Riot at the Daisy

I wasn’t exactly a fan of local indie band This Riot from the very beginning.

The first time I heard their music was slightly over a year ago in a seedy little Midtown club. They were just getting started (for all I know, it might have been their first show outside of their parents’ garages), and their first order of business was opening up for their friends, local Memphis band Whose Army?.

I would like to say they blew me away from the get-go, but no. While the more experienced Whose Army? was wonderful, greenhorns This Riot  (then only consisting of junior Domenic Martini, Bolton sophomore Jake Pritchard, and Munford junior Adam McDuffie) failed to impress. The guitars were too tinny, the musical cohesion could have used some work, and, honestly, they had very little stage presence, a fact made even more evident by the cramped space.

I feel a little mean saying that now, especially knowing what incredibly nice guys they are. Let me just say that This Riot has come a LONG way (about two CD’s long, actually) since then, which is why I was super excited to find out that they were playing at the New Daisy, a prominent local venue, on Saturday, April 3.

The New Daisy, a frequent haunt of metalheads and local musicians, is located on Beale Street across from the old Daisy. It’s a dark, dirty place with heavy cloth draped from the walls and a mysterious black tar substance covering the floor—grungy, yes, but that’s what rock and roll is all about, making the downtown venue the perfect place for This Riot’s first show on a real stage.

The performance was part of a local talent showcase that featured Songs of Winter, Stoned Ape Theory, Bell Isle, Double Love Band, and others. The line-up was chosen by number of tickets sold to each band; the more tickets sold, the later the band went on. This Riot sold 83 tickets, going on at approximately eight o’clock and playing a thirty-minute set.

At approximately 8 p.m., the nervous band (now including sophomore Nick Hendren on keyboard and senior Casey Martin on guitar) set the amp-lined stage and plugged in their instruments, red and blue lights beaming down on them from the ceiling and the sides. Almost 100 people showed up for This Riot’s set, a larger turnout than the band had ever seen. The level of anticipation in the air was high, almost tangible.

And it never decreased.

From the very first song, the band threw themselves into it. The tightly-knit audience responded, actively participating, clapping, singing along, cat-calling and joking around with the guys on stage.

This Riot played five songs, including “Handshakes” and “Snow” from their most recent CD and “Shapes” from a previous demo.

But the band saved the most energetic song for last: The closing number, “Lightning Bolts,” featured a bass solo from  Martin, powerful drums by McDuffie, and a rousing chorus that had the entire band and most of the audience singing along and shouting “Encore!”

With a closer like that, the night couldn’t have been anything but a success.

Afterward, ever modest, the band made sure to let their friends and family know how thankful they were, showering them with gratitude.

“Seeing as we spent the first year or two of our existence playing to ourselves and my parents in my garage, it was incredible having everyone up there supporting us. We could never have done this without you,” wrote Martini in a note to his friends and fans on Facebook.

From the first time I saw them until now, This Riot has grown in leaps and bounds. If their past is any indication, This Riot still has the capability to get better. Look for great things in the future.

This Riot performing at New Daisy

What started as Domenic Martini’s solo act, This Riot, a local teen indie band, is growing in popularity and fame. The local high school boys are performing on Beale St. at the New Daisy Theater on April 3 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

Three of the five band members attend Bartlett High: junior Domenic Martini, guitarist and vocalist; senior Casey Martin, guitarist and bassist; and sophomore Nick Hendren, synthesizer. Bolton High sophomore Jake Pritchard serves as guitarist, bassist, and backup vocalist, while  Munford High junior Adam McDuffie plays drums.

Recently the New Daisy has also hosted popular bands such as The Academy Is…, Mindless Self Indulgence, Keller Williams, Elvis Costello, and more.

The performance is part of a local talent showcase also including Songs of Winter, Stoned Ape Theory, Bell Isle, Double Love Band, Animal Sounds, Sailor Scott, Heldman Brothers, and more.

Bartlett student starts “Riot”

Mellow indie rockers This Riot have a goal: Take over the world.

To be considerably more accurate, the goal is a three-step plan to take over Bartlett, then Memphis, and then the world. But you get the idea.

Junior Domenic Martini started This Riot in his sophomore year. Initially, the band was as all bands are: an idea. Martini, whose dreams to be a musician motivated him to get involved in the local music scene at an early age, had released one solo record and one EP but wanted to make music that engaged the more complex sound of a band.

“I’d been playing by myself, acoustic shows for a while, and I just wanted to rock out, get a full band together and actually have one on stage instead of just playing acoustic guitar,” Martini said.

With approximately five years of guitar under his belt and some skill at the keyboard, he enlisted his friends to help him achieve that ambition.

Drummer Adam McDuffie, a junior at Munford who has been in previous bands with Martini and was part of the All-West Band with high-school students by the time he was in sixth grade, was the first to be enlisted.

Sophomore Jake Pritchard, guitarist, joined soon after, and senior Casey Martin—the newest but oldest member of the quartet, also on guitar—was added to the line-up six months into the band’s existence, finalizing the group’s casual formation when Martini called him out of the blue and asked if he played guitar.

“It was really anticlimactic,” said Martin, whom Martini had never heard play before asking to join. “[Martini just said] ‘Ok, you’re in This Riot.’”

Martini, who now takes control over most of the band’s direction, describes This Riot’s sound as purely “indie.”

“I’m influenced by bands like Brand New and Bright Eyes—the indie rock music scene and what they’re doing with it. Most of the people who are making music who wouldn’t be on the radio, who are making music just to make music and not to get money,” he said.

This Riot released their self-produced and self-recorded album “Existentialism and Everything Else” at a Bartlett United Methodist Church show on Sept. 13. Recorded as part of Martini’s production company MindsThatThink Productions, the album was recorded over a three-month time span.

“The majority of the songs and lyrics that came from [talking] were not necessarily my ideas, but things I discussed with my friends while I was writing the record,” said Martini. “Some of the conversations were about religion, our opinions on that, politics, whatever. Just basically day-to-day conversations.”

This Riot has several bands they play with at their live shows, including local Memphis band Whose Army?, Nashville residents Nick Flora and Film at Eleven, and, previously, the short-lived Bartlett group Filet.

“Existentialism and Everything Else” takes on the concepts of religion and philosophy (“There Is No Gravity:” “Even God doesn’t know what to do with all the time on his hands”), the challenges of growing up (“A Boy With All His Might”), friends (“Worst Friends, Best Enemies”), as well as others, varying from his previous solo CD in sound, content, and texture.

“It was a very laid-back acoustic sound, nothing like This Riot. The lyrics for This Riot are a lot more in depth than on that CD,” said Martini.

This Riot is currently getting back to that acoustic sound by working on an acoustic follow-up to “Existentialism,” which is as of yet untitled and will be released sometime in the future.