After living in Florida, Kate moved back to Indiana and reunited with a few friends for a jam session. This ended up turning into a three-piece cover band called The Randys who began performing locally. The band ended up transitioning from performing covers to creating their original music. Over time a few members came and went, but thankfully the core group remains; Kate, Kehrt, and Jason. The Randys create music that has been called beautifully chill, intergalactic, beach bonfire rock.
Their new song “The Charlatan” is a perfect representation of this style of music – you can picture the stars and the bonfire while you listen. The tone of “The Charlatan” is refreshingly diverse throughout the track which keeps listeners flowing through different emotions. In some verses, lead singer Kate maintains a soft and mysterious voice as the background guitar and cords harmonize elegantly. With little warning, the beat will pick up and have you on your feet dancing to the echoing, pounding drums. “The Charlatan” allows Kate to display her impressive vocal range since the spirit of the song changes so often. Another major highlight is the background guitar; it plays different counter-melodies depending on the current tone of the song. The Randys bring such a delightful combination of chill and rock, making fans yearn for more of their original music!
Listen to "The Charlatan" here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic The Randys!!!! We love your song “The Charlatan” and are delighted to have you. Can you tell us more about your inspiration for this song?
Kehrt - I was sitting on my couch suffering from some allergies and took some Benadryl. As I was trying to fight the drowsiness, I picked up my guitar and within 15 minutes had the music written. So I drug my tired a** into the studio and recorded it. I remember being so happy with the sound that I put it on repeat and fell asleep listening to it. Lyrics took forever though, we started brainstorming by sitting in a circle and improving lines about our most hated ex's and came up with the line, "You've got everybody fooled."
You have such a unique style of music! Are there any specific artists that have influenced your music? Could you tell us how they may have influenced it?
Kehrt - My taste was influenced in my youth by early Wezzer B-sides but now bands like Catfish and the Bottleman, Cage the Elephant and recently a band called, "RAT!Hammock" inspire me. Catfish and the Bottleman and Cage the Elephant have such incredible energy live."
Kate - I was really influenced by folk-punk bands like Mischief Brew and Frank Turner. I always like raw energy. It feels more personal but honestly, Kehrt and Jason have really become my greatest influences. Kehrt is always writing some off the wall stuff and Jason writes beautifully.
You started off as a cover band who was working on original songs on the side, and eventually ended up writing those songs. Can you tell us more about how your music has evolved over time? How your songwriting has evolved in the past few years?
We still stick to a pretty basic formula. Kehrt writes most music on his own and we tend to pull from those and add lyrics as needed except for a few pieces like "Everything Will Be Okay" which was written entirely by Jason and "Good Grief" which was written by me (Kate).
We know you have gained and lost some members along the way. Could you tell us how this has shaped your band to become what it is today?
Going through members is part of becoming a band. It shows you who is dedicated to the craft. We don't have any ill feelings towards any of the past members and wish them well but having fewer people means fewer schedules to work around and a bigger paycheck at the end of the night.
Thank you for joining us on BuzzMusic! We are captivated by your originality and want to hear more from you! Can you tell us about some upcoming shows you may have, and what we can expect to hear from you in the future?
Well, we just got back from playing in New York so we are taking the month of February off to get back in the kitchen and cook up some dope tunes. Then we are heading down south for the Florida spring break "Clean Up Tour" and then after that, we will be planning our West Coast tour. This year we have big plans. Watch your backs and stay Randy.