Rival Sons Debut New Video For Electric Man

Rival Sons Debut New Video For Electric Man

Rival Sons are one of the best rock bands hitting the road today. Their sounds harken back on a time when a guitar, bass line and pounding rhythm from the drums, coupled with soaring vocals could change reality. The new video for their track "Electric Man" further establishes their signature sound and is a great visualization and effects montage helping to further elevate one of the bad ass tracks from their newest album Great Western Valkyrie.

Rival Sons - Open My Eyes - Official Video

Rival Sons - Open My Eyes

Open My Eyes - First single from Rival Sons forthcoming album
'Great Western Valkyrie' out June 6th EU, 9th UK, 10th USA.

Get it now on iTunes: http://bit.ly/gwv-itunes
Spotify: http://bit.ly/openmyeyesspotify
Pre-order "Great Western Valkyrie" now:
Signed CD/Vinyl/Box set - http://www.earache.com/rs14
iTunes - http://bit.ly/gwv-itunes
Amazon - http://bit.ly/greatwesternvalkyrie

Rival Sons - Electric Man - Cartoon Video Song Premiere

Rival Sons Are Proving That Owning Your Music Is The Key To Success, Not A Major Label Contract - Part 1

Rival Sons are proving that owning your music is the key to success, not a major label contract

Check out more from The Great Southern Brainfart

"California based rockers Rival Sons have been bringing their heart and soul infused classic rock sounds to the masses since 2008. One listen to this band and it will blow your mind that they’ve only been at this for a mere 5 years. Their cohesive, tight as a drum sound is reminiscent of a band that has been at this for 3, even 4 times longer than what they’ve actually been together for.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with guitarist Scott Holiday and what started out as a 20 minute interview turned into an hour long conversation that had me completely entertained and feeling like I had learned so much about one of my favorite bands. This was such an in depth talk that this ended up being a two part interview.

In this part we talked about following up their monumental 2013 release Head Down, the shadiness of the record industry, and how the hell a song like “Manifest Destiny Pt. 1” could be captured in just one take. I feel like there was no stone left unturned in this unabridged, unfiltered conversation. Get yourself a drink, put on some Rival Sons, and settle in for Part 1 of my two part interview with Scott Holiday!  Enjoy!



====================================================

Scott.  Thanks so much for doing this interview today brother!

It’s my pleasure Don.  Thanks for having me.

====================================================

So are you guys on a break or something and plotting your next phase of world domination?

[laughs] We are on a very rare break. We’re usually out on the road but we just got back from Canada where we did a few weeks out there. We’re aiming to be in the studio in January. We have a couple of one off shows in the next couple of months and just trying to get our act together. We’re going to sign our next deal and get things in order before the next record.

====================================================

You mentioned that you guys are signing a new deal.  Will this new deal be a record deal?

We just do one record at a time deals. For some reason, we’ve been able to negotiate these kinds of deals so this also allows us to keep the rights and control of everything one record at a time. We actually own all of our records and we’ve kept a lot of our business and our rights. We own more than the average band.

====================================================

Why not just sign a big deal with a big company like Warner Bros or Universal?

That’s just now who we are. What they want for a deal like that is hilarious. I’m not selling off my children, I’m not giving away my loved ones, and I’m keeping all my body parts [laughs]. Those people are terrible and really demonic. In all seriousness, what they want to take from you on a business level is really sad and they’re getting it from people. They give you one chance, one record and you better hope that your planets align because if they don’t, you’ve just ruined your entire career because now you owe them for those records and guess what? They’re not going to make those records for you so you can’t go sign another deal and your trapped.

====================================================

The delusions of these bands are that they believe that the Warner Bros, the Atlantic Records, the Universals of the world are where the money is. You guys have just chosen to not sell your souls or your artistic rights and chosen to go with the smaller guys for maybe enough money to get you by.

Right. What they’re asking for is just not fair. Here’s a simple analogy. You have a can of Coke. I want to buy your can of Coke for a dollar and you give me that can of Coke. This is a normal deal right? Now I’m the record company. If you sell me that can of Coke, I promise you a keg. Actually, I don’t just want that can of Coke though. I want your rights to every can of Coke you ever buy again. Ok? Here’s a dollar [laughs]. That’s what they’re doing to people.

====================================================

It sounds like I’m catching you at a pretty exciting time as there sounds like some cool shit is about to go down.

Oh yeah. I mean, we are definitely fired up to get back in there and make a new record that’s for sure. The album cycle for this one (Head Down) went way longer than any album cycle. We’ve been priding ourselves over these last 4 records on making sure that every year we have something new coming out. Unfortunately for this record the releases were offset by like 6 months between the US and Canada so we had to put another 6-8 months into it.



====================================================

I know it was a long cycle but man, we barely saw you guys hitting the states behind this one. I’m just going to cut to the chase here. Why has there been such a lack of Rival Sons here in the US? What is it that people just aren’t getting here?

Well, I think that business wise you’ve got to work where your dollar is best well spent. You can only focus on so much of the world. It’s a huge place and you can only focus on certain areas so much. It costs a lot of money and it takes a lot of time.  From the beginning of our career we’ve been pretty focused on Europe because they took to us quicker. The media has taken to us and we’re on magazine covers over there, we’re charting over there, and we’re on radio all over the place, and we play pretty big theaters over there. When it’s time for us to work, it’s just kind of our go to. Our next biggest market that took to us quicker than the US has been Canada. I think the answer that everybody wants to hear from me is that America hates rock n’ roll [laughs]. We know that’s not what it is at all and we know that there are great fans here.  We have a boatload of fans here but it’s just such a huge territory. It’s a little bit slower here and everyone’s taking to us slower. We don’t get tour support. We fund everything ourselves so it’s going to take us spending a whole bunch of money. That said, we’re going to focus on this album cycle much more on being over here with our brethren.


I feel like the music world is just so over saturated with bands these days. If it wasn’t for running this site I don’t know that I would’ve ever heard some of my favorite bands such as Christian Mistress, Gypsyhawk, or even Rival Sons. I feel like the good news is that anyone can make a record these days and the bad news is that anyone can make a record these days.

[laughs] That’s right. I say the same thing. I hear a lot of people saying, “Man, there’s not as much good music now as there was back in then” and every time I hear that I say, “You are out of your mind.” There’s 10 times more going on right now than there ever was but it’s kind of like being in a crowded room or club and you’re trying to get to the other side of the room. We’re all moving through a very packed area so it’s hard to sift through all the bands to find the things that we might love or great.

====================================================

Just like the “old days”, you still have to do a little digging and little groundwork to find those special bands. I remember being a kid and going to record stores and asking the guy behind the counter, “Hey, I love Iron Maiden. Who else is out there that is like that?” Now we have this internet thing and we can find anything and everything.

Exactly! I remember when I was really little and already buying records and the internet was not a thing. Could you imagine how it is for kids now where everything they want is right there in the Google machine [laughs]? Not only is it there but it’s buyable in seconds. This is really revolutionary and mind bending. If you wanted a Flamin’ Groovies record, you could search for five years going through states and countries before you’d even come across your first Flamin’ Groovies record. Now,Google machine, there it is and buy their whole collection [laughs]. It’s a no brainer anymore.

====================================================

So even with the internet today guys like you and me can still enjoy the hunt and save a shit ton of gas.

[laughs] There’s still some fun to doing this on the computer. I think there’s still that hunt and that kill out there to discover. It’s not that deep think like when you’d come across that Flamin’ Groovies record at a garage sale.

====================================================

That’s how it was for me with the Captain Beyond debut album. I could’ve bought it on Ebay but I hunted forever, found it, and stuck it in frame on my wall for all to see! I was like, FINALLY!

[laughs] You know what?  All I really listen to out of fun and out of quality is vinyl. That changes the hunt to. You can buy all that vinyl on the computer but I like to stick to that mentality that you’re talking about with the Captain Beyond album. I look for original copies and limited editions for my collection. I just go to shops and garage sales. Every country I go to I look for certain things that are only limited to those countries and bring them home.


Rival Sons released their entire catalog on vinyl. When you recording these albums, did you go into the recording and production process with the idea that they were going to be mixed specifically for a vinyl medium as opposed to mixing for CD and then just putting out vinyl?

Not really. We’re not trying to be such ridiculous hipsters saying shit like, “Let’s go in and make this only on cassette and really lo-fi.” We’re just trying to make the best sounding record. We’re recording a lot of analog and using a lot of analog paths. We master for vinyl, we master for digital. We’re just trying to make something now that is us. That is going to digital. We all have iPhones, we all are Mac people. We’re in that world but we all have record players and love listening to vinyl. It’s not one or the other. We live in the now.  People want to throw us back into some old era but no, that’s not what I’m into. I’m not constantly listening to copies of Moby Grape on repeat. That’s not what’s happening here. I like the new MGMT [laughs].

====================================================

Head Down is such a great album but it’s a step in another direction from Pressure and Time.  Matter of fact, listening to each of the Rival Sons albums I can hear a steady evolution and progression to where you are now.

Well thank goodness you’re a fan and you’re hearing an evolution. From record to record there should be a stylistic and sonic shift. We’re never going into studio saying, “Let’s make part 2 of that one.” Before the Fire was before Jay (Buchanan; lead vocalist) was in the band. Those are more my songs that I had written with another singer who didn’t write at all. I ended up removing this singer from the band and then got Jay in the group who agreed to sing all these songs. There’s a whole different sound happening. There’s a lot more of my eastern influence and a lot more of an early British invasion sound because that was the place where we were at. The EP was the first one that we worked with Jay on so you’re going to get a way bluesy version of us because that’s Jay. You’re also going to get the sound of four dudes working hard together instead of just one dude’s perspective. Pressure and Time was pretty much the sound of the band being pretty much minted and ready to make a real effort together. It was very concise and very right to the point. I wanted the songwriting to be short, direct, and very easy for people to swallow. Rock N’ Roll isn’t too abundant right now. It’s kind of just leaking in here and there. If people are going to hear us they’re going to need to take it in a small pill. It can’t be a horse pill. We had toured that record for a whole year and had expanded those arrangements, met our fan base, and circled the globe a few times. When we stepped into the studio right off the tour to make Head Down and we were all very collectively on the same page. We needed to show people a little more of what the live show feels like and a little bit more of what the band is.

====================================================

Tell me about the song Manifest Destiny.  Is it true that what we hear was the first take?  If so, how the hell did you pull that off?

[laughs] Everything was plugged in, everything was mic’d up, the producer was in the booth, and we just had everything ready to go. We were just prepared to capture. With Manifest Destiny Pt I, It was the first time we ever even played the song together. I’m not talking about rehearsing it for a month and then doing it in one take but the way. We talked about the song, talked about the changes, maybe mapped out a few things for a couple of minutes and then we say, “OK, let’s try playing it” and that “try” became the take we used on the record. It was really far out for us and it was unlike anything I had ever done. There was definitely that feeling of immediacy that we wanted to capture early takes but when it does happen it’s really fun for all of us."

Jams Of the Week, Rival Sons, Clutch and Jungle Rot

Music drives our soul and constantly we are checking out new songs and videos on sites such as youtube. Have a listen to some great tracks below. Finally got the new Clutch album in our paws and listening to it non stop. As for Rival Sons, what can we say. They are one of the best rock bands touring today, so please we ask you, come tour the south! Lastly, our new favorite death metal band has to be Jungle Rot. They lay down a thick molasses of thrash infused death metal and its ready for our headset at the gym.

Feature Rival Sons Interview, Repost From Stereoboard.com

If you asked us to name our favorite new band of the last few years we would have a hard time. On the other hand if you asked us to name a band that is constantly in our playlist, it would be none other than Rival Sons. Their music is infectious and spreads like a kudzu. We could wax poetic on their music, but forget that. Drop down below, click on that video and let the magic happen.

Check out the original interview over at Stereoboard

Find out more about Rival Sons



With their explosive new album 'Head Down' receiving rave reviews and having recently completed a sold out tour of the UK, Los Angeles rock n' roll heroes Rival Sons are riding high on the crest of a wave that's threatening to turn into an all conquering tsunami pretty damn soon. It builds on a tremendous 2011 for the guys, with their sophomore release 'Pressure And Time' being voted second best album of the year by Classic Rock Magazine and the quartet themselves – Jay Buchanan, Scott Holiday, Robin Everhart and Mike Miley – receiving the accolade of 'best new band' from the listeners of Planet Rock Radio. We caught up with guitarist Scott Holiday to discuss the making of the new album, how the guys feel about the UK and what it takes to make great rock n' roll music.

Hi Scott. Firstly, 'Head Down' is a blindingly good album that's been getting fantastic reviews so congratulations! It was written, recorded and mixed in three weeks just like your previous album 'Pressure And Time'. Why do you work that way and how does it influence the sound of your music?
We've done it that way from the start. It was a conscious idea not to overwork the songs, the production or the overall feeling...and to keep the energy alive and inspired on the records.

'Head Down' is bigger, bolder and stylistically more diverse than Pressure and Time. Was there a conscious decision to make that kind of album before entering the studio or did it evolve naturally during the recording process?
Both...kind of. We're always thinking of pushing ourselves and expanding our musical output to make a new, bigger statement each time out. Hopefully all bands think the same way. Having said that, the nature of the way we do things makes it all unravel very naturally... and quickly.

Dave Cobb produced 'Head Down' after working with you on your previous albums. What does he bring to the band and was there ever any question of working with someone else?
We've done 4 records with Dave (three studio albums and one self titled EP) and he basically works like a 5th band member. It's really just the 5 of us and maybe 1 engineer for the whole process, working very quickly, and capturing everything we can. I think there's very few producers these days that want to - or even CAN - make a record the way we do. It's a lost art and whilst there's still other guys doing it that way there seems to be less and less of them all the time. Dave has worked out really well for us. He's great at finding the sounds we want and helping us to find new ones. He's also a good co-writer and a friend. So we've stuck with him. Of course we've thought about working with a few other guys, but not too seriously.

How do you start writing a new song – does it begin with an individual idea or from jamming in the studio? For example, what was the genesis of 'Keep On Swinging'?
Keep On Swinging started with me bringing in the main riff. Many songs start like that. Then we'll get in the room together and start formulating and jamming out the other parts. Right about the time we feel ready to record it our producer will peek his head in and say "great, guys!...we got it!" And we'll be like "we haven't even done one take yet!" But the tape is always rolling, and that's how it goes sometimes.



A couple of the new tracks – 'Wild Animal' and 'Until The Sun Comes' – are more mellow with Jay singing in a different style. Was that a deliberate attempt to get away from comparisons with certain classic rock bands?
No. We're always being inspired by new things and wanting to move in different directions. Trust me - It can get A LOT weirder. We've stayed pretty honed in on our sound thus far. Our influences could actually put us in deep space! We constantly have to remind each other that we're making a rock n' roll record.

Tell us about 'Nava' and 'Manifest Destiny' Parts 1 and 2. How did those songs develop and was the emotive lyrical subject a preconceived idea?
'Nava's an acoustic instrumental I wrote for my daughter. Her name's 'Nava' and I immediately felt the song belonged to her when I wrote it. I also gave it to Jay during the recording sessions, and he wrote the album's closing track, 'True', to it. Each version felt important and special in it's own way, so we decided to put both on the record. With regards the Manifest suite, I had decided to take 'Manifest Destiny pt1' into improvisational territory before Jay had written to either pt1 or 2, then he decided to connect them both with the lyrical concept. Which totally made sense to me, musically and conceptually.

How many takes did you need to nail the awesome guitar solo on 'Manifest Destiny Part 1'?
That's one take. The first one!

Who writes the lion's share of the lyrics and is there an overall theme for the new album that ties all the tracks together?
Jay writes all the lyrics. The only time I wrote lyrics was on our debut album 'Before The Fire', which was technically before Jay joined the band. I wrote all those lyrics with some co-writes from Dave Cobb. There are a few themes from my point of view on the new record, definitely from a musical perspective. Lyrically? Well, that would be a question for Jay.

'All The Way' sounds like a hell of a fun track to record. Were the words improvised on the spot as they have a very spontaneous feel to them?
No. Jay wrote that story and had the idea for the song. I came up with all my parts, just ear candy and fun little fuzz bits. It was actually one of the least likely songs to make the album, but in the end we all felt it was important to include because it's a really fun track. I'm glad it's on there.

Who designed the striking artwork for the new album and what does it represent?
Well, there's plenty of symbolism going on but it would be a terrible spoiler to give my perspective on it. It's best to let everyone see it and think what they want. I can tell you it was painted (oil on canvas) by Jason Holley. He did a great job and it's a beautiful piece that's very representative of the album.

Congratulations on you current sold out tour of the UK! How are the new songs going down live and which are you enjoying playing the most?
Thanks! The UK has been sooooo good to us. Our "home away from home" we call it! The new songs are going over brilliantly too and we play a good portion of the new record every night. Songs like 'Keep on Swinging', 'Run From Revelation', You Want To', 'Jordan', and 'Manifest Destiny Pt1' seem to be working really well at every show.

As a very spontaneous recording outfit I imagine your songs must take on a life of their own when you're playing them on stage?
Yes they do. It's a very symbiotic relationship. Not just between the band, but between the band and the audience.

You played at last year's Classic Rock Awards in front of legends like Jeff Beck – was that nerve-wracking or was it something you were able to really enjoy?
Not too nerve-wracking. A little maybe, just because we only rehearsed for about 2 hours in total, and had never played an acoustic set as a band before that! But it went OK...and I got to hang with Jeff Beck and Brian May(!) ha!!

When you and Jay first met you talked about what was missing from rock & roll and what was right with it. So – what's missing and what's right with it?
Missing: The blues, real bravado, fun, soul, danger, groove, teeth (sharp ones), swagger, dirtyness, heritage, pedigree, skill – without becoming a gay virtuoso band! Right: Bands and artists who haven't left out the above!

A lot of people see you as the saviours of rock music – does that inspire you or does the responsibility weigh heavily on your shoulders?
We don't EVER wear that jacket. We're just a band - 4 dudes that make rock n' roll music - that's it. If people like it, even LOVE it, then that's killer. We'll come to your town. Buy a ticket, buy our shirt, buy our records. That'll mean we can keep on doing it. People may say we're the next this band and that but look, we're merely standing in the shadows of the legends, trying to do our bit and have a great time. We simply want to bring good times and good rock n' roll to people. That's it.

Does it frustrate you that rock music doesn't receive much mainstream exposure and are you on a mission to change that?
Whatever. It's all on rotation, popular today and passé tomorrow. When something is right and good - REALLY good - people will take notice. I'm on a mission to make a living, playing rock n' roll all over the world. It's a great job to give people a great time every night. I just wanna do that.

What do you want your music to achieve – can you envisage a time when you're playing arenas and stadiums as many critics have predicted?
Sure, why not? I mean, we could get into the nuts and bolts of the business and discuss why that's not happening - and IF it can happen again. But I will say yes, I can envision this band headlining arenas. If we don't, we'll headline something else instead!

Head Down' has broadened the scope of your music – where do you go from here?
I'll have to answer that at the end of this album/touring cycle. I don't premeditate that too much as it would take away the spontaneity when we go back to make our next record.

Given how influenced you are by the music of the 60's and 70's – when are you going to release the mythic double album!?! Or better still – the double live album!?!
Head Down is technically a double vinyl ;)

What's next for you guys now you've finished touring the UK?
More touring. Into North America...then the US...then back to the UK and Europe. Make a few videos. Then make another record and do it all over again.

I'm sure I speak for all rock fans when I say thanks for releasing such a fantastic album and for continuing to fly the flag for our beloved genre of music. Long may it continue!!
God Bless You!

Spotify Is Growing, But Isn't It Growing Faster? - From Time.com

Digital music has been slowly creeping up to dominate the overall charts for music sales, but there is a quiet rebellion afoot. This rebellion is being staged directly with fans to bands. The cause is simple and effective and goes something like this. Fans want more interaction music and players of the music they enjoy. Call it a novelty idea, but we call it planting a flag and building your army.

As fan interaction and wanting to get even more involved with the artists they enjoy supporting, several key areas are growing steadily. Two of those things are unique items available to purchase from the bands and or labels and the amount of music being listened to on Youtube.

Check out this video of Rival Sons creating stencil art depicting their new album cover

If you haven't listened to playlists on the premier video channel, well, get started. Hell, why not even start with the Rusty Knuckles Music channel first of all! Besides our own blatant self promotion we urge yall to check out all the music you dig on youtube and pay more attention to the number one radio station world wide for finding new music and the classics you enjoy. FM radio is just too damn boring for true music connoisseurs.

Find the music you love with Spotify

Link to original article on Time.com

"Spotify has frequently been hailed at as the savior of the moribund music industry. Sooner or later, the pundits argue, a streaming music service that gives users unlimited access to virtually every piece of recorded music in the world for a modest price – and that creates a revenue stream for artists — will crowd out the competition. Right?

Maybe so. But even as Spotify steadily builds its paid user base, a number of obstacles seem to be preventing the kind of growth that could restore the music industry to its former healthy glow.

The latest setback for streaming theory comes from Nielsen’s latest Music 360 study, which shows that teenagers get most of their music not from streaming services like Spotify, or from CDs, or even from iTunes — but from YouTube. That’s right: Close to two-thirds of U.S. teens 18 years old or younger use the video site to listen to music. Radio (56%), iTunes (53%), and CDs (50%) are next. The only streaming service that a substantial number of teens use is Pandora (35%). In other words, young people do seem to like the idea of streaming music from the web — they just don’t seem inclined to pay for it.

Nevertheless, Spotify is growing. The service updated its subscriber figures this month for the first time in a year, showing that it now had 15 million active users worldwide, 4 million of whom pay for the service every month. That’s up from 3 million in 2011. And the service is signing up subscribers at an unprecedented rate: According to a report by MusicIndustryBlog, it took seven quarters for Spotify to reach a million paying users while it took Rhapsody, a similar service, 11 years to do the same thing.

Of course, Spotify — unlike Rhapsody — had the advantage of coming of age during the era of widespread broadband use and 4G mobile capabilities. And other streaming services have been just as successful as Spotify yet now don’t even exist. (Ever heard of imeem?)

But perhaps even more discouraging for champions of Spotify is that streaming services seem to be bumping up against a number of immovable objects. For one, YouTube is emerging as a prime destination for music. Listeners can easily search and find virtually any band or artist, all at no cost, without having to download a separate program. And YouTube’s made it much easier for users to re-listen to their favorite artists through saved playlists and customizable tools.

Then there’s the fact that consumers continue to illegally download free music over the web. It’s unclear how much of an effect piracy has on streaming services, but peer-to-peer file-sharing accounts for 15% of the music acquired in the U.S., according to Russ Crupnick, music analyst at NPD Group.

Another issue is our apparently stubborn desire to own the music we enjoy the most. Nielsen’s study shows that while most adults discover new music on the radio, 61% say they still listen to music on CDs. Even the old cassette tape — yes, cassette tape — is outpacing most music services. Nine percent of adults say they still listen to tapes, while only 7% say they consume music through Spotify and 1% use either emusic.com or Rhapsody. Pandora registers much better, with 32% saying they use the service. About 30% of adults say they download music through iTunes.

“I thought streaming would rapidly overtake digital downloads,” says Crupnick. “But I’ve reversed my feeling about that. What the research keeps saying is that people like the idea of ownership.”

Less than 10% of music listeners are digital-only consumers, according to Mark Mulligan of musicindustryblog. Most still listen to music through some combination of digital downloads, CDs, streaming music services, and vinyl records. More than 70% of Spotify listeners also buy digital downloads — mostly from iTunes — according to NPD Group.

“Four million paid subscribers [for Spotify] is a fantastic achievement, but it’s a drop in the ocean in the music industry,” says Mulligan. “I’m not sure we’ll ever get to the position where most people will want to pay $9.99 a month for streaming music. The bottom line is that the vast majority of people value ownership.”

In the digital space, iTunes boasts 80 million customers, and Spotify is nowhere close to seriously chipping away at those sales. While CD sales fell 6% last year, digital downloads and vinyl sales were up big. Album sales across all platforms rose for the first time since 2004 (but you can largely thank Adele for that).

Why do consumers want to own their music? Most consumers have a long history of purchasing musical recordings — but not TV shows or movies — a habit that seems hard to break. Another convincing theory is that the music we listen to is seen as a reflection of identities, more so than the TV shows or movies that we watch. Many streaming services attempt to address this impulse by allowing users to create their own individual playlists — but so far it appears that isn’t enough.

On the other hand, Nielsen’s latest numbers do provide a glimmer of hope for champions of streaming services like Spotify. The youngest generation’s reliance on YouTube shows that it doesn’t place as much emphasis on actually owning the music that they listen to. That means that a playlist, saved somewhere in the cloud, may eventually be a satisfying alternative to ownership for them. If so, streaming services may yet prove to be the music industry’s salvation."

Rival Sons, New Album - Head Down

One band that we cannot take out of our playlist is Rival Sons. These dudes flat out kill it with their classic rock vibe and well written songs. Upon hearing about the new album slated to roll out later this year, we are signing up for pre-release and checkin' the tour dates as this is one band we have to catch live asap!


Check out original post on Classic Rock Magazine's site


Find out more on Rival Sons






"The band’s next release will be called Head Down, the follow-up to 2011′s Pressure & Time. Head Down was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with Grammy-nominated producer Dave Cobb (Jamie Johnson, Shooter Jennings) and Grammy-wining engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, The White Stripes, Kings Of Leon). The artwork was created by Jason Holley (Josh Ritter, Ray LaMontagne).


Says frontman Jay Buchanan: “We took a lyric from one of the songs that exemplified the process of making the record. Head Down comes from the term ‘Keep your head down and keep on swinging’. I thought it was fitting and it works perfectly with the album cover.”





Guitarist Scott Holiday says of the album artwork: “I began searching for the right artist for our cover on the interwebs, just mulling around, and very quickly came across Jason Holley. I saw a couple of covers that he had done for Josh Ritter and Ray LaMontagne which I loved. I was immediately taken aback by his aesthetic and style and felt he had a few pieces already done that I would be into using.


“I sent some of his images over to Jay and he had the same immediate feeling I did… Which is pretty rare. He could have been from anywhere in the world, but he just so happened to live about 30 minutes away from me, so I gave him a ring and we started talking.


“We sent him the record and discussed ideas that we felt reflected the music and process. He then created an original piece, painted in oil. The end result is pretty symbolic and interesting – something that, in my opinion, reflects the record beautifully.”


Head Down is due to be released in late August on Earache Records."

Listen To These Bands - Black Spiders & Rival Sons

Music is the blood that fuels our thirst for the daily grind and what could be better than finding new bands to get stoked to listen to. This whole weekend has been one playlist and two bands that are just rockin' like no tomorrow. Give'em a listen and recognize the bravado and swagger as they both have it in spades and approach it such a different way.

Rival Sons come out swingin' with a Doors, Zeppelin and Motown kind of vibe, while the Black Spiders almost take a classic rock approach. Either way you shake it, these bands are smokin'.

Black Spiders

Rival Sons