THE BUG

Ra Ra Riot

Formed
January, 2006
in Syracuse, NY 
Active Decades
19001020304050607080902000 
 
by Andrew Leahey
Combining {indie rock} with {chamber pop} flourishes (courtesy of a small string section), Ra Ra Riot formed while the band's six members were attending college in Syracuse, NY. Milo Bonacci (guitar), Alexandra Lawn (cello), Wesley Miles (keyboard/vocals), John Pike (drums), Mathieu Santos (bass), and Rebecca Zeller (violin) first came together in January 2006, creating an eclectic sound that allowed them to play alongside The Horrors, Bow Wow Wow, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin within a year of the band's formation. After pulling up stakes and relocating to New York City, the band recorded a self-titled EP and prepared to release it during the summer of 2007. That June, however, Pike died after disappearing one night from a party in Fairhaven, RI. His body was later found in nearby Buzzard's Bay. Several weeks later, the mourning bandmates issued a statement confirming their continuation as a band.

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