RNDM - mia

Vedder Vitamins · November 2017

Really enjoyed their two albums and seeing them live. What the heck happened? Joe and Rich seem to have fell off the social media wagon. any rumors or insider info?

2-feign-reluctance · November 2017

You should follow them on social media if feasible. Best way to see what's new with them.

lastexitlondon · November 2017

I love rndm. Never got to see them here. But seen joe several times in london. Great guy. Very approachable

PJ_Soul · November 2017

Vedder Vitamins said:

Really enjoyed their two albums and seeing them live. What the heck happened? Joe and Rich seem to have fell off the social media wagon. any rumors or insider info?

I don't think anything happened. Just like after their first album, they did a short tour, and then that was it until their next album, which came something like 4 years later. I wouldn't expect anything else from them until they feel like doing another album. If they do decide to do another it probably won't be until well after Pearl Jam does their own and finishes a tour for it. So say about 2020 (if ever).
Joseph hasn't fallen off of social media. He's been busy as usual. His last studio album only came out a year ago. He has also been going through a tough time personally. He's been blogging about it. He was again struggling with substance abuse and family issues and emotionally bad shit - he seems to be working hard to straighten things out. But he still finished a short residency in LA recently, and I read that he collaborated with someone (can't remember who) while abroad - they apparently recorded an album over a handful of days, so we might see that in some form soon.
Richard... well, he teaches drumming to kids and has gigs here and there with various people. He also released that single that he collaborated on with Jeff in the summer (it's not good IMO). He posts pretty regularly on Facebook, so if you friend request him you can know what he's up to.

Brotherjohnno9 · November 2017

PJ_Soul said:

Vedder Vitamins said:

Really enjoyed their two albums and seeing them live. What the heck happened? Joe and Rich seem to have fell off the social media wagon. any rumors or insider info?

I don't think anything happened. Just like after their first album, they did a short tour, and then that was it until their next album, which came something like 4 years later. I wouldn't expect anything else from them until they feel like doing another album. If they do decide to do another it probably won't be until well after Pearl Jam does their own and finishes a tour for it. So say about 2020 (if ever).
Joseph hasn't fallen off of social media. He's been busy as usual. His last studio album only came out a year ago. He has also been going through a tough time personally. He's been blogging about it. He was again struggling with substance abuse and family issues and emotionally bad shit - he seems to be working hard to straighten things out. But he still finished a short residency in LA recently, and I read that he collaborated with someone (can't remember who) while abroad - they apparently recorded an album over a handful of days, so we might see that in some form soon.
Richard... well, he teaches drumming to kids and has gigs here and there with various people. He also released that single that he collaborated on with Jeff I like in the summer (it's not good IMO). He posts pretty regularly on Facebook, so if you friend request him you can know what he's up to.

Joe has apparently been recording with Peter Buck (REM) recently. Maybe that's the someone you can't remember?

PJ_Soul · November 2017

Brotherjohnno9 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Vedder Vitamins said:

Really enjoyed their two albums and seeing them live. What the heck happened? Joe and Rich seem to have fell off the social media wagon. any rumors or insider info?

I don't think anything happened. Just like after their first album, they did a short tour, and then that was it until their next album, which came something like 4 years later. I wouldn't expect anything else from them until they feel like doing another album. If they do decide to do another it probably won't be until well after Pearl Jam does their own and finishes a tour for it. So say about 2020 (if ever).
Joseph hasn't fallen off of social media. He's been busy as usual. His last studio album only came out a year ago. He has also been going through a tough time personally. He's been blogging about it. He was again struggling with substance abuse and family issues and emotionally bad shit - he seems to be working hard to straighten things out. But he still finished a short residency in LA recently, and I read that he collaborated with someone (can't remember who) while abroad - they apparently recorded an album over a handful of days, so we might see that in some form soon.
Richard... well, he teaches drumming to kids and has gigs here and there with various people. He also released that single that he collaborated on with Jeff in the summer (it's not good IMO). He posts pretty regularly on Facebook, so if you friend request him you can know what he's up to.

Joe has apparently been recording with Peter Buck (REM) recently. Maybe that's the someone you can't remember?

That's the one, yes. Thanks.

GC31608 · November 2017

I saw Joseph play at City Winery in Atlanta last year around July. The show wasn't the best as he seemed to be getting acclimated with some of his gear and he had long delays while he fiddled with some of it. At one point he asked for requests and my wife yelled out her favorite RNDM song 'Cherries in the Snow' which he has performed solo before. He thought for a second and replied "Cherries in the Snow...oh yeah, I played that in a band I used to be in called RNDM. I don't really remember how to play that one". The "used to be in" part was a bit disheartening as they had just released Ghost Riding in March of that same year. Hope it's not the end for that band. Joe always has something going on, whether it's art shows and some residencies here and there. His solo albums are also worth checking out if you haven't already.

PJ_Soul · November 2017

I last saw him in Vancouver I guess in September 2016 and it was an unmitigated disaster. At the time I said that I thought there was something seriously wrong with him and that I was worried. He denied any problems at that time, but it turned out that I was right, unfortunately. I think it was only a few months after that show that he decided to admit his struggles and to confront his issues and started that blog I mentioned. I basically saw him while he was in the throes of a sort of mental/emotional breakdown, and at a pretty low point as a drug abuser too. I wasn't exactly surprised when he admitted all this given that it was so obvious in person. I am impressed with his candor about how he's battling his demons - clearly sharing it via blog like he does is cathartic for him (albeit dramatic - the whole thing involves a lot of family dysfunction, and his blog exposed some of his family members in a negative way, which caused fallout). He also struggles financially (he admits that he absolutely sucks when it comes to managing his career in those terms). I find his openness quite brave, although given the related drama it all felt shaky to me as well. So with all that, I would take anything he said recently about his career or his attachment to RNDM with some grain of salt. He's been on unstable ground and wasn't at all sure where he was going to land, and probably still isn't. I remember when he started that troublesome tour that he actually told his crowd a couple times that he was quitting as a performer altogether and was going to take some kind of corporate gig (whatever that means). Thank god he seems to have abandoned that plan (so far)!
In any case, he seems to be doing a lot better than he was. I hope he keeps things on a positive track. I absolutely love Joe; he is one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time. Every album he puts out is just phenomenal (and real quality too, vinyl-wise), and I can't wait to hear what's next.

Vedder Vitamins · November 2017

Do you have a link for his blog? I follow him on twitter but haven’t seen a post from him since September. RS use to post more frequently on FB. Really hope they jam together again.

P34RL J4MM3R · November 2017

Yeah, those RNDM shows were some of the best small venue shows you'll ever see. I saw them both times they came to Chicago. I'd see them again in a second. I love that band and especially their live performances. So fresh and intimate. I wish they would play more shows, even just a small tour each year. I'd be there every time.

PJ_Soul · November 2017

It looks like he may have deleted all the posts, having just looked for where it was. I believe it was on his tumblr account (I just got to his posts by going through his facebook page at the time). Now his tumblr page is fucking weird and any related facebook posts seem to be gone. I guess he must have had his catharsis and then got self-conscious about how much it exposed him after the fact (I would bet that it also had something to do with his family and that backlash). I say that because I had a chat with him once about his blogging a few years ago, and he told me that while it was super therapeutic/cathartic, he also felt weird and uncomfortable about it, like it was too personal, and he ended up deleting that particular blog too. He was conflicted about it. I think he uses it as a method of therapy, so once he's gone through the method he gets rid of it all.

NewJPage · November 2017

Pearl jam - mia

jeffbr · November 2017

NewJPage said:

Pearl jam - mia

I heard they're still around making Bollywood music.

PJ_Soul · November 2017

jeffbr said:

NewJPage said:

Pearl jam - mia

I heard they're still around making Bollywood music.

I think the latest song is called Total Eclipse of the Heart of something like that?

mfc2006 · November 2017

P34RL J4MM3R said:

Yeah, those RNDM shows were some of the best small venue shows you'll ever see. I saw them both times they came to Chicago. I'd see them again in a second. I love that band and especially their live performances. So fresh and intimate. I wish they would play more shows, even just a small tour each year. I'd be there every time.

Completely agree. We saw them at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland and the show was awesome. Got to meet them after the show, which was cool as well.

lastexitlondon · November 2017

The last Joe show at the borderline in london now you mention it. He was terrible. All over the place. Played the whole set and last song said oh ive played with out plectrum the whole show
Does anyone have one. It was chaotic and very poor. Looked off his head. But i just assumed stressed as i thought he was clean . Last time before that he was drinking diet coke and chatted for ages to us after. But this time drinking booze and was very brief and getting girls phone numbers after. A different beast.

lastexitlondon · November 2017

It was sad
Because i rate him as a genius of art in all forms.

LOV2ROCK · November 2017

He’s taken up boxing

lastexitlondon · November 2017

I bet he is a languid slow motion boxer

lastexitlondon · November 2017

Alright I look like a squirrel . I think i was talking. As per usual but this is about 4 years back when Joe had r.e.m bass player for this small gig in london and took time to chat and sign and gave me a rndm pick as he loved my t shirt. Signed my boogie christ vinyl. Just so nice.

PJ_Soul · November 2017

LOV2ROCK said:

He’s taken up boxing

Yeah, he is suddenly fucking ripped - another form of therapy I think ... and for a while there he was posting shirtless photos of himself to show off his new body, lol.

JH6056 · November 2017

mfc2006 said:

P34RL J4MM3R said:

Yeah, those RNDM shows were some of the best small venue shows you'll ever see. I saw them both times they came to Chicago. I'd see them again in a second. I love that band and especially their live performances. So fresh and intimate. I wish they would play more shows, even just a small tour each year. I'd be there every time.

Completely agree. We saw them at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland and the show was awesome. Got to meet them after the show, which was cool as well.

Man, I LOVE the Doug Fir Lounge as a venue and would have loved to see RNDM there!

Now I'm totally confused though. I assume the last time I saw them was 2016, and for my DC show I thought the band was excellent but the crowd sucked where I was standing (like one guy, totally visible to everyone onstage, never looked up from his bright light phone the.entire.CONCERT!). Only Joseph came out after, but he seemed totally with it, looked healthy... now I'm confused if he was just having a good night or I didn't see them when I thought I did? I can't keep track of anything that happened more than 3 months ago LOL!

JH6056 · November 2017

And so is Joseph generally a little overly dramtic at times, re: the comment "Oh, Cherries in the Snow, that was a song from a band I used to be in..."? Or just a dramatic time in his life given all that's been discussed above? I guess I'm trying to gauge the likelihood that his comment has some truth to it and RNDM may have called it a day after that?

Or at least a day until they get together again and it's a new day?

PJ_Soul · November 2017

JH6056 said:

And so is Joseph generally a little overly dramtic at times, re: the comment "Oh, Cherries in the Snow, that was a song from a band I used to be in..."? Or just a dramatic time in his life given all that's been discussed above? I guess I'm trying to gauge the likelihood that his comment has some truth to it and RNDM may have called it a day after that?

Or at least a day until they get together again and it's a new day?

Given what he's been going through, I would not take his comment to mean that there will definitely not be another RNDM album. What I think it all depends on is the band's willingness to do another album given the fact that there seems to be little to no financial benefit to doing so. The album sales are low and the show attendance is very small too. Their first tour was an absolute slog according to both Joseph and especially Jeff at the time (since Jeff hates touring, especially on the cheap), and the attendance during that tour was at times depressingly low, which is why the second album's tour was only 6 shows, for which the ticket sales probably barely even covered the cost of the travel (of course I'm no expert here - I'm just going off of all the information I have gathered over the years via Joseph's comments/blog, things said during interviews, and paying attention to reports of show attendance).

GC31608 · November 2017

PJ_Soul said:

Given what he's been going through, I would not take his comment to mean that there will definitely not be another RNDM album. What I think it all depends on is the band's willingness to do another album given the fact that there seems to be little to no financial benefit to doing so. The album sales are low and the show attendance is very small too. Their first tour was an absolute slog according to both Joseph and especially Jeff at the time (since Jeff hates touring, especially on the cheap), and the attendance during that tour was at times depressingly low, which is why the second album's tour was only 6 shows, for which the ticket sales probably barely even covered the cost of the travel (of course I'm no expert here - I'm just going off of all the information I have gathered over the years via Joseph's comments/blog, things said during interviews, and paying attention to reports of show attendance).

Yeah I totally agree with the willingness aspect of this and the fact that the financial benefit is simply not there. I'd love to eventually see another RNDM album, but I doubt it'll happen.

JH6056 · November 2017

The low ticket sales and, at my last RNDM show the low crowd energy on my side of small venue, probably definitely are deflating and disheartening for them. Which is too bad, because I've seen most PJ side projects live, and RNDM is my favorite, even more than Ed solo which is saying a LOT. The 2012 or 2013 show was fantastic, much better attended too than the 2016 one.

Bummed that they're not feeling it now (even if maybe they *will* feel it again later), but for all the reasons you've all listed, I understand how they feel that way.

ShanKathy · November 2017

I saw RNDM in Seattle 2016 - their first show for Ghost Riding- and thought it was a great show, both band and crowd very into it. It was a very short tour and I think that Jeff might have covered expenses for it - he called it a "victory lap" for the album. I doubt we will see another tour without another album though.

I've been picking up a lot of Joseph Arthur music lately (there's lots out there lol) and I enjoy his solo work. I hope all goes well for him moving forward as he seems like a decent guy and certainly a talented artist. I am hoping to catch his solo performance if only he would please come through the middle of Canada sometime - maybe for a festival?

Maybe Jeff can collect all his old bandmates (RNDM, Tres Mtns, and Three Fish) and put on a three hour retrospective show? That would be fun.

PJ_Soul · November 2017

JH6056 said:

The low ticket sales and, at my last RNDM show the low crowd energy on my side of small venue, probably definitely are deflating and disheartening for them. Which is too bad, because I've seen most PJ side projects live, and RNDM is my favorite, even more than Ed solo which is saying a LOT. The 2012 or 2013 show was fantastic, much better attended too than the 2016 one.

Bummed that they're not feeling it now (even if maybe they *will* feel it again later), but for all the reasons you've all listed, I understand how they feel that way.

I totally agree. I really, really love RNDM. It is by far my favorite "side project" done by any PJ member ever, plus I am a huge Joseph Arthur fan, and this is just a great part of his own work. I also felt really disheartened by the fact that they were received with so little enthusiasm. They certainly deserved it. They were creative, different, the music is fantastic, they really made it "their own" band and they came up with their own cool aesthetic. Why they weren't able to drum up more interest is totally beyond me. I'm thinking it must be more about industry support (or lack thereof). I mean, there were at least a few of what could have been true radio hits on those albums, but clearly they didn't get that kind of support from the radio stations. It sucks. But yeah, they can't just keep doing it when there is no financial pay off. I'm sure Jeff can afford to do that once in a while, but Joseph and Richard certainly can't. Plus, I doubt any of them were in love with the fact that so many people at the shows and those who bought the album were simply there because of Jeff/PJ. I actually found that aspect very uncomfortable at their show, and Joseph even mentioned it in his blog during the first tour. Awkward. Anyway... what a shame that RNDM doesn't get the appreciation and attention it deserves. I really badly wish that they could find a way to make it stand on its own feet. I felt like they really gave it a shot with their first album. They really tried to get the word out, played one of the big late night shows, did a ton of radio appearances ... it just didn't take. I hate to think how many amazing bands this happens to actually.

But anyway, you never know... The three could just decide they have time to get together again and do another album despite all this! They just need to feel the mood!

JH6056 · November 2017

Yes yes and yes PJ Soul. Yes to all of that (sadly, even the bummer stuff).

mfc2006 · November 2017

I feel the same way about Brad. I don’t feel like they get nearly enough recognition. Love both bands and hope to see them again.

Patrick_Sea3 · November 2017

Don't forget Fistful of Mercy which was also pretty awesome.

RNDM - mia

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