ION INDIE MAGAZINE November 2016, Volume 30 | Page 71

JP: It’s like a perfect time to be chatting with you. You guys just came off tour, released a new single, and released a new music
video. Let’s start with the tour. You hit a number of markets on this run. How many cities did you hit on this run?
Rio: We hit Reno, Vegas, Philly, Cleveland, Pittsburgh--we hit all the major spots. We were fortunate to jump on three dates
with TED NUGENT on the “Sonic Baptism Tour”. Now we’ve come back home to get into the studio to finish the pre-production
for our album.
JP: The tour…I know you had the dates with Ted Nugent. Tell me about some of the artists that you guys played with.
Rio: We played with ROYAL BLISS. We had a show with NIGHT RANGER…which was pretty awesome. I tell you what…Royal
Bliss…they were incredible guys! We played a lot of dates with KAYLA BROWN, who is a song bird. We had some shows with
AMERICAN HITMEN. Those guys got some notoriety through “America’s Got Talent”, and they’ve been touring for years now.
They’re out of Utah. We plan on teaming up with those guys come spring or early summer to do a run in the Midwest. For
me…just being in the band for six months, we’ve done a lot. We’ve been constantly on the road. Now it’s nice to be home and
focused on getting our album done.
JP: You and I go back a ways…5-6 years at least, I’d say. I’ve seen you in other bands. The question I would have for you is how
does this band differ sound wise?
Rio: First of all, I think it’s a more thunderous sound. The low end really carries itself. I’ve been fortunate to have been in bands
with some really great musicians. This band--not only are they great musicians--they know how to perform on that next level,
what’s required when you take that step up and you’re sharing stages with SHINEDOWN and POP EVIL…when you’re direct
support for those guys, you can’t be anything less. The band is super talented and it makes the job as the front man pretty
easy. It’s a testament to them that if you’re stretched out vocally, if need be, they could carry the show and nobody would any
wiser. They know their meals are dependent on their performance and their talent and they play like it. .
JP: How does this differ opportunity wise, for you?
Rio: As far as the armed forces, and the demographic we’ve been serving, we’re about as big as you can go. Now, in order to
grow as a band and evolve, we’re gonna have to branch out. The fan base we have, I think they are intelligent enough to know
that we don’t have to say “freedom” and “tyranny” in the predominant amount of songs. We can shift some other the other
things that vets go through…the lost love, the pain you suffer when you’re away from home. What that will do…it will allow us
the opportunity to get into major rock venues and get onto major festivals. We see us in February or March getting ready for
the May festivals. Changing, not so much lyrical content, but the way you present the lyrical content will allow us to hit these
major rock venues.
JP: You’ve got the new single “Dangerous”. I think you started to talk about getting together and writing for the new album.
When can we expect that out?
Rio: Our time frame is by mid-December at the latest that we’re gonna have it out. We’ve already got some tracks laid down,
ready to go and we’re just adding to it. We don’t want to rush this too fast because we don’t wanna put anything out that. We’re
coming out with a full length and we want it from front to back as solid as we can make it and appealing as we can make it.
JP: Songwriting, you said you are getting together for writing, I take it the songwriting is a collaborative effort then, not just
one or two guys.
Rio: Yeah, it’s a collaborative effort. In the past it was pretty controlled as to who was going to do all the writing, who was
gonna come up with the lyrics; the ideas. With the group that’s here, the only original member is the drummer, Sam Fis hman.
So, we’ve all decided since we‘re all coming out brand new with a new album, we all need to collaborate. It’s coming out pretty
damn good. All of us have a lot of input. My self and A.J. do a lot of the lyrical content, Sam has offered some lyrics. Tom
DiPietro plays bass, provides a lot of bass riffs we have built off of. So in some form or fashion, everybody is having a hand in
this.
JP: It’s really good when everybody has some ownership in it, I believe.