like we’re trying to promote happiness or that we’re trying to promote sadness,” elaborated Williams. “The idea is more to make people aware that there’s pain and depression and that it’s a very normal thing and it’s something that you should accept.”

“People show up and they know that they can do whatever they want or say whatever they want because it’s happening onstage to some extent.”

“ After that experience, because we had to really push ourselves, and we've always been all reserved about doing that, now that we've done it, it's a little bit easier to exude that you're proud of what you're doing and that you believe in your music. It speaks volumes when you're talking to a stranger.
” Despite the Cimmerian (or, as Suitar would say, “dire”) quality of their music, this last year has been eventful for Railroad to Alaska at learning how to adeptly navigate the “game that we did not know how to play,” according to Morales.

After winning “Best New Artist” and a chance to film a music video at the OC Music Awards last year,  the band went on to release an EP called Salvation in the spring of 2011, and played two sets of two days at Warped Tour in Pomona which led them to open for punk band FEAR in September.

Suitor called the experience “cool,” but stressed how ill-prepared they were at the beginning of the show with only “some beef jerky, some water, and a blanket” in the 103 degree weather and said the first day was “terrible” with the band leaving with “headaches” and “sunburns.”

“By the fourth date, we had our own tent,” said Suitor, emphasizing the rapid learning curve that Warped Tour demanded of them. “We had a display. We had merchandise. We had promotional materials. We had strategy.”

“We were outfitted with the tools that every other band that was there that was traveling on their own dime basically had,” continued Suitor. “I think we made a really quick transition into a functional band with just four dates on Warped Tour.”

Morales agreed, elaborating, “After that experience, because we had to really push ourselves, and we’ve always been all reserved about doing that, now that we’ve done it, it’s a little bit easier to exude that you’re proud of what you’re doing and that you believe in your music. It speaks volumes when you’re talking to a stranger.”

According to Williams, the band had to essentially act as  “Grindermen,” trying to attract anyone who would walk by. Even though they’ve hesitated to push themselves on anyone in the Orange County music scene, bringing a diverse audience of people to their sound hasn’t been hard.

“ Becoming sophisticated, but it's also sort of a youthful, untamed thing where there's a lot of room for interpretation.
” “Six months ago or even a year ago,” explained Williams, “it’s amazing the fact that we could have a room full of people that you would not think could be at this type of show, listening to this type of music.”

In the band’s bio, Williams expressed that Railroad to Alaska’s sound on Salvation is more “cerebral” and “tarnished,” which he explained to me.

“Becoming sophisticated, but it’s also sort of a youthful, untamed thing where there’s a lot of room for interpretation.”

“You get the sensation that it was kind of thrown together and it kind of happened that way rather than being planned out and meticulous,” continued Williams.

“I think that what’s happening now with the way things are being written is that you find that middle ground and have it be a little bit of both to where it can be very organic and soulful. “

While there is no “overarching” theme on their new EP (although there may be on the full-length they are working on) beyond the “deeper,” “darker,” “nastier,” yet more “thoughtful” direction the band is going, Suitor said that “each song on the EP is kind of like it’s own concept or its own album.”

“ It's kind of a collection...Moments in time. And in those moments in time, the themes are very present and they are there. And if you listen to each song, those themes are there for you too.
” “It’s kind of a collection,” elucidated Suitor.“Moments in time. And in those moments in time, the themes are very present and they are there. And if you listen to each song, those themes are there for you too.”

One prescient theme is obviously the aforementioned journey into the dark parts of the psyche, both musically and lyrically. Morales said that this connection existed even from the genesis of Railroad to Alaska.

“When I first met him [Suitor] and we first started playing music,” elucidated Morales, “We were both in separate bands, but we had a lot of deep talks about how we both view ourselves in a negative light more than positive and we kind of beat ourselves up. We kind of carry a lot of weight like bad things that have happened to us and bad things are happening in the world.”