Where: House of Blues, East Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue.
Headliner: Matisyahu.
Tickets: $25 in advance, $28 day of show, $32 for reserved seating, all plus fees. Available at the box office, Ticketmaster outlets, online atticketmaster.com,houseofblues.com/Clevelandlivenation.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Who else would you get to set the stage for “a reggae rapper and alternative rock musician . . . known for blending Orthodox Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip-hop beatboxing sounds” but a pair of ex-football players and a buddy they met in a recording studio?
This, ladies and gentlemen, is Radical Something, the trio who open for Matisyahu (as he is described by that bastion of accuracy, Wikipedia) at the House of Blues on Sunday. It features Alex Lagemann (Loggy), Josh Hallbauer (Josh Cocktail) and Michael Costanzo (Big Red).
I scored an email interview with Lagemann.
Plain Dealer: Where are you as you answer these?
Alex Lagemann: In my apartment in Hermosa Beach, California. It’s 1 a.m. and I just finished packing up the merch for our upcoming tour with Matisyahu. I’m typing this underneath a tower of about eight bins filled to the brim with rad gear. If they crush me, please tell my parents I love them.
PD: Billboard says you incorporate hip-hop with a California sound. Do you agree and why?
AL: Definitely. We have a natural West Coast accent that puts a certain spin on everything we make. It’s just where we’re from and how we grew up. I do most of the rap-type stuff. I think it’s because I grew up listening to Bay Area dudes like Andre Nickatina and Mac Dre, in addition to the greats, like Atmosphere, Eminem, and 2pac. Damn. How cliché. Can you erase that from the record?
AL: That is pretty difficult. Alternative? No, that’s too plain. Our friend and producer, David Kahne, says our sound is MentaSurf. He’s a pretty wise guy, so everything he says I pretty much take as a worldly truth.
PD: Who writes what?
AL: I write all my verses, but all three of us write hooks and full songs together. It’s such a collaborative process that we all end up just getting lost in the music and creating whatever we think is dope. We love writing songs together and separately. An iPhone note you jot down in the bathroom of a bar could be the biggest song you ever make. You never know.
PD: Going from football to music has been done in some other genres – Toby Keith played defensive end on a semi-pro team in Oklahoma. How does that sports background help in music? Or DOES it help?
AL: NO WAY! Toby balled? That’s so cool. I saw him tear up a concert a couple years ago — amazing stage presence. Having played Division I football is a big part of why we’ve been able to find success in music. The values of teamwork, dedication, and battling through adversity come into play every single day.
PD: What positions did you play?
AL: I played wide receiver and Mikey played on the defensive line.
PD: Was there any thought to choosing football careers over music?
AL: We discussed it. There was always the dream of playing in the NFL, but music just became the obvious choice for a handful of reasons. So many of our buddies are killing it in the league right now. It’s fun to watch them make plays at the next level.
PD: You guys have been unbelievably prolific in the short time you’ve been together. Where do the ideas come from, and how much time do you spend putting new stuff together?
AL: Thanks so much! That’s very kind of you to say. Ideas come from EVERYWHERE. Honestly, we never stop working on new material. It’s a gift and a curse, but with such a fascinating world around you, it’s difficult to stay quiet for too long.
PD: You also tour a lot and do a ton of videos. So the question is, when do you find time to write?
AL: We write all the time. I get most of my writing done during the day at the beach or really late at night with the help of some red wine. Josh is addicted to writing — he’ll come up to me every day and show all of the lyrics he penned the day before. He’s a machine with a beautiful mind. Red is the silent one, but when he brings something to the table you know it’s going to be profound. It’s always like “Mikey what the [bleep]?! That’s amazing! Why didn’t you say that earlier??”
PD: So the story goes that you started out making recordings in your apartment while at Cal. Was there a Eureka moment when you realized it wasn’t just a couple of buddies having fun, and this was a chance at a career?
AL: For me, the “Ah-ha!” moment was in Florida, where we recorded our first album in 2010. Our friend and mentor, photographer Bruce Weber, had heard our song “Be Easy” and flew us down to write music for a film he was doing. We got to the hotel on the first day, and had a couple hours to kill. Before we knew it, Mikey was cooking up a beat and Josh and I started flowing and writing. It was the inception of Radical Something. Man that was crazy.
PD: You have become experts at using social media and the Internet to spread your music. This, in a time when a lot of old-school artists are lamenting the homogenization of radio and the consolidation of record labels. Is this all a happy accident or a business model you purposely put together?
AL: All we’ve ever tried to do is find the most interesting and fun ways of spreading our music and reaching new fans. Social media is a big part of the model, but word of mouth will always be king. We thrive on real one-on-one interactions with our fans. Meeting them in person will always be the most fulfilling thing for us.
PD: What kind of road map do you have for Radical Something’s future?
AL: Make music. Tour. Build the movement. Build the family. Relax a little. Repeat.
PD: Oh, and where did the name come from?
“Radical” is my favorite word. I said to Mikey, “It just needs something at the end to make it really dope.” He looked at me and said “Radical Something.