What is Power-Ska you ask? The answer when applied to Rude City Riot is “start with Ska Music and add equal parts Reggae, Punk and Hard Rock and you get “Power-Ska”.
RCR released their debut self titled EP / CD in Nov. 2008 and has released 3 digital singles on Skaspot Records in 2010 . "Nothin But Time" is now released on Stomp Records. It is RCR's first full length album and is available on iTunes, Amazon or from Stomprecords.com.
Dustin Lionhart, lead singer and primary songwriter for RCR has been writing Ska songs since age 14 and is now writing melodic anthems accessible to all those who love good music and well crafted songs.
Typical media / press reviews of Rude City Riot Music:
Ska tends to be typecast,
modeled to a great extent
on the early 80s Two Tone
look and sound from
England, which makes
Rude City Riot different.
Sure, the horn
arrangements and rhythms
that are ska trademarks are
here, but the album starts
with a rock and roll urgency
that suggests Rude City
Riot is flexible and won’t be
hemmed in by typecasting.
It even sounds like
Loverboy at times, which is
really unexpected. “Bonnie
And Clyde,” which follows,
has a punk edge. “Imposter
Man” could be Toots And
The Maytals. “Kick Me
When I’m Down” mixes Van
Halen guitar with a tough
reggae rhythm and nagging
chorus. Etc.."
- Tom Harrison, The
Province Newspaper (Sep
"If you replaced the up-strokes with
down and the horns with another guitar,
Vancouver, BC's Rude City Riot could
be Canada's next Chixdiggit ― that is to
say, creators of some incredibly well
crafted, straight-ahead, insanely catchy
pop punk. The phrasing of the verses
and the expert creation and execution of
a killer chorus (not to mention the lead
vocals of singer Dustin Lionhart III,
which are pretty similar to Chixdiggits'
K.J. Jansen) are pretty much where the
comparisons end though, because Rude
City Riot like to ska the hell out of their
stuff, and they do it impressively well ―
doubly so considering this is their debut.
The seven-piece shine on "Victoria," an
anthem about a troublesome girl (or is it
a city?), and "Rudies Don't Care." Both
open with that beloved ska brass and
continue like the best of favourite
commercial ska punks Reel Big Fish
and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. A select
group of people will treasure this, with
Rude City Riot keeping the ska dream
alive. "
- Nicole Villeneuve,
Exclaim.ca (May 31, 2011)
"Oi, There's a strong new voice in the ska scene and it
belongs to Rude City Riot. Their Nothin' But Time debut
album showcases a sound they call power-ska; it's a
harmonious blend of punk, reggae, soul and ska that files
neatly enough under ska-punk. The songwriting seems
surprisingly sophisticated for a bunch of newcomers, until
you learn that frontman Dustin Lionhart III has been
writing ska music since he was 14. Lionhart's rude-boy
lyrics tell tales of hoodlums and junkies in seedy
neighborhoods like Vancouver's downtown east side; all the
anger, exhilaration and desperation of these sad
but proud souls is brought to life through shoutout
harmonies, beefy guitar riffs and a terrific horn
section that especially shines on the rollicking
instrumental "DC Riot Stomp," the album's best
offering. This is a very fine debut from a skilled
team of musicians who clearly enjoy what they're
doing. Not every riot in Vancouver has to be bad."
- Jody McCutcheon, CHARTattack
“From the untamed wilderness that is the Pacific Northwest comes a gift…and a marvelous gift it is indeed. No, it’s not amateur video footage of Sasquatch doing the Macarena (although that would obviously rock). It’s better. Much better. Those crazy Ska-nucks, Rude City Riot, recently released a double-sided digital single as a follow up to their debut, self-titled album. With “Imposter Man” and “Same Old Story”, RCR picks up right where they left off with the their last studio offering. Brilliant! Power-Ska at its best. The melodic elements of 2 Tone meets the edginess of third wave, pulling up just short of the ska-core precipice. These cats continue to impress. - Drago" WWW.Froglix.Com
"This is seriously infectious stuff. It opens with a solid acoustic guitar ska groove and a power vocal going on about feeling ill, which conveniently rhymes with "pills". When the band kicks in they're as tight as a screw. And look out for that sax solo. iPod worthy."
- John McLaughlin, The Province Newspaper - review of Rude City Riot song "Shots & Pills" (Mar 23, 2010)
Please visit WWW.RUDECITYRIOT.COM
http://www.reverbnation.com/rudecityriot (RCR Profile)
for more photos and reviews or to play & download RCR songs for free - visit www.rudecityriot.com and join fan club / email list.
Skaspot Records 778 886 2747
Dan Cowan dan@skaspot.com
Rude City Riot is:
Dusty Lionhart III - Lead Vocals
Scotty Atkins - Guitars & Vocals
Luis Garzon - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Kevin Tang - Trombone & Vocals
Jonny McCormack - Sax & Vocals
Sean Kight - Drums & Vocals
Peter Bowles - Keys & Vocals
Steffen Peter - Guitar & Vocals
25 Years
Rude City Riot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It gets better, as it grows deader.
And I'm confident inside that she won't wait,
I wrote a letter, upon letter.
All she wrote back was hate.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Bullets flying all around.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Now you're buried under ground.
Bang bang. Bang bang.
And I woke up Sunday broke, whoa oh,
No money I own, whoa oh.
I load my pistols in my waist.
And they say a rude boys got no soul, whoa oh,
And now I pay, whoa oh,
For 25 years less a day, whoa oh.
Here I stay.
Recalling the actions of that day,
My mind's foggy,
It's still groggy.
In the gas station at midnight I proclaimed,
Yo dummy! Gimme the money!
They got me blocks away.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Now you're bleeding on the ground.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Bullets flying all around.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Now you're buried under ground.
Bang bang. Bang bang.
And I woke up Sunday broke, whoa oh,
No money I own, whoa oh.
I load my pistols in my waist.
And they say a rude boys got no soul, whoa oh,
And now I pay, whoa oh,
For 25 years less a day.
Here I stay.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Now you're bleeding on the ground.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Bullets flying all around.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
Now you've buried under ground.
Bang bang. Bang bang.
And I woke up Sunday broke, whoa oh,
No money I own, whoa oh.
I load my pistols in my waist.
And they say a rude boys got no soul, whoa oh,
And now I pay, whoa oh,
For 25 years less a day.
Here I stay.
Having been found guilty of the charge of first degree murder by a jury of your peers, you are hereby sentenced to serve, one life term, one life term, one life term, guilty of the charge of first degree murder, one life term.
Whoa whoa whooooa whoa whoooa
The lyrics to Rude City Riot's song "25 Years" depicts the story of a man who has been incarcerated for 25 years after committing a murder. The beginning of the song describes the man's shackled jumpsuit as he enters the prison gates, with the anticipation of the lifeless environment inside. He knows his significant other will not wait for him, so he writes letter after letter to her, only to be met with hate in return.
In the chorus, the listener hears the man's internal struggle as he deals with the consequences of his actions. He wakes up on a Sunday, without money to his name, and loads his pistols into his waistband. The lyrics mention that "they say a rude boy's got no soul," indicating that he is struggling with his own conscience and the guilt of his crime. The chorus repeats the phrase "bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down," emphasizing the violence of his past and how it haunts him.
As the song progresses, the details of his crime are slowly revealed. He held up a gas station and demanded money, only to be caught blocks away.
The haunting voice at the end of the song is the voice of the judge, reading the man's sentence of life in prison for first-degree murder. "25 Years" tells a story of the consequences of violence and the internal struggle of one who has committed a crime.
Line by Line Meaning
Shackled on his jumpsuit through the gates.
He is a prisoner being led out of the court while wearing an orange jumpsuit.
It gets better, as it grows deader.
The environment in the prison grows more desolate and he becomes more used to it over time.
And I'm confident inside that she won't wait,
He is sure that his significant other will not stay with him while he's in prison.
I wrote a letter, upon letter.
He tried to communicate with his significant other through multiple letters.
All she wrote back was hate.
His significant other only responded with negative messages.
Bang bang, pull the trigger shot you down.
He remembers shooting someone, and the sound of gunshots.
Now you're bleeding on the ground.
The person he shot is now on the ground bleeding.
Bullets flying all around.
During the shooting, bullets were flying everywhere.
Now you're buried under ground.
The person he shot is now dead and buried.
And I woke up Sunday broke, whoa oh,
He woke up on a Sunday with no money or possessions.
No money I own, whoa oh.
He has nothing to his name.
I load my pistols in my waist.
He is armed and ready to do more harm.
And they say a rude boys got no soul, whoa oh,
Society perceives people like him as lacking in morality.
And now I pay, whoa oh,
He is facing the consequences of his actions.
For 25 years less a day, whoa oh.
He is sentenced to serve 25 years in prison minus one day.
Here I stay.
He will be spending his time in prison.
Recalling the actions of that day,
He is thinking back to the day of the shooting.
My mind's foggy,
His memory of the event is unclear.
It's still groggy.
His recall of the event is still hazy.
In the gas station at midnight I proclaimed,
The setting of the shooting was a gas station late at night.
Yo dummy! Gimme the money!
He demanded money from someone at the gas station using rude language.
They got me blocks away.
He was caught by the police blocks away from the gas station.
Having been found guilty of the charge of first degree murder by a jury of your peers, you are hereby sentenced to serve, one life term, one life term, one life term, guilty of the charge of first degree murder, one life term.
He has been found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to serve multiple life terms.
Whoa whoa whooooa whoa whooooa
A vocalization expressing strong emotion, possibly regret or sadness.
Contributed by Callie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.