Formed in June 2008, Rival Sons have hit the worldwide music scene with a speedy yet calculated frenzy. This heavyweight quartet of rockers meld an eclectic array of American music to synthesize the lording posture of sound that is Rival Sons: Pure, unadulterated Rock and Roll.
The band played a sold-out show at London’s O2 Academy in Islington on 10th November as part of their UK/European tour. I had the pleasure of catching up with Jay Buchanan (vocals) and Michael Miley (drums) before the show. Scott Holiday (guitar) joined us partway through. My interview partner was Lisa Mckeown, one of the owners of the official Rival Sons fan site.
OK, I’ll start with one of my favourites, mainly ‘cos I’m nosey! If you could only watch one movie, listen to one album and read one book for the rest of your life, what would they be? You know, like if you were on a desert island.
Miley – Can I have the Beatles Anthology?
Sure!
Miley – OK, I’d have that, Braveheart and probably The Bible.
Jay – If we’re on a desert island, I would go with a book that tells me how the fuck to get off a desert island, some kind of self-help CD about how to survive on a desert island and a video instruction about how to leave. You know, like how to build a boat and stuff.
Are you going to be doing any festivals in 2012 after the success of the 2011 festivals?
Jay – Yeah, we did a shitload this year. We did Sonisphere and High Voltage as far as UK festivals go. We’re shaped up to do Download next year and, hopefully, a whole bunch of others on the circuit.
You have to do Isle of Wight.
Miley – Isle of Wight is like a dream for us, but we’re hoping to do a load more.
Your sound is so immersed in the magic of the great British rock of the ’70s, so does it make you especially happy that you’ve already got a strong following here in Britain? And where does this obvious love and sound of “retro” rock come from?
Both – Of course, it does. We love the UK fans, being here and playing here.
Jay – In the mid-70s, rock and roll started imploding on itself under its self-gratification and image, and all that stuff and music started taking a back seat. So then the music got shitty because they took the blues out of it and made this thing called “rock”, you know, “rock star”. But we play rock ‘n roll. We don’t play rock! So I think that when people see us, they go ‘oh, retro this, retro that’, but we’re actually just playing rock ‘n roll. It’s not about a time period.
What would you change about the music industry if you could?
Jay – Bring the money back. I wish people bought records still and didn’t illegally download stuff, but what are you gonna do? That’s the way it is. If someone has the option to get something for free, then they’re going to do that. What do you think, Miley?
Miley – Yeah, bands in our position 20 years ago would not be struggling to pay their rent. It’s not a big selling point, as a single guy, to be broke. But then again, if I was in a relationship or married, it would suck to have to explain .. ‘er, honey, I can’t afford to pay the rent’ *laughs* .. so it sucks both ways. Now you have to earn it, and it’s kind of better that way.
Was it like that years ago?
Miley – No, it was always big advances back then.
Jay – Yeah, you would get a big advance. For example, we’re out here on this UK/European tour on our own dime. Our plane tickets, our hotels, everything. It’s all on our own dime because it’s our business, you know, this is our business model – Rival Sons – so we have to be grownups. We’re the parents here, and we have to keep charge of everything, and no matter what label we’re on or how the record industry is, we have to be held accountable.
So, how did you end up with Earache, given that they’re mainly very hard rock/thrash?
Jay – They approached us, and at first we were like, ‘what?!’, but they were so cool, and they had a good business model, you know? They gave us a deal that really synched up with what we were looking for because we weren’t specifically looking at record deals. We were going to self-release, but they had what we wanted.
Where do you see yourselves next year?
Miley – Next November? Getting ready for the end of the world.
Jay – We’ll probably be touring! It’s a pretty good guess that we’ll be on the road.
Miley – Sitting here with you guys doing another interview backstage at Wembley Stadium. That would be nice.
That would be amazing, but for fans who have been with you since the beginning, it’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we want that huge success for you, but on the other hand, we don’t want to have to share you with 75,000 other people at Wembley Stadium.
Miley – It was exactly like that for me with Jane’s Addiction. What I did was start sharing them with everybody in my high school, and then all of a sudden, they blew up on the second record, ‘Nothing’s Shocking’, and then within 3 days, Perry Farrell had Lollapalooza, and I was like, wow! Then, within 3 or 4 years, they were mega.
Yeah. I think the key with that, and I could be wrong, but it strikes me as though you guys wouldn’t be like that, is to still stay true to yourself and humble and interact with your fans regardless of whether you’re playing a venue like this one or somewhere with an 80,000 capacity. That’s what sets different bands apart. Some will play those huge venues and just have no time for their fans, whereas other bands still do even if they’re huge.
Miley – Well, that’s hard.
Jay – Yeah, here’s the thing. The way that works is that we have a lot of friends that are way up there and in those bands; they’re always on the radio and have world domination all the time. For them, it really is fucking hard. You don’t have time. You know, even at this level, we get up in the morning, and it’s go over here to this radio station after being up so late the night before. Wake up in the morning, pack our stuff, shower, go to the radio station, go to this other radio station, take a cab, sound check, press, you know what I mean? So even at this level, it’s kinda like, ‘Whoa, man. I can’t wait to go to bed tonight and get some rest’. But we’re so incredibly fortunate, so what you gonna do? Complain about it? Because what’s there to complain about? We’re doing well. But then people way up there who are doing really, really well, they get run ragged and are very, very busy.
When you’re playing live, do you ever stop for a split second, look at the other members of the band and think fuck, you’re good! Or are you too focused on your own part to even think about it?
Jay – Nope
Scott – I don’t know about you guys, but we’re doing our job, and it’s like keep your ears on to stay connected.
If money was no object, and you could choose anyone, either living or dead, to jam with, who would it be?
Scott – Jimi Hendrix
Jay – I miss my family, so I’d wanna jam with my pop. He’s awesome
Miley – Who would I jam with? Like in a band? Miles Davis, Lady GaGa and The Who
If you had to choose one of your songs to introduce you to a stranger who’d never heard of you and that you think most sums up Rival Sons, what would you choose?
Miley – I’d go with ‘Tell Me Something’, track one, side one from the first album.
Scott – Off ‘Pressure & Time’ I might say ‘Face of Light’ as that’s my favourite song. It shows our quieter, softer side, and then it builds up to a climax, and the climax is kinda emotional.
Miley, talk to us about your tattoos
Miley – Sure. This one is an owl. I got it in January.
What made you get an owl?
Miley – Well, I just started getting into Harry Potter.
Rock ‘n’ roll!!
Miley – It is! You know what? I believe in balance. I’m so extreme when I am out here on the road, so when I come home, I’m like doing yoga, juicing and barefoot running on the beach. I just want rock and roll to get away. Maybe so when I come back, I am fresh, you know? I mean, I live in Hollywood, but I’m not at the clubs every night or trying to fuck chicks and all this stuff or drink – probably because I don’t have any money. Maybe if I had money, I’d be out doing blow and fucking chicks every night *laughs*. Anyway, I got sick, and this girl who I was kinda seeing at the time came over and made me soup, and she brought the box set of Harry Potter. I’d never seen it or knew anything about it, and so we watched Disc 1, and I was fucking hooked. I just thought it was the coolest story. It’s so not rock and roll it’s unfunny, but the owl came from that.
Scott – People who say they don’t like Harry Potter are like people who say they don’t like Lord of the Rings .. Fucking liars!
OK, a back to the future question for you.
Miley – I love ‘Back to the Future’!
If you had the chance to take the band back to any year and in any city in the world where would you want to be transported?
Scott – Oh wait, I thought it was literally about ‘Back to the Future.’
Jay– Aw, I thought we were going to be talking about Marty McFly!
Miley – Paris, 1920
Why’s that?
Miley – *laughs* I dunno. Just sounded fucking good
Jay – The dawn of existence. I want to see how it all went down, like the big bang. Watch everything come together.
Scott – London 1966 (in his best British accent). Nah, London ’64. It seems a little cheap cos Jay’s going all Genesis, but, honestly, like the life I’m living here .. that would be a like ‘YEAH, FUCK YEAH, THIS IS IT’ *laughs*
Miley – I’d like to see The Who/The High Numbers at The Marquee Club. Keith Moon is my favourite drummer when it comes to rock ‘n roll.
Scott – Have a cup of tea with George Harrison (dons the British accent again)
Thanks so much for hanging out with us guys. Good luck tonight, and have an amazing show.
All – No worries, thank you!
