Black Adidas "Black Adidas" LP

Courtney Ranshaw, the man behind Black Adidas, is a rocket scientist by day, and a fierce punk-rocker the rest of the time. His second self-titled album, released on noted punk indie Dirt Cult Records, features more of the crunching, vintage punk rock – influenced as much by listening to the Clash as the Cure on KROQ as a kid in the Valley – fans have come to expect.

Produced by Dave Newton at Rollercoaster Recording in Ranshaw’s hometown of Burbank, Black Adidas, unlike its first iteration, features a full band -- Daniel Alexander on keyboards and Carl Raether on bass, with Kari G. Child playing drums on three tracks and Rob Wolk handling the rest.

“The songs have a more mature, developed feel to them,” explains Ranshaw, who played most everything but drums on the Black Adidas’ debut. “I tried to plan and rehearse them more, take some care and time in the recording process. And get a little more of a different perspective on the playing styles.”

“In My Head,” an unabashed love letter to his wife, whom he met in the same Burbank dive bar, Tony’s Darts Away, where he met his producer Newton, features a black and white skateboard video to go along with it.
Other tracks include the opening salvo of “Be Cool,” a former single that is a mash-up of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” and the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” the Replacements-like swagger of “Miscellaneous,” the foghorn growl of “Cool Riffs,” a knowing cover of the Ramones’ “Howling at the Moon (Sha La La)” and the epic closing “Strawberry Kisses,” a pandemic-inspired ode to the joy of discovering a great song.

By personally calling radio, Ranshaw’s managed to secure airplay at such influential stations as KROQ/Los Angeles (Kat Corbit’s Locals Only), KXSF/San Francisco (Carolyn Keddy), KEXP (Brian Foss’ Sonic Reducer) and SiriusXM’s Underground Garage (where it was showcased by Dollyrots lead singer Kelly Ogden).

Now a new father, Ranshaw continues to combine his occupation as an aerospace engineer with his passion for punk-rock.
“I definitely have come to the realization that I have the best of both worlds,” he explains. “I still have the dream, even if the reality doesn’t match. The moment you give that up, you’re done. I’m already writing songs for the next album.”

Or, as he sings in “Miscellaneous,” “Simple fact/We can’t do nothing else.”