 |
| Members of The Expendables; Raul Bianchi (2nd left) |
Raul Bianchi, the guitarist for the Expendables loves to play music and loves to eat.
Since childhood Bianchi has been interested in music. He said he played the trumpet in elementary school and learned to play the guitar his freshman year in high school. Bianchi said he hasn't stopped learning.
The Expendables are currently working on an acoustic album of some of their older songs and possibly some news songs. The new songs however, are still up for debate according to Bianchi. The band is expected to release the acoustic cover, that The Expendables will be recording themselves, by the beginning of next year (2012).
In high school, Bianchi said that Adam Patterson's parents needed a band for a backyard birthday party. This is how the band came together. He said later, Geoff Weers joined the band, and they were joined even later by Ryan DeMars. Bianchi said the band fought about the name of the band for quite some time. Some names, he said, we're too embarrassing to tell to their parents. Weers was the one who came up with "The Expendables," Bianchi said.
Bianchi is influenced by an assortment of bands, and many other things, he mentioned. He also said that he writes music depending on his mood and environment. His inspiration is as follows:
Anything going on in your life can motivate you whether it is positive or negative. Music is so cathartic that I like to just play sometimes if I'm feeling sad or dealing with something painful. But being out at the beach, or doing something fun with friends can just put ideas in your head whether it is a melody or a random idea for a song or song lyric. Sometimes just thoughts or music will pop into my head out of the blue. Additionally, there are moments or experiences in life that make you realize how fleeting life can be and that inspires me to practice more, and write more to get the most out of it.Being the guitarist, Bianchi said he has written many songs, but hasn't released any for numerous reasons. When he plays his guitar, Bianchi likes to use a lot of different pedals. Bianchi's reason for the pedals is because he tries not to make his guitar sound like a guitar. He tries to make it sound like other instruments by using the pedals. When performing live, Bianchi said he uses 2 different guitars. One guitar is for their "heavier" rock, and the other, he said, is for their more reggae-styled music.
Patterson and Bianchi love food, Bianchi said.
That's why we try to seek out BBQ in the south, Mexican when we're back in California (it's usually intolerable almost everywhere else in the country), pizza in NYC (well New York pretty much has the best of all types of food), seafood when we're in Seattle, sushi where we can get it. I'm a guido at heart so I love Italian food, also. It's right up there with sushi and Mexican in my favorites.Touring for Bianchi, he said, means he gets to try new food and delicacies. His favorite part of touring is "being on stage six nights a week." The Expendables' two most memorable moments touring, according to Bianchi, were when they got to play "Red Rocks" with 311, and playing at the Gorge for Warped Tour.
The Expendables do not have any tours set in stone, but they do hope to start in February. By the summer of 2012, Bianchi said, The Expendables plan to start recording new material.
We cannot wait for the acoustic album, and the album that The Expendables plan to record this up-coming summer. Thank you so much to Raul Bianchi for interviewing with us!
You can like The Expendables facebook page or visit their band website.
Article by Rebekah Frye of Beyond Good Vibes.
