Raphael

"Saw @RaphaelBand last night and my brain is still doing cartwheels. Fresh! I like being kept on tenterhooks by music" - Ms. Jazza, @jrocknowsbest

If you’ve ever hoped to get funky to existential dread, Raphael’s debut single, a disco tune about serial killers (Get All the Way Out!), was recently released and is now available for streaming and download (on iTunes, Spotify, etc.). “Get All the Way Out!” is the first peek at the band’s upcoming EP, Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitar? The EP plays with absurdity by combining lyrics about despair and isolation over lively, indie-punk arrangements and a lo-fi, DIY aesthetic. Come and see them with Ida Bay at The Vermillion on March 24th, or you can visit their websiteraphaelmusic.squarespace.com if you just can't wait to hear more.

On a whim one night, three friends got together to smoke, drink, and play some music to get through a tough week. When they left the session, they had created outlines for five original songs and had already contacted their future manager. When asked what their name would be, they traded ridiculous ideas for a few days and finally settled on Raphael for the absurd amount of non-meaning behind it. Raphael’s sound centered itself around improvisation between out-of-pocket, raucous drumming from Cole, Hendrix-styled combination of lead and rhythm guitar from Jacob, and the light tenor singing and classically influenced keyboard playing of Robert. The eccentric, DIY style is reminiscent of Pixies and Modest Mouse, with a stage atmosphere calling back to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.

Robert Keene (keyboard, bass, vocals) spent his childhood singing Led Zeppelin songs into the bathroom mirror and telling everyone to shut up if they dared to join. He started playing piano as a backup and eventually realized he could combine the two to be even more powerful. He is now the lead songwriter and frontman for Raphael and he very rarely has to tell people to shut up as he's singing.

Jacob Altaras (guitar) decided early on in high school that his dream to play guitar professionally and his reality were to become one. He told his geometry teacher that he would no longer be participating in class and would instead be doodling drawings of extra-cool guitars. Now he has achieved his dream and continuously shirks practice to doodle pictures of even cooler guitars.

William “Cole” Stevens (drums) used to be a child-prodigy pianist, participating in contests all across the United States, until he fell one day and hit his head, knocking all his memory of pianos from his brain. Since then he has become especially passionate about hitting things, and drums became the only safe release for these feelings. Now he enjoys hitting drums to the tune of a lesser pianist in his new band, Raphael.

Come see them at The Vermillion, listen to their single “Get All the Way Out!,” go to their site atraphaelmusic.squarespace.com , or call/email them at (206) 552-1810/raphaelbandseattle@gmail.com to confirm these stories for yourself.