Fade Em All

“This is what music should be,” asserts Fade ‘Em All singer Isaiah Rusk of his band’s limitless style. The quartet’s guitarist and musical director, Oscar Santander, echoes that sense of pride. Immersed in Houston, Texas’ music scene, the two artists discovered a void between the independent Hip-Hop community and the Punk scene. “We decided to offer our take with the raging and moshing.” Since then, songs like 2018’s “Jargon” have resonated far beyond
H-Town. Cultivating this blend of Hip-Hop lyricism with Punk’s sound and spirit, the multicultural ‘Fade Em All has turned up the volume. Following 2022’s full-length debut, Houston Riots, this band offers potent music with a timely message.

Isaiah and Oscar have known each other since kindergarten. Santander had delved deep into music, something that he considers part of his heritage. “Playing guitar is in the Mexican culture out here; every uncle has a Metal band. That’s where I formed my identity.” Meanwhile, Rusk is a formally-trained professional actor who has worked on both coasts, before choosing to focus on music. By their early twenties, both friends came together to create something new and different. Initial Hip-Hop and R&B tracks eventually evolved into Punk, after Isaiah became engulfed with some pioneering sounds. “I was in a creative rut, just not feeling right,” he admits. “I came across the Ramones’ first album. Bruh, it made sense with everything going on in my world.” The 1976 New York City zeitgeist meshed with Houston’s present-day energy. One of the band’s first songs, “Hellhole,” finds Oscar, Isaiah, and bassist Canyon Scott paying homage to their influences amid lyrics that confront race, class, and posers. The chorus from another preliminary track, “Fade ‘Em All,” gave the band its name when they took the stage. The band that had set up shop in a space between Travis Scott and Joey Ramone was onto something. “This made sense.”

By the end of 2018, the guys self-released an eight-song eponymous EP. Fans quickly bonded with the music, as lead song “Jargon” took off. The straightforward “Punk Tempo” video shows a band with a distinct sound, style, and command. “We’re informed by the musical tradition, but we definitely don’t want to regress or grow stagnant,” notes Oscar, who involves sampling and Electronic effects in the band’s repertoire. “We want to take everything that’s been done and advance it.” The crew was embraced at back-to-back annual appearances at Battle Of The Bands during Brooklyn’s AfroPunk.

With drummer Cory Williamson a fulltime band member since 2019, and the welcoming of Bassist Anthony Bautista in 2022. Fade ‘Em All continues to resonate with the times. 2020 loosie “Acab Freestyle” is a 90-second diatribe that captures the streets' angst and blatantly calls out racist, antisemitic, and homophobic institutions. Much of that spirit is alive on 2022’s Houston Riots. Songs like “Brainwash” and “Tenfold” find a completely DIY quartet very much in the trenches, fighting for a better future. Fade ‘Em All is at an inflection point. “We want to transcend,” Oscar says. “Legends always pay attention to their climate.”

Fade Em’ All sets out to revolutionize their sound with the upcoming album “Archangel”. The band plans to embark on a bold musical transformation, transitioning from their signature
fast-paced punk anthems and into a more melodic & infectious sound. With intricate guitar work, introspective lyrics, the band sets out to explore a darker & heavier world.