Rumspringa – Update!

We have been avidly tracking the brilliant, bold and wonderfully talented duo that are our very own uniquely individual Rumspringa while they have been finishing off their first album over there in California and found this lovely little update so thought we would post it up here so you can all see what they have been up to.  Enjoy!

December 14, 5:56 PMLA Live Music ExaminerStefhan Gordon writes:

Though not exactly new or unrecognized, having formed in 2006 at Cal Arts (and having toured the UK and played at SXSW in Austin, Texas), Rumspringa is a band certainly worthy of a much larger audience. In early 2010, with the release of their first full length LP by Cantora Records, their label, those larger audiences may very well materialize as Rumspringa’s unique blend of blues, rock, and looping guitars becomes better well known outside of Los Angeles.

Until then catching this two piece band comprised of Joey Stevens on guitar/vocals, and Itaru de La Vega banging away on the drums in a small venue like the  Unknown Theater this past last weekend of November (produced by Veritas Empire) is quite the cathartic experience befitting the band’s name Rumspringa (which literally translates to “run around” and was inspired by the documentary The Devil’s Playground depicting the period when Amish teenagers get to run around and experiment before officially becoming adult members in the Amish community).

Rather than run though, Rumspringa’s audiences are gyrating, and moving especially to the balanced heavy drum beats, open tunings and the layered multiple looping guitars. With its low stage, the Unknown Theater show was especially conducive to the audience’s participation. The audience was up on the stage apron and several were beating along with tambourines. The beat was so compelling and almost primal that even the funkiest white boys were moving as though possessed.

Itaru, with his long hair, plays the drums like a cookie monster in a cookie factory, all intensity and passion, fully and completely into his performance. Whereas the clean cut Joey picks away at his guitar strings with a kool precision. The juxtaposing of these two elements along with the layered looped guitar tracks along with Joey’s vocals creates a sound that’s hard to label. Though the comparisons are many to bands likes The Black Keyes, and White Stripes, these comparisons really fall short, and seem more to do with a need to label than any accurate depiction of Rumspringa’s sound. The influences though are many from Hendrix to Cream, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart, Jimmy Reed, Bunker Hill, Howling Wolf, and a lot of blues.

Rumspinga’s new full length LP coming out in 2010 is currently being recorded by their producer Manny Nieto at his studio. The band is also managed by World End Production. In addition to this 2010 release, Rumspringa will again be performing at South by Southwest (SXSW) next year.Rumspringa’s next show is this Wednesday at Spaceland in Silverlake. Be sure to see this show in another small venue while you still can. Rumspringa’s self-titled EP is available to download at iTunes.  All photographs are by SHGfoto.com and were taken at multiple venues.

Also: Rumspringa on Facebook, Rumspring on Myspace, & Rumspringa at Cantora Records