The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Jason Ward of Irata (Greensboro, North Carolina)

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How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

As a band we are following the guidelines provided by our Government and fearless leaders.

We have had to cancel a few tours. We had an eight-date tour scheduled around two big shows at SXSW.

SXSW was canceled a few days before we were supposed to head out on the road. We watched everything closely and as venues and cities started to shutdown we decided to cancel the run. It was tough decision but I think it was the correct decision. On the bright side side some bands are reporting losses due to not touring. By canceling our tour I think we actually saved around $1,500.00. Lol.

We have also canceled three other scheduled festivals and tours we had lined up for this Spring.

Right now, we are kind of in a waiting pattern to see when the right moment is to start scheduling runs.

Jon, sent a vid riff this morning over to me and Owen, we have not rehearsed together in a few weeks. So this virus has interrupted our group rehearsal schedule also.

The band’s health is good and our families heath is also good at this time.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

NC has a “Stay at Home” order in place. Essential businesses are still allowed to operate. No more than 10 person max gatherings.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

It has affected the community, while most bands could still probably have shows even with a 10 person max gathering rule, most have chosen to send out their music on the web. Online support seems to be there. I think as society comes back online and technology is able to accommodate more and more video and sound quality. I think the online shows and concerts will continue . For bands of small- to mid-level you can reach a wider audience and not spend money to hit the road. Online concert format I think is here to stay and will get better!

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

Our situation is such that we are using this time to relax a bit. Let the world work itself out. We are using this time to individually explore new riffs and new ideas for a new album or two. There maybe a live video or concert in our future. Other than that we ask that everyone stay safe and clean because when we do tour we would like to have some folks show up.

http://www.facebook.com/iratabandofficial
https://iratalive.bandcamp.com/
https://www.iratalive.com/
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
http://www.smallstone.bandcamp.com

The other day as I made my usual rounds of social media perusal and dicking around not getting anything done, I came across a post — don’t even remember who it was, so don’t ask — griping about how awesome Helmet used to be and why don’t they make bands like that anymore and so on. Well, okay. That’s one way to look at the universe. Yeah, they were cool in their day. On the other hand, fucking Irata. The North Carolinian four-piece made their debut on Small Stone in April with Tower, their second album overall, and if what you’re looking for is to hear a band belting out full-tilt riffs with an emphasis on rhythmic groovemaking, they’ve got you covered — plus melody. Tower is eight songs/39 minutes, and the title-track, with lead vocals from drummer Jason Ward, go-crush guitar work from Cheryl Manner and Owen Burd and low-end force from Jon Case is just the very beginning of what’s on offer on the album that shares its name. And not just because it’s the first track, either. Whether it’s the proggy winding of “Waking Eye” or the wistful guitar melody in “Innocent Murmur,” the Jane’s Addiction-meets-Torche vibe of “Weightless” or the spacier nuance in the early going of “Crawl to Corners,” there’s more dynamic on display throughout Tower than, frankly, anyone bitching about how “they don’t make bands like Band X anymore” probably deserves. Who gives a shit? They make bands like Irata.

Shades of prog metal work their way into side B leadoff “Leviathan” and the harmonies find their most righteous manifestation in closer “Constellations,” but somehow Irata‘s prevailing atmosphere still seems to be in straight-up heavy rock. They’re grounded in structure, but Manner and Burd have a fluid and often subtle interplay on guitar — the second half of the finale is a fitting example, but the if-you’re-going-to-have-two-guitars-then-use-them-both ethos applies just as well to “Innocent Murmur” and other tracks surrounding — and with the variety in the arrangements of vocals and periodic bouts of thrust like that at the outset of “Waking Eye,” Tower is able to keep its audience guessing in terms of just where the band are headed, something which wouldn’t be possible without Ward‘s drums as an anchor for the material structurally. In the turns of “Waking Eye” and the jabs of the penultimate “Golden Tongue,” the drums provide the flow over which the guitars and bass are able to so effectively careen, giving the vocals an all-the-more solid foundation even as that foundation seems so intent on movement throughout. Dynamic is the word, and chemistry is for sure a factor as well, but whether it’s the fuzzed airiness of “Weightless” or the insistent and deep-weighted apex of Ward‘s synth at the beginning of “Leviathan,” there’s a sense of control in Irata‘s material that only lends consciousness to the creativity of their songwriting — the choices they make in terms of transitions, vocals, etc.

All of this comes together to make Irata‘s sound something of a modern amalgam, definitely drawing from ’90s alternative rock but filtering that through heavy impulses born of the current generation of riffy practitioners of various stripes. It’s a combination that works and still sets Irata up for further growth down the line. I’m not saying it’s revolutionary, but I am saying it knows exactly what it’s doing, and that’s rare enough in itself.

And to the original point, this is a thing that’s happening right now. Wouldn’t you rather make future nostalgia than lament the past?

While you’re thinking about it, here’s a video premiere for “Tower” to smack you upside the head.

Enjoy:

Irata, “Tower” official video premiere

“Tower” is the title track from Irata’s 2019 LP of the same name. Shot in 2018 on location in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

IRATA
Jon Case – bass, vocals
Jason Ward – drums, vocals, synth
Cheryl Manner – guitar
Owen Burd – guitar

Irata on Thee Facebooks

Irata on Bandcamp

Irata website

Small Stone Records website

Small Stone Records on Thee Facebooks

Small Stone Records on Bandcamp

As Irata stream the title-track of their upcoming album, Tower, they don’t seem to give away an awful lot about the record itself. After all, it’s only 2:45, but in context of the full LP, maybe they are sending a few signals after all. That runtime, for example, is already shorter than anything that appeared on 2015’s second album, Sweet Loris, and it introduces the fullness of tone with which they’re working as well as some of the basic influences driving them. It’s also the opener, so “Tower” is what Irata wanted to put forward on Tower, as well as what they thought they should name the album after. So it’s quick, but it does offer some information about the record.

Subsequent tracks — not that I’ve heard it or anything — are longer and touch on a variety of progressive elements classic and modern, metal and rock, but as an introduction to what’s coming, “Tower” ends up doing just fine. I’m saying I don’t think you’re gonna hear it and complain. Unless you stub your toe in that two-plus minutes or something. Or the egg salad has gone bad. Whatever.

Irata, to go with the news that Tower exists, has a song streaming, and will be released May 24 on Small Stone, also have a bundle of tour dates for March including a stop by SXSW for Small Stone‘s showcase — legendary fuzz and shenanigans — as well as the Stoner Jam that all the cool kids will be at. You should go to both. You’re awesome. They’ll let you in.

From the PR wire:

IRATA: North Carolina Heavy Rock Unit Joins Small Stone Records For The Release Of Tower; Band To Play Small Stone SXSW Showcase + Additional Tour Dates Announced

Small Stone Records is pleased to welcome Greensboro, North Carolina-based heavy rock unit IRATA to their expanding roster of riff-heavy eminence. The band will release their Tower full length this May.

Issues the band of the union, “We are thrilled to be teaming up with a label that supports so many talented bands. We are happy to be a part of the Small Stone family.”

Since its 2007 genesis at the hands of founding members Jon Case (bass, vocals) and Jason Ward (drums, vocals), this Greensboro, North Carolina outfit has mutated restlessly, moving from its initial morphine-infused heavy fusion through math-y metal and finally to the soaring, technical heavy rock of its current approach. Over those dozen years, IRATA has made its presence known in metal and hard rock circles throughout the Southeast and beyond. Thanks to its growth from a trio with guitarist Cheryl Manner to a four-piece with the addition of guitarist Owen Burd, IRATA is evolving yet again.

With Burd’s talents on guitar, vocals, and trumpet added to what had already felt like a complete equation, IRATA is pushing itself to new vocal and instrumental heights. Accordingly, its upcoming LP Tower applies impressive musicianship and complex textures to increasingly approachable tunes that teeter between hard rock and prog-metal. It’s like the sports car version of Don Caballero.

Tower was recorded in vaunted hometown studio Legitimate Business and produced by All Them Witches guitarist Ben McLeod, with co-production by Legit Biz engineer and heavy metal mastermind Kris Hilbert. Flavors of Mastodon, Kylesa, Helms Alee and Sandrider mix with Smashing Pumpkins-reminiscent textures and clarion Perry Farrell-style vocals, creating a heavy palette that is both innovative and familiar.

Additional info on IRATA’s Tower, including preorders and teaser tracks, will be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime, IRATA will kick off a short stretch of live dates next month. Set to commence March 8th in Asheville, North Carolina and run through March 16th in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Rising Sun Tour includes a performance at Small Stone’s special SXSW showcase March 13th alongside their new labelmates Tia Carrera, Irata, La Chinga, Sundrifter, Dwellers, and The Cold Stares. See all confirmed dates below.

IRATA – Rising Sun Tour:
3/08/2019 Odditorium – Asheville, NC
3/09/2019 Maggie Meyers Irish Pub – Huntsville, AL
3/10/2019 Growlers – Memphis, TN
3/11/2019 Double Wide – Dallas, TX
3/12/2019 Over Flow Festival @ Super Happy Fun Land – Houston, TX
3/13/2019 Small Stone SXSW Showcase @ Lamberts – Austin, TX
3/14/2019 Spider House Stoner Jam – Austin, TX
3/15/2019 The Mix – San Antonio, TX
3/16/2019 Santos – New Orleans, LA

IRATA
Jon Case – bass, vocals
Jason Ward – drums, vocals, synth
Cheryl Manner – guitar
Owen Burd – guitar

http://www.facebook.com/iratabandofficial
https://iratalive.bandcamp.com/
https://www.iratalive.com/
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
http://www.smallstone.bandcamp.com

Irata, Tower (2019)