Rip Room | Interview | New Album, ‘Alight and Resound’
San Francisco’s art punks Rip Room are back after successfully self-releasing and touring on two EPs, the three-piece returned to Louder Studios in Grass Valley, CA to reunite with storied engineer Tim Green (Nation of Ulysses, Melvins, Bikini Kill, Sebadoh).
The result is the charismatic and alluringly unpredictable debut full-length record, ‘Alight and Resound’. “I wanted to be in a fun, high-energy band, but with a math-y, prog edge”, says Reed. “We’re always looking to capture our live sound, and with this record, we wanted that plus a little more to emphasize some ideas or sonic feelings”, adds bassist/vocalist Sarah McKinney. “The subject matter is pretty heavy, but the execution is sometimes a bit more lighthearted and dance-y which I think balances it out well. Our sound was once described as “dance music for people who don’t like to dance”, which I don’t agree with — I’d say it’s “dance music for people who like to dance but are also bummed out””.
Thematically, while instrumentally effervescent, ‘Alight and Resound’ delves into some more turbulent lyrical waters. Loneliness, chaos, despair, and struggle — yet somehow with a glimmer of hope. “The title of the record is a lyric from the song ‘Get On In The World’, which is in part about frustration and not really fitting in”, says Reed. “Everyone’s focused or too wrapped up in their own shit and sadly this too often devolves into misunderstandings, at best, and violence, at worst. Alight and Resound is like a plea — move to a different plane of understanding and empathy or else we’re fucked”.
How did the band get together?
John Reed: My previous band broke up in mid 2014. That Halloween I put together a Ramones cover band with Sarah McKinney on bass, Joe Barker (Command Control, Monotrope) on drums, and Doc Miller (Glowing Brain) on vocals. Sarah, Joe and I really gelled during those practices so I always feel like that was sort of the first (or “proto”) Rip Room show. A few months later, I had a handful of new songs that I wanted to put to tape, so I cranked out some demos with Sarah’s help and in early 2015 Rip Room was born. We played our first show at a house party in June of that year and in November we recorded our first EP.
Were you active in other groups before and if so, tell us more about it.
John Reed: I have been playing in bands since I was 15, but likely none that you’ve ever heard of! Most recently I was in a band called Command Control with Rip Room’s first drummer Joe Barker. Joe had a side project called Unraze that I played bass in, and the singer from that group played guitar in Gracie’s old band Catchlight. So when Joe left the band in 2017, Sarah and I reached out to Gracie to see if she’d like to play with us and we hit it off swimmingly.
Gracie Malley: John and Sarah came to scope out my skills at a Catchlight show to see if I had what it took to fill Joe’s shoes … They were skeptical because I was wearing a Timberwolves jersey but decided to give me a try anyway. The rest is history.
Sarah Mckinney: Rip Room is my first band, unless you count marching bands in high school (I played the flute). I had only just started learning the bass back in 2014, and that Halloween Ramones cover band show John mentioned was my first time playing the bass in front of other people.
‘Alight and Resound’ will be released any day now. It’s really a fantastic release. Perfect for summer days. Did you have a lot of fun working on it?
Gracie Malley: Thanks! It’s always fun when we’re together. We made this record during some nice late Summer days, so perhaps that’s coming through. We had an incredible long weekend in Grass Valley staying at Tim Green’s compound, cranking out our songs, drinking chi-chis all day and night and watching episodes of The Midnight Special. But the most fun came in the spontaneity at which we added additional textures and instruments to our songs.
John Reed: We had such a great time recording! Louder Studios is in Grass Valley, which is a few hours from San Francisco. It’s in a beautiful, semi-secluded location without any real distractions so we can just focus on recording. This was our third time working with Tim Green, so there’s a real family vibe when we’re together, too.
Sarah Mckinney: Yeah, recording with Tim at Louder always feels like vacation or Summer camp to me. It’s a lot of hard work and long days to get everything “right” but above all else it’s an absolute blast.
How do you typically approach songwriting?
John Reed: I almost always start with a guitar or bass line. Once I have a riff or a progression that sticks with me, I’ll just start recording straight to GarageBand with a software drummer which allows me to arrange very quickly. Once the song starts to take shape I send it to Sarah and Gracie and we’ve usually got the vibe after a couple of practices. Vocals and lyrics always come last, after we feel super comfortable with the song.
Do you feel that this album is a step forward after two successful EPs? Tell us more about both EPs….
John Reed: This album is a huge step forward for us. It’s the first record to feature Gracie on drums, and she’s really been integral to the driving sound we have now. I also feel like my songwriting has greatly improved since we put out the last record way back in 2017. That’s not to say that I’m not proud of the first two EPs. Our self-titled debut came together incredibly fast and has some elements of our sound that have carried through to the present, but in retrospect I feel like I can hear myself still trying to figure out what the hell this band was going to be about. ‘Monsters’ was at once a step forward and a step back … the songs were getting more complex and thematically, I was beginning to move away from the personal, but our days were numbered with Joe and I didn’t know if the band would continue after he left, so I felt a little rushed to document what we had worked out as a group at that time.
How was it to work with Tim Green?
Gracie Malley: Tim came up with a lot of simple, yet crucial additions to these songs: a car fender being hit with a mallet, a stylophone, various synth parts and tons of onboard effects. Thankfully we tracked everything super quick which left time for these magic touches.
John Reed: Tim’s general disposition is super chilled out and relaxed, which really helps to get great performances out of bands. He has an incredible ear, and in addition to writing synth parts helped with chord voicings on a few songs (most notably, ‘Flaw In The Logic’).
Sarah Mckinney: It’s wonderful—when we recorded our self-titled debut EP, I hadn’t been playing bass all that long, and had absolutely never recorded in a studio, so I was pretty nervous that I was going to “mess it up”. Tim was so relaxed and friendly when we first met that it immediately put me at ease. Now we all stay up playing Mario Kart or watching The Midnight Special, and it feels more like hanging out than recording a full length record in a weekend.
Who did the cover artwork?
John Reed: John Frazier at Spartan directed the design and layout, but the concept was a collaborative effort. The peacock tapestry is a found object that we scanned, but the bulk of the labor is all thanks to Sarah, who did the embroidered lettering by hand. Jake Yeagley, our friend and designer based out of Seattle, assembled the eyeball collage on the inner sleeve that peaks through the die-cuts on the cover.
What’s next for the band?
John Reed: Touring. We are playing the east coast for the first time on a 2-week run this August, and with the world seemingly re-opening (fingers crossed!) we’re super anxious to get back out on the road. I’ve also been writing a ton these past few months so we hope to get back to the studio this fall to track out the next record.
Are any of you involved in any other bands or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?
Gracie Malley: I’m also in an instrumental twangy rock n’ roll band called The Greasy Gills.
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
Gracie Malley: I’ve been in a musical rut for a while but a few things have excited me lately: Cate Le Bon – ‘Pompeii’, the new Oh Sees single (‘Funeral Solution’) and I’m a big Gizzhead but sort of got lost in the last string of their albums but this most recent one made my ears perk up.
John Reed: I just picked up the Laddio Bolocko compilation/reissue ‘97-’99 which is a real scorcher. Also ‘Any Information’ by E and Terry Gross’s ‘Soft Opening’ have been on heavy rotation.
Sarah Mckinney: I’ve been digging into early San Francisco punk lately, like Pink Section’s retrospective self-titled LP and Romeo Void’s ‘It’s a Condition’.
Thank you. Last word is yours.
Thank YOU!
Klemen Breznikar
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