By AMP, DT Lead Music Columnist
Providence’s own She Rides will be embarking on an extensive tour of the US starting in March, highlighted by an appearance at Austin’s own South By Southwest festival, one of the year’s biggest symposiums of film, technology, and music in the country. I recently spoke to George Radford, one of the band’s guitar players about his thoughts on the tour, the band, and his experiences as a musician/jack of all trades for the variety of bands he plays in. George is an extremely personable and friendly guy, so don’t hesitate to say hi if you catch She Rides live, wherever they may be near you.
1. I heard you play in every band from Providence, RI. List ‘em.
I play guitar in she rides and sin of angels and I play bass in dropdead
2. You’re a very versatile guitarist, you play a lot of different styles of music. Who’s playing inspires you and motivates you in the variety of music you play?
I never got into the whole guitar hero worship thing. Everyone that is a solid player inspires me to get better. But in all seriousness the other guitar players in the bands I play in are huge motivators. Billy in She Rides fucking shreds. I’ll never be that good, but he went to Berklee (School of Music, Boston), so he’s definitely helped me understand music theory. Dave Booth (guitar, Sin of Angels) nails the solos I would play if I played solos. I never felt comfortable solo’ing but he’s pushing me to explore it more and in the new Sin of Angels songs I rip one.
3. Let’s talk about what’s going to be your main focus for the next few months on tour, She Rides. How did the band come together, and how long have you guys been at it?
She Rides is the natural evolution of a very tongue in cheek hardcore band I played in called PLAYGIRL. We lost founding members, got serious, changed the name and quickly mutated into the sleazy punk rock monster that is She Rides. We’ve been at it since 2006.
4. Recently, you guys hooked up with Rusty Knuckles, a North Carolina based music label. How did your relationship start with them, and how have they treated She Rides so far?
Coming up on a year ago at last year’s SXSW we played Headhunters (an Austin based bar) with our now label mates, Crank County Daredevils and they blew us away. Their manager (Ralph) who owns the label was there, caught our set, and liked it. Once we got home I immediately sent them a message to try to get more shows together and that’s how I starting talking to Ralph. He digs what we are about and what we sound like, so we decided to work together. so far it’s awesome. He’s a great dude that wants his bands to succeed, plus he’s just a phone call away. It’s a fairly new label so we’re looking to grow together. 2011 looks to be a pretty amazing year for Rusty Knuckles and She Rides.
5. Having read the itinerary for the tour, it seems quite extensive. Is this the first time you’ll be traveling a good majority of the US? If not, any good stories from previous tours you’d like to share?
We’ve done a full US tour before. Back in 2009 we did 45 days, came home for a week or two then toured down to SXSW 2009. After that, were supposed to go out on an even longer US tour but our old singer quit pretty early into it. So we came home, found a replacement (Dan Brown), recharged our batteries, played a few local shows and toured down to SXSW 2010. Since then, we’ve been writing and just playing regionally. Personally I can’t wait to get back out there for an extended amount of time. There is nothing I’d rather do than play music every night and see the world.
6. In addition to a guitarist, you’re also pretty much the marketing department for all your musical endeavors. Do you ever feel as though you stretch yourself thin with your musical and promoting responsibilities?
The only bands I really have responsibilities other than showing up and playing is She Rides. I definitely hype the shit out of She Rides cuz she’s my baby. I also do most of the booking. Ray (McCaffrey) is the man behind sin of angels, and Ben (Barnett) handles the Dropdead stuff.
7. Any bands that you desperately want to play some shows with?
Fuck shows I want to TOUR with ZEKE. Looks like they’re touring in 2011, So I’m crossing my fingers that the planets align and I get an email asking us if we’re available, Every Time I Die (the 2 shows we played with them were a blast), and a Howl, The_Network, She Rides package would be so much fun someone would probably die.
8. Who are some bands, local or otherwise, that you’re digging right now?
You caught me on a good night cuz I was going through a dry spell and not listening to anything. But I’ve been really digging Seven Sisters of Sleep, I’m revisiting the Converge catalogue cuz I kinda stopped caring around “You Fail Me.” I’ve heard the records since but didn’t really LISTEN to them. So, now I am. looking forward to the new one. As far as local stuff, Mouth of Flowers threw me for a loop in a really good way. They wear their influences on their sleeves without ripping them off. good stuff.
9. Is it hard juggling commitments between the various bands that you’re in? Do you find it hard to prioritize certain projects over others?
It can get stressful for me. I hate turning down shows because I’m already doing something with another band. I don’t like bumming people out. I don’t really prioritize it’s a “whoever books the show first is the one I’m playing deal.” Granted, if some amazing tour came up and I had to cancel a show with a band I’m sure they’d understand. Hopefully it never comes to that. I am booking She Rides tours around Dropdead shows in europe because they’ve been booked for a long time and it’s fucking Europe, a dream come true. I’m going to another country to play music!
I’d like to thank George for sitting down and answering my questions. Check out their new EP, available on Rusty Knuckles records, and catch them on tour, around here or somewhere in the US. For more info about She Rides, check out these links:
