User:NegativeSanity/sandbox
Reliqa | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, Alternative Metal |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Members | Monique Pym Miles Knox Brandon Lloyd Shannon Griesberg |
| Past members | Matt Wiggins Benjamin Knox William Smith |
| Website | |
Reliqa is an Australian Alternative Metal band formed in 2013 on the Central Coast, Australia. They have an EP slated for a 2018 release but have not yet released any music. They have played alongside local acts including The Million, Nelipot, and even Far Away Stables, and have Shiraaz Rahim of Dimensions featured on their EP.
History
[edit]Formation, Stretching EP & Lineup Instability (2013)
[edit]Ragequit was formed in early March by William Smith, Miles Knox, and Shannon Griesberg during their time together at Gosford High School. The band was formed out of boredom, and was a hypothetical for a time before they began to take it a little more seriously. Although not present for the initial formation of the band, Brandon Lloyd was assigned the role of bassist, and did not find out about it until the next day. Then-close friend of the members, Matt Wiggins, was recruited a few days later as vocalist. Ragequit promptly spent the next few months focusing on the name of their band and making plans for when they were famous over a Skype chat instead of actually making music. Some previous names included Faded Rust, Fading Rust, and Cactus Bodybags.
The band got together for the first time on the 18th of August, where they recorded a cover of Given Up by Linkin Park. A number of events transpired that day, including their first encounter with GarageBand, discovering Matt Wiggins could not actually sing, discovering William Smith could actually sing, recording the now infamous spoken word track known as Stretching, and listening to Given Up so many times it remains a near-taboo topic even to this day. After discussing it over Skype, the instrumental members of the band decided to kick Matt Wiggins from the band, and to promote William to the role of vocalist in addition to his piano duties.
On March 21st, Benjamin Knox was recruited for drumming duties, as he was more skilled and more experienced than Shannon who - at the time - did not even own a drumkit. The revised lineup got together again on the 10th of June, where they were aiming to record a cover of Sound of Madness by Shinedown. However, as Brandon did not show up to record, the band simply did more or less nothing for the rest of the day. Monique Pym, another friend of the band, was recruited on the 22nd of June to be backing vocalist after performing the chorus of Fire and Fury by Skillet over a Skype call for them. On September 25th, Ragequit got back together to try Sound of Madness again, and posted on Facebook that it would be their first official release. It was never finished and to this day a full copy of the song does not exist. Following that, Ragequit performed Linkin Park's New Divide in class for a school assessment (though Ben did not take part). The performance was filmed and uploaded to Youtube on the 6th of November.
Early Demos & On the Count of Never (2014)
[edit]Ragequit remained completely dead up until the 13th of April of the next year, where they performed another class assessment, this time covering Not That Beautiful by Papa Roach. This performance was also recorded and uploaded to Youtube. Following the performance, Monique was promoted to the role of lead vocalist alongside William. 1985 by Bowling For Soup was recorded with Garageband over the course of a few days in May for another friend of the band, but also never released. William did not appear on the track. In the following months, Shannon and Miles recorded a series of previously failed covers on drums and guitar. The tracks were put together on a short EP titled Ragequit -4 Covers. Meanwhile, the band had continued to speculate on their condition over Skype, and a particular focus on humour in lyrics had been temporarily settled on. Miles and Ben recorded a series of short, rough demos at their home studio for the rest of the band to listen over.
Few get-togethers followed during the remainder of the year until the final class assessment came around. As it was required to be an original composition, Ragequit (again without Ben) met up to write their first song, On the Count of Never on the 27th of September. The lyrics focused heavily on their lack of activity throughout the last two years, which was aided with the previous decision to put a focus on lyrical humour. An early demo of the song was recorded, but never released, as many sections were altered instrumentally before the performance, and the majority of the lyrics had yet to be written. Benjamin Knox was requested to leave the band the day after, which he did without any hard feelings. The final performance of On the Count of Never was filmed once again, but this time was not uploaded. Ragequit was lined up to perform the song again at the celebration assembly at the end of the year, but got cancelled at the last minute. Following this, Ragequit returned to a semi-dead state due to varying personal issues outside of the band.
Early Gigs & On the Count of Never Cont. (Early 2015)
[edit]On the 2nd of Janurary, 2015, the band posted a new milestone to their Facebook page entitled Still Doing Nothing. All videos were pulled from Ragequit's Youtube channel except for the Sound of Madness Teaser and the Not That Beautiful performance in late March, and a rick roll video was uploaded to their Facebook page on April First, falsely teasing a full length and professionally produced EP like the assholes they are.
On May 25th Ragequit (finally) performed their composition from the previous year, On the Count of Never, at the half yearly celebration assembly in wake of being cancelled for the yearly gig six months previously. Although William Smith did not take part as a result of a heavy personal workload, it was Ragequit's best and biggest performance to that date. Soon after, Ragequit were asked to perform at the 2015 Gosford Highschool Showcase at Gosford RSL. They accepted, though underwent extensive lineup changes for that single performance. As William was already performing at the Showcase as part of a drama unit, he again did not take part. Shannon Griesberg was also absent, having recently taken a lengthy holiday in Europe. As a result, long time friend of the band, Jordan Duncan, filled in on drums for the performance. Though it did not go as well as the celebration assembly performance, it was still considered a moderate success.
#ragequitforformal2k15 and "Post-Ragequit" (Late 2015)
[edit]Following the Showcase, attempts to rerecord On the Count of Never properly ensued, but ultimately were not successful. In the absence of any Ragequit related activity, members of the band focused their creativity into solo endeavours. Shannon Griesberg began a compilation titled Motivation - EP of comedy based songs. This EP (which remains unfinished) includes songs such as Motivation, and Mary Had A Little Kink. Brandon Lloyd released a song titled Garentede, featuring friend of the band Liam O'Connor on "vocals". Following this came an instrumental cover of My Heart Will Go On. Both songs were revealed to be singles off his first EP - External Dysfunction of Internal Abominable Annihilation Fornication and Determination of Human Extinction, which featured six full length songs under the name Rejequ0t. Miles Knox begun working on his first EP titled Reckoning under the name r0j0qu0t. This trend became known as Post-Ragequit, and is what all songs under these new solo projects became known as genre-wise.
On October 30th it was announced that the opportunity for bands to play at the 2015 Year 10 Formal was open. In typical Ragequit fashion, it was joked about, and then seriously considered. The members of Ragequit collectively decided to perform and set about practicing and organising a setlist. Their final setlist consisted of My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy, The Pretender by Foo Fighters, Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys, High School Never Ends by Bowling For Soup, On the Count of Never by Ragequit, and Sound of Madness by Shinedown. Members and friends of the band used the hashtag #ragequitforformal2k15 to promote and parody it. During the practice for what was shaping up to be a fairly good performance, concerns were raised about the availability of a PA system, and time constraints. News that there wouldn't be enough time for a full performance cast doubts on the band. Eventually they pulled out before the date - adding to the recurring #rektquit meme.
During and after the rehearsals for the formal performance, Miles and Brandon set about writing the next original song following On the Count of Never. The aim was to create a more technically complex song while maintaining the illusion of simplicity. The full instrumental for this new song (dubbed New Zealand as a placeholder) was completed overnight and was considerably better than On the Count of Never. Closing the year, Ragequit performed The Pretender in their music class as a semi-nod to their formal setlist.
Ragequit Revival (2016 - present)
[edit]The new year saw a steady decline of Post-Ragequit activity and a renewed determination to progress with the band. Major progress on the New Zealand track was made in January with refined guitars and the addition of a vocal melody with accompanying lyrics. In wake of this the song was re-titled Insomnia. Plans concerning a demo EP resurfaced with a focus on five or six original tracks with the possibility of a single cover, and interest in participating in events during the year (Gozzie's Got Talent, Bondi Blitz, Battle of the Bands, etc.) sparked again. A few months into the year the band considered entering first a Hungry Lights and then Jarrod Alonge musical competition but ultimately did not participate. On March 19th Brandon Lloyd left the band due to personal issues outside of the band, however rejoined again on April 27th.
The Ragequit Revival movement begun with the start of new work on On the Count of Never. Monique and Miles set about reworking the song which ultimately included a reimagined intro, new verse, new chorus, reimagined bridge, and an entirely new vocal melody, and drum work. This fed into ongoing lyrical work on the track, as well as on Insomnia. Meanwhile, preparations to perform Right Back At It Again by A Day To Remember at the 2016 annual Gozzie's Got Talent begun. More pressingly, arrangements were made to participate in the 2016 annual Battle of the Bands, and setlist work immediately started. Right Back At It Again was initially included along with the two originals (On the Count of Never and Insomnia), The Pretender, My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up), and Falling Inside the Black by Skillet. On May 25th William Smith exited the band citing commitment issues on his part with no hard feelings on either side. In wake of his exit, Right Back At It Again, Light Em Up, and Falling Inside the Black were dropped from consideration for Battle of the Bands. A full band rehearsal took place on the 27th of May where Insomnia and On the Count of Never were properly and fully revised on drums. Victorious by Panic! At The Disco was picked up to perform in the first heat alongside the two originals and The Pretender. The first heat of Battle of the Bands was initially set to take place on Friday 15th of July, featuring Ragequit, Death Adder, and The Waxfinz.
On Tuesday 23rd of June Ragequit received confirmation to open for local Australian band Far Away Stables alongside Nelipot and Friends of Trevor at Woy Woy on the 31st. This prompted a new wave of work on original compositions to have ready for that performance. Miles put forward a demo from The Reckoning EP, The Council (later Legacies (Give Up Your Ghosts)), which underwent heavy revisions before being the third completed original track for the band. Brandon put forward a new composition dubbed Kore Wa Hijō Ni Subarashī Kyokudesu (Kore Wa) as a placeholder, which later became Monarch. And Shannon composed a new track dubbed Flash (later Afterlight), pushing Ragequit to five original tracks ready to perform at the Far Away Stables show. Meanwhile Victorious was swapped out with Sound of Madness by Shinedown for Battle of the Bands to stand alongside Insomnia, The Pretender, and On the Count of Never. On the 13th of July, one of the bands participating in the first Battle of the Bands heat withdrew, prompting a postponing of the first heat to August 19th, adding to the #rektquit meme.
The band performed alongside Far Away Stables and Nelipot as planned, and was arguably the biggest band of the show. Soon after the new lineup for Battle of the Bands was released, with Death Adder and Lemon Tree set to perform on either side of Ragequit. In between rehearsing, preparations concerning plugins and programs were prepared for the recording of the EP. There were also a number of changes and revisions made to the original songs. The band performed Battle of the Bands alongside Death Adder and Lemon Tree as planned on the 19th of August and they all made it through to the semi finals.
Following the first heat of Battle of the Bands, the primary focus for the band was directed towards the recording of their first EP. A number of changes to the songs were made during the preproduction phase including structure changes/additions, title rearrangements, and major decisions regarding production. Insomnia and Monarch received breakdown additions, Afterlight was re-titled False State while the EP was titled Afterlight - EP, and the band ultimately decided to use their collective home studios for production rather than pay to get it recorded externally. They also payed to get a professional logo and mascot designed.
Preproduction continued well into November, where a number of continuing changes took place. False State received a number of structural altercations, Monarch was retitled Tyrant, and received a new first verse that focused heavily on fast paced rap, Legacies received a tempo change, and Insomnia's breakdown was changed. After attempts to record these songs with collective home studio effort, the decision was made to invest in studio time instead, as the results were not on par with the band's vision. In between preproduction, a number of new songs were written. Monique wrote her first contribution to the band, 6/8 which was later retitled The Fever. Miles put forward 2116 (later Into Fire), Violence, and begun reworking the original Insomnia riff under a song with the working title of Tasmania. Brandon wrote and recorded demos for several new songs, including Genesis, I, Malice, and Psyhke. Following the completion of the logo and mascot, official merch shirts with the mascot on front were made, ready to be sold at an upcoming gig with The Million and The Waxfinz. However several complications including the closing Newcastle's The Drone, The Million pulling out, and availability issues led to the cancellation of this gig before announcement. This left the band free to put primary effort into studio recording.
Year 0 (2017)
[edit]After looking at several producers, James Streznov of Studio 1618 in Newcastle was selected and recording dates were locked in for January 2017. They recorded the Afterlight EP over the course of three days in Newcastle, with Shiraaz Rahim of Dimensions set to feature on Tyrant. Gang vocals were recorded with the band, and Shiraaz, and Benjamin Knox.
Public activity throughout the first half of the year was quiet, but behind the scenes the band was very active. An unprecedented slow speed of producing from Streznov caused a major issue in the plan for an early 2017 release. As such, the release date was pushed back to March, then to August, then to December, and eventually all the way to 2018. In the time between these issues, talks of a name change resurfaced as a result of image concerns if the name Ragequit was kept. It took the better half of a year to settle on a name, but eventually a Facebook update announced the change to Reliqa, revealed the Imp logo, and teased "AL - 2018".
As far as songwriting was concerned, the demos from late 2017 continued work. Into Fire underwent several structural changes, totaling in at over 4 different prechoruses, and three different bridges. The Fever was retitled 6:8, and Psykhe to Doomed.
In September, the gig with The Million and the Waxfins from 2016 was revived, set to be at the Rhythm Hut, run by Wall of Sound, with Reliqa set to play as last opener (The Waxfins, The Deep Blue, Reliqa, The Million, in play order). However in the lead up, they were dropped a position. It was the first gig under the new name, and saw a dramatic peak in their following since Battle of the Bands. They sold a number of shirts, and made over $200 as a band off of ticket sales and merch - breaking even on ticket sales in presales. This gig propelled Reliqa to become acquainted with a number of bands in the heavy scene, including Burial At Sea.
Plans to film a music video for Insomnia are in the works. Afterlight - EP is expected to be released in early 2018.
Memes
[edit]#rektquit
[edit]Following the cancelled performance at the 2014 celebration assembly of On the Count of Never, an edit of the Bad Luck Brian meme with the Ragequit logo superimposed as a face was uploaded to the Ragequit Facebook page. This meme became known as #rektquit and would recur every time something failed to go as planned. It surfaced following the band pulling out from the #ragequitforformal2k15 performance, and again when the first heat of the 2016 Battle of the Bands competition was postponed.
Post-Ragequit
[edit]During the downtime between early On the Count of Never activity and the Ragequit Revival Movement of 2016, the instrumental members of Ragequit focused their creativity into solo projects that were entirely humour based. Drummer, Shannon Griesberg, started a compilation of comedy tracks titled Motivation - EP which remains unfinished. Miles Knox and Brandon Lloyd each wrote a number of songs for new projects dubbed r0j0qu0t and rejequ0t respectively. This trend of comedy solo releases became known as Post-Ragequit and evolved into its own satire genre.
Ragequit is a Rock and Metal band formed in late February 2013
[edit]These meme, consisting only of the repetition of the phrase "Ragequit is a Rock and Metal band formed in late February of 2013", parodies the earliest stage of the band in a way that is entirely incoherent. The phrase was once the bio of all official Ragequit social media, and was later taken down before the meme arose. It is known only to the members of Ragequit, and was never published publicly. It has appeared in the satirical track EDMAM.
Matt Wiggins
[edit]Matt Wiggins, the original vocalist for Ragequit during early 2013, has been the subject of constant private satire in regards to the band.
Stretching
[edit]Stretching was the spoken word track recorded during one of the earliest Ragequit meetings, featuring then-vocalist Matt Wiggins beating Brandon Lloyd with a pool noodle. Snickers throughout the track can be heard from Shannon Griesberg and Miles Knox who were recording as it happened.
Band members
[edit]
|
|
Timeline
[edit]
Discography
[edit]Eps
- Stretching EP (2013)
- Covers EP (1985 cover) (2014)
- Ragequit -4 Covers (Shannon & Miles) (2014)
- Ragequit (Rough Demos: Miles & Ben) (2014)
- On the Count of Never EP (2014)
Albums