Irata - Irata
Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Self Released
Release date: 2009
When I compare North Carolina's Irata to Oregon's SubArachnoid Space, it's not just because the bands have sonic similarities. Lots of bands share the same DNA – hell, in the post-rock world alone, there's been so much inbreeding of sound it's like a hillbilly family reunion. But in this case, it's also that if Irata had released their masterful debut before SubArachnoid Space first popped up on the scene some fifteen-odd years ago, they'd be the benchmark for comparison.
To me, that puts Irata in a league of its own. The three-piece is on the more technical side of instrumental psychedelic rock, but never so much that their musical prowess gets in the way of conveying warmth or losing an organic quality. Take “Baby's Breath,” for example. This track, with it's crisp bass playing and frequent crescendos, brings to mind post Undertow Tool, except Irata never comes across as cold and calculating, as if they're using a proven algorithm for rock.
And that's just one of Irata's ten numbers – and not even the best of them (that would go to the beautifully titled “Clown Rehab,” with “Angel's Share” and “Drunken Dwarf” coming in second and third, respectively). What's even more impressive is the fact that the songs are so layered; guitarist Jason Duff is also credited with saxophone and Moog, and drummer/percussionist Jason Ward contributes electronics (while Jon Case is “just” the bassist, his lines are frequently at the forefront of the songs). All in all, this is an excellent release. Recommended.
Check out the tour dates we have just added two shows in Wilmington, NC. one is We Fest 2010.
The First show with Nic will be in Durham at the now famous Pin Hook April 13th.
02|12|10
New Guitarist
irata is proud to announce our new guitar player.
Nicholas Stott
check out some of his other projects
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MFMROCK
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/CONSTELADA
Nic is an extremely talented and well rounded musician. No doubt that Nic will be an asset when it comes to writing, recording and performing the new album material and re-working some of the older tunes. We have a lot of work to do (we will live in our rehearsal space for the next few weeks) but great things to come!
Welcome aboard Nicholas! We are stoked to say the least.
jon/jason
irata
01|25|10
Open call/ Searching for new guitar player
We are currently in search of a new guitar player If you are interested or if you know of someone interested please have them contact Jason/ Jon at the e-mail on our link or at iratalive@yahoo.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
01|19|10
Thursday Night Jan 21st Reservoir. Carboro, NC
Thursday night starts a great weekend of rock.
Where The Buffalo Roamed CD release Party!
The Traveling Circus of bands will be traveling all over the state to celebrate this special occasion.
Thursday night- Reservoir Carrboro, NC
Friday night - Tipsy Teapot Greenville, NC
Saturday night Double Dragon Houseparty! Asheville, NC
Come to all the events.
01|05|10
Date with Jucifer,
We are so excited to be playing with Jucifer. Tickets in Advance. Get them now!
Volume 11 advance tickets
With all the bands playing it should be a great show and it should be packed!
Colossus, Irata, Husky, The Daegaba System and to top it off Jucifer. Fuck right!
12|01|09
Irata Live in Raleigh NC This Friday!
12/4/2009 doors open 9:00 PM at Slims
w/ The White Cascade and Free Electric State
Irata opens the show starting at 10:30pm sharp!
slims
227 S. Wilmington St, Raleigh, North Carolina
Cost: $5.00
08|07|09
Free download available on Reverbnation!
07|31|09
Recording
Recording! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH!
07|31|09
street team. Join now
06|30|09
Eye of Ra: See the new video
Directed By Kevin Pojman & Grisson Davis
Director of Videography Mark Wagoner
06|18|09
Yes Weekly interview and story
Jordan Green of Yes weekly contacted us our of the blue last week. He said he wanted to come by and talk with us... to do story on us to run in Yes Weekly. We obliged with open arms. Follow the link to Jordan's write up on his private concert.
I want to thank Yes weekly for their support. They have been with us since the beginning of this venture. Their continued support means a great deal to us.
06|18|09
Eye of Ra World Premiere June 27th
06|02|09
Show Cancelled this weekend
Our show in Chapel Hill this weekend With Pushy Lips/ Virgo 9, Blood red River and Simeon has been cancelled.
The venue pulled the bill. Citing the owner wants all summer shows cancelled. At least they called us in advance and sounded very sincere and apologetic. They even said they would make it up to us.
We'll see.
Anyway we are going to take the extra time and do some more writing the second album is getting closer to fruition.
So take care this weekend and we will see you on June 27th at the Green Bean (in Greensboro) with the Moaners!!!!!!!
05|18|09
New Pictures !
We are excited to add our new pictures to the website.
We had the pleasure of working with Heather Evans Smith. She is a great photographer and a great artist. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to work with her again.
Enjoy!
Friday May 15th
The Old One-Two
Linus Van Pelt
Dylan Gilbert
Irata
Taradactyl
@ Campus Crossing Clubhouse
705 Milton Street
Greensboro NC 27403
$5 For Campus Cross Residents
$7 for non-residents
Doors @ 6:30
05|07|09
Monkeywhale releases Irata Session
Monkeywhale just released our minimalistic live session from Harvey's Kitchen. We first met Harvey While he was booking shows and bartending at the Flat Iron. Circumstance or fate brought us together again for the filming of our video "Eye of Ra" which will be released later this year. Harvey was one of the videographers working under Mark Wagoneer. It was then, walking backwards thorugh a pineforest with a spot light and smoke bombs going off that we learned Harvey had another side to him, Monkeywhale. Several months later the rest is history. Go to the link below for the Monkeywhale. After filming We had the pleasure of having dinner with Carolyn and Harvey and it was quite the enjoyable experience. We would like to thank them both for everything they have done for us. We greatly appreciate it.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Star Trek III: the Schlitz for Spock... poet laureate of the end of the world... I know I shouldn't throw thee...
Battle Rockets - Irata - Count von Count - April 16 @ the Reservoir (Carrboro)
Good afternoon, loyal few. The great experiment continues unabated and, so far, the only victims are my eyelids. They've been open all this time, wanting so badly to close. I'm so exhausted my eyes hurt, my brain hurts... I'm going to write in this mindset to more accurately portray the madness we musicians constantly bring into our own minds. What sane person stays up until 2:30 in the morning when they know that their alarm will go off at 6:10?
I had a good day. Met the home inspector at the place Rachel and I are trying to buy. We heard what we were expecting to hear, it was just good to have the things wrong with the place pointed out to us and explained. No way is this house in perfect shape, but yes way is this house on amazing land in an amazing location. I found out that there's a spring in the front yard that used to feed a pond! We'll be bringing that pond back.
These are all hypotheticals, naturally. We'll know soon enough if this is going to be our house.
I went into the fallout shelter. It's not as frightening if you go in with a maglight. It needs a lot more work than I thought... once upon a time it was full of shelves (and the shelves were full of provisions for the end times) but now it's full of sawdust and broken bottles, courtesy of termites. I don't know if I can do little private acoustic shows in here or not, even once it's cleaned up. Time will tell.
The day passed without incident and Reno showed up at my house and we worked on the packaging for the new demo. We're going to sell demos but, honest to our vision as a band, the demos will be updated constantly. When we come up with a few recordings we like better than the current demo we'll just burn a bunch of those and date/label them differently. Also honest to our vision is their affordability... $1.00 apiece.
Battle Rockets demo - 3/16/09
the Glaciers Recede
on the Fields of Battle (w/ Tilson of Goodbye, Titan)
Protohuman
HORSE... we're married!
Irata played a ton of new songs. Maybe half of the set was from the new record and I feel great about the new direction. Much more stoner influence, lots of doom and surprising time tricks. One of the new elements I dig is a kind of two-against-one approach. There was one song (don't know the names of all these new tunes yet) where Case and Duff played parallel lines on bass and guitar respectively while Ward staggered along a drumline reminiscient of the 70s, when metal was still slowly walking away from the flower children and into the haunted forest of the gas crisis, the post-Nam nihilism, the burned-out hotel still flashing a "vacancy" sign. The parallel bass and guitar lines fell somewhere between bluesy Hendrix and calculated Vai phrasing. Syncopated enough to have soul but with a cold precision implying modern detachment, road rage, delayed flights. The feel falls squarely between self-confidence and angst.
Elsewhere in the set did Ward and Case lock in with a different time trick, bass and drums locked together in a beat recently back from botched surgery. Here and there were nicks in the paper, places where entire counts had dropped out of the beat, yet Ward and Case followed the same tricky terrain as Duff delivered an atmospheric slide guitar line that wandered in an entirely different time signature. Occasionally they crossed paths, resulting in a technically fantastic song that implied menace rather than shouting it.
There was nowhere near this level of counting on their first record. I can't wait to see where this direction goes. J. Ward once told me the new songs were more "combat oriented." I can see it, I can feel it, and I want more. This music brings prog technicality down to the planet. When people talk about the founders of prog rock the analogies are always about spaceflight and elven kingdoms, very rarely is the music based on anything that can actually be seen without a powerful hallucinogen.
Not so with Irata. When I hear Irata play I hear lions on the kill. I hear a falcon playing in the skies over a freeway, diving with unimaginable speed to snatch a mouse from the median too fast for it to realize the end of its own life. I hear sharks turning in the warm tropical seas and I see the look come suddenly to the swimmer's face when something brushes casually past.
That which you can see on our planet, that which is real and is happening every day, is strange and dark and amazing enough on its own.
BLAH!
The Count from Sesame Street had a last name and it was "von Count." I really should have remembered that, I used to watch a ton of Sesame Street as a kid.
I want to play with more metal bands. I don't listen to much metal in CD form (the exception being Caltrop's "World Class." Buy it if you haven't) but I adore it live. I dig bands with the cajones to slow way-the-fuck down to a deliberate crawl and thump. Some of the hardest rocking songs I know probably clock in at 3 or 4 bpm.
Check out California's Wildildlife for a prime example.
Count von Count reached into the bag of heaviness with their eyes closed, turned the pieces over in their hands, and put them together. They started off in a Motorhead vein, driving along in an early 80s road metal phase for a minute and a half, before aprubtly shifting down to third gear. Even as the tires lock and squeal does the world turn a little slower. This is much grittier stuff. Good technicality but with a Tim Burton-runs-the-circus ethos. Stomping tyrannosaurs, smaller creatures that rush and devour, a collapsing big top surrounded by rotting trees. Semi-coherent vocals that howl from the throat of the deranged, somehow channeled from the great beyond by a living Ouija Board.
From the circus tent came the drumset... I've never seen a 28 inch ride cymbal before, and I definitely have never seen a marching bass drum from the 20s set on its side as a kick before. It's good to see that there are heavy bands out there who know not to take heaviness too seriously. There really is a basic silliness that follows music that dark and brooding and Count von Count are aware of that silliness without letting it dull their teeth. The guitar rig runs through an Ampeg bass cab, for deity's sake. Talk about teeth!
From the grab bag came speed metal, stoner metal, some serious doom and sludge, 40 second thrash jams that started their lives as 50 second songs. Guilty pleasure? Maybe, but definitely a pleasure.
This is why we can't have nice things.
Yeah. Had issues with my jack and with Big Blue, resulting in a longer setup than usual. I didn't feel good about my playing on our opener ("Conflict of Supermonsters") but we picked it up by "the Glaciers Recede," which was next.
I didn't look up for the majority of our show. I was pretty conscious of the low turnout, moreso than usual, and it was getting to me. I tend to know better, but I had high hopes for this show. We were playing the same night as a free 506 show (Pneurotics & Rooster for the Masses), both of whom draw massively. Dan took to the streets and told me there weren't many people out at all. I'm going to look back on this show positively. We connected with a new band who I totally dig and it's always proper to play with Irata.
I ended the show by throwing my guitar into the amp and knocking the cab over. Really, Corbie... is that the best use of your time?
Like I said earlier, who are these people who subject themselves to the absolute madness of rock shows? I have all these amazing toys and all I can do is beat them into each other until they stop working.
Sweet Buddha, help me stop this...
Help me respect my guitar before I inadvertantly destroy it...
at the least grant me the patience to save up for a fifty dollar SG copy from some desolate pawn shop... to have and to destroy... some lawsuit-inspiring copy by some forgotten brand... some guitar to smash and get this destruction out of my system...
Last call sounded behind me as I crossed the lane to leave the show. Home and to bed... all the wilderness and none of the hedonism. Under four hours to sleep to go, to wake up, to crawl through work and back to the next show.
Booking our spring/summer tour now!
Let us know if you want us to play in your town.
Peace!
01|26|09
Sold out show ! We want to thank you!
The Maya Art Gallery Show was a huge success!
Shoulder to shoulder people.
The Gallery posted the Sold out sign at 8:15. The show started at 8:00.
To the 30+ people that were not able ot get in. Send us a message letting us know who you were and we will make sure you get in the next one.
We wanted to send our thanks to everyone for coming out and supporting Irata, Brave Young, and Mariner Fend Martyr.
Look forward to more of these in the future.
Cheers
11|19|08
Eye of Ra Video
The Eye of Ra video is almost complete. We wraped up filming over the weekend. We had the honor of working with the most dedicated and professional crew we have come across. Grisson Davis and Kevin Pojman in association with Mark Wagoner Productions assembled a hell of a kickass film crew and production team.
This link to Mark Wagoner Production's blog will give you a glimpse into the making of the video for Eye of Ra.
I speak for the band, this was one of the best experiences to date. We can't wait to see the final product.
enjoy the pics!
11|03|08
CMJ was a huge success!
We had a great time At the CMJ Music Marathon. As rookies we didn't know what to expect. We spent much of the time meeting and greeting and acting like Rock Stars ie.. signing guitars doing adds for Korg etc...
Thanks to the CMJ Music Marathon Festival for having us.
We just got the news. We are heading to New York to play one the oldest running and most influencial music festivals in the World!
CMJ Music Marathon
We are playing the Trash Bar in Brooklyn NY. Thursday Oct 23rd 2008!.
Check out tour dates for more specific information.
See you there!
09|16|08
College and University bookings !
We are excited to announce we are working with Sphinx Management Group For our College and University show bookings.
Click on the link above or in our link section and check them out.
09|10|08
Album Distribution!
We seem to always be excited so here is another milestone to keep us amped up!
We now have online distribution through the following companies.
Itunes USA, UK/Europe, Japan, and Australia
Amazon MP3
Groupie Tunes (ring tones)
Napster
Rhapsody
Lala
The Record Exchange in Winston has also joined on to distribute physical copies.
Visit our link section to get the companies quickly.
Thanks to everyone
and enjoy the music.
09|09|08
Drone Valley Music film and arts festival 2008!
We are getting very excited in anticipation of the best festival we have been honored to play! Last year was awesome to say the least. So we were happy as hell to get asked back.
We are playing Two nights Friday and Saturday. Two different sets. Two different culbs. We are debuting just a glimpse of what our new album will unleash!
25 bands over three days, four different venues, in Asheville NC! I can't think of a better place to melt faces!
September 11th - 13th
Tickets online at myspace.com/dronevalley
08|27|08
Spring/summer tour 2009!
We have some great news! We are in the planning stages of a 2009 tour. The tour will be in support of our new album due out early 2009. We hope to hit the East Coast, Deep South and Mid West, especially the cities where our debut album has been charting and spinning well. We are happy to say there are quite a few options!
Look for dates, Cities and venues coming soon!
08|05|08
College radio play
Our album is doing great on college radio! Below are our current rankings on a few stations that have reported thus far.
"IRATA" debuted in the top five at two stations!
#5 WVKR NY
#5 WMBR Boston, Mass.
#7 WQFS, Greensboro
top 13 XMU. XM Radio channel 43
#10 WBGU, OHIO
#27 SCAD radio Atlanta
#27 WCVF NY
Keep requesting Irata on your nearest Local College radio station.
BMI is one of the leading music royalty collection agencies in the U.S.
07|23|08
Irata top 13 on XM Radio
We are exicted and honored to be choosen by Billy Zero as one of his top 13 up and coming artist for the week of July 17th: vol 6,issue 29. We are being played on XM Radio chanel 43, XMU. Who would of thought?
Continuing in the XMU - XM 43 tradition, listen for the R>A>D>A>R Report to hear the newest unsigned and independent talent. Every Thursday night, host Billy Zero features 13 bands/artists who are gaining momentum in the music world.
Encores:
Fridays - 2 PM ET
A Little bit about Billy Zero. He is the program Director for XMU, He is also president of NARAS chapter in Washington DC.(Grammy awards)and founder of DJ Boy Records
07|17|08
web page up and running !
We guess you would know that all ready.
Thanks for coming in! feel free to rummage around. Pull up the player on the left and listen to Our Debut Album self titled "IRATA" while you play around on the site.
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Enjoy!
07|14|08
Irata on the Radio Nation wide
We are being added to playlist of College Radio Stations all across our Nation and Canada.
Up to 350 Stations will be playing Irata's Debut Album.
Please help support our efforts by calling your favorite station and requesting "Infinite 8" and "Eye of RA" or any of your other favorite songs by Irata.
If you hear an Irata tune we would love to know it so drop us a line.
06|16|08
New album Jan 2009
We are in the studio for the next two months working on or second album. anticipated release date is Jan 2009.
06|06|08
We are in the news
Check out this months Southeast Performer Magazine. We have a mention in the news section.
05|29|08
Yes Weekly Band of the week !
Issue May 28th to June 5th. We were graced with the honor of being Yes Weekly's band of the week. Chosen by the accomplished Heather Mac.
![IRATA_6[1].27.09](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3633223727_ea7e16f096_b.jpg)
