Rangda is a powerful, American instrumental trio featuring guitarists Sir Richard Bishop and Ben Chasny and drummer Chris Corsano. Their new album is called The Heretic’s Bargain, it’s out now via Drag City, and they’re on the road right now with forthcoming shows in Bloomington, IN, Columbus, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, Baltimore, MD, and Philadelphia, PA. In fact, they were just in Toronto for a tremendously powerful show at Double Double Land in Kensington Market where I had the opportunity to speak with the band about high chairs in Kensington Market, getting a sense of the tour from Rick and the story about a pastel artwork piece of Donald Drumpf he discovered in Brooklyn, Canada’s new president, ravishing Justin Trudeau, madness now versus Reagan and multiple Bush madness, how Rick is convinced Hillary Clinton was preordained to be president, conspiratorial political theory, waking Ben up to dodge three or four questions, weird things people say about Rangda, Ben subscribes to Just Say No, no rage, the first time Johnny Mathis is mentioned by Rick, emotional miscue, song titles in an instrumental band, “Without Us” and Family Ties, when Chris met Ben, how Rangda came together, Rick’s hat, why Ben’s band Six Organs of Admittance keeps oscillating, over sensitive rock, I can’t get no fulfillment, richardbishopbookseller.com, occult books, people who cast spells on their employers, Canada and its border, Montreal and Harris Newman, weird jazz festivals, Chris is busy and Rick’s busy but Ben’s somehow got a lot of free time, Rangda sort of have a band meeting in the middle of our interview, not-so-busy Ben, the song “Mondays Are Free at the Hermetic Museum,” and then I finally get to leave Chris Corsano eating my dust.
Related links: dragcity.com/artists/rangda vishkhanna.com
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