Respect | Riotmaker

Riotmaker

In the short 2 years that Riotmaker has been performing live, the fellas have been fortunate enough to share the stage with many amazing acts such as: Rome Ramirez from Sublime with Rome, Tesla, Oleander, Middle Class Rut, Fishbone, Authority Zero, J BOOG, Common Kings, Rappin 4 Tay, Anuhea, The Supervillains, New Kingston, The Slackers, Yellowman, Easy Star All Stars, Stranger Band, Arden Park Roots, PapaFish, Black Bottom Lighters, Zuhg, Indubious, One Drop, , Fallrise, Some Fear None, Element of Soul, Soul Motor, Street Urchinz, One-A-Chord, Skunk Dub, White Minorities, Heroes Last Mission, Infamous Swanks, Simple Creation, RadioActive, One Leg Chuck, Island of Black and White, WastedNoise, Relion, Abandon the Midwest, Torches to Triggers, Brodi Nicholas, Another Damn Disappointment and many more.

The story of how Riotmaker came to be is almost as extraordinary as the music itself. Through a series of coincidental meetings and run-ins over the course of almost two decades, fate it seems has taken these five exceptional musicians and brought them together to form one of Sacramento’s
hottest bands!

From 1997-2005, Jeffry Valerio was the lead singer and songwriter for Reggae/Rock powerhouse, Shakedown. Over the years, Shakedown shared the stage and toured with many amazing, noteworthy artists such as Papa Roach, UB40, Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, Long Beach Dub All-Stars, Fishbone, Bargain Music, Voodoo Glow Skulls, G Love, Markey Ramone, Kottonmouth Kingz, Radioactive (Michael Franti & Spearhead), The Expendables, and The Ziggens among many other outstanding acts. Jeffry departed from Shakedown in 2005, taking a break from the music scene to raise his daughter, until 2009, when he began work on a new solo project he called Riotmaker. After years without so much as writing a song or picking up a guitar, Jeffry was inspired to start writing and recording music again by his then roommate, Riotmaker lead guitarist Mat Venable. Mat has been playing guitar since he was a child, and is an avid home recording artist. His musical endeavors caught Jeffry’s attention, and together they wrote and developed the beginnings of Riotmaker’s debut album, ‘The Sun Has Set on California’.

Over 15 years earlier though, as children, Mat met Riotmaker bassist Scott Kennedy at a birthday party, and the two have been close friends and musical collaborators ever since. When the Riotmaker project started to really take off in 2012, Jeffry and Mat reached out to Scott, who signed on as the band’s bassist. After a few months of gigging, the band decided to move Scott from bass guitar to his natural instrument, electric guitar. The band soon landed bassist, Clayton Grossman formerly of Sacto favorites, The Old Screen Door. With the addition of drummer Ben Lerch, the band completely solidified its lineup!

Riotmaker’s first release, ‘The Sun Has Set on California’, originally a solo project, offers everything from chill reggae, to a heavy rock vibe, creating a sound that is unique and appealing to fans of any genre. With production by Jeffry, Mat, and former Shakedown guitarist Aaron Alzamora, the album is a somewhat relaxed, ambient take on the Riotmaker project. When performed live though, the group’s talented lineup gives more of an edge and emotional energy to the songs, and truly takes the music to another level. Riotmaker is a standout collection of musicians, songs, thoughts, emotions, and moments in time, all coming together to create one of Sacramento’s most exciting live bands.

Riotmaker recorded their debut album, Welcome to CaLiRock in December of 2014 with Joe Johnston at Pus Cavern in Sacramento. Joe was behind the board for 2 multi-platinum selling Cake albums, ‘Fashion Nugget’ and ‘Prolonging the Magic’.

WTCR was released to the masses on 2/20/15 and the band is currently performing all over the west coast in support. Riotmaker just wrapped up their 20 day national tour in August! Next up for the band is the Unity Festival, a three day music festival held at the Guerneville Lodge from September 18-20, 2015. See you there!