Races

RACES exists as a result of artistic rebirth and personal rediscovery, but it all starts at a point in Wade Ryff’s life where motivation was at its most scarce.  Disillusioned with music, beset with the bitter ending of a relationship with a real life witch and faced with the overwhelming stagnation of being a 23-year old in the sleepy suburban outpost of Van Nuys, during that time, Ryff wrote the pleading lyrics of “Big Broom” in the bathroom of his parents house.  He explains the song’s message as “accepting that every ending is a new beginning, and even if we may have no control over when things are given or taken from us, we can always choose how to respond.” Whether he realized it or not at the time, it would serve as a mission statement for a handful of musicians in the area who were also idling through their 20’s and desperate for a new beginning.  Breanna Wood, Lucas Ventura, Devon Lee and Oliver Hild knew each other prior to RACES’ first show, played in bands together, and oh yeah, either had dated or were currently dating each other.  Still, nothing could anticipate it all coming together for Year Of The Witch, a life-affirming document forged from the pain of a time when life feels most uncertain and coming out of it renewed.