Friday, Dec. 28, 2007

Dead Poets alive and thriving

Five years in the making, and Local MC's Chris Davis (aka Viscious-Spec Ops), Nathan Kitzke (aka Bles The Self Titled), and Gabe Alderson (aka Renegade the Sho Shot) have been around the block and back.

The group formerly known as Ronin have a new sound and a new name: Dead Poets. They will be unveiling their new sound to the Tri-Cities at First Night in Pasco at CBC.

"It's going to be a lot of different people and music and a cool time," said Davis. "It's the best way to start off the new year."

Ronin began in the Tri-Cities in 2002, when Davis, Kitzke, Alderson, Seth Olsen (aka Illicit) and Bryson foster (aka Theory) became friends through common life experiences and hardships. Instead of "working to drink and drinking to work," the guys managed to pull themselves out of this lifestyle and began production on Domino Effect, Ronin's first independent album.

Ronin's earlier success reached its peak in 2005 when the group performed at the sixth annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Garretsville, Ohio. They shared the stage with the likes of 2 Live Krew, Powerman 5000, Mack 10, Manntis and more, only to be snuffed by record scouts at the end of their trip.

After relocating to Atlanta, Ga. in 2006, the guys decided to return to the Tri-Cities, but not before parting ways with Foster and Olsen.

"People come and ago," stated Alderson, matter-of-factly.

The group changed their name this past summer and are working on their first full-length album as the Dead Poets, due out this spring. Sitting on more than forty unreleased songs, the Poets plan to trim their arsenal of music and compile their most "raw" efforts with their new sound. Currently, the group is trying to start a musical coalition in the Tri-Cities and have been collaborating with other local artists.

"There's a lot of musicians here, we just haven't really met any," Alderson half-joked. "Always open to working with different people. Always want to push the line of what hip hop is."

And just what is that line? Dead Poets pride themselves on keeping it real and not succumbing to the mainstream style of hip hop, or diluting their work. Their voices are full of aggression, but it's not directed towards one particular person, nor is it meant to invoke violence. It's meant to provoke people to think about their surroundings and environment and question society - to question the things people simply accept. They also hope that people won't simply accept their music without questioning what they have to say as well. The group wants people to figure things out on their own - with just a little help from them.

"Everytime we write and perform, it's like our last chance," Alderson explains. "This is my only shot to do this, this is my last show, my last opportunity to do this... How do I want it done?"

This do-or-die mentality has helped keep the group grounded after all of these years. With a no holds barred outlook, they are champing at the bit for that one opportunity that will allow more people to connect with their music.

"I think we've learned a lot over these last four or five years about what we are going to get and what we're not going to get," Alderson said. "And we're not going to get anything, so we're going to take everything that we want."