SHREDnews

By Jess Grenier

The state of New Jersey, notably famous for being the birthplace of Frank Sinatra and where the Jonas Brothers reside, has sprouted some big names in the music industry over the years. Here, the rock and rap genres have flourished, citing big bands such as My Chemical Romance and Cobra Starship. However, numerous upcoming bands from the garden state are the ones continuously raising the bar in this industry. One in particular is the band Racing Kites.

Based in Brick, New Jersey, this five-piece pop-rock band consists of Alex Ziabko (vocals), Rick Szpakowski (drums), Matt Howard (guitar), Matt Federer (guitar/vocals), and Preston Rabari (bass). The band started to come together when Ziabko and Szpakowski first met at their job and realized they had similar taste in music. Through mutual associations with other local bands, the two met Rabari and Federer. The band’s lineup was finally rounded out when the members found Howard through Absolute Punk.

Sometimes being unsigned means that the band has a hard time getting out into the media mainstream. Contrary to this assumption, Racing Kites has booked an impressive number of shows, released four EPs and created a music video; all without a record label. RK is simply a fan-based band, whose members love what they do and work hard. The band mates enthusiasm for music keeps this band alive and one day their determination will take Racing Kites far in the music industry.

Racing Kite’s first EP We Hold It All Together was released back in 2007 and illustrates the band’s early talent and passion. The following year the band released Sampler ’08 EP, which contained three songs. These songs showed that the band was growing and perfecting the sound that is Racing Kites. Two songs off this EP, “All Night Is Alright” (which also appears on Be My Runaway) and “Oceans” are the top two songs sold on the band’s iTunes page.

In late 2007, the boys released their third EP called Be My Runaway. This EP, definitely helped Racing Kites get noticed. A couple of months after the EP came out, the band teamed up with Popstar! magazine to release their first ever music video for self-titles song “Be My Runaway,” which premiered on Popstar’s website in April 2009. Currently, Be My Runaway is the band’s top EP sold on iTunes.  Racing Kites wastes no time in achieving forward progress for themselves; this past October the band released its fourth EP titled Right Here, Right Now, quickly became a hit and ranked #78 on iTunes’ pop chart.

Clearly, Racing Kites are a band on the move. Their hard work is paying off and finally they are making a break in the music scene. Collectively, the band has definitely been raising the bar in terms of musicianship and devotion.  This inevitably shows that if you put all your heart into something and constantly work at it, you will achieve some level of success in the end. Racing Kites is making a perfect example to other unsigned bands; providing hope that any band has a fighting chance in this industry. For all these reasons and more Racing Kites is a band you should give a listen to now because before you know it, they will become the next big thing.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/racingkites

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