Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: RedStone Riot

Hey guys, I apologize for the delay on this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, but I was busy with some family stuff most of yesterday. Now it's up though, so here's our monthly look at a metal or hard rock band from outside of the Soo that just happen to feature a past or present Saultite in their lineup! This month's choice is a long time coming, mainly due to a wait for online material, but now we're giving them a deserved look in this feature series on the SMS, so here's what you need to know! (Updated on November 26th, 2014)
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RedStone Riot (Muskegon, Michigan)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Rachel Kiger (vocals)
Tony Hulings (guitar)
Dexx Brown (guitar)
Ryan Harrison (bass)
Wally David (drums)

Brock Warber (guitar)
Ryan Fluharty (guitar)

Official website: http://www.redstoneriot.com
Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/redstoneriot

Local Info: Two former Sault Michigan-area residents were in RedStone Riot's most recent lineup, those being former Elipzis bandmates Rachel Kiger and Ryan Harrison. Though well known respectively from earlier local music projects (like Rachel's solo work and Ryan's stint as frontman for Riot! By Night), they attained much greater recognition locally with Elipzis, whose 2010-2011 run saw them record some entertaining original material and play numerous high profile concerts both locally and in the Lower Peninsula, including a memorable early set at the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! Last year, Rachel & Ryan moved to Muskegon and dissolved Elipzis shortly afterwards, but they soon found themselves in RedStone Riot!

Band Bio: RedStone Riot were launched in July 2011 following Elipzis' disbandment, with Rachel, Ryan, and final Elipzis drummer Wally David joining forces with Muskegon guitarists Brock Warber (Kill Tomorrow) and Tony Hulings (Wally's ex-One Past Mars bandmate) in this new group. They made their first live concert appearances at The Corner Pub in Sault Michigan over the August 12th, 2011 weekend, but news slowed for the remainder of the year. RedStone Riot resurfaced in February of this year in Muskegon, before focusing on some studio work, which helped result in their first original song "Lifeless Disguise". From mid-2012 to mid-2013, the band saw their biggest activity yet, including sets opening for Pop Evil & Smile Empty Soul, a return to Sault Michigan in July 2012, and the beginnings of recording sessions for their debut CD. After a year long hiatus related to health concerns, the band returned to the stage in July 2014, but singer Rachel Kiger left the band the following month, briefly signalling the band's demise, but as of August 16th, they're "down, but not out."

Though there isn't a lot of media from RedStone Riot online yet, the members' work in bands like Elipzis and One Past Mars are good harbingers for their melodic female fronted hard rock sound, and their song "Lifeless Disguise" is a nice glimpse of what to expect! It's not the heaviest song, but it demonstrates RedStone Riot's collective talents, including Rachel's melodic well-ranged singing, nice guitar work, and a catchy melody, though the production doesn't help the guitar volume much. I imagine we'll hear and see a lot more from them soon, but check out the members' older bands for a preview of what's to come if you can't see them live imminently! Among a few other live videos, here's one of RedStone Riot covering most of Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" at the Muskegon Rockstock Festival in June 2012, and though there is some vocal shakiness, it's a solid cover, so check out RedStone Riot live below!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month, we'll look at prolific Saultie (and current Windsor resident) Ash Richtig once again, this time for his recently inactive metal project Under Earth, which should be interesting despite the project's lack of activity, so look out for it between July 23rd and 29th! That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post later today! Thanks everyone!