UPCOMING VINYL 7" IS AN EXPLOSIVE AUDIO-HURRICANE INSPIRED BY DREADFUL LIFE EXPERIENCES
Written by Johnny Papan
“I used to play in a rock band with a bunch of dudes, one was very abusive. When I tried to stand up for myself they threw me under the bus, leaving me with a lot of time and trauma. Writing these rock tunes is what got me through that period, and was a way to turn tragedy into triumph.”
Kristy Lee Audette fronts Rong, a four-piece powerhouse that has been elevating at a lighting speed within the Vancouver rock scene. What started as an alcohol-fuelled idea to form a Green Day cover band that exclusively plays songs from Dookie has quickly evolved into its own identity. On July 12, Rong will finally drop their debut EP, (.) (pronounced: “Period”) on 7" vinyl.
The album was produced by Shafer Carson of You Big Idiot in his home apartment (with drums recorded at The Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret.) Dropping on Kinda Cool Records, the record features remastered versions of two previously released tracks “Moving On” and “Bitter Suite” as well as a brand new song: “The Antidote.”
“‘Moving On’ is about trying to make it work with someone who sucks,” Audette explains. “Leaving them 'cause they suck, trying to get over it even though getting over stuff is hard, and ultimately knowing the other person is going to keep screwing themselves over...'cause they suck. ‘Bitter Suite’ is about shitty people. The liars, manipulators, gaslighters. The sneaky abusers, the people who leave other people with PTSD.”
Audette continues: “‘The Antidote’ is about how gender roles aren't fun, especially when you feel like you're kind of in the middle somewhere. And how smashing the patriarchy is about unity, not creating greater divides.”
Audette’s turmoil seeps into Rong musically and lyrically. The opening to “Bitter Suite” feels like an unleashing of exasperation built up over a lifetime, while “Moving On” is equally as upbeat in sound as it is angry in literacy. “The Antidote” is a hard-rock epic ripped straight from the 1980s and layered with garage-rock punch. Rong’s sound is an unrelenting hurricane of rock genres caught like houses in the storm. Each track has it’s own unique voice and yet is fit for Rong’s overall repertoire.
“It’s cheesy, but it's therapy,” Audette concludes: “I'm trying to turn angry feelings and thoughts into positive experiences. I was in a really dark empty place for a while there and this was a way to turn one of the worst experiences of my life into the thing I'm most proud of. So yeah I started writing to get over emotional garbage and now I have to keep writing or else the dread sets in.”
