The Real Nasty
Encyclopedia
The Real Nasty is a Berkeley, California
country
/rock music
-based band. Members are Ryan Lukas (main songwriter
, lead vocals, upright bass
), Jacob Groopman (electric guitar
) and Matthew “Smitty” Smith (cajon, cymbals, percussion
, modified bass drum). The music has been described simply as " countrified rock", and draws from a range of musical genres including bluegrass, world music, and country music.
In 2009, The Real Nasty was signed to Ninth Street Opus
, an independent record label out of Berkeley, CA. They immediately released Paper City, a double disk album. The disks were EP's unto themselves as they each had their own title and genre. The Sticks contained country while Downtown was rock-based. In October 2010, the follow-up to Paper City was released. Strangers and Friends was described as compelling fusion of countrified rock. October 2011 saw the release of their third studio album, Dirty Dollars, which incorporates elements of rock, country, blues, funk, and soul.
Jacob Groopman is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is a former member of the award-winning afro-beat band, ALBINO!. Jacob is also an instructor at various bluegrass camps across U.S.
Matthew "Smitty" Smith is also a former member of ALBINO! and a student of West African master drummer CK Ladzepko.
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
/rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-based band. Members are Ryan Lukas (main songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, lead vocals, upright bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
), Jacob Groopman (electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
) and Matthew “Smitty” Smith (cajon, cymbals, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, modified bass drum). The music has been described simply as " countrified rock", and draws from a range of musical genres including bluegrass, world music, and country music.
In 2009, The Real Nasty was signed to Ninth Street Opus
Ninth Street Opus
Ninth Street Opus is an independent record label in Berkeley, CA. Founded in 2008 by producer Wayne Skeen, Opus is a genre-agnostic label, with recordings that focus on artists with strong live musical performances. Their catalog’s recordings have dipped into folk, country, rock, jazz and...
, an independent record label out of Berkeley, CA. They immediately released Paper City, a double disk album. The disks were EP's unto themselves as they each had their own title and genre. The Sticks contained country while Downtown was rock-based. In October 2010, the follow-up to Paper City was released. Strangers and Friends was described as compelling fusion of countrified rock. October 2011 saw the release of their third studio album, Dirty Dollars, which incorporates elements of rock, country, blues, funk, and soul.
History
The Real Nasty was formed in Berkeley, California, in 2009. Groopman and Smith were also part of the San Francisco-based Afrobeat band, ALBINO!. Lukas later joined Groopman and Smith to form The Real Nasty. Within one year, they were signed by Ninth Street Opus.Band members
Ryan Lukas attended the Crane School of Music and has played bass professionally since 1996. His involvement in other projects include Persephone’s Bees, Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra and the Brian Patneaude Quartet. Ryan also teaches bass at the Santa Clara University.Jacob Groopman is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is a former member of the award-winning afro-beat band, ALBINO!. Jacob is also an instructor at various bluegrass camps across U.S.
Matthew "Smitty" Smith is also a former member of ALBINO! and a student of West African master drummer CK Ladzepko.
Albums
- 2009 - Paper City, a double disc EP (Ninth Street Opus)
- 2010 - Strangers and Friends (Ninth Street Opus)
- 2011 - Dirty Dollars (Ninth Street Opus)
Singles
- "KC’s Blues" (Paper City)
- "Bad Medicine" (Paper City)
- "No Big Deal" (Strangers and Friends)
- "Whiskey for Breakfast" (Strangers and Friends)
- "Jezebelle" (Strangers and Friends)
- "Dirty Dollars" (Dirty Dollars)