Right on Red - Adult Book & Video

​Right on Red

Adult Book & Video
self-released; 2026

​By ​Dino DiMuro​​​

This is the kind of project that warms my heart and takes me back to my earliest days in music. Right on Red is basically a LoFi recording trio, self-described as "Acoustic based rock with some liberal electric guitar for added flavor... just a dude trying to keep the muse alive while raising a family and working full time that knew another dude who had a bass and Logic Pro. We went from having song ideas and no recording experience to a full album in less than a year, all done in our spare time at home." They've titled their first album Adult Book & Video based on a grimy cover photo taken at one of these establishments. 

Though the guys have a very active Instagram packed with videos, face-to-face stories and lectures, they didn't provide me with much background. I can tell you their names are Rufus Chaffee (guitar/lead vocals), Rob Bean (bass), Chris Perna (drums) and Matthew Chaffee, Perry Spring and Benda Fortin (background vocals). They also say their music sounds like "Johnny Cash and Taylor Swift had a child, and that child’s third cousin had anger issues and an inferiority complex."

The new digital standard for LoFi Music is a fascinating world. I came up in quarter inch tape and cassettes, and there was no way to hide that your music had not been recorded at The Record Plant. Nowadays you can develop enough skill on a DAW to compete with some of the best pro studio work. Or, you can just hit record and have pristine digital recordings of goofy guys singing and playing guitars in suburban homes. Right on Red would be the latter. 

The opening track "Hit the Bigtime" sounds like it was recorded in a rowdy bar, at least up top. Once into the folky song, the instrumentation stays within a template that defines the whole album (regular guy vocals, strummed acoustic, pretty good electric lead and a live, roomy drum kit). As befits the topic, the song turns into a fun singalong with all those friends I listed above. At the end of the day I don't think this was a true live recording, as the crowd has swollen to stadium size by the end, but it's a fun conceit (and I've done it myself!)

"18+ (Adult Book & Video)" is the title track and a fun, wordy rocker with the vocals pinging from left to right and back again. The fact that this song hangs together by a thread without any kind of click track kept me riveted. The vocals are way too hot compared to the backing track, but that's a mixing skill that will be mastered with time. "Imposter" is a minor key rock dirge based on electric guitars and vocals all treated with phasing. A song like this does suggest somebody here is a potentially excellent songwriter, as the chord sequence and different sections are always unpredictable and satisfying. And again the laconic lead guitar adds a bit of magic. 

"Glass Half Full" is quite different, being more of a Dylan-type folk song as if sung by Norm McDonald (my wife does not agree, but I'm the reviewer!). This is exactly the kind of music I used to love getting on a homemade cassette in the mail. The lyrics are quite empowering: "But I'm gonna fight to the end/ Keep swimming as long as I can / I'm gonna think positive how my glass is half full / Yeah, not gonna drag me down." The best part is the lead guitar solo that's so tentative and off-rhythm that it could have been performed by The Shaggs. "In My Head" begins with a rich acoustic strumming sound and solid drums that sound closer to the mics than before, all framing a humorous ditty with vocals evoking your drunk pals singing around the table. "Terminal" is an interesting hybrid of Beefheartian verses and more traditional choruses plus a quite surprising C-section with painful but soaring vocals. (Spoiler alert: the guy dies at the end.) "Baby Boy" is a touching acoustic ode to a young child, and all loving fathers (and me) can relate.

Hopefully you know what to expect with these guys, which is nowhere near polished but goes way beyond fun into near-sublimity. Don't be afraid... go listen!

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