Artist description Rock with an indie vibe. Edgy guitar; catchy, dark melodies; haunting vocals; emotionally drenched. "Patti Smith meets PJ Harvey meets Sonic Youth."

Music Style dark, moody-but-edgy, heavily riff-oriented guitar

Musical Influences Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground, Cat Power, Sebadoh, PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, David Bowie, Joy Division, Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, Neil Young, Red House Painters, Bauhaus, Codeine, Nina Simone, Smog, some emo-core, and many of the AntiFolk

Similar Artists Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Television, Elliot Smith, Jefferson Airplane, Velvet Underground, Mecca Normal, Cat Power, Siouxie & the Banshees, Liz Phair, His Name is Alive

Artist History Randi Russo once went under the name of Raizel. Anteater Records released a split 7" single of Raizel's "Niche-less" (with indie-rock band Dragstar on the reverse side) in 1995. The song was played on college radio stations in St. Louis, and even found its way to Australian airways. Countless of home-recordings later, Randi Russo moved back to New York and established a name for herself (under her real name) in the pioneering East Village AntiFolk scene.While she sings with a haunting intensity reminiscent of Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, her guitar playing is edgy like Sonic Youth and the Velvet Underground, with a hint of indie-rock influences such as Cat Power and Sebadoh. Randi plays out on a regular basis at various downtown Manhattan venues, and has recently released her new ep "Live at CB's 313 Gallery" on Blue Kitty Records, in conjunction with Olive Juice Music. Her music has been called "hypnotic" and "trance-like", due to her guitar riffs alone. She creates dissonant rock, with unique, catchy dark melodies. Her songs have frequently been described as "dark, but extremely beautiful at the same time." With her unique chord progressions possessing an infectious quality, her rhythmic, pulsing guitar riffs tend to take people places, while her honest lyrics bring the listeners back home.

Group Members Randi Russo (guitar & vox) is accompanied by some great musicians! -- Spencer Chakedis on lead guitar, Lenny Molotov on bass, and Matt Carlson on drums! Matt left town, and so we're changing things around... Check out our next show for to see the new line-up!

Albums Live at CBGB's 313 Gallery & Solar Bipolar

Press Reviews "Randi's someone to keep your eye on." - The Village Voice (Phillips) "I like a woman with balls... Randi Russo has 'em to spare. She has the potential, for sure,and if her Live at CBGB's Gallery is an indication of her live performances...it could get scary." -The Village Voice (Aber) "...a real paragon of arty cool... Randi is worth the price of admission all by herself. -The Meeting "Imagine the lovechild of Patti Smith and Lou Reed at a Sonic Youth concert." - Songwriter Soiree "...powerful on stage." - AntiMatters "...one of the central pillars of the downtown songwriting scene..." - AntiMatters "Tense sonic fear-as-poetry that fits quite nicely into the New York art-noise continuum... think Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, Arto Lindsay." -2AM. "Lydia Lunch and Patti Smith meeting the Velvet Underground... hypnotic and abstruse." - Report from Luna Lounge. "She has the potential, for sure..." The Village Voice. MORE PRESS at www.randirusso.com (click on photo to your left).

Additional Info (c) 2000 & 2001

Location New York, NY - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).