Roderick J. Edens is a recording artist/engineer from Virginia Beach, Virginia who has been active in the Hampton Roads music scene over the last 3 decades and currently performs under the alias Terry Cloth in the project Reptile Tile.
I sat down with Roderick to discuss a bit of musical history and all things Retile Tile. Get the groups latest album “Bird Upon A Wire” here.
CMM-What’s the first music that made an impact on you as a kid and what bands/artists did you enjoy most?
Roderick-My family was part of a Methodist Church that had a children’s choir so probably “this little light of mine” and “the lord’s army” were some of the first songs I remember learning. We used to listen to my grandparent’s records a lot when we would visit them in South Carolina. We would play “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail” by Buck Owens, “Hit The Road Jack” by Ray Charles and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” by the Everly Brothers.
I got my first guitar when i was 12 and about a month later i got a copy of Sonic Youth “Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star,” that album had a big influence. i also got really into Wu-tang Clan/Biggie/Mobb Deep around that time. When i was 15 i got a bass guitar and that summer I learned every song on the Israel vibration album “Israel Dub” so that had an immense influence on my bass playing.
CMM-When did you start playing instruments and writing and recording your own songs? I’m guessing Die Young was one of your firsts bands. What was it like playing with them?
Roderick-My mom had a piano i would tinker around with as a kid, but i got a guitar and took lessons for a few months when i was 12. a few years later i would hang around Jesse Chong’s house and picked up his bass when we would jam, then started connecting with that instrument a lot and got more into bass playing. i joined die young the year after i got a bass and discovered hardcore. My role in that band was really just playing the bass lines that were already written. They were fun kids to hang with. James was/is a great drummer.
My first project that I started writing for was seasonscollide in my 20’s. That project put an album out called “disappearing/reappearing” in 2010. I started getting into home recording with my next project Ikagura. I learned Ableton watching over Chris and Mothy’s shoulders when we would record and then I finally started working on sessions as engineer once i learned to navigate the program more efficiently.
CMM-When did Reptile Tile start and how has the project evolved over the years? What’s the current line up?
Roderick-Reptile Tile started officially in 2015 when Alexi brought Dylan to my home studio, we were kind of teaching Dylan how to record and the first song we made was “pod” from the self titled album. Little by little more members joined, Jordan came and Andy came, then a few more who made some great contributions before they moved on from the project. We were initially supposed to be an anonymous recording project and didn’t plan on doing live performances but we jumped on a show I’d booked in Dec 2015 with Geneva Jacuzzi/Yoga Demon/Karacell when one of the other artists dropped off the bill at Strange Matter in Richmond.
The current line up of Reptile Tile’s live group is Erin Lindgren on violin/percussion/vocals, Dylan Mcpherson on synths/percussion/vocals, Sam Haywood on guitar/bass, Elliott Malvas on drums, Zachary Oliver (Zac Plastic) on saxophone and myself on bass/guitar/vocals.
The studio version of Reptile Tile is everyone from the live line up plus whoever is available to collaborate and make the tracks sound as good as possible. My friend Jabstrak is on drums/vocals/synths/mixing on some of our upcoming albums so he’s pretty much RTT family now. There is also a crew of session musicians that have worked on the project when they can since the beginning.
CMM-Your latest release “Bird Upon A Wire” has been circulating for a while. There are a lot of guest contributors and so many cool things going on throughout the tracks. What was the writing and recording process like and what was it like coordinating such a cast of amazing characters to be a part of the record?
Roderick-We (Picky Choosie Records) actually just pressed physical copies of “Drop The Lead/Bird Upon A Wire” ep’s to mail to radio stations. IMO “Latter Day Saints” is the best song in the RTT discography, although it may be a tie with “Mystery Friend.”
The band would write the foundational music and vocal parts and then we would send stuff out, then based on the new layers we would add/subtract/edit sounds to finish them up.
It’s easier now than ever to collaborate with people from other parts of the world. I believe Chad and Admiral were both in upstate NY when they recorded their parts. Grace and Brian recorded their trombone/clarinet parts in California. Laura recorded her vocals for “Find Me” in Richmond, Britt, Bianca, Bill and Chloe recorded their vocal parts when they came to the studio. We know a lot of talented multi instrumentalists/vocalists and since we work in so many different genres certain songs call for different sounds/treatments.
CMM-If the band could collaborate on an album with another band or artist who would it be and what direction do you think the music venture into?
Roderick-We would like to make a video game soundtrack with Richard Devine. We would also like to score a movie.
CMM-What’s next for the band. New recordings, shows?
Roderick-We have several albums we’re working on at the moment and we have some live dates in June and September.
june 17 @ logstradamus in virginia beach, va
june 30 @ bandito’s in richmond, va
september 7 @ harrison and wentz presents: a bewitching night of mystic tropicalia in kill devil hills, NC
