The amazing story of punk rock brothers RADKEY has already been told, with their incredible inclusion in rocker Dave Grohl's What Drives Us documentary, focusing on the life of bands on the road -- but the young trio consisting of Isaiah, Solomon, and Dee Radke has been putting in time for over a decade.
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Piggybacking on the already established fact that the three St. Joseph, Missouri-born brothers were raised on their dad and manager Matt's punk collection, bassist Isaiah tells us that their influences range much further than the genre they've conquered.
Tell us about some of your influences. It’s been said many times you and your brothers, Solomon and Dee, grew up on your dad’s punk collection. Any influences from mom, or completely separate from your parents?
"There's a lot of stuff, like LCD Soundsystem, System of a Down," Isaiah says. "We listen to Steely Dan, we go in pretty deep," he admits. "We definitely went out pretty far and listen to quite a few different things and continue to do that. Even things that appear on the 'Fallout' soundtrack -- the really old '50s music."
Outside of music, what are some of the things you each do separately? Does anyone crush through Rubix cubes, or juggle a soccer ball like a world cup star? Because it seems you each master whatever it is you set your minds to.
Besides the family's adorable cat collection (there are six!), with a laugh, Isaiah says he's got a green thumb and enjoys gardening and growing hot peppers, while he and his family concoct their own hot sauces. Obviously, fans of the First We Feast hit YouTube series Hot Ones, Isaiah thinks he and his brothers would do just fine in the hot seat(s) after all of the practice they've been getting in straight off the plant.
"We want to be on the show," Isaiah says flat out. "I know they've done multiples once in a while." Hey, Sean -- make it happen!
What was it like meeting Dave Grohl, getting involved in his What Drives Us documentary, and touring with the biggest rock band in the world, Foo Fighters?
“It was amazing. When we started the band in our little green room upstairs in St. Joseph, Missouri we were wanting to be a band like Foo Fighters. A legitimate rock band," Isaiah explains. "To have a band like them take us on tour and basically endorse our music made us feel like, 'wow, we really are living our dream.' Going into it was kind of anxious because we were about to do everything we worked towards. The only pressure that was really there was to just be ourselves and just do what we usually do, which is rock it as hard as we can... it felt really good to rock those shows."
What’s the touring situation actually looking like for the band at the moment?
"We are going to be going out on tour with Local H, heading out on [September] 15th playing our first show in Tulsa, just RADKEY headlining... then start the tour. We're gonna be everywhere -- it's been a minute since we've done a full U.S. tour so, it's gonna be pretty crazy." As far as safety goes in the age of COVID, he says the band will be approaching every show cautiously. With the protocols of negative tests, vaccine proof, and masks on the table, "I feel like we can keep everyone as safe as possible," Isaiah says. "If we can't get that going, your best option is to just reschedule the show for when there's not a pandemic variant going on. That's how you keep the music going -- by actually being safe."
Speaking of keeping the music going: Collaborations and songwriting… are you looking to work with any other artists or are you going to keep it a family affair?
"We're always writing catchy stuff that's not exactly for us," Isaiah says, regarding all of the different ideas that have bounced around within their green room walls over the years. "Not letting those songs go to waste will be something we definitely look into someday. We've even gone back and worked on stuff we thought we didn't want to work on, and those have turned into pretty sweet RADKEY songs, too... You never know. It's all about exploring and doing what you want to do."
Tell us about your plans for future releases. Will it be full albums from here on out, one off singles, EPs? What should fans look out for?
"We really like to do singles to albums. When you're dropping the singles it's cool because you can kind of gauge the reaction and see if you're in the right place with the fans too," Isaiah says, "as far as what kind of record you're working on. We've found that to be a really cool way to let people know what we're doing."
RADKEY's latest full length release, 2020's Green Room is out now, featuring the band's Missouri home and touring van, named "Harvey Dent," on the cover -- an accomplishment they're all very proud of. Be sure to pick up or stream the record now, and stay tuned for more.
Listen to the full interview above with RADKEY's Isiaih Radke and check out more of your favorite music on Audacy's Punk Party, '80s Underground, New Wave Mix Tape, '90s and Chill, and ALT Roots exclusive stations -- plus check out our talent-hosted Kevan Kenney's Music Discovery, Megan Holiday's My So Called '90s Playlist and Scott Lowe on the Go's Post Modern Music Box!
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