Time flies when you’re rocking around the world as this power trio does. Leon Tod, Ryan Rafferty and Cam Barrett of Australia’s Ragdoll have been doing just that for the past five years. Scary Monsters Music is more than eager to have a conversation with Leon Tod again and catch up on the latest with him and his bandmates.
We met this group four years ago as they returned to America for their second invitation to perform at Rocklahoma. “It’s quite surreal that five years ago we opened the doors at Crank Recording with Troy Nababan, set up the drums, plugged in the mics, loaded the fridge with energy drinks and pastrami and began recording what was to become our second EP Here Today", smiles Tod. “Less than six weeks later we were huddled together backstage on a sweltering day in the middle of Oklahoma about to play our first show outside Western Australia. We could hear the crowd of rabid Americans clapping, cheering and quite literally pinching ourselves”, he exclaims.
Ragdoll have rocked just shy of 80 international stages and several hundreds more in Australia, as well as spinning the tape for three more releases. “We have traveled hundreds of thousands of kilometers and spent even more in dollars and time away from our families. We realize just how lucky we were to have the opportunities we’ve had off the back of the unassuming five track EP”, states Tod. “Furthermore we did it without major sponsors, record deals or endorsements; we managed and booked ourselves.
Along with word of mouth, generosity and help from way many publications, venues, bands and fans is what has kept us going. So if you've come to a show, bought an album, let us crash on your couch, cooked us breakfast or taken your photo with us please share your story with us! Here Today belongs to all of you.”
Performing across the US, Ragdoll have had repeat invitations to Rocklahoma, as well as several venues, including Count’s Vamp’d, here in Las Vegas, as well as The Whisky in Los Angeles. As much as we love seeing these guys return year to year, we know there is more touring to be done a bit nearer to their home in Perth, Western Australia. This past year presented them with the good fortune of touring Europe, beginning the tour in Switzerland. "Europe was everything we'd dreamed it would be and more. We played a festival in the Swiss Alps as our first show. From the moment we arrived it was magic; the people, the crews working the shows, the food and the whole culture around music. We played in Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany and Denmark and were able to take a day trip to Italy and Monaco as well. We definitely feel we maximized our time there.” We asked Leon the difference in fans or audiences around the world and how each relate differently to their music. "We were really surprised with the amount of research our audiences did before coming to a see us. A lot of them knew the words to the songs, and if they didn’t, they would quickly pick up the choruses and really involve themselves in the experience. The audiences may have been slightly less crazy than the ones we play for in the USA , but they made up for it by being really engaged at the shows.” Ragdoll’s latest album, Back to Zero, is once again a force to be heard. Their three piece band of Tod/lead guitar, Barrett/drums and Rafferty/bass/lead vocals, produce a sound reminiscent of 60’s melodic rock mixed with a 70’s groove with the riffs and excitement of todays rock, which delivers the unmistakable Ragdoll sound. “I'm glad the effort we put into it comes across. We’re fans of rock music before anything else so we just set out to make an album we'd love to listen to ourselves. Different people in different parts of the world seem to get different things out of it too which is nice. The audiences in the USA really get behind the heaviness whereas audiences in Europe and here in Australia seem to really like to delve into the lyrical content. I think the fact we make so much noise with only three members definitely surprises a lot of people the first time they hear or see us."
As life continues, a tour of the east coast of Australia starts April 21. “Yea, we’ve got a short run of the east coast of Australia and then we’ll bunker down and begin writing our next record, as well as put the wheels in motion for another tour of Europe and most definitely another visit to the USA. So, if you’ve not been to one of our shows, follow us online to see when we may be playing in a town near you. We love and appreciate the support of what we do! Please do pick up the album on iTunes or from www.ragdollrock.bandcamp.com Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify and all the rest. Spread the good word and we’ll be in your town soon!”
For More on Ragdoll:
Wesite : https://ragdollrock.bandcamp.com
Twitter : twitter.com/Ragdoll_rock
SoundCLoud : soundcloud.com/ragdollrock
uTube : www.youtube.com/C/ragdollrock