Rebel Sound Radio was formed early 2015 in Hamilton. The three-piece makes wild, untamed rock ’n’ roll, bringing new meaning to the word ‘rebel’. We spoke to Jessie James about their influences, style of music and advice for new musicians:

How did you originally form as a band? Where are you guys from originally?

Rebel Sound Radio came together pretty organically, I had taken a bit of a hiatus from playing after my old band had finished up and the same went for Craig. I've known Craig for years and for the life of me I can't remember how we got in touch again, but we started jamming and we really liked the sound and feel. Ashley joined a short while after and we started working on songs. We are all Waikato natives for the most part. 

How long has your band been together? How did you come up with the name Rebel Sound Radio?

Roughly around 2014/2015 or thereabouts ... We spent a long time writing and polishing songs before playing gigs or getting out there, initially we wanted to be more of a studio band and focus on writing and recording over anything else but playing gigs is lots of fun and we always look forward to it.

I had been working on a song before the band started that had a working title of Rebel Sound Radio, I thought it would make a really cool band name and I think for the most part it mirrors our ideology as band and what we stand for.  

Which artists have been your most influence to you as a band? And how did you come up with your style of music?

Our influences are very rock based, we are all into the same bands for the most part, but we tend to lean more towards the 90's era of rock and the Grunge/Punk/Metal movements that were happening at that time. 

I enjoyed the pop punk and Nu-metal bands of the early 2000's as that's what was big when I was a young musician, but I always felt that it never had quite the same instrumental flair as some of the older stuff (being a guitarist anyway). 

We regularly pay homage to some of our influences by throwing the odd cover into our sets here and there - Nirvana, Black Sabbath, and Motorhead have all made their way into our live shows,. 

I think our sound reflects this pretty well as we tend to combine the new with the old and incorporate some of those old school tenancies. 

What are your favourite venues and cities to play on tour? What's the weirdest experience you've had on tour?

We really love playing out of town and in the other city centres, Auckland and Welly are really cool as there is a bit more going on culture wise than say, Hamilton - where there doesn't seem to be a big emphasis on going out to watch live original music. 

Nivara lounge here is really rad in catering to those that do but I don't think we are alone in having a lack of venues that provide a home for music lovers as we have seen the same up and down the country. 

I don't know if we had had too many weird experiences on tour (or experiences that are safe to share in this format?) but ... I'll throw strippers and chicken nuggets out there, and people can create their own narrative. 

Where can people find your music? 

We don't have a massive body of recorded work but our debut EP Regret Nothing is on Spotify and iTunes and the whole EP and video for the single Liberation are on YouTube. 

Alternatively, you can come and pick up a copy wherever we are playing live. Or just bootleg our show and share it with your friends, we're easy. 

What's coming up music wise in the near future? What inspires the music you make?

It's hard to say, we are three really busy guys, and this is our way to blow off steam after a long hard week. We all have demanding lives outside of music and families etc plus we regularly take long extended breaks and go right off the grid entirely haha! 

We do have a bunch of really cool new songs that we want to record and a potential single and I can definitely see another E.P / Album on the horizon but when this takes place and what that looks and sounds like we are not so sure. 

We have always been pretty laid back about what we do because we do it for ourselves first and foremost and if anyone likes what we do then that's a bonus! It's nice not having any pressure or overbearing expectations in our camp, we are like a band of the people, for the people. The Rebel Sound Radio way. 

What advice would you give new musicians starting in the music industry?

Now this sounds deep (and it is) but I feel that it needs to be said. 

Speaking from personal experience, don't let ego fuel your personality and take the time to be honest with yourself. 

I remember how it felt to be young, headstrong and ready to take on the world at a million miles an hour but the old saying of "check yourself before you wreck yourself" is so annoyingly accurate. 

I used music as a crutch for years to justify some pretty negative and damaging behaviour and now that I am older I regret both how I treated myself and others around me at the time. 

Some of it I can write off to being young and stupid, but I didn't do an overwhelmingly great job of looking after myself early on, being a musician sometimes only provided me with a big old can of petrol to add to that fire. 

It's a small family that we have so we have to look out for each other and have each other's backs, this industry can provide the greatest of times but there are many pitfalls along the way. 

I think the younger Muso's are already a lot better on this front due to general societal changes but some of us still need to know it's okay to tell a fellow band mate to slow down or that their behaviour is out of line. 

Take the time to make sure that everyone is doing okay and offer help to those around you if they need it. Don't wait for them to ask for help as some never will. 

Secondly - always offer to buy the soundie a beer at the beginning if the night! - It's the accumulation of small things that will propel you forward. 

Be an all-around awesome person to all our industry brothers and sisters, you never know where that one off interaction will lead.  

And lastly. Practice, practice and practice. No one enjoys a lazy and sloppy performance. 

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