Though not native to San Diego, Radio Moscow's trippy power-prog originals are reminiscent of area acts Joy, Earthless, Astra, Harsh Toke, and vintage garage legends the Brain Police (whose song “Gypsy Fast Woman” turns up in Radio Moscow’s live set).
"Radio Moscow was originally an Iowa band, located in the tiny town of Story City," says frontman Parker Griggs. "We didn't think Iowa was the best place for the band and moved to California." The psychedelic blues and hard rock trio went through Eureka first, before landing in Rancho Tehama in California in 2010, and then San Diego a few years later.
The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach produced their self-titled debut full-length in 2007. Subsequent releases include Brain Cycles (2009), the Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz (2011), the Rancho Tehama EP (2013), and Magical Dirt (2014). An unreleased album of demos recorded in 2003 by Griggs called 3 & 3 Quarters finally came out in 2012.
As of 2016, the band was based in San Diego, with Griggs backed by two locals, Anthony Meier (Sacri Monti) and Paul Marrone (Psicomagia). "I've known Paul almost since the beginning. Met him when his band opened up for Radio Moscow in Missouri, when we were kids pretty much. I remember nerding out about Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Electric Prunes with him. At the time, I didn't know really anybody else that dug that stuff, so automatically we clicked on that. He first came up to Iowa in 2008 and joined the band. Then we relocated to California and lived in Eureka together in 2010. We separated for a bit, but ended up playing music again together down here [in San Diego]."
"Paul recommended Anthony to me, I had seen him jam a few times before with his band Sacri Monti and dug what I saw. He was into the same stuff we dug, and a great player, so we recruited him."
Live in California was released in summer 2016. Late that year, the band signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records, spending most of the next year touring with the likes of Graveyard, Witchcraft, Joe Bonamassa, and Pentagram, as well as playing festivals such as Desert Daze (US), the Void Fest (Ger), Electric Funeral (US), Burg Herzberg Fest (Ger), and the Orbital Festival in Santiago, Chile.
In September 2017, Century Media Records released their fifth studio album, New Beginnings, recorded with Mike Butler at local Lost Ark Studio, produced by Parker Griggs, and mastered by Mark Chalecki at Little Red Book Mastering. The album was promoted with a European tour running through October and featuring opening act Kaleidobolt. A live video for the track "Pacing" was filmed by Dirk Behlau in Dortmund, Germany at the 2017 Junkyard Festival, while a video for the song "Driftin'" was filmed by Cameron Holland.
In support of New Beginnings, they launched a headline tour featuring openers Amplified Heat that began January 25, 2018 in Tucson, AZ and wrapped February 17 in Salt Lake City, UT, followed with a European tour.
Past members include Serana Andersen, Luke McDuff, Zach Anderson, Cory Berry, Keith Rich, Todd Stevens, and Lonnie Blanton. Zach Anderson and Cory Berry went on to form Blues Pills in Sweden. Blanton teamed up with Radio Moscow's Parker Griggs in 2019 to form El Perro, a psychedelic funk rock band with bassist Shawn Davis, and guitarist Holland Redd. They released their debut single "Black Days" in August 2021, in advance of their debut album due early the following year year, Hair Of.
By the time of the 2020 pandemic shutdown, Radio Moscow had become favorites on the outdoor festival circuit, playing at the Crossroads Festival (where their 2015 set was recorded for a 2021 concert DVD), the Ride Festival, Desert Daze, End Hip End It, Psycho California, and Electric Funeral.
The 2021 release Live At Rockpalast 2015 is a 15-track DVD release filmed May 18, 2015, shortly after the release of their Magical Dirt album (which is heavily represented in the set list). Featured concert staples include “I Just Don’t Know,” “250 Miles,” “Broke Down,” “Brain Cycles,” and “No Good Woman,” as well as acoustic bonus selections and a cover of Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac track "World Keep on Turning."