Interview by: Natalia Buia
You may be reading this without knowing who Rival Boys are. Don't worry, you're not alone. Rival Boys aren't down for vapid tweeting or vain blogging to get hits on MySpace. They simple want to build a musical library, not an Internet persona.
Founded by siblings Graeme Rose (vocals, guitar) and Lee Rose (vocals bass) in 2007 and later joined by Sam Sholdice (drums), Rival Boys relied strictly on word-of-mouth to fill up local venues. Their melodramatic way of mixing melancholy and innocence works to their advantage – who doesn't appreciate honest, impassioned lyrics we eagerly retype as our Facebook statuses on a gloomy day? (We’re all guilty of doing it!)
"It's not on purpose," Lee says of the band's lack of online existence.
"We’ve been in this band for quite some time. It would be nice if more people knew about us but I'm not trying to cultivate it," Graeme says. "We were not making this record with any expectations of notoriety."
Unlike bands in the 90's, musicians now rely on social media more than anything to get heavy rotation. It's sad to say if you're a band without a Myspace, Bandcamp, Facebook or Twitter, you may not be selling out a lot of shows or CDs. It's reality. It's evolution, baby.
"We're all tech savvy people. We just never really understood it. We have this little team of people who are helping churn out this record who are like: 'you have to get a Twitter, you have to maintain it!' but it's a bit weird," Sam says.
There has been quite a substantial length of time in between their debut EP Life of Worry and their full length follow-up, Mutual Feelings of Love. As the members were finishing up studies at York University, studio time wasn't on the menu; however, as Graeme points out, it wasn't the most important thing.
"It's not that music was on the back burner. It has always been about actually playing and having fun," says Graeme. "Why rush it? It's better to play and pay and have a good time doing it all while getting better and better."
The album name, which stems from the title of the sixth track, was strategically picked. Lee insists all songs are about love in some way. Graeme has a rather strong opinion about title tracks in general.
"When I look at an album, I immediately notice if there's a title track. What I really hate is when the title track is a let down. If some artist named an album after a song, they clearly love that song and think it's the most powerful. But for me, sometimes I'll listen to it and that song wont resonate," Graeme admits, with a hint of worry in his voice.
Going back to social media and how important it is for bands these days, it should be noted that producer/engineer Mike Rocha (Dinosaur Bones, Arietta, Black Pistol Fire) heard of Rivals Boys via MySpace and immediately contacted the band in hopes of working alongside one another. For Lee, the opportunity work with a producer like Rocha who is reliable while remaining objective resulted in one enriching experience.
"It was way more professional than everything we've ever seen before, but still independent. He really let us be a band. We made all the decisions in the end," Greame says of the experience.
Now that their album is ready to be released on May 31, Rival Boys are gearing up for two CD release parties; one in Toronto on June 3rd and one in Guelph on June 9th. The band says Guelph is like a second home for them, thanks to so many Guelph fans' love and support.
As miscellany is often appreciated in a band's song library, often it can be hard to decide with tunes make it on stage. With Rival Boys, it all depends on which bands they play with.
"There's a lot of times we have to cater our set," Sam says. "There's two voices on the record. The obsessive compulsive one tends to leans towards aggressive, louder music that people don't realize how loud it translates live."
"We want to be able to play all our songs; the heavier darker songs and those slower and poppier ones, but when you're booked with a band that's just one type, we could only play that kind," Lee says. "It kind of feels like we're hiding something [from the audience]."
The Toronto CD release show taking place at The Garrison on June 3rd will feature other progressive rock bands Planet Creature and Guest Bedroom plus a Surprise Special Guest (who doesn't love surprises?). Hopefully Rivals Boys' set will be surprising but in the best possible way. With Toronto music fans being the most welcoming, there may not be anything left for Rival Boys to hide.
