When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens,
Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's
"Detroit Rock City,"
it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and
mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's
since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and
revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
I can sum it up in two words…power chords. As soon as I
heard the sounds coming out of bands like Cheap Trick, AC/DC, UFO, Kiss, and
Van Halen I was all in. I was just blown away by the simplicity and complexity
of their music and how it brought me to another world. There was something
about that sound coming out of the cheap stereo in my bedroom and my car that
was absolutely mesmerizing. Those sounds bring back great memories to this day.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What
comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
I see a lot of images and moods when I write. Certain chord
progressions, finger pickings and riffs often direct me on how the song is
constructed and then the lyrics start to flow. It’s a bizarre process but it
works for me. I actually write a lot of my songs on an acoustic guitar. Even
riffs such as the songs “New Revolution” and “Medicate”. I feel that if it
sounds good on an acoustic then it’s going to sound even better when plugged
in. I really explore the things and issues that are near and dear to my heart
or affecting those that are close to me. "New Revolution"
(https://open.spotify.com/album/4rgBmqnv7h3p5gYPGjiXfU) is my most personal and
poignant project I've ever done.
Who has influenced you the most?
There are so many other bands that have influenced me over
the years including Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, Pearl
Jam, Green Day and Cheap Trick. When I first heard Pearl Jam’s "Ten"
album I studied it day and night and still study it to this day. It truly had
an influence on how I write and construct my music.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new
motivation?
Life as we see and know it. When you distill it down to the
basics and just take a look around, you’ll see that it’s so dynamic and malleable.
Things develop and change right in front of your eyes every second. The
challenge and opportunity is to capture that energy and decide what you want to
do with it. It’s literally an open book with so much to write about. The
challenging part is how to capture it all and put it into lyrics and music. But
that’s also the most rewarding part.
We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the
band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?
We’re based out of the United
States in Chicago,
Illinois. We’re so blessed to live in such a rich and
vibrant city with an incredible music scene. Rock, blues, reggae. The city is
so versatile and filled with amazing musicians. Chicago produced rock icons like Eddie
Vedder, Billy Corgan and blues legends such as Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. In
fact, Chicago
blues is what bands like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin modeled themselves
after.
Where'd the band name come from?
The Simple Radicals more or less came out of the way my lead
guitarist John Griffin and I look at life and music. We’re both somewhat
non-conformists and non-conventional. We like to look at things differently.
Stay simple. But think radical. Hence The Simple Radicals.
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the
soundtrack for?
I would love to write the soundtrack for a movie like “The
Terminator”. It’s fast-paced, aggressive and pure rock and roll. Arnold
Schwarzenegger if you’re reading this please contact us and we’ll write a
kick-ass soundtrack for you.
You now write for a music publication (The Ripple Effect?).
You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?
I’d have to pick “Corduroy” Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy album.
Anything Eddie Vedder writes to me deserves further exploration. Just diving
into how a turning a beat up old jacket that he got for a few bucks into one of
their best songs and the emotions behind that would be a fascinating story.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap,
rock and roll moments?
We were playing a festival in the Chicago area and the band
that went on before us was dressed in a horrific combination of Kiss meets The
Cure meets…I’m not sure. The crowd just stood there in total shock at this
sight. Nobody moved. We had to follow that act and somehow turn it around.
Thankfully we did. And without any makeup! Thankfully we never got lost trying
to make it to the stage for a show. We haven't gotten lost backstage on our way
to the stage just yet. But it's still early.
Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you
and for your fans?
We love to perform live and our fans know that. We feed off
their energy and passion and try to give it right back to them in the way we
play our music. We also try to interact with the audience as much as we can
since our songs are so personal to many. There is nothing more rewarding than
watching people lose themselves in your music. It’s intoxicating.
What makes a great song?
At the basic and most simplistic level you have to start
with one that is really enjoyable to listen to over and over again. And to get
deeper, a great song is one that elicits a reaction or compels someone to do
something like sing along or turn it to eleven. If you can get
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
I’ve been writing for a long time and I can’t remember the
exact song but I’m sure it totally sucked, it was corny and shallow, and had a
really shitty title. I’ve definitely evolved over time thank goodness.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
The song “The Optimist” off our album “New Revolution”
really hits home for me https://open.spotify.com/track/7pYMLIjV7HHKVxIOCn6ROv.
With all the shit going on today in society and in our own personal lives, it’s
a song about trying to remain optimistic about things and looking at the
half-full side of life. The lyrics “I’ve got the rest of my life and I’m not
going to stop ‘til I get it right” is a statement about not giving up when
things look dire. There’s no rush. You’re in charge of your own destiny. Get it
right the best you can. But just get it right.
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Eddie Vedder is my musical hero. I’m mesmerized with his
writing and try to capture the messaging, passion and energy that he does in
his songs. If I can even come within a million miles of that I’d consider it a
success. Pearl Jam’s “Ten” album was life changing. Probably the most talented,
electrifying and inspiring band in the last 30 years.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
Vinyl. I still love listening to the crackle of the stylus
on the record. And I don’t even mind if it skips.
Whiskey or beer? And defend your choice
Makers Mark Whiskey baby. Smooth and approachable with an
easy finish. Aaaah.
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new
music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record
store to lose ourselves in?
We’re from Chicago and you
have to go to Reckless Records in the Wicker Park
neighborhood. I think it was originally from London and they have a massive selection of
vinyl including some rare gems.
What's next for the band?
We have a lot going on and coming up. We continue to push
our album, "New Revolution" (https://open.spotify.com/album/4rgBmqnv7h3p5gYPGjiXfU)
which has the guitar-God Vernon
Reid from the band Living Colour playing lead on the track
"Medicate". We just released a song and video called “Rich Man Wanna
Be King” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehjT9RZdpe4) which provides a scathing
lampoon of President Trump. It was just released on YouTube and it’s already
racked up 120,000 views and climbing. Our video “New Revolution”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY7cm3-1m7E) has already racked up over 60,000
views and climbing. We’re about to
release a wicked cover version of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” where we
collaborated with an incredible husband/wife team called Che-Val. We’ll be
releasing a quarantine video to our song “The Optimist”. And, we’re about to
release a podcast called “Music & A Brew” where we crack open a cold one
with musical artists including Kenny Aronoff (drummer for John Mellencamp and
tons of others), Todd Sucherman (Styx), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Daxx
Nielsen (Cheap Trick), and Jackie “the Joke Man” Martling from the Howard Stern
Show. And of course we plan to play live again once the apocalypse is over.
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our
readers, the waveriders?
We’re a retro-rock and roll band that combines sounds and styles
from some of our favorite classic rock bands like Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, Foo
Fighters, Green Day and Cheap Trick. If you like those bands then I think you
will like our sound. You can check us out on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/4rgBmqnv7h3p5gYPGjiXfU and YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2rmuHn02XI1CIphHvmh-Vg and follow us on
http://facebook.com/thesimpleradicals, http://twitter.com/simpleradicals, and
http://instagram.com/simpleradicals.
And please stay safe. Stay healthy. And stay Radical.