Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Wed 11th Feb, 2009 in Features

“Unfortunately, many times in this business, situations arise, both personally and professionally, that force acts to alter touring schedules with little or no notice at all. This is one of those times.”

It was with this somewhat cryptic message that Florida natives The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus cancelled their appearances at the Soundwave festival last year. Lead singer Ronnie Winter seems to share my disappointment as we sit down to discuss the situation. “It was just a scenario that was bad for everybody. It was bad for us, it was bad for our fans in Australia, and it was bad for our label because we didn’t wind up getting to do what they said we were gonna do.”

One year on, and things have changed significantly. Ronnie even hints that this miscalculation might have led to some changes at the label. “The people responsible don’t work there anymore, so I don’t know if we had anything to do with that or not.” Either way, the band is ready to fulfill a duty to their Oceanic fans.

“We promised everybody in Australia that when our new album came out we were gonna tour there first, even before we did in the United States. That’s a fact. We still have not done a major US tour for Lonely Road, and will not do one until we get back home from this tour.”

With Soundwave confirmed and the anticipation mounting, it’ll be the first time RJA heads to Australia. We evidently have a lot to catch up on. Ronnie tells me he met Duke Kitchens in music class while at high school in Middleburg “which is kind of the west, west side of Jacksonville, basically the armpit of Florida.”

After gigging around in different bands for a couple of years, the two decided to start RJA in 2003. The music scene in Middleburg was pretty heavy at the time. “Yeah, it was pretty intense. The first band I ever had was a hardcore metal band. There’s a really big metal scene there and a lot of heavier music was popular when I was a kid. My original band really sounded more like that. Duke had a band that was quite a bit heavier as well.

“Basically, when we started doing Red Jumpsuit, when we were in high school, we always used to listen to Blink 182, NoFX and bands like that. We were like, ‘We don’t want to play a lot of heavy stuff anymore, we kinda want to lighten it up a little bit.’ We still wanted to play heavy stuff every now and then, which is why we have a few heavy tracks, but we didn’t want to play it every song, over and over again. So that was kinda the reason why we started Red Jumpsuit.”

Two years of touring the local scene landed RJA the unlikely opportunity to sign with Virgin music. This might have been pretty intimidating, given the label has signed such high profile acts as the Sex Pistols and the Smashing Pumpkins.

“Well it was two years after we formed but at that point in time we’d been performing live in various bands for almost seven years. It definitely wasn’t something that happened right away for us but when it did happen we were sure as hell ready for it to happen and we were stoked about it.”

Since the release of their breakout debut album Don’t You Fake It in 2006, the band have been honing their craft while somehow finding the time to contribute to some notable causes. The 2007 Take Action tour even saw Ronnie speaking on Capitol Hill, but it’s all something he seems to take in his stride.

“It’s something we’ve always done. Even before we were signed to Virgin we were doing charity shows in our hometown. Giving back is something that comes natural and easy to us. We’re not ashamed of it and we’ll continue to do it. We started our own non-profit organisation for that very reason so that as long as we’re a band we’ll continue to do what we think benefits good people who deserve help.”

After the false start that prevented their appearance at Soundwave last year, RJA have finished recording their new album and are ready to present Australian audiences with a mix of tracks from both their commercial releases. “We’re gonna walk the line right down the middle. We’re gonna play plenty of songs off the new album and we’re gonna play a bunch of songs off the old album that people never had a chance to hear.”

Ronnie seems as well impressed as I am at the epic list of acts that are playing the festival this time around. “I’m so glad we’re on this year. I mean, first of all, Nine Inch Nails is one of my favourite bands. Trent Reznor is a musical genius and I can only aspire to accomplish half as much as he has.

“There are a lot of bands that I’m really looking forward to. I feel like it’s gonna be an epic show and everybody that comes out, regardless of how many Soundwaves you’ve been to before this one, you’re gonna remember this one.”

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus plays the Soundwave tour and select sideshows around the country.

Sat 21 Feb – RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
Sun 22 Feb – Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney
Wed 25 Feb – The Metro Theatre, Sydney
Thurs 26 Feb – The Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne
Fri 27 Feb – Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne
Sat 28 Feb – Bonython Park, Adelaide
Mon 2 March – Steel Blue Oval, Bassendean, Perth