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Rhetoric Vendetta A Prime Example Of 90's Punk Rock

October 05, 2019
It's not easy being in a band these days. Especially a PUNK band, but was it ever really “easy”? Looking at what is “popular” and what the kids are listening too, it seems that punk rock might not ever come back like it did in the early 90s but, that doesn't stop some of the hardest working musicians in the underground from simply doing what they love. Rhetoric Vendetta is a prime example of this. The band has come a very long way from playing basement shows over the years, and they haven't slowed down. Starting as a trio in mid February 2013, the band has had their ups and downs. They (Vinnie, Habacuc and Ricky) got together with the same shared interest in music. Play loud, fast and have fun. Punk rock is one style they all loved most and had been in other punk bands before ever meeting but, once they found each other, something clicked. 

Ricky (drums) and Habacuc (bass) had been playing together for a little over a year before meeting Vinnie (guitar/vocals) but once they sat down and started playing it all made too much sense not to start a band. Months of hard work and learning each others songs, it was time to play their first live show. Where would this show be?.... 

In a dive bar off a country road in the middle of nowhere in southeastern Wisconsin. It wasn't the best idea for a fresh punk band to make their start but it was the only venue locally the band could get a gig. The show wasn't so bad at all. Aside from the locals not caring enough to stay and leaving during the first few songs but the band had some friends that drove out to catch their set and made them feel welcome. First shows can be some of the toughest to nail because as a band you're just starting out and people don't really care that this is everything to you. It's been six years since the trio had played their first show and have come a very long way. Let's take a look at what it takes to be in. band in the 21st century. 

In the fall of 2013 the band had decided to put their hard work to the test and record their very first album self titled “Rhetoric Vendetta” It didn't take much work to record at all and the mix down seemed to go pretty smooth as well. They released the album a few months later, printing CD's and uploading the album to music media networks. In fact one of their songs “More Than You See” had made it to the number one song worldwide on an off site of Reverb nation called number one music. In the spring, summer and fall of 2014 the band played every weekend at punk clubs and bars in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison areas eventually working none stop through the end of fall 2015. After pushing themselves to the limit with restless shows, the band had decided it was time to try a real recording studio and record a second album. 

They had been writing New songs throughout their very busy list of shows the year before and found a studio in Madison Wisconsin that was fairly priced. They took the time off from work and traveled north with ambition to make this second record the best! It did not work out as well as the wanted. With a lazy engineer and an inpatient recording tech, the album (Health Compromising Behaviors) came out very sloppy and mixed horribly. When the band heard the album it was upsetting to say the least. But the band had already made plans to tour in the summer of 2017 and didn't have time and money to start over. Needless to say they made copies of that crappy recorded album and hit the road for a tour that would start in a little town in Texas and traveling state to state and all the way up the west coast ending in the city of Seattle Washington, Hitting cities like Phoenix, Los Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco just to name a few. 

Life on the road has its ups and downs from running late for shows due to traffic and the breaking down to running out of money and barely making back home. nonetheless the feeling of coming back home and back to reality was more stressful. The band got their taste of the road and fell in love with traveling and playing shows. Shortly after their tour was over, a new member was added to the roster as a lead guitarist (Lucas) the band had spent a year with him playing shows back at the local clubs they had called home and pushing hard again to get him up to speed with what they as a trio were doing the whole time. He quickly learned the songs and was well-rounded with lead guitar, that the band had decided to rerecord the second album with his leads. The album would later become their best recording to date and titled “Remember That One Time?” making fun of their failed 2nd recording. Unfortunately right after the album was released, Lucas had to leave the band because of logistic reasons. The band would become a trio once again and kept up with playing shows pushing this new album. 

All wasn't lost. In January 2019 the band would play one of their biggest shows. With a sold out venue and rock n roll in the air, the band had been asked to open for a well known traveling band that brought a monstrous crowd. 2019 felt like the year for these guys. Right after that the band had the opportunity to open up for a worldwide known sycobilly band and the opportunity to play Summer fest in Milwaukee Wisconsin (the biggest music fest in the country) with a bunch of other shows that were just as amazing to them. Since the beginning of 2019 and in between all these amazing shows the band had been writing and working on the third album. 

Still, in the middle of writing and learning new songs the band has focused on releasing this album in 2020. 2019 isn't over yet and the trio have a few more Great gigs to come before the year is over. So, is 2020 the year they make it out of the underground and into the mainstream? We will just have to wait and see. 
Though the band was featured in recently released Lifoti's September 2019 issue 09, you can check it from below link's for your country:

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