Roz and the Rice Cakes is one of the major up-and-coming bands in the Rhode Island music scene of the past decade. Their plaudits include voted BEST LOCAL BAND by the Providence Phoenix Best of 2010 Reader’s Poll, they were winners of the 2012 WBRU Rock Hunt, winners of Best Female Vocalist by Motif Magazine 2012, and were nominated for Providence Phoenix 2012 Best Local Act and Best Female Vocalist.

Composed of keyboardist and vocalist Roz Raskin, bassist Justin Foster, and drummer Casey Belisle, they have a sound that is reminiscent in some ways of the early days of No Doubt, specifically the period when Eric Stefani was still in the band and his younger sister was not the absolute center of attention. But it also has elements not unlike some of the more fluid periods of Dave Matthews Band, a much smoother sound. They write as an artistic statement:

We come together to bring forth new, genre-blasting, rhythmically charged melodies, sounding somewhat like the apocalypse…but having the most fun anyone could ever have doing it. We are constantly manifesting new ideas not only musically, but thinking of ways to engage our awesome listeners.

Raskin recently was nice enough to answer some questions for me regarding their recent national tour. We talked about the open road, events in the news cycle, and plans for the summer.

What was the most interesting part of your tour?
There are a lot of interesting aspects of tour. Meeting new people and bands, seeing old friends, exploring new cities. Every city has a unique music community and each night of tour we get to see a little bit of what music scene is like there first hand.

Any new ideas in terms of where you want to go lyrically or musically come out of visiting different parts of the country?
I think I’m probably way more influenced by the music around me than I even know. There are some truly amazing bands hustling right now, it’s really a great time for the arts in general. People like to say “everything has been done” but I’m not too sure about that.

Do you have any stories of a venue that really impacted how you thought about the rest of the tour, be it funny, moving, or even boring?
I’m very lucky and privileged to say that I have had many great experiences at venues and DIY spaces while touring. One in particular is from this past tour. We played at a venue called Tubecats in Hadley, MA. The space is run by a wonderful person named Van Kolodin who is in a band called WYDEYED. During WYDEYED’s set, they stopped half way through and Van gave a rad speech about how important safe spaces are and how it’s essential for showgoers to look out for each other at shows. If you see something say something kind of thing. I think it’s really progressive and important to combat issues of injustice head on and it was really inspiring to hear that kind of thing at a basement show which in the past had been a typically white male dominated space.

What are your plans in this coming summer regarding performance and recording?
This summer Roz and the Rice Cakes are taking a bit of a show hiatus to write and record a new record. I’ll also we writing and recording my solo music and with my new band HOTT BOYZ (featuring Sarah Greenwell of GYMSHORTS, Kate Jones of the Sugar Honey Iced Tea, and Dylan Block-Harley of Horse-Eyed Men). Definitely excited to have some time to really think and write about this past year of my life and take it what is happening in the world today.

Some of the really classic albums and musicians in American history have come out of periods of political and social excitement, be it Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie during the Great Depression or Bob Dylan and Joan Baez during the 1960s. It seems quite obvious that America over the past 5+ years has been in such a period of social unrest. Did you see anything on the road that indicates we could see artists such as the aforementioned ones emerging soon with some really populist protest music? Do you think Providence could be a place to keep an ear out for such music?
I think more so than ever before, my music has personally become very much connected to socio political movements. A lot of the lyrics I have written in the past year or so have explored ideas of the “other”. I also think that the social unrest you speak of has definitely manifested itself in music, DIY, culture. Art and music always reflects the times. I think one of the more positive recent themes I’m seeing is the idea making spaces safe and inclusive. Folks are sick of feeling unsafe, disrespected, and marginalized at shows and there is a very real effort combat that prejudice and discrimination.

Leading off the night as “the first note of our first act of our second year,” (in Columbus’ Cooperative member Bryan Minto’s words) were Roz and the Rice Cakes. I have had the fortune of being one of Roz Raskin’s many classmates, and I will say this: there’s no better pleasure than seeing someone you know opening a night like this. Drummer Casey Belisle and bassist Justin Foster form a tight rhythm section that backs and complements Raskin’s excellent keyboards and vocals.

Pinning down what exactly the music the Rice Cakes play is difficult, but the usual selection could be described as almost trance-folk, as the driving rhythm pushes along underneath Raskin’s distorted keys and faded vocals. Occasionally, the instruments drowned out Raskin’s words, making the lyrics difficult to describe. But despite this difficulty, the Rice Cakes had dancers on the floor in a relatively short period of time, bouncing along to the dance numbers. The craftsmanship of the Rice Cakes is exemplified in their closer; “Yellow Fields” which includes a bit at the beginning that almost feels as though the song is about to fall apart. The recorded version is varies from foot stomper to tension-building staccatos. Here it was transformed into a barn-burner.

After, Anais Mitchell took the stage with just her guitar, opening with two songs from her folk opera about Orpheus set in hard economic times. Both “Wedding Song” and “Why We Build the Wall” feature other vocalists on the album versions, but Mitchell managed to transform them for a single person; though “Wedding Song” showed its roots far more. As Mitchell noted, she’s only just given birth to a daughter three months ago, but that added to her stage presence, especially as her newborn daughter cried as Mitchell performed. Mitchell’s delivery is crystal-clear and her finger-picking is an excellent complement. That was notable on her performance of Child Ballad 100 “Willie O Winsbury” a traditional Scottish ballad over 200 years old. Mitchell’s rendition of it was perfect.

Mitchell’s ability is a songwriter might best be demonstrated in “Young Man in America,” the title track from her second album, which manages to speak directly from within American masculinity’s hopes and insecurities. It’s a pretty impressive feat, and that Mitchell pulled it off while enrapturing the crowd was pretty special to see.

The Low Anthem might best be described as the shining light of the Providence music scene, and here they showed their skill; “This Goddamn House” required that lead singer Ben Knox Miller play a saw, producing wailing trills. The tempo for most of the Anthem’s set was slower and relaxed, ignoring the more danceable numbers in their repertoire like “The Horizon is a Beltway” or “Boeing 737”. The band’s showmanship was on display in songs like “When I’m Dreaming Drunk,” also featuring vocal talents of Columbus’ Cooperative’s Minto. The most rousing of the band’s regular set included a whirring drone videotaping the crowd from above. While no doubt the recording will be amazing, it abruptly ended when the drone operator accidentally steered it into a backdrop, putting the drone out of commission. One can only hope that similar fates befall other surveillance drones.

When joined by the ‘Mericans’ Chris Daltry and Michael Moore, the Low Anthem crackled. On the first number, Moore’s lead guitar was excellent; well-played without being overpowering, and the Anthem was energized and on point. The second number was lead by drummer Jeff Prystowsky, a raucous tribute to former Cardinal’s shortstop Ozzie Smith; driven by Prystowsky’s thumping drums, it was complete with Daltry and Miller tearing it up on guitar.

The closing act, The Felice Brothers, brought a no-holds barred New York countryfied rock set, starting slow. But by their second song they’d brought dancers back to the front of the stage. The next song, “Run Chicken Run” was an accordion-driven dancer that had the audience dancing in the aisles, and on the next song virtually the entirety of the crowd was on their feet, where they remained for the rest of the night. Brothers Ian and James Felice center the band, with Ian’s ragged vocals providing much of the character of the band’s songs. But James Felice is showcased not only for his keys and accordion, but also for his crooning voice, with “Whiskey in My Whiskey” being the best example. Fiddler Greg Farley is also a beautiful complement to band, deployed exactly where he’ll have the most effect. The Felice Brothers seem relatively tireless, capable of knocking out songs reminiscent of back country hoedowns or shouting out punkish numbers with bass solos. They’re a pleasure to behold.

Revival! 2013 was a great success, marking a year since the Columbus Theatre returned to operation under its owner Jon Berberian and the Columbus Cooperative. Future shows can be found on their website.