Hamilton has always owned a rich musical history. From the punk rock heyday of Teenage Head’s Frantic City, to Edgar Breau’s revolutionary experimental rock with Simply Saucer, (whose lone contribution to the world of rock, Here Come The Cyborgs, was produced by young, aspiring knob twiddlers Bob and Daniel Lanois), to the ever present, bubbling Hess Village scene, Steel Town is always vibrant with new, high class rock ‘n’ roll. Their newest export is The Ride Theory, a quartet armed with such unforgettable, explosive classic rock chops that they’re starting to gain “next-big-thing” status. Last summer guitarist/vocalist Aron D’Alesio, drummer Noah Fralick, guitarist/vocalist Kyle Kuchmey, and bassist John Smith released their sophomore full-length, In This City, a love letter of sorts to the town that gave them life.
“Hamilton is a really important place for us,” says Noah Fralick. “It’s sort of been our grounding, despite the fact that during the school year we’re not all living in the same place. The Hamilton arts community is well-established and very supportive of everything that comes from the city. We’ve been lucky to get the support of that community, and hopefully we’re adding to it. The culture here is raw and honest and it escapes the pretentiousness of bigger cities like Toronto. We’ve been told that this sentiment carries through into our music, and we’re really proud of that.”
In This City, like Hamilton, is certainly raw and honest. With all the hooks and grit of the White Stripes, and all the vicious, simple melodies of John Lennon at his most buoyant, it careens through its twelve tracks with nary a pause for breath. Its energy is nearly exhausting, but you’d never know it watching The Ride Theory play. As musicians they’re exemplary, with flying fingers, stomping feet, and note-perfect Brian Wilsonian harmonies. Their frenetic, dance-floor filling live shows made them fast hometown favourites, but with In This City as their calling card, the rest of the country is starting to notice.
“We’ve started to get a lot more attention from a variety of sources,” says Fralick, “mostly press and music fans in general. Over the years we’ve tried to work hard despite the fact that we’ve been in school. We’ve played nearly two hundred shows, done two East Coast tours, and had the opportunity to play with some really cool bands. It was nice that the album got us some new attention because it’s made us feel like we’re making progress as a band. I think that being successful means not only making music that we’re happy with, but also with getting other people’s attention. It helps to know that people are tapping into what we’re doing and appreciating it.”
One such person that started to “get” what The Ride Theory was doing was a label rep from Rainbow Quartz Records, home to basically every good revivalist jangle pop band in the world, (High Dials, Denise James, Zine Dines). After meeting with the band, he not only dug it, he wanted to show it off to the world, and his new label seemed to be a good place to start.
“Ted had worked as Rainbow Quartz’s international label rep and he expressed some interest in the album and the band. We developed a solid friendship as Ted was leaving RQ to start his own label, Sunny Lane Records, with another dude named Spencer Shewen. The two of them decided that they wanted us to be their first signing and we thought that it was a grand idea. The album will be re-released by them in April and will be distributed nation-wide by Fontana North. It’s really great timing since we’re all going to be graduating university in May. Sunny Lane seemed good for us because they’re very in-line with what we want to accomplish musically. Working with an indie label is very important to us because it leaves us free to develop without the usual corporate confines.”
Hearing Fralick modestly explain how the band needs to develop is almost funny. In their short life as a band all four members have been full-time students, with jobs, and in the last two years, they’ve released two full-length albums. Anything their 2002 debut lacked has been more than made up for by In This City’s glorious recording. It’s an amazing feat that they’ve even had time to get so much done, let alone do it so excellently. So what sets them apart? There seems to be a new “it” band every six months whose stylish aping of the Stones or the Beatles seems to poise them for great things. But The Ride Theory are the real deal.
“I guess that’s for the listener to decide, (what sets us apart),” Fralick explains. “We’re not very good at telling people if or why we’re good, we just play the music that comes naturally to us and hope that other people dig it too. Maybe that’s what’s different about us. We don’t try to put on some contrived display that’s inauthentic to what we’re doing. We have no time for being pretentious, it’s just not who we are. If you’re honest to your craft, you’re going to be set apart from the majority of bands whose motivations are superficial or non-musical.”
The Ride Theory are throwing a party in Guelph on March 3rd at Club Vinyl. This shaker will not only be the formal re-release of *In This City*, but it will also serve as the label launch party for Sunny Lane. The sharp-dressed Hamiltonians will be joined by locals Paul MacLeod, the Platonic Shadows, and Spiral Beach.
“Hopefully,” Fralick muses, “we’ll be able to expose the audience to a genuine rock ‘n’ roll experience. ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is one of the most misused phrases in music today. Is fucking Nickelback really rock ‘n’ roll? Hopefully we can sway some people towards what we think true rock ‘n’ roll actually is.”
Rock ‘n’ roll may be about to enter a new renaissance. Check it out. $5 at the door. www.theridetheory.com
(originally published February, 2006. Echo Weekly. Kitchener)
No comments:
Post a Comment