Choosing to make a serious go of it as a band comes along with a lot of risks, and that utter lack of certainty likely keeps many content to stick to the basement, playing just to have fun with their friends. There’s nothing the least bit wrong with that, of course, but if you’re in it for the right reasons, putting yourself out there a little, especially in the Internet age, can also be rewarding, as Milwaukee garage rockers The Rashita Joneses found out when they decided to let the public in on what they’d long been entertaining themselves with.
“We all met back in high school and would always be jamming and stuff, but we never really took it seriously,” explains guitarist Jeff Grabo, who along with bassist Matt Musil makes up the current core of the group. "We had just kind of been messing around and it got to a point where we were like, ‘Are we going to try and pursue this or not?’” They eventually came to the conclusion that it could work and, after having played together a few years, finally made their long overdue recording debut with a confident self-titled EP back in March.
Once they were moving, they had some serious momentum, and in addition to hitting the road hard, have quickly expanded their catalogue, first with a split cassette alongside likeminded friends Filter Free Rodeo and now with a solo seven-inch featuring two arrestingly good sides of grungy, stoner-friendly garage punk. Yet while their music has been rightly receiving attention, the quirky name doesn’t hurt either. “I’m a huge ‘Parks and Rec’ fan and I love Rashida Jones, I just think her name is really catchy,” says Grabo fondly, “‘Rashida Jones,’ it just rolls off the tongue, so it kind of stuck.”
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While those taken in by the single’s heady charms can rest assured there’ll be more music to come, they shouldn’t expect any full-lengths any time soon. “I think we’ll do another EP, I don’t want to put out anything right now that people can’t handle. I’ll sit down and listen to albums all the way through, but most people don’t,” says Grabo, noting that it’s also an issue of quality control. “Plus I’m not going to put out any garbage songs, filler songs, just to make something an album; we’re just going to try for three bangers at a time.”
And despite the extensive jamming that led to the band in the first place, Grabo and Musil are still exploring exactly what kind of bangers they want to make. “The Rashita Joneses are really in a developmental stage right now; we’re working on our songs and our sound, and that’s definitely not over yet,” Grabo says. “I find myself checking out new, different music every day and try to let that influence me when I’m writing, and I know Matt does the same.” Whatever direction they end up heading in though, it’s a good thing we’ll get to hear it.
Stream The Rashita Joneses’ “My Finger” 7-inch below, via Bandcamp.
