Everyone’s been hearing about The Weather Underground for the last few months, thanks to a guy named William Ayers. It seems like a silly time to change your name to something else, but the Los Angeles band of the same name endured some pluses and minuses in their lineup over the summer and they aren’t the same band that they used to be. It’s why they’re now Red Cortez, perhaps a perfect name for a leftist political group in the future, if such an organization is needed. … [Story Continues Below]

First song
Letters (Weather Underground/Red Cortez) [3.90MB] [950 downloads]


— unreleased
This is a new song that we are in the process of recording right now. Inspired from a story I read in the paper, it’s about a woman receiving delayed letters from her husband in the war. Even though he’s passed away, she continues to receive these letters, and she decides to believe him still alive. The idea that identity is based on memory, just as you wake every morning and remember who you are and what you do, so is the identity of those you know and love – gone and living. — Harley

Second song
Trainwreck (Weather Underground/Red Cortez) [4.73MB] [883 downloads]


– original version appears on Bird In The Hand
This song is from our latest EP Bird in the Hand. It is about a few people I know, and I’ve recently come to accept that it represents people whom I think I know most, yet somehow, I don’t seem to know them at all. A lot of these people are often reflections of the self. This song has a lot of cathartic soul to it and it is almost impossible to play without the histrionics that seem to go hand in hand with the music. It took a long time to finalize the parts of this song, mainly because of the dynamics. We played this out many, many times in the months before we put it on record, but it wasn’t until the recording that we set it in stone and put the jigsaw together. The bass coming in on the second verse is somewhat of a subconscious nod to the Rolling Stones ‘Honky Tonk Woman.’ I’ve always loved that song. “Trainwreck” was sort of a result of being on the road and listening to a ridiculously insane amount of Dylan. — Harley

Third song
All Ye People (Weather Underground/Red Cortez) [5.38MB] [856 downloads]


– original version appears on Bird In The Hand
This is a bit of a different rendition. After being on tour for a while you develop an incessant need to change songs up a bit. We had a window to use the Daytrotter toys, so we did this version. Harley jumped from acoustic to electric and Sho jumped from organ to piano and back. It was a little trickier than it seems, particularly in trying not to make too much commotion in the instrument switching mid-song.  We were happy we did it this way. — Ryan

Fourth song
Neil Cassidy (Weather Underground/Red Cortez) [4.06MB] [861 downloads]


— unreleased
This song always seems to have fire in it, no matter what setting or capacity we play it in. Whether it’s the subject matter or the constant rolling rhythm, or the dynamics of the music and the way it is sung, this song is always a great shot in the arm. We always have fun playing this tune. — Diego

The music that this group makes is an odd mash of a multitude of things – including beat poetry, ragtag clothing, the fertile hope of equality, The Black Crowes, The Walkmen, peace marches and that audacity of human content that the new president-elect has been talking about and which has been a calling card since the 60s. Guaranteed that last night was an evening that the members of Red Cortez sat rapt as the numbers across the country were tallied and marked down as official. They may have had heaving chests as the senator from Illinois spoke. Yes, it was a proud day for the entire country and they appreciated this beautiful upheaval as much as anyone. They are cut from a cloth that embraces the free-thinking spirit of 60s, via San Francisco and Woodstock. They tap into the liberating sense of possibility and scoff at any kinds of limitations imposed on the people of this country. They gravitate toward the melancholic dimension of the war – or any war – that’s being waged and chronicle it with a new song about a wife continuing to receive letters from her soldier husband though he’s already dead. She chooses to think of him still as a living person and the letters are all the indication she needs. Red Cortez tap into the souls of the folks they make up or relay to us, giving a warm display that feels like betterment. 

Red Cortez Official Site