By Noe Gutierrez
According to the always reliable Wikipedia, a palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of symbols or elements, whose meaning may be interpreted the same way in either forward or reverse direction. Whichever way you spell it, Redivider will cause you to “murder for a jar of red rum”.
Of course that last statement is silly and is also a palindrome. After getting to know the five fellows of Redivider and the level of devotion they apply to their craft, it is evident they are moving forward with their vision of melodic hardcore dominance and have little time for silly games.
With Ivan Angulo on vocals, Marvin Alvarez on bass guitar, Stephen Otero on lead guitar, Matt Ainsworth on rhythm & lead guitar and Andrew Cancino on drums, Redivider has a solid line-up and has progressed considerably in a very short time. Having formed in 2011 with Otero and Ainsworth as the nucleus, Redivider’s mission statement was self-explanatory, as Otero puts it, “Keep it simple but keep it good.” Vocalist Angulo describes their music in a more light-hearted manner, “It’s baby making music for the common working man. Seriously, it’s heavy-hitting with a lot of feeling.” Cancino adds, “We are consistent. We don’t have to be fancy to be good.”
Angulo is 20 years old and has been singing for several years. Alvarez is also 20 and
joined the band just a couple of months ago. He exhibits bliss towards his band mates openly, “I really believe in these guys. I like the way the new writing is going and I like the sound.” Otero is 26 and has played guitar for approximately ten years. He divides his time between Carlsbad, where he is a fireman, and the Coachella Valley. He is also newly single and ready to mingle ladies. Matt is the elder at 28 and has played guitar since middle school when he played in youth group at his church. Cancino was recruited through Craig’s List in April of 2012. Another interesting detail is that no one in the band is married or has children. These circumstances allow for flexibility and late night writing sessions.
Conjointly, musical influences include, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Edema, Korn and Slipknot. Cancino addresses the cultural aspect of his musical upbringing, “Spanish music has always been in my roots.” Ainsworth talks about his earliest influences, “In 5th grade I heard the Megadeth song ‘99 Ways to Die’ and it got me pumped every morning before 5th grade, although, early on it was Michael Jackson who influenced me.”
Despite his recent addition to the band, Alvarez is cognizant of how he got here.“For me, big time, it was my dad just kind of hearing that I was really interested in guitar. He helped me pursue that and everything I’ve done with music he’s been there supporting me. Even if he might not like what we play, he still gets stoked for what we do. If it wasn’t for my dad I wouldn’t be in Redivider right now.” Otero reiterates the necessity of family support. ”My parents supported it even thought they didn’t understand it.” Cancino addresses the obvious ‘Cancino Connection’. “I was heavily motivated by watching my big brother Benny (Benny Cancino- InVitro, The Kyle Turley Band), uncle Mike (Mike Cancino-Unida, HOBP, Soul Sign) and uncle Chad (desert musician extraordinaire).”
Cancino expands on the lineage of successful musicians in his family, “Those guys are huge inspirations in what I do. I don’t think I could ever go on stage before I hear, ‘Hey man, what’s your uncle up to?’ I was able to drum tech for my uncle Mike. From start to finish they are totally professional. That’s what I aim for, to be solid. Go up there sit up straight. Play through the drums. I’m very lucky to be a part of that family and it’s a pretty big name to live up to. Music is the one thing that brings the Cancino family together.” The stress of living up to the Cancino tradition still weighs on Cancino at times. “I really get nervous text messaging my family telling them I’m gonna play a show.”
I have attended Redivider shows at The Date Shed and The Hood when they opened for Unida. If you have not been able to behold a live Redivider show, I ask that you do so at their next desert show on 8/31/13 at The Red Barn. They are the first band to perform that night and will dictate the evening as they have done in the metal community for the past couple of years. Redivider is in the process of developing and writing a five song EP that will tentatively be completed by the end of 2013.
Redivider’s next show is the ‘Hardcore vs. Punk’ show on Friday July 19, 2013 at The Paradigm Venue in Yucaipa, California. They will also be performing for the third installment of the Coachella Valley hard rock and heavy metal series ‘Metal Nyte’ at The Red Barn in Palm Desert, California on Saturday August 31, 2013 along with Perishment and Wyte Gye.
To find out more information and to download the ‘Greater Than’ EP:
https://www.facebook.com/REDIVIDER760
http://redivider760.bandcamp.com/
For booking:
redivider760@live.com
