From an interview with Taylor Reed of KSFS Radio

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Taylor;

Hi Reverend LordRifa and welcome to the show!

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The Rev;

Hi Taylor, thanks for having me and please, call me Rev.

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Taylor;

Thanks! Tell me about Lord Rifa.

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The Rev:

We are one of the purveyors of the " Progressive Americana" genre.

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Taylor;

Really?? Ok I'll bite. What is the Progressive Americana?

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The Rev;

Look Taylor, We all know that genre's, classifications and styalistic ideas all come from where to put you in the record bins. But since record stores don't really exist anymore and labels don't really matter, why should thier classifications?  We now speak to the consumer directly and because of that we think it's more important to tell them who we really are in this world and why they should listen to us.

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Taylor;

Ok, what and why is that?

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The Rev;

So dig, "Progressive Americana"​is the blending of all the influences of modern America -Politicly, Culturally and Artistically.  You got to remember that the idea of genre and classification is akin to deadnaming someone. 

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Taylor;

Deadnaming?

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The Rev;

I'm waxing poetic dude! But there are similarities that are real. Our influences are American because what we grew up listening has been filtered and processed through the American experience. You could go so far as to say every artist in the US is an Americana artist.

It is also the only true music space that represents what America is actually about-today. Multi cultural, Multi racial, Multi generational and free of gender restrictions. It has roots in blues, funk, world music, progressive, hip hop, classical and rock. It is about social justice as much as it is about love songs. It is about protest and awareness as much as it is about nasty funky beats. It is contagiously danceable!

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Taylor;

What about the progressive?

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The Rev;

Well we are progressive and liberal in our political stance. I won't go too deep into this part, but all fascists, racists and bigots should die.  This is reflected on everything we write, who we are, how we live and what we play. We're also about improvisation. We want to be in the moment with each other and the audience as well. We call made fresh daily. Sometimes it's sucks and sometimes it's heavenly.

Most of all I love the fact the we never know which it will be until it arrives. Much like life.

 

Taylor;

I read that you score music for films. What's that like?

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The Rev;

Writing music for the cinema allow us to take this rich musical heritage and combine it in ways that are unexpected and unique. It also gives us a chance to do things we cannot do live. 

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Taylor;

Such as...

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The Rev;

We can put musical square pegs into round holes all the while producing it for the glorious medium of  Atmos immersive audio.

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Taylor;

Give me an elevator pitch for the band.

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The Rev;

LordRifa represents America in our times. It steals from the past, plunders the future and documents our times.

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