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The Rassle

July 5, 2018

The Rassle is a New York City based rock-and-roll band made up of Blair and Reed Van Nort - two brothers from Austin, TX. Inspired by bands like Kasabian and Arcade Fire, the Rassle fuses both electronic and guitar music with equal parts indie vibes and stadium ambitions. They cite the Kinks and the Clash as musical influences, but they have a wholly original sound that combines a raucous American spirit with a New York energy that is uniquely their own.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

We are in a band called the Rassle. We live in New York City. We’re brothers, so we’ve known each other for quite some time.

How did your interests in music begin?

We were kinda lucky because our parents had pretty cool taste in music and we also grew up in Austin, which was a pretty big music town. But I don’t think we ever really got into music until we started skateboarding. When we were in middle school, skateboard videos were kinda like the gateway drugs to this new musical landscape that we had never known before.

What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on?

We’re releasing our debut record August 10th. So that’s kinda all we’ve been working on when we’re not “working.” But, there’s so much else that goes into being in a band – from art direction to photography, graphic design to merchandise, performing live to dj playlists. . . It seems like there’s always something to work on and the band just functions as the culmination of all our creative endeavors.

What kinds of music/what musicians are influencing your work right now?

We’re always inspired by our friends who are doing cool stuff. Foreign Air are killing it right now. Our friend Lefti is making some really awesome electronic music right now. And then our friends Elliot & The Ghost and Daisy Glaze are making pretty cool rock & roll music.

How has living in New York City affected your music?

The energy of the city and the lifestyle of being people trying to scrape by here have been the most influential components to the sound & the vision that we have for our band.

What do you do when you’re not working on music?

We do normal people stuff. We hang out on rooftops. We go to the beach. We do physical fitness. We go to danceterias lol.

If you hadn’t become musicians, what do you think you’d be doing?

Great question. . . maybe like. . . action movie stars? Haha.

What are you really excited about right now?

All of the kids in our generation getting involved in social & political activism has been really inspiring  to see.

What is one of the bigger challenges you and/or other musicians are struggling with these days and how do you see it developing?

It’s a lot easier to be an independent artist in 2018, but it’s also a lot more challenging to rise above the noise.

Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your music?

One time our mom told us she liked our earlier demos better. That one stung haha.