“Red Vox is a Staten Island, New York based independent rock band led by- now, get this- a streamer” I say to a crowd of unamused friends of mine listening to my presentation about the group. Oh. That’s not the reaction I anticipated. Especially not one from a made up crowd.
Despite that story’s fictional status- I have heard this reaction before. This makes more sense now upon reflection as eight years ago when I found the band, a content creator led project designed to be taken seriously and also happening to succeed at such a goal was mere novelty; very few acts accomplished such a feat.
Red Vox was a rare exception to be taken seriously by fans and critics alike. Now, this story is sung ad nauseum. Plenty of streamers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, TikToker’s and other forms of “influencer” have successfully built careers in multiple fields, becoming major forces in the music scene.
Streamers Vinny “Vinesauce” and Jabroni Mike formed the band in 2015 alongside fellow musicians Joe and Bill. No last names have ever been given out, so when the band added new members in the 2020s for studio sessions and touring, they were simply called Jerrold and “New” Joe. Excellent. Jabroni Mike later left the band indefinitely in 2025, citing health issues.
Despite how common the story of the group has become, the band’s initial breakthrough is still something that should be celebrated. Vinesauce was already a successful streamer, which can make it easier to launch a career off of, but not so when the music is unconventional to what most fans of the streamer might enjoy. Most successful creators transitioning into music tend to go for a pop or rap sound in order to find success in those fields. Red Vox went a different route.
Released in 2016, debut album “What Could Go Wrong” tells stories of adolescent anxiety, being ghosted, failing at bar hookups, and dreaming about your crush. In the kindest way it can be described, this album makes the singer sound like a nerd, especially with its obvious influences from classic acts like The Cars, Pink Floyd, and Blur. While the first album may be amateur and cliche at points, it was well-received and remains a great listen with the grungy “Atom Bomb,” the deepened hole in the Earth sound of “Ghost Page,” its pop closer “In A Dream,” and its multi-part psychedelic experiments on “Job In The City” and “She Missed The Beat.”
The band established itselves not as a group wishing to follow any kinds of trend, not a buck hungry side-project for a couple of content creators and friends, instead a worthwhile attempt to create meaningful tunes with passionate homage to acts of the past. While the first album won over Vinny and Mike’s fans, Red Vox’s second release “Another Light”(2017) was no sophomore slump, winning the band critical acclaim and relative sales success, earning a charting position at the back-end of Billboard’s Heatseekers album chart.
“Another Light” follows a maturing of sound more focused on the combination of what made WCGW wrong- or, I’m sorry. What made it right. That experimentation is even more present here, with each song connecting into one another, through theme or through literal intermediate transition. The title track, “Settle For Less,” and “Memories Lie” has a seamless release between each other akin to a “long-song” type of album. Exploration of the process of creation, dueling guitars in left and right channels, mandolin used on multiple tracks, improved harmonies, deeper dives into electronic rock through the use of vocoder and synthesizer, screaming, and a better separation from Red Vox’s influences by a greater emphasis on the mix.
This maturity and positive reception only continued with the release of 2018’s “Stranded”- a cut nine-minute long track from AL about being left alone in Space- and further albums. 2019 Gave the surprise release of the haunting, stripped-back acoustic record “Kerosene,” 2020’s bouncy synth-driven “Realign,” and the back-to-basics yet firmly current-moment grungy, dirty double album “Visions” and “Afterthoughts” (released in two parts as “Visions”: 2022, “Afterthoughts”: 2023).
The band has teased an upcoming record to come out with two singles released this year and more live shows than the band has ever done before. Notoriously among fans, up until 2024 the band had only performed about three times since its inception. I saw the band perform in Jersey City, New Jersey this past June and was lucky enough to hear several songs from their upcoming record as well.
In the future, I’ll give a bigger overview into Red Vox’s career to further explore how its sound evolved and established it as a major force among the big sea of content creators turned musicians. Red Vox continues to impress as it moves forward in its career.
Live by peace – DJ Mithrax
