REDBURN • The 'Villain' Is Back

Chris Redburn (aka REDBURN)  has been a dominant force on the regional Hip-Hop and Rock Scene for over two decades now, honing his chops as a local wunderkind and D.J. at an early age, and broadening the reach of his artistry by fusing the genres of Rock & Hip Together with his groundbreaking  release ROCKHop, which brought his both his music and message to life with a balls-to-the-wall rock band and also earned him numerous honors at the annual REVIEW Music Awards, which brought him nine trophies including Best Album, Best New Artist of the Year, and Best Hip-Hop Songwriter and Performer.

As Bo White described him in these pages back in 2015 when his musical concoctions started making major waves and gaining larger traction, “REDBURN is able to maintain a no position, no judgment and no pre-thought agenda, so what he says or does comes natural. As a rapper he uses pitch and stress that alters the flow with a genuine gift for words that touch upon the profound. He’s experienced incredible heights of love with equal parts of pain. He found that part of himself that was always hidden, that sense of being frail and small.”

The abyss was beckoning, but REDBURN fought back and became a champion for those who aren’t loved or valued. He wrote the theme song for Girls Gone Wild and hit the big time. He felt the pleasure of tasting the apple. His passion was an emotional apparatus that drove everything. He felt the deliciousness of that big energy and he filled his space with anything that seemed worthwhile.  He would reframe bad things as a possibility. His default position is to push it back up.”

It's now been 5 years since REDBURN released his last single, however now he is poised for a major return with both a new singles release, a new streaming radio show, and new tours in the pipeline as the tour manager for nationally renowned rocker Tommy TuTone.

As a consummate promoter, in May 2024 Redburn brought the band Crazy Town into the region for a performance at the Saginawesome Festival. This group formed in 1995 and had a huge hit called Butterfly, and their lead singer Seth Binzer (aka: Shifty) developed a relationship with Redburn. “I connected with him and he had a big following with millions of views on social media, but also had past drug issues and was on Celebrity Rehab and a few reality TV shows,” explains Redburn.

“We did a few shows and meshed really well together and built a good friendship, so built a 30^th Anniversary tour for Crazy Town with the REDBURN band opening the shows. We created this tour, promoted it, and were completely booked through the summer and planned on launching it last October on Devil’s Night.  I was doing a show at a festival up in Bay City, got a call from Shifty a couple hours before going on stage, and that was the last time I spoke to him because two days later he overdosed and passed away.”

“His death was a big deal on the West Coast and for the L.A. Hip-Hop culture and it shook me personally,” state Redburn. “He was proposing for me to join Crazy Town and I don’t think I would have because I have my own band; but that was going to be a big tour and a great opportunity, so once he passed I had to shift my focus. It was one of those things that spins you out, so I had to regroup and couldn’t find another tour to join that quickly, so at that point I decided to devote my time to managing Tommy TuTone, starting as his publicist and then moving as his tour manager.

“We did a tour with The Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, Modern English, Men Wihout Hats, The Romantics, and The Plimsouls, in June, July, and August of last year, and then came to Detroit,” notes Redburn, “and he’s going to be touring with the ‘80s band Big Country and Bow Wow Wow this year. Tommy also opened in Bay City with Rick Springfield and has recorded a new album, along with three new videos - one of which was shot at the new Shine Bright silo murals down in Old Town Saginaw.”

In terms of his own musical career, REDBURN is now poised to release his first new single since 2019.  Confirming that the band is still together, with this new project Chris says he is going back to his roots. “I’m doing most of the writing on this project, only this is more of a Hip-Hop than a Rock album. I don’t see myself performing without a band, and I’ve been working on this new single since September and will be releasing it in February 10th.”

Titled Villain this new upcoming musical excursion is elevated by the partnership REDBURN has formed with another big up-and-coming artist called MERKULUS who recently signed to Snoop Dogg’s label. While the duo have no tour planned yet, they’re looking at joining forces in March or April.

“With this new release I feel I’m more focused on the lyrical side of songwriting,” he reflects. “When a rapper forms a band like I did with REDBURN, the instruments become a big part of the song, which takes pressure off the lyrical component; so with this new project I was going back to the challenge of being more lyrical and metaphoric, rhyming syllables, and constructing more detailed content, which took me back to that foundational Hip-Hop sound.”

“After finishing this project I’m going to come right back and put out a Rock album,” he quickly adds. “Before I was focused on booking shows and building the brand, but now I’m focusing more on the Internet and releasing lots of different music.” 

With his roots firmly planted in the regional D.J. world of the early 2000s, when he came to national attention selling his composition became the theme song for the Girls Got Wild broadcasting phenomenon, when asked where most of his fan base is emanating from these days, REDBURN says it’s a broad one.

“ We stay tied into analytics and most of our fans are based in the USA, as well as overseas. It’s amazing how many people find you on the internet, which is why my focus is there now. We have a huge Michigan fan-base but are focused n building a national base, and have done five or six national tours since first touring with the band.  Once you do that, your growth can spiral.”

“The interesting thing with us is that our number one financial stream consistently coming in was merchandise, even more than the music,” he continues. “We would sell $1,000 to $3,000 in merchandise at each show. When we opened for Lita Ford and Dokken last summer we sold merchandise than they did, which is why I aspire to turn my music into a business.  I’m 45-years old and nowadays going online and shooting a video is old news. Now it’s all about shooting a reel that is only 60-seconds long and the size of your phone.  Technology is taking a huge change to the way music goes and grows, especially with 7-seconds being the average attention span.”

“I feel I’m getting aggressive about releasing music,” he confesses.

“After 2019 and COVID hit I never had a chance to promote my last single properly and put a lot of energy into that, as well as into managing the Hamilton St. Pub and helping turn that around, so I think I have to evolve by taking this to the next level. I’m excited about this upcoming release of Villain because working with MERKULUS was easy. He signed to Snoop Dog’s Death Row Records and not everybody can work with these artists because they have to respect the craft.”

REDBURN says what he learned most working with his new partner  was observing the level they are on. “You have an opportunity to dive into their story and glimpse what you also have to do to get there. I don’t see record labels signing talent so much as looking at what kind of numbers they have online, so it’s 100% business now. Because an artist’s following is all labels are interested in nowadays, I’m not interested in them. Ultimately, no matter what label you sign with, it’s just a loan from a bank, and I can do that on my own.”

“Tommy TuTone is working the same way,” adds Redburn. “When you’re independent, one-hundred percent of what you earn and sell is yours to work with, as opposed to some fractional split or share with a label. It’s gotta’ be about money and return now because I’ve also raised four kids during this process of my career, so in a way music was my hobby. Now that my kids are in college I can get back into it more.”

“That’s the gift of Indie Music - age doesn’t matter anymore. Before you had to be young in music, but not now - age doesn’t affect anything now. It’s a question of are you marketable,” he asserts. “You can’t sit in your city and wait for something to happen. When I tour I do anywhere from three day to 90-day tours. I like 60-day tours to make it worthwhile, but because I’m also in the Wedding Business as a D.J., that’s always been a very secure business for me, so the winter months offer more down time for everyone.”

“I’ve never been this excited about a song that I’ve written,” admits REDBURN as we conclude our candid discourse. “The track is based on not being the bad guy until you are pushed into fighting off the bullies. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and become a villain to fight back. Being a villain is not always a bad thing. We become villains when we fight in wars to serve our country, for example.”

In addition to his new release and work with Tommy TuTone, REDBURN also has a radio station app you can download for free on Apple Store or Google Play Store, or  stream online at www.redburnrnradio.com  The new song Villain  will be played a day before release on Monday Feb 9th on the station at 7 pm. You can also find his website at www.redburnmusic.com