by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Brooklyn’s Realworld are here to have a good time and they’d prefer if we’d all have a good time together with them. Formed last year by Kegan Zema and Mike Greene (both former members of Journalism), they come to us with one previous single (“Perfect Vision”) and a goal to create joy with upbeat, positive, 90s-inspired pop-rock. It’s an aesthetic for sure, but everyone could use a bit of joy these days, so why not cut loose. Next year will see the release of the band’s debut EP, but before that they have their second stand-alone single, “Green Room,” and the band are celebrating the occasion tonight at Alphaville with Bueno, Consumables, Tony Alone, and a DJ set from Chloe Chaidez.
“Green Room” and it’s Jeff Mertz directed video are a vortex back into the days when punk was goofy and scowls were all replaced by smiles. There’s some big technicolor fashion going on and even bigger dance moves, all of it playing out as the song rides a vivid conga assisted rhythm. A dreamy yet cutting guitar line switches between pointed and flowing, engaging itself between the bass groove with colorful psychedelic pop. It’s all fairly funky, leaving all rules aside and just going for a damn good time.
Speaking about the song, Zema shared:
“"Green Room” is a tongue-in-cheek song about gratitude for everything you've got. It's about making an active choice to put forth empathic, positive energy in a society full of exploitation. The song itself has a playful bounce — our updated take on the happy heyday of The Hacienda. But behind the groovy bass line and conga rhythms I’m able to explore some of the contradictions that shape me. Realworld is focused on creating joyous, uplifting experience wherever we can. If that means my “green room” — a place reserved for artists to be separated from the masses — is most often just a public bathroom, so be it! At the end of the day, I just want to be able to keep writing songs in my bedroom and sharing them with the people I care about.”