by Noel Potts Photos by Sylvia Hagar
From the October 2006 issue of PRICK Magazine.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is (L-R) Duke Kitchens, Ronnie Winter, Joey Westwood, Elias Reidy and Jon Wilkes
There's something to be said about a band that is so consumed by their music that its name is just a formality-driven afterthought. "We'd rather focus on our music and writing good songs. It's not about anything else," remarks lead singer Ronnie Winter. Perhaps that's why Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is simply a group of words combined arbitrarily, open to interpretation by the band members and fans alike.
Having that one-track music mind has definitely paid off. In recording their debut album Don't You Fake It under Virgin Records last year, the musically adventurous pop punk/screamo/rock band from Jacksonville, Florida got a taste of working with high-profile producer David Bendeth (Hawthorne Heights and Breaking Benjamin).
The result was a fresh, hard-hitting album touting infectious melodies and steady beats along with arresting guitars, intermittent screams and often confessional lyrics. "You can literally put a face and a name to every single song. I just take what I know and write it down," Winter comments.
Ronnie Winter on vocals
Joey Westwood on bass
Elias Reidy on guitar
Despite their seemingly immediate explosion onto the music scene and the fact that the band's average age is 21, don't be quick to call them novices. Winter alone was in ten different bands before forming RJA. "It gets annoying when people ask what it's like to experience instantaneous success when we're a band that's been around for almost five years."
And it's that veteran flavor which makes for one hell of a live show. On many occasions RJA finds themselves facing a packed house of eager young fans soaking up the sound like little sponges.
Now headlining their own U.S. tour after previously touring with 30 Seconds to Mars, the band has covered a lot of ground. But according to Ronnie Winter, no city will ever be closer to their heart than Jacksonville, where every show becomes a humbling reminder of just how far they've come. "It's like the unconditional love of a child," Winter says about the love of his hometown.
Duke Kitchens on guitar
Jon Wilkes on drums
No matter how much success gets thrown their way, however, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus wouldn't be the wiser. "Honestly, we have no idea what the hell is going on," remarks Winter. "I remember being a kid and watching bands blow up. I can see now that that band probably had no idea they were blowing up."
As far as the tattoo world is concerned, you might consider Winter a walking blank canvas. "I'm getting a shit-load [of tattoos]. As many as I can fit." From Star Wars to Nintendo to "various random weird shit," Winter has plans for some serious ink. "I always wanted to get that classic scene from The Nightmare Before Christmas on my back," he adds. As of yet, only one band member has been adorned by the needle – twenty-year-old bassist Joey Westwood, who drew up a personal rendering of his girlfriend's name and had a friend do the tattoo out of his own house in Jacksonville. Catching a glimpse of it might be difficult, though. Unless, of course, he happens to moon you.
