Brothers in life, brothers in music, Logan and Roger Raskin have been making music together for most of their lives. First as precocious teenagers in New York City, then as studio mavens, and now under the banner The Raskins, the rocking siblings are creating a name for themselves as an incendiary live band, and songwriters who have a remarkable gift for crafting melodic songs that also rock!
The Raskins’ self-titled debut album was released in 2014 independently and still sold an amazing 100,000 copies, largely on the strength of the band’s relentless touring schedule, which included a coveted opening slot for the nationwide Motley Crue tour, which also featured Alice Cooper. There was also a hit single and video, On the Radio, which cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard Heat Seekers Chart.
The recording, mixing and mastering of a follow-up album is already finished and vocalist/songwriter Logan Raskins said he and his brother Roger hope to release it in the winter of 2016 or early in 2017.
“My brother and I took about a year off to write this second record and it’s finished and in the can. We worked with a couple of different producers on it this time. We brought in Nicolas Essig who worked on Coldplay’s last record as well as the Goo Goo Dolls. And Brian Virtue did the single that we just released, Never Too Late. He’s worked a lot with Thirty Seconds to Mars and he also produced the last Jane’s Addiction record. And we’re thrilled with how it all turned out,” he said.
“To prepare for the album we recorded about 40 demos and we got it down to 12 songs that we really felt great about. The plan of attack for us is that we’re probably going to release a couple of singles first and then get an official album release date. We recorded a lot of the stuff over at Henson Studios in Hollywood and that’s where Quincy Jones did the We Are the World track. Being able to work in that room, in that studio and that environment was just mind blowing for us to say the least. It was a great experience and we’re really happy with the final product and happy for the opportunity to work with good producers like that.”
Although only a touring act for a handful of years, The Raskins have had wonderful opportunities to open up for some true hard rock luminaries, including the late Scott Weiland, Motley Crue and most recently, the Motor City Madman – Ted Nugent.
“It’s been an incredible experience when you take on a tour like this. I was talking about it with the band guys and said you never know how the crowd is going to react to you. These are pretty much all die-hard Ted Nugent fans, but we are a high energy rock and roll band and right from the first show that we did in Phoenix (in early July) you could tell that the crowd was really into it. They appreciated our energy and they appreciated our effort,” said Raskin.
“With each show, the crowds have been really digging what we’re doing on stage each night. We’re having a blast. We hung out with Ted the other night and we were talking about the shows and he was showing my brother Roger a couple of licks on guitar. It was definitely very, very cool.”
He said that touring with more experienced artists, ones that had achieved great things and survived the rigours of the rock and roll wars for many years, was an educational experience for the band.
“It’s almost like going to rock and roll school for us. We started in 2014 and we were doing our own touring but then we got asked to do the Scott Weiland tour, and that was a big learning experience. The shows were killer and being able to play with one of our biggest influences was something else. You learn so much. You see how he and the band prepared night in and night out and all the things you have to deal with on a tour,” Raskin said.
“And from there we went to the Motley Crue/Alice Cooper tour, so we went from playing 2,500-seat halls to 20,000 seat arenas and it’s a whole different world. You see how the machinery behind the scenes works, how they set up and tear down every day and what our role is in that. We had to learn a lot and we did learn a lot and it was an amazing experience. We definitely grew as a band. We watched how prepared each of their bands was night in and night out.”
The Raskins also learned all about show businesses decorum, discipline and the value of preparation and practice from their parents. Born and raised in New York City, Logan and Roger’s mother was a noted jazz singer in the city and their dad was a regular performer in top Broadway musicals.
“We were raised on East 22nd Street in New York City and it really was a musical family. My dad was doing all the big Broadway shows like Oklahoma, South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls. And my mom was singing jazz down in the West Village at the Blue Note so we definitely had those influences as kids,” Logan explained.
“My dad used to take us on the road when we were younger. When he wasn’t working on Broadway he had his own orchestra and he would do club dates around the city or up in the Catskills [the so-called Borscht Belt]. And we watched how my dad warmed up the band, how my dad really knew how to read and entertain a crowd and how he would get them in the palm of his hand and get them excited about what he was doing with his performance on stage.”
As teens, the twins soon began cultivating their own unique musical tastes in the ‘city that never sleeps.’
“When my brother and I were 14 we started going out at night into the clubs like CBGBs or the Mercury Lounge, The Limelight, The Continental, The Palladium – really cool, cutting edge places. We would see bands like The Talking Heads or Deborah Harry, or the Ramones and the Velvet Underground and those were the real influences for us. You couldn’t escape it. The scene in the late 1970s was so hot and heavy at the time.”
Regardless of genre or style, New York has always been a true, time-tested crucible for musicians, songwriters and bands. As the great song states, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
“We also had influences like Simon and Garfunkel who were always popular in the city. Richie Havens was also big in the city at the time. There are such good songwriting roots in New York City that you can’t help but learn from that vibe. At the same time, we were engulfed by all these punk and New Wave bands that were so huge down on the lower east side and down in The Village,” Raskin said.
“It was the quintessential New York experience. Listen, the first time we played CBGBs we gave our demo tape to the owner and he said, ‘look, I’m going to have you guys come in here on a Monday. If you suck, we’re not bringing you back. If you kill it, we’ll have you back all the time.’ That’s the mentality: they want you to kick ass and if fans are into you, you will survive.
“And in New York, it’s all about that live experience. You’ve really got to bring it, night in and night out. And back in the day, it didn’t matter whether you were playing in a little club on Avenue A called Brownies or if you were playing the main room at Webster Hall, it didn’t matter – you still had to come forward with that same energy and that same vibe. New York fans know when they are watching something that’s the real deal and they also know when they are seeing something that is kind of poseurish. My brother and I come from that mentality. We just stay true to what we’re doing.”
After trying for a few years to make it in the industry as a touring and recording act, the Raskin Brothers eventually morphed into in-demand songwriters and producers, garnering a reputation for creating excellent scores, songs and incidental music for TV shows and movies. It was while doing that work that the bug to hit the road bit both Logan and Roger, sparking the renewed Raskins project.
“It started off as just another writing project. We were doing all this writing for film and TV and were writing music for a bunch of different series like Orange County, CSI and we did a lot of stuff for ESPN. A lot of the reality shows like L.A. Ink were asking for our music so we were immersed in that work, which was very cool. We were living in the studio and writing all the time but we kept getting a lot of fan emails from people throughout the country and even other places in the world asking where can they buy the music they’re hearing on the shows. Where could they see us perform,” Logan said.
“Roger and I felt it was only a matter of time that we would get back out as a recording and touring act. So we decided, let’s get these songs up on their feet, let’s get a band together and start playing. Once we started the reception was incredible. So we started putting together little tours and the reception was so great that we decided to put out the first album and really push this thing as a live act. And that’s kind of how it kicked off and it’s going even stronger today.”
The band’s first album was recorded on their own MIRAL Label, which represents the names Micah (their older brother) Roger and Logan. Sony picked up distribution rights and the tour with Motley Crue helped bring in the impressive 100,000 sales number.
“Let me tell you something, this was all on our own. We put out that first record and it was like hand-to-hand combat as far as making headway in the music business. The Motley Crue thing really helped, but we knew that in front of their audience we had to deliver night after night. That’s what helped sell the band and sell the album,” Logan said.
“And it’s the same on this Ted Nugent tour. You’ve got to prove yourself night in and night out to fans when you’re the opening act; it’s all about what you put forward. Most nights it’s pretty gradual, but on every date of this tour by the time we hit our last number we had a standing ovation and the crowd went nuts. You can’t take a night off, and the Raskins can’t afford to have one music fan who has a bad impression of us. We want 100 per cent fan support, especially in the age of social media. The industry has changed so much that for a band like us, it really is all about word of mouth.”
During their previous tours, the band did play some dates across Canada and Logan said he and his brother and their backing band are looking forward to returning to the Great White North in the very near future.
“We’re pondering a few opportunities in the fall. Basically we’ll go where the fans want us to go. I don’t care what city in Canada or even the time of year. We don’t mind coming up there in February if thedemand is there. I love Canada and the fans up there really appreciate good rock music. So any chance we get to get up there, we will take it.”
For more information on The Raskins, visit www.theraskins.com.
* Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com
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