Rider Interview

Jay Lang - Vocals & Guitar
Rich Lang - Keys & B.Vox
Aaron Lang - Drums
Simon Lee - Guitar
Steve Taylor - Bass

The band was formed late in 2006 by brothers Aaron, Jay and Rich Lang and fellow friends/musicians Simon Lee and Steve Taylor. The bands sound reflects the varied and individual influences of the 5 members whilst retaining an originality that excites audiences and has seen them gain critical acclaim on the local scene. The Foo Fighters, Porcupine Tree, Jamiroquai, Biffy Clyro, Muse and Maximo Park among others, have all had an influence on the music that Rider are making.

For those who have yet to hear your music, how would you describe your sound?

Rich: Our sound changes on almost every EP we release, but I would say the underlying tone of all our Tracks is melodic, sometimes a little dark, and most of the time includes a nifty guitar lick or two!

Aaron: Bespoke rock, easy to listen to, easy to sing to, but with lyrics that actually mean something!

Jay: Big. A mixture of dark and light, with memorable yet challenging melodies and rhythms. Sometimes guitar based, sometimes keys. Always tight and well performed.

Steve: An eclectic mix of pop/rock/experimental and genius

Is the songwriting and recording process collaborative as a band or does one of you take charge?

Rich: Both songwriting and recording is collaborative yes. We all put down some ideas in our own time, and then over several rehearsals start putting everything together. It all goes from there really. Simon heads up the technical side of the recordings, but we all like to be there throughout the recording process; that way we all make sure we're all equally happy with the tracks.

Aaron: Normally a song is sparked by a riff, hook or lyric which is then shaped into a song by all of us. We all have our own traits and I think they can be heard in our songs but it just works together

Jay: The initial idea for a song can come from any of us, in the form of a hook, a lyric or anything else. The musical process from that point on is entirely collaborative. I tend to write the majority of the lyrics.

Steve:Our songwriting process is mostly collaborative, with each member of the band giving their input.

What are the main themes of your songs and are they rooted in fact and/or real life?

Rich: I wouldn’t say there is a running theme to any of our songs. Were certainly not the kind of band to write soppy love songs, nor do we write clichéd lyrics (or at least we try not to!). Jay writes most of the lyrics, and most of the time, he is pretty much the only one that has any idea what they’re on about!

Aaron: Normally Jason comes up with a theme and it usually means something to him or to us all. Lyrics range from politics to the usual female related content but we make sure they mean something and don’t just fit and rhyme!

Jay: My lyrics tend to be based on real life, but not necessarily ‘my’ life. I try to write lyrics that enable people to interpret the song in various ways. I don’t believe in telling people how a song or a set of lyrics should make them feel, although obviously certain chord progressions etc will always evoke certain emotions.

Steve: As a band, we hope the listener decides the theme of the song (then we mock them)....

How has your music evolved / changed since you first began playing as a band?

Rich: Our first EP was definitely a lot more funk based than the last two. I think that was really down to blowing off many years of playing rock standards. Once we had all got over a bad case of ‘The Funk’ our music began to evolve into a more unique and interesting sound. I don’t think there are many bands around at the moment writing similar material, and that can only be a good thing.

Aaron: When we first started the music was very smooth and had a funky element which has begun to step backwards as time has gone on. The music has become more raw but more saleable too we think, but it definitely suits our style as individuals and a band alike and we’re really beginning to find our sound.

Jay: A lot

Steve: Genius becoming Godly.

You’ve managed to get yourself quite a good following. Do you find sites like Myspace helpful?

Rich: We're on Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and numerous other social networking sites. Each of which helps a little in terms of building a fan base. We tend to concentrate on our own website as a central point for fans. We have released all our EPs for free from that site, which although depriving us of a bit of cash means that our music reaches a far wider audience. I think our real draw comes from playing live though. True music fans don’t sit on sites like myspace though, they’re out there watching live bands, which is why we try and get out on the road as much as possible between recordings.

Aaron: Networking sites are useful undoubtedly as it enables us to contact all our existing fans and new fans too. When we have a new release or gig coming up we can let everyone know and try and get new people interested too. It also gives us a feel for other bands out there and how we are doing.

Jay: Yes and No. Sites such as Myspace no longer give a band the chance to stand out because everyone is on there. On the other hand, they give you a chance to build a following but only if you are willing to invest some time attracting people to your page. We would prefer that people came to see us live and joined us that way.

Steve: We have many websites that are all available from (at this point Steve plugs the band's site...but we'll include it at the bottom anyway!).

What’s been the highlight so far for Rider, and for each of you personally?

Rich: Winning the Touch FM battle of the bands last December, and having a larger turnout of fans to the Palladium show than Palladium!

Aaron: Highlight so far for me was winning the 2007 touch FM Battle of the bands. It was a tough process and we learnt a lot about ourselves as a relatively new band.

Jay: Every live show

Steve: Winning Jaks battle of the bands

What’s next for Rider (Tours etc)?

Rich: Were owed some more studio time from winning the battle of the bands competition, so were thinking of knocking out a couple more tracks, and then running up to xmas and the new year we will be back on the live circuit. We would urge anyone who has yet to listen to Rider to download our tracks…it's free, so give it a go!

Jay: More writing, more recording and most importantly, more live shows

Steve: Godliness

Usually it's the singer or guitarist who comes out with that sort of thing! At this point we'd like to thank Rider for their time, and if you'd like to get a hold of their songs, or find out more about them...

http://www.riderband.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/riderrevolution