The Radium Girls

This week I interview Benjamin Brown, bass player for local three-piece reggae/rock group, The Radium Girls. Ben offers his thoughts on himself, his band, and the world at large...

Ben, how did you get involved with The Radium Girls?

"When Kevin and Jeff (drummer & guitarist) met, they were both wearing State Radio t-shirts and instantly fell in man-love. I, on the other hand, was conveniently dating Kevin's girlfriend's roommate, and they needed a bass player to join up. Jeff started ripping out awesome original songs, and soon enough we were a band!"

Where does the name come from?
"We fought over a band name for somewhere around a year and a half - during which we were conveniently named the KJB (Kevin, Jeff, and Ben). At some point, Jeff wrote a song in which the word "Radium" seemed to fit remarkably well. A trip to Wikipedia later, and he had stumbled across the story of the Radium Girls - a number of women employed by the US Radium Corporation to paint glow-in-the-dark watch dials with Radium paint. They weren't aware of the radioactivity, and would do crazy things like paint their nails and teeth to surprise their boyfriends back home. Later in life, many of them got very ill and the resulting lawsuit became the basis for many modern labor laws. In Jeff's hands, it then became a song ("Radium") and ended up as our band name (which continually confuses the majority of our website visitors looking for attractive girls)."

What makes the music of The Radium Girls special?
"First, all of Jeff's lyrics are meaningful - if you sit down with the lyrics and analyze them there's some really amazing stories behind them. Additionally, we bring together a wide variety of musical genres from riff-rock to reggae and punk in order to create a raw, high-energy, and danceable set."

Why are your bass riffs so fat?
"To make up for how skinny I am? Or maybe just because I don't know when to say no to awesome amplifiers and overdrive pedals? Either way, I can never get enough of a deep overdriven bass groove..."

If you were on your death-bed and had one last thing to say to the world, what would it be?
"Don't let me die!"

Do you think the music scene in Rochester (and Western NY) can be revolutionized?
"Absolutely I do, and I hope to be a part of the revolution!"

The Radium Girls are a fantastic live band. See them play at the Lovin' Cup on Friday at 9 pm w/ Argus Eye, and Big Eyed Phish. Listen to Robin Hood Hills for a great sample of their music.