Interviews

Rival Schools

Interview with Walter on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

This interview took place on December 3rd at the Roxy in Hollywood, CA. I would like to thank Jon from Island/Def Jam and Walter for taking the time to talk to me. If you haven’t listened to Rival Schools yet I hope this interview will want to make you check them out. For more information on the band go to www.rivalschoolsunite.com. 

PB: So what made you want to start a band again after taking a few years off and getting into producing and starting a record label. What made this the right time to start a band again?
Walter: I guess just circumstances put it together. I had a desire to do something. I didn’t really feel like I knew exactly what, I just felt like of all the things that I can do I can play guitar and I can sing probably all the best of all of them. So, I started to work on it.

PB: So what made the guys that you are playing with now the right people to play with?
Walter: They are my friends and I kind of knew them, so I felt kind of safe with these people having not done music for a while. I felt like I needed to be with people that I felt very comfortable with and so I chose those people. I had a long-standing relationship with all of them.

PB: Did it start as sort of an experiment or did you have plans to put out records and go on tour?
Walter: I wanted to put out records and go on tour, but honestly it was just like let’s try and write a song. You know what I mean, because I hadn’t written any songs in a long time. So it was just like getting that process started.

PB: Is it different now then from when you were in your other bands? Is the song writing process a different one now that you're a little bit older and have had more experiences?
Walter: I think it’s different in the sense that I have had all those experiences, certainly. And going into it sort of cold. Just like, by the time my first band got around it was like, that was the first thing I had ever done. So by the time I had a record, I was hot. I was ready for those steps. Whereas in this situation I was kind of like jumping into it cold. I had a record contract already, I didn’t have to work for that. So, in that way it is very different because people are anxious or excited about something that you are going to do before you’ve even done it. And I had no idea what I was going to do, so it was a little bit more challenging in that way.

PB: Was it hard to write songs knowing that you had so much to live up to and that there were people expecting another phenomenal album?
Walter: I had to put that aside. But of course you kind of have to consider that. But ultimately you know I don’t know if I can deliver on everyone’s hopes and dreams for me. I’ve just got to keep doing my own thing and I kind of have to discard that kind of stuff or you could never get it going. You want to get in the mind set that where you are topping yourself, regardless of what other people are thinking about it.

PB: So what makes music what you want to do in life?
Walter: I think it’s such a nice lifestyle and such a wonderful thing to be able to do. Singing is like talking. Playing music is like dancing. It’s just a fun thing to be able to do with your life. I think it’s all just creative energy. It’s just a very attractive thing to do.

PB: What do you hope people get out of listening to “United by Fate”? What do you hope they hear when they listen to the record?
Walter: I would hope that people draw their own connection to it. Like you were saying, you can imagine, you have your own imagination about what the song is or what it might be about. You can follow it and apply it to your own life. I think that’s what I hope for. For people to make a connection to it because I’m trying to communicate with people. I’m trying to put a certain feeling out so people will react to it and respond to it and that’s the goal to achieve. 

PB: So I read that you guys played your first shows as Rival Schools in Europe. Was there any particular reason for that?
Walter: I just thought it would be a fun way to get it started. I mean go on vacation and kind of do it in an exciting way. Like where are we going to play? We’re going to play in England. You know what I mean? It was cheap enough to go and we had good connections over there and you know it gave it more an adventurous flare. Which I think, that’s the tone I wanted to set.

PB: How did kids respond to those first shows?
Walter: We did so well. I think England, we've been back once since then, so we’ve been there twice all together. We do really well over there, so its really exciting.

PB: What about the shows here? You’ve done a few tours now right?
Walter: This is our second time out to the West coast. We play mostly close to home, so we play northeast. We play like Roxy-ish clubs and its really nice. Now that the album has come out we haven’t done a headlining tour, so we’ve been opening for people. But it’s cool getting around the country and getting more of the whole country vibe.

PB: How do you choose who you tour with? Is it like you take what comes around or is it more conscious decisions to go out with bands that you respect?
Walter: Yeah, totally. I would rather go out with a band that’s smaller and cooler than a band that is bigger and dumber. I think there's a time that you want to go out with a bigger and dumber band because you can maybe reach an audience of people that you aren’t going to get to otherwise. Like once you reach every cool kid at a small show, where do you go from there? You have to make those bridges. But at this stage in the game I’m not really too concerned with that. We wanted to go out with bands that, like the bands we’ve gone out with, like The International Noise Conspiracy and The Hives and Burning Airlines and Hot Water Music and Dashboard Confessional, these are all bands that I think are like quality groups.

PB: And Thursday..........
Walter: And Thursday as well, they opened for us on tour. They were fucking amazing. So, its like, these bands are all powerful and strong and it’s nice for us to go out with them because its more interesting to me and more like stimulating. I’m going out with the coolest best bands that are out right now and it’s great.

PB: And I’m sure that they can learn a lot from you too, since you have more experience.
Walter: Yeah, its like people get a kick out of, ya know, I was a Quicksand fan or I was into Gorilla Biscuits. It goes both ways.

PB: When you play shows do kids like yell out Gorilla Biscuits songs?
Walter: They do sometimes.

PB: Do you just take with a grain of salt?
Walter: Yeah, its nice. As long as its not like, you know, the person that is yelling that is calling attention to themselves. I take it as I like your music, keep going. It’s a compliment.

PB: Are there any bands that you would like to tour with?
Walter: I would like to tour with a band that is really popular that isn’t so bad. Like an Incubus or Foo Fighters. One of these kinds of groups would be cool because they have such a huge audience, it would be cool. But really in my heart of hearts I would love to go out with my favorite bands like, I would love to go out with Sifur Ros. But I think our music would connect more with the mass audience of the Foo Fighters, so that would be cool. But I’m pretty happy touring by ourselves and I like the bands that we are opening for now, I think that is pretty much exactly where I want to be. If those bigger tours come, they come. If they don’t I’m satisfied with what I’m doing. 

PB: Is there any pressure from your label?
Walter: There is. That’s the thing, there’s a certain amount of pressure. You are spending money on this record so you want to sell all these records. For me, its like an opportunity to go out on tour. If we were doing this by ourselves I wouldn’t be able to tour as much because A-it’s exhausting and B-it costs a lot of money. So, we are able to do that year round and I think that’s a real benefit. If you have that going for you it kind of behooves you to tour and reach as many people as you possible can.

PB: Didn’t you guys shoot a video?
Walter: We shot a video for “Used for Glue.”

PB: With Marcos Siega?
Walter: Yeah.

PB: How can kids check it out?
Walter: I’m pretty much trying to get it squashed basically because I wasn’t happy with the way it came out. So, I’ve been fighting the record label to make sure that it doesn’t get seen anywhere basically. I’m not completly succeeded.

PB: Yeah, I read that it was on MTV2.
Walter: Yeah, it has been on M2. It’s been on M2 in Europe. I don’t like the video, so I tried to get it squashed, but I haven’t been very sucessful.

PB: Do you think the internet has been a useful tool to reach new people?
Walter: Certainly. I think it’s also just the way things are right now, so you have to take advatage of it to the best of your abilities.

PB: Do you guys use the internet to connect with fans?
Walter: We do have a website and Sam is the most active with it. I don’t have a computer so I’m not like on it. But I want to get a computer this year and get more involved with it. I had a computer a few years ago, but I like lost it kind of. It’s a long story. At any rate, I think it’s wonderful. But whether it’s wonderful or whether is sucks, it’s just the way things are.

PB: Is there anything you would like to add?
Walter: Thanks for coming down and I’m glad you like the record.