If you think that the word irrational is just another word that appears in the dictionary - think again. It is also the name of a local band hailing from Winter Park, Florida (near Orlando), and they are a force to be reckoned with. The name seems to be very fitting for the feelings that some of the music conveys...like it was inspired and invoked by a feeling of irrational thoughts. According to their website, "Irrational focuses on the desires, dissatisfaction and the strive for improvement that have long fueled them as a group. We write songs about life's love, hate, timing--and lack of it."
One of the things that really starts to set this band apart from every other local band trying to make it these days is their 'self-made' mentalities. It kind of goes with the attitude of "if you want something done, and done correctly, then do it yourself". They are self-funded, self-promoting, self-managed, and self-booking--not relying on anyone to get things done for them. Over about two years time they have built themselves up, and now find them backed by a very loyal following of local fans, and thousands more across the nation on the internet. They have also had the opportunity to play at Hard Rock Live in front of an audience of 500 fans. They put their first (and self-released) album on February 20th, 2004, titled "Anomaly". The album was mixed and co-produced by Sean Shannon, and Irrational was the other co-producer.
You can also find an excellent cover of the song "Send Me An Angel" (originally written by "Real Life") that really lets you hear what this band can do. Irrational also have worked with director/ producer Rey Gutierrez of Darkhak.com on 2 independent music videos--for the songs "Revolt" and "Send Me An Angel". Rey Gutierrez's work was featured at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. He has done videos for Endo, Deadstar Assembly, 10Sheen, and Wykkedwytch (appeared on MTV2). Irrational was also selected for the soundtrack of his upcoming movie titled "Eleven/Eleven" (11:11). Irrational have set their goals high and have been working hard since, and are promising a lot more to come in the year 2005.
Although Irrational is going strong now, it did take some time for things to get to that point. Singer/guitarist Jason Tropf and drummer Aaron Smekal originally had formed a band called Slipjoint. They played the Tampa Bay area scene for several years, then relocated to Orlando and reorganized, picked up different members and made the name change to Irrational. Of information I found, all the members of this band have pretty impressive backgrounds in the music scene. Even before Slipjoint Jason Tropf was in some other projects such as Crossbreed (who was signed to Artemis Records)as the keyboardist on the "0.1" album, and he was also in a band called TripleSee as guitarist. Really, he's been floating around bands since he was the wee age of 13, but after the other band experiences he wanted to act on his own visions, and claims that he has put more faith in this band than anything he's done before. Bassist/ back-up vocalist Garrett Jankowski hails from the Cleveland, Ohio area and played guitar for years in the local hard-core scene. He then relocated to Florida in search of a different kind of music, which is how he found a home with Irrational and made the switch to bass guitar. Then DJ Moody brings in his electronic mixes and keyboard skills to take Irrational to even another level. He dropped out of college to pursue his dream. He worked for many years in the electronic music scene, even being part of some nationally released DJ mix CD's. He and a friend, DJ Swifty, also put out some vinyl records under the alias "DJ Moody" on their own small record label called Algorythm Records. But in the end he decided that he wanted to do something different, something with more emotion in it and that could relay an even deeper message. They all seem to believe in this band more than anything they've done before, and seem to have the common goal of wanting to develop Irrationals music and bring it to the masses.
I had the pleasure of doing a short interview via email with singer/guitarist Jason Tropf to find out more about Irrational and what they're up to these days. He is a nice and very friendly guy, and answered all my questions very quickly, so enjoy!
TMF - I know that right now Irrational is mainly a local act with a loyal following, and growing largely over the internet. So are there any plans to take touring national in the near future?
Jason - A national tour is definitely in the plans however tour support is obviously an issue. Locally we do so well that when we leave town we've discovered that we need to find the bands in that town that work as hard as we do so it's not a bunk show. Nothing drains moral like a show that leaves a bad taste in our mouths. Eventually we'll be on the road without a doubt and hooking up with label support would speed up the process.
TMF - You guys have some plans for this year to be releasing some new things, so what all can we expect exactly?
Jason - In 2005 you can expect to see a second full length release, a new video for the song titled "This Is A Test", new artwork and an assload of good shows in Central Florida. These are the things that we have on the chopping block as of April and we're tying all that up pretty quick. There's a whole lot of year left though so obviously there'll be more. Checking up on the website (http://irrationalband.com) will always fill you in on the latest.
TMF - Since you've only released one full length album so far (Anomaly in Feb. 2004) about when can people expect a new album? Has the writing started yet? And if so, hows that going?
Jason - Writing and recording has already been started and the album is about two thirds done now. We've had some delays but it's coming along nicely and we're pretty proud of some of these songs. I personally can't wait to show some of these to the fans. Hopefully it will be finished and released by June.
TMF - If someone asked you what your band sounded like, how would you explain it? How about influences (bands/artists/genres/etc.)?
Jason - Man, you had to ask...that's gotta be one of the weirdest questions and I never know how to answer it. It's sort of a culmination of a decade's worth of music in four different peoples lives and what happens when those four people get in the same room. The bands that are currently in my cd player sort of influence what I write but only in the sense that it inspired a feeling that I try to translate with my own voice. A range from Hendrix to A Perfect Circle, 30 Seconds To Mars, Mindless Self Indulgence and Rage Against The Machine. There are so many. I think that we'd all agree that an Artist that is spontaniously coming from the heart is inspiring and influences us in some way or another.
TMF - When at a live show with Irrational, what can one expect to experience? What's the crowd's general reaction?
Jason - At a live Irrational show you can expect a slaughterhouse of explosive, dedicated fans for a majority of the show mixed with some real personal moments for the idealists or romantics in the crowd. What's amazing to me is you can see a lot of people take out there cell phones to record us as we play...It's an amazing feeling...
TMF - Do you have any one song that you've made that is a personal favorite? How about a recommended song that a non-fan should hear to get the feel of the band?
Jason - I'd say that "Misery" is my personal favorite. It really meant a lot to me lyrically and it was very personal. To get a feel for the band I'd say you'd have to listen to two songs. We have a soft side and a hard side. Some of the newer stuff has fused the two sides together a little better than the songs on Anomaly. With Anomaly we were still feeling each other out a little and a lot of the songs were singer/guitarist oriented. With the new stuff there's more input from the whole band. But if it needs to be one song I would say "Send Me An Angel", even though its a redone song our full range is experienced throughout it.
TMF - Where do you see Irrational being in say 3 or 4 years....hopefully grown much larger? Do all the band members get along well and seem to have the same goals in mind?
Jason - In 3 or 4 years I hope to see Irrational on the forefront of modern music. Touring with bands who forge new trends and inspire and influence the next generation of bands to come. As far as getting along, we all live in the same house and we manage to get along based on our shared goal of long term follow through. Living together is one of the hardest things to figure out, we're more like a family at this point and we can't really be caught offguard by each other.
TMF - What about this band makes you feel proud? Do you feel you've accomplished at least some of your goals musically in this project?
Jason - I'm proud that this band has come as far as it has so far and we all have high hopes of it rising to the top. Musically we've all put a taste of our best into this and we feel we have so much room to grow that it will only get better...Our music as a band is sort of like four different members speaking from four different places but as one unit, one voice and that we've been able to do that in such a great way is what makes me proud. We're totally dedicated to this project and it shows. Anyone that needs to see proof should come to a show and see for themselves the energy that can't be denied. Were playing at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando April 6 and two shows at the State Theater (St. Petersburg) April 19 and April 30...We hope to see you there!
Also, make sure and check out their website at http://irrationalband.com to check out some mp3 clips, their videos, and everything else. It's a very cool site and there's some good stuff on there! Well, that's all for now, but keep your eyes open for these guys to go big sometime in the near future.
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