Guitarist Nathan Raney celebrates the release of his third album, Maro and Manifestation, with a special show at The Casbah on May 21. The son of legendary guitarist Jerry Raney (The Beat Farmers, Glory etc.), Nathan also performs in The Farmers alongside his dad, packing venues all over the county with their excellent brand of roots rock. For his own music however, the younger Raney specializes in sounds closer to progressive alternative rock with a melodic edge.
“The Nathan Raney sound, as it has been described to me is interesting,” he said good naturedly. “I have heard anywhere from Rush meets Alice in Chains, to melodic 90’s rock, but the one thing everyone agrees on is that it is an original sound that Cascades multiple genres. As my brother Kyle once put it “Take technical metalhead virtuosos and force them to not play metal.” The band lineup on the night will feature Steven Atkins (guitar), Calvan Christ (bass) and PJ Sweeny (drums). “All extremely accomplished players in their own right,” he remarked. “I’m proud and very lucky to have them all.”
Maro and Manifestation was preceded by the single / compilation track, “Framework.” The album was recorded with Steve Langdon at his personal studio in Point Loma. “Langdon has a few SD Music Awards to his name and also just recorded and mastered the two upcoming new Farmers singles,” Raney said. “There are only the band members appearing on the album this time, along with an old friend, Michael Rosales, making an appearance on a track or two. There are no covers, just like the last two NRB albums, these albums all lend to originality between myself and my band members.”
What sets Maro and Manifestation apart from Raney’s previous releases? “This album was written over an odd period of time in my life, coming out of Covid, lockdowns, and a need and want for change,” he said. “After the last few years of turbulence, there are definitely themes of self recognition, coping, finding solace and love. Many of the people who have heard the album describe it as “Matured” in my song writing and sound, along with following a theme through all the albums, melodic.”
Attendees at Thursday evening’s concert will be treated to a performance of pretty much the entire album. “We will be playing all but one of the songs on the album,” Raney noted. “There is a solo piece on the album I am not planning on performing, although that may change. I think it will depend on the audience to be honest. The set I’ve written will take us through album #3, then a set of fan favorites from 1 and 2,” he said.
The night’s bill, produced by Bar None Productions, also includes performances from Kid Gruesome and the Atomic Surfers
