By: Isabella Holmes for The Dirt
Sometimes things just click, music melds, and something special comes together. This was the case for Rainbow City Park, a Davis and Sacramento-based indie band that is taking off—right in our backyard.
Whether you’ve heard their alt-rock dream pop sound before at venues like Turtle House or not, the name may ring a bell. It comes from the giant City-owned play structure at Community Park in Davis.
The band consists of five members: vocalist Dani Judith, guitarist Chris O’Keefe, bassist Dwight Struthers, drummer Ryan Williams, and guitarist Nick Nassab.
Describing themselves as a “halfway between Third Eye Blind and Taylor Swift”, Rainbow City Park has a sound akin to bands like Mazzy Star and boygenius, says Struthers.
They combine contemplative and existential lyrics with 90’s alternative rock and shoegaze influence to attain an effect that is both electric and melodic.
Rainbow City Park fully came together in January 2022, and had their first show and recordings within their first month. “The universe had a plan,” joked Williams, a sentiment that isn’t far off.
Their most successful songwriting is kind of like the formation of the band: a compounding and cohesive whirlwind. Rainbow City Park will often start with a riff idea and the rest of the song will come together that night.
“We’ll spend hours fleshing out the structure, the parts, adding in the vocal melodies,” Judith said. “There are times where we hit it just right.”
Their most recent song, “Convince You,” released October 20th, came together this way.
“We try absolutely everything in the studio,” adding and layering in production, then peeling back off, Judith told The Dirt.
“There’s back and forth, we play off each other,” and eventually, “all parts interact with each other,” a process that is highly rewarding, explained O’Keefe and Nassab.
The final product is impressive: a tight harmony of dynamic chords and rhythm, accompanied with waves of smooth, beautiful vocals.
“I love making music with these folks… It has made me a better musician and they’re inspiring to be around,” Williams said.
Rainbow City Park has a full schedule of shows and a prospective EP coming this winter. They’re on Spotify and Instagram @rainbowcitypark.
Join Rainbow City Park and the supportive community of the Davis Independent Music Initiative at bi-monthly songwriting workshops. The Zoom meetings are open to all every 1st and 3rd Wednesday 8p. Check davisimi.com/song-dr for more information.
Catch Rainbow City Park on 2/17/ 24 at Rock Band University to support their next single release, “Valentine’s Day 1999”.
Tour dates for 2024 are set to include Davis, Chico, San Francisco, SLO, Santa Cruz, San Diego, & Los Angeles. Head to rainbowcitypark.com to join their email list for dates.
