The beauty of Baton Rouge lies in its highly esteemed music scene, a melting pot of all genres and cultures that allows bands from all over the country to be able to integrate themselves into the diverse setting it provides.
It just so happens that Remedy, also known by acronym RMDY, is one of the more exciting live acts to grace Louisiana’s ever-changing musical landscape.
Assembled right over in New Orleans, Remedy is a quintet that blends covers of classic alternative anthems throughout the years with their own original content that follows in the same suit. But according to lead vocalist Steven Slaton, genre is just a label and the band does its best to defy the nature of being fenced into one type of music.
“In my opinion, there is no genre in specific … in a world of instant gratification and easy streaming, a lot of bands isolate themselves to one audience when they only play one genre,” Slaton said. “We try to write everyone’s favorite song. Remedy is its own genre.”
The band has toured all over the country, with stops in places like Brooklyn and Baltimore, in addition to being a prominent regular in Louisiana. And those who reside in Baton Rouge know of them well – Remedy has performed many times in the city, most recently a gig at Fred’s at  on March 25. The band is fond of the bar’s lively environment and passionate concertgoers who attend there.
“I love playing at Fred’s,” bass guitarist Ryan Faust. “The energy there is like no other place. The crowd is always super involved with us and it feels like we’re playing with them rather than to them. It truly feels like home.”
Regardless of the venue, Remedy sells themselves on a live experience that rivals the efforts of the best in the game, full of passion, energy and charisma to boot. And although the band does churn out their own original content, they enjoy covering songs that have moved people for decades.
“I enjoy the high energy covers that we play such as ‘Bulls on Parade,’ a mashup of Metallica songs that we call our ‘Metallica Metally’ as well as stuff like ‘I Want You to Want Me’ and ‘The Middle,’” vocalist Nathan Killen said. “I love our originals, really I think it shows when we play our music how much we love what we write.”
Even through all the exhausting touring and countless shows, Remedy never forgets the roots in which its members all came together. As rhythm guitarist Jared Viola puts it, the way the band came to fruition as long ago as childhood and as simple as picking up a guitar.
“The band started out in Cub Scouts in the fourth grade when we were getting our music badges … we had to pick up an instrument and from there we decided to all take lessons in those instruments,” Viola said. “We practiced in my dad’s bandroom for our first show at the fourth grade talent show … We all went to different schools but for some reason they let us enter — and yes, we won! Throughout the years we evolved and picked up new members to further our progress and it amounted to the Remedy you see today.”
Through it all, Remedy never loses sight of the very notion that keeps them together: the ability to deliver music to a sea of passionate people and bring them together as one.
“Music by itself is life changing, mood altering and art in its purest form, which already is the perfect expression,” Viola said. “But when five guys are able to come together and share this passion with other people for nothing more than the appreciation of the art, I believe something spiritual happens in each of us each time we touch the stage.”