Meet RISO | Musicians

We had the good fortune of connecting with RISO and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi RISO, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We’ve been playing music together for nearly fifteen years and are at the point where writing, arranging, and recording together has a real ease and flow to it. We hadn’t previously thought to just strip everything down to a duo–in past projects, we’ve always been in bands; but when we were envisioning the next decade of music and planning for the possibility of continuing to tour and record, it felt like a really viable, sustainable, and exciting long-term plan. It was a bit challenging in the beginning because we had to acclimate to performing in a really stripped-down format. It’s just the two of us on our instruments (three of us when bass player, Thoger Lund, performs with us) and, consequently, every part is really exposed and really vital. You can’t necessarily sit back into the plush bed of sound that you have when there are several instruments onstage. Ultimately, this has been great for stretching us and challenging us to push ourselves, instrumentally and arrangement-wise, to make the presentation as full and dynamic as possible with fewer voices filling out the sonic space.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We’re an acoustic music duo based in Tucson, Arizona. We’ve been playing music together for nearly 15 years and have known each other for even longer. We both grew up attending Bluegrass festivals and fiddle contests throughout Arizona, and have family roots that go deep into those traditions (Matt’s dad, Peter Rolland, is a prominent fiddler in Arizona and my grandpa was a Bluegrass festival promoter). When we started playing music together in college, it was seamless in a way that surprised and tickled both of us because we had this common musical language and background, and had a lot of the same influences–Nickel Creek, Gillian Welch, Iron & Wine, and on and on. It’s always made collaboration really easy and natural. Getting to where we are musically has been a years-long process and, even now, the landscape and trajectory is always changing. We toured really extensively for a few years after college. As we mentioned, we were a part of an Americana group, Run Boy Run (we were two of the four members). Touring and recording with a band is an excellent education in how to sustain a life in music. We went through the process of rehearsing and arranging as a group, recording records, handling the business side of publicity and booking, sharing space while on the road, and finding the time to write and practice in between. That period was really invigorating and yielded a lot of musical growth, but it was also really hard and prompted us to think about what we wanted a life in music to look like in the long-term. We knew we wanted to keep writing and recording, but we didn’t know the extent to which we wanted to take that on the road, especially because we eventually wanted to lay down roots and start a family. One of the most valuable takeaways from that time was recognizing that there’s a lot of value in carving out a life in music on your own terms. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to fit into an industry box and allowing expectation to dictate the kind of music you’re making and when and how you’re making it. We’ve always tried to put the music itself first–to make music that we can stand by and that we’ll be proud and excited to listen to in 20 years, and there’s a really deep joy and satisfaction in that. And any time you’re making art that you feel a strong conviction about, an audience follows. We’ve been grateful to have a lot of support in our corner as we’ve evolved and continued to produce music over the years.

What we’re most excited about in this musical season is writing and performing as a duo. It’s new territory for us, and we’ve found that, where we thought it might be limiting, it’s actually stretched us to experiment and to find new ways of expressing ourselves on our instruments. The latest crop of songs from our upcoming album, New Eyes, is the first rendering of that and we’re really excited to get to perform these songs and to continue to explore in this new format.

Apart from the music we’re recording and performing, Matt is an arts leader and organizer in Tucson. He is the President of the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association which presents Arizona’s largest free to the public music festival, the Tucson Folk Festival, as well as the Director of Programs at the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance. Rebekah recently graduated nursing school, which she started back in our touring days with online classes while on the road, and works as a registered nurse at a small hospital outside of Tucson. It’s been a tremendously flexible and wonderful way to fill the days when not working on music.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Yes! We’re always super excited to plug Tucson (because it’s an incredible city!). A sunrise hike at Gate’s Pass to start the day would be a must. We’d follow it up with a breakfast burrito and an agua fresca at Seis (a part of Mercado San Augustin). Then we’d do some shopping at MAST, and then mosey on over to the MSA Annex, where we could do some additional light shopping and browsing at a few of the local shops. Afterwards, we’d head west to the Desert Museum for a survey of all of the wildlife here in the Sonoran Desert (coyotes, javelinas, snakes, tortoises, a variety of birds, and more). We’d have a bite to eat at La Cocina and check out some of the local art shops there before heading to Degrazia Gallery in the Sun up in the Catalina Foothills–a small, but wonderful museum with a rich collection of Degrazia art. By now, it might be time for a second round of caffeine. We’d head to Exo near downtown for a cup of locally-roasted coffee and a pastry. We’d grab some dinner at El Charro, one of the oldest family-owned Mexican restaurants in Tucson, and would enjoy some excellent Mexican food while soaking up some local mariachi music. We’d walk through Barrio Viejo at dusk to catch the sun setting over the Tucson Mountains. We’d end the night with some live music on the Hotel Congress patio. If we felt really ambitious, we’d cap it off with a drink at the Coronet or Borderlands Brewing (depends on the mood) and a stroll along 4th Avenue. And if we felt extremely ambitious, we’d head over to Casa Video, one of the last-standing video rental spots on the planet, and we’d have a beer and watch a flick on the patio.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We want to give shout-outs to the following people:

Julie Sullivan of Sunshine Creative Industries and Roots ‘n’ Boots Music Camp in Flagstaff, Arizona. Julie has been a tireless force for music and the creative community in Northern Arizona and we love working with her on any project. It’s always exciting to see the people she pulls together for collaborations.

Charley and Mary Miller of Elkhorn Ranch and the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance. Charley and Mary have invited us to be featured artists in residence at their historic ranch southwest of Tucson the last several years. We love the family driven business they’ve built, and they do so much work as leaders and stewards of southern Arizona land.

Kris Kerry and Cathy Rivers of the Rialto Theater in Tucson, Arizona. Kris and Cathy are two pillars of the Tucson music scene and contribute so much professionally and personally. Cathy is the current Executive Director of Tucson’s historic Rialto Theater and is a past Executive Director of KXCI Radio, a gem of community radio station. Kris is a talent buyer and booking agent and helped our other band out so much when we first hit the road nationally.

Website: https://www.risoband.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risoband/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RisoBand/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwG1r8txPZH7JplMbuzxTeA

Image Credits
Amy Martell Aubreigh Brunschwig