FEATURE: Interview With Black River Drive

How would you describe your sound?

I am really terrible at answering this question even though it seems so obvious, but there is no denying that we are a rock band. We focus a lot on putting on a great live show so our songs are written with this in mind. More and more we are leaning towards the heavier side of rock.

You played the State of Rock Tour with Luger Boa & I Am Giant earlier this year. Did you have fun touring New Zealand?

Yes. That was a lot of fun. Both bands, Luger and IAG, are jam-packed with cool people and having all those band members plus a great crew on the road made for some really good times. Stand out gigs for me were Bodega in Wellington and our first gig of the tour, The Bedford in Christchurch.  As with all tours, there was some shenanigans but no one died.

How did you find supporting Autozamm on their tour in November?

Another really great experience. I think they’ve got some of their strongest material on their new album, and they are all really easy going dudes which made for fun times in the van and the green room.  Their song “Want It, Need It” is choice.

How did you find working on the video for your single Bullet For Your Gun?

Hot. With each video, we usually have to “play” the song about 20 - 25 times, and in that one I am in a leather jacket, jeans and leather boots. Add in a closed studio and some very hot lights and you’ve got a recipe for a whole lot of sweat. Having models work on the music videos is never a bad thing though...

Your album Perfect Flaws came out on 4th October. How long did it take to record and how did you find the process?

In terms of actual days in the studio, I think it would have taken about three weeks, but it was quite a long drawn out process working with our two different production teams (Greg Haver/Clint Murphy and then Chris Van De Geer producing and engineering).  With Greg and Clint, we would go in for a weekend and do two 12 hour days, doing a song from start to finish. We did that three times over the course of maybe 9 months.  Greg has a very defined, efficient style of working which was perfect for us as an inexperienced band. He gets the job done really quickly, is very decisive and knows what works. With Chris, we pretty much did 2 weeks in a row. Chris is a very laid back guy and really facilitated us putting our album together as we wanted to, which was perfect for the band we’d become 9 months on. Like Greg, Chris has a unique sound that comes through in anything he does - while Greg leans towards massive guitar soundscapes (usually courtesy of the mighty Pog pedal) and grandeur, Chris has a real indie/alternative thing that comes through.  Both processes were fun and educational. The whole time you’re making that first record, you’re thinking about how you could have done it better, or prepared better, and how you’ll do it better next time. It’s tiring, especially as a vocalist, but you have to keep reminding yourself that you’re incredibly lucky getting to fulfil the dream that so many young musicians aspire to, making an album with a producer in a recording studio.  We learned so much from Greg, Clint and Chris.  Next time, we will no doubt do a lot more tracking in our own home studio.  The plan is to save up and buy some really good mics and pres and record almost everything apart from drums in our own time, taking time to try things out.  When I listen to a really incredible album - say Massive Attack’s Mezzanine or Nine Inch Nails’ Downward Spiral - it’s obvious they have spent a lot of time on every last detail, and that is why the album is so mind-blowingly good. That’s something we’ve all spoken about aspiring to next time.

Did you enjoy your performance on Balcony TV Auckland?

Very much.  I love playing our material acoustically. There’s an honesty about acoustic performances that really highlights if the song is strong or not. A great song will work no matter what instrument it’s played on and I’m glad the Black River Drive material we’ve played on Balcony TV so far seems to work in such a stripped back, raw way.

Are you looking forward to playing the Jim Beam rock stage at Homegrown.

Hell yes.  It was amazing opening for Bon Jovi but Homegrown is really the gig I am most looking forward to. It’s a true honour to be taking the stage alongside bands like Opshop and Shihad. A show like that is such a great opportunity to get in front of thousands of music fans and our plan will be to go out there and just kill it from the first second of our set to the last. Our fans in Wellington are some of the most passionate fans we have so getting in front of them in that setting will be incredible.

Are you working on any new material and where do you see Black River Drive this time next year?

Yes, we have a couple of songs coming through but I am mainly soaking up inspiration from other music at the moment. By this time next year we will have a second album nearing completion, in terms of the writing process, and then we’ll begin planning for release probably mid 2012. We all want the band to evolve in a number of ways so the next album will be something completely different to Perfect Flaws. Currently I am listening to a lot of Tool, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor’s new project How To Destroy Angels, Karnivool, Lamb of God, Fever Ray and then classic stuff like Blondie, Billy Idol, Depeche Mode....I love all kinds of heavy stuff as well as really great songwriting but so often the two are mutually exclusive. Hopefully we can change that.

Interview by David Apple.