Well hello there, I know it’s been a while but trust me this has been
worth the wait. Firstly let’s get formalities over and done with shall we? How
have you all been? Hoping your New Year was accompanied by a terrific hangover,
if not you weren’t doing it right, but hope it was amazing all the same. Okay
enough of all that back to the part you’ve all been waiting desperately for, a
new article, some more wise words of wisdom from yours truly. This time we’re
lucky enough to have some live photographs, that’s right people Rebel Yell is
going up in the world! So I’d like to thank you to Sammi Doherty in advance for
letting me use her awesome photos. Everyone say thank you…they’ll be up shortly
for you all.
Rory Indiana with Empire's lead singer Joe Green. Left to Right: Dan Ely; Harry Ward; Joe Green; Ben Clement; Rory Kaye. Photo By: Sammi Doherty
It’s a Tuesday night here in Brighton, and I’m spending it at the recently
reopened “The Hope” so far the ambiance here is so quirky you’ve just got to
love it. They have random things hanging from the ceiling, such as guitars,
book pages and God knows what else; what’s more they have a caravan as their
kitchen…trust me it works. But I’m not exactly here to admire the decor, Rebel
Yell hasn’t gone into home interior quite yet. Up stairs is where I’m heading
though, ya see remember a little band called Rory Indiana? I harped on about
them a few months ago? Well I’m here to rattle on about them again, I know you
all loved what I had to say before and you’re going to love this just as much.
Now one great thing about being here in Brighton is how much music is out here,
especially undiscovered bands or those who are just starting to make a name for
themselves. There’s nothing better than just randomly showing up to a gig and
going with it…okay you can probably think of much better things but it’s
definitely in the top ten. And granted this particular gig wasn’t a spontaneous
decision, I decided to come about a week ago…again not the point though. The
first time I saw Rory Indiana was completely spontaneous, as a result I’ve been
infatuated with their music ever since. Plus all the guys are absolute
sweethearts…okay out of all words I could have used to describe them I don’t
know why I settled on that one, just humour me and go with it…on the few times
I’ve met them/spoke with them they’ve always been so grateful and genuinely
ecstatic that their music is reaching a wider audience outside of their immediate
social circle. That’s a quality that I’ve found a lot of bands lose early on in
their career, they seem to forget that the way to keep people around isn’t
purely through brilliant music, but actually interacting and having a sense of
humility; nine times out of ten people are more compelled to follow a band who
try to keep as connected to them as possible. This is a quality I hope that
Rory Indiana will continue to illustrate as they excel through the industry.
We all here know how I like to babble on about all sorts of random and
most of the time pointless things, and trust me I’ll get to the crucial topic
somewhen today, but for now just deal with this, after all my blog my rules.
Anyways, we all are aware that I’m an aspiring musician; this being a side
project I started a few years back. Hopefully you’re all also aware that I’m
not “major label bad, indie goo” like
most naïve musician I encounter. But I do understand how important it is for
smaller bands to break into the medias attention. There are some out there who
deserve so much credit for the work their putting out there, for their talent
to be recognised and appreciated. Hence why I keep bombarding you with people
like Rory Indiana. I’ve been following this band for a number of months now…not
literally of course because that would be both creepy and stalkerish, and I
don’t recommend stalking a band, it most probably will end badly for you. Wait
where was I? Oh yeah, I’ve been following Rory Indiana for a number of months
now and I’ve already seen vast improvements to their set and performance, their
hard work is definitely starting to show through. Determination and dedication
is key to this industry, and to any job really.
Recently the band have been out
to Sweden to play a few college gigs over there, this is their first step into targeting
an international audience. The video below is taken from an acoustic set.
Personally I think for a band who produces music like these guys it’s extremely
difficult to strip back a song to just an acoustic guitar and vocal line
effectively. This accents the bands potential and talent extremely well, as it
is evident that Ben Clement’s guitar technique is close to flawless in this
example, as well as demonstrating how powerful Rory Kaye’s voice actually is; plus
you can really appreciate and hear the genius behind the lyrics. What’s more,
both put the same amount of enthusiasm and energy into this performance as they
would in a regular show…well not exactly the same…the same level definitely but
illustrates how the guys are capable of adapting their performance strategies
to be appropriate to the audience they’re playing to.
Okay, so the gig as usual the band did not disappoint, even as they were
setting up the energy and anticipation in the room immediately heightened. The
guys effectively interwove songs from their EP “Emiricism” which you can purchase here.
(see what I did there aye? Now that’s what you can call proper product
placement! Wait is it product placement? Or just simple marketing? Oh whatever
it is it was subtle until I pointed it!) But if you guys are broke students
like myself (although I own the EP and highly recommend that you do to) you can
listen to it on Spotify here.
Dan Ely on Bass photo by: Sammi Doherty
Anyways back to the gig! Like I said the boys didn’t disappoint. I have
determined it’s difficult not to move in some way to their music, if you’re not
moshing, your head is at least involuntarily keeping in time to Harry and Dan’s
groove. For some reason I always find myself watching drummers and bassists at
gigs, maybe because I don’t play those instruments or I’m genuinely intrigued
by the whole rhythm section; each element of a band can make or break a song,
but if the rhythm section is even slight off then the while thing can just be
lost. A strong bassist and drummer is a must have as they provide the voodoo
that makes the audience move. Now on the above EP there are some section you hear
and think “nah that can’t be reflected right in a live performance” tonight I
was stood corrected as the band perfectly orchestrated throughout their entire
set. This is a band that take what they do on stage seriously, and you can
definitely see and hear they spend hours to make their live sets as tight as
possible. There are many beyond fantastic guitarists out there, most that
surpass the typical “Slash” approach, I’m talking more Angus Young, Gary Moore
technically gifted as well as practically. Tonight Ben Clement illustrated how
he belongs in the same league as those guys, sure he’s only young and has a way
to go, but the potential is there and prominent. Rory is no exception from the
rest of the bands brilliance, this quintet support each others talents and
roles on the stage; a strong unit is key. Not once did Rory’s vocal falter,
instead it remain as strong and powerful as the above acoustic video. One thing
I find fascinating about his vocals is the amount of emotion he is able to
portray in it; it’s something that never ceases to amaze me. Watching each
member on stage you can see how immersed and lost they get in their own music. This is a type of passion that cannot be faked purely for stage use. Although
still a band trying to break into the industry, they treat their crowd like
each and everyone is there for them, and they’re giving them the best show they
possibly can; to the degree audience interaction involved Ben and Dan coming
into the crowd to rock out.
If you haven’t been able to see the guys live before, I’m telling you try
and see them, if not here's a little teaser what they are capable of (taken from Old Market December 2014):
They’re a band that I will continue to go and see live as often as I can,
as well as keeping up with all their new releases; such as new video to be
released.
That video came out today, and I can safely say that the boys have once
again out done themselves!
It’s hard to write about a live gig, it’s the kinda thing you need to
witness for yourself, hence why I completely encourage you to go and see these
guys live. I promise you will not regret it at all, instead they are a band
that leave you hungry for more.
Something that makes their shows remarkable to someone like me is that
fact they all are students at the same school as me. Sharing similar goals as
them, it makes the whole idea a lot more tangible and realistic. Everyone has
influences in whatever they do, they have the top dogs on their pedestals
influencing them, but they also have the ones climbing their way up despite all
obstacles in their way. For my Rory Indiana and those guys. Proving to me that
if you want something bad enough and you’re willing to do all it takes to go
after it, and still be genuinely authentic and nice people through it all, then
you can.
Now the photography that will shortly be following this post was taken by Sammi Doherty. I work and know so many talented people, each deserve their share of
credit so definitely check her out here:
