Hot Show Alert: Night Riots bring their cinematic live show to Boston tonight (Interview in Post!)

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In most via the interweb chats versus that classic one on one in person situation, it ends up being a few one liner answers and emoticons over actual words. That was not the situation for LA band Night Riots who will be playing their first headlining run in a good long while tonight at Brighton Music Hall! With tickets still available and a early door time of 6:30, it should be an incredible night and we definitely would like to see you there.

Pre-show, I sent some questions over to the band asking them about the new song, “On the Line” to what they’re currently working on. The band paints a story live, really making it a very different in a great way performance, and the story gets painted in interviews apparently to with the first answer from the band being something that seems like it’s being read in a book but that’s just how Night Riots rolls!

You released the new single, “On the Line”, about a week ago. Can you tell us a little bit about the story behind the song? How it came together?
I went to a party out in the country where we live in California. It’s a ranch with two trailers on a hill and there is a tribe of girls who live there. They’re girls who shoot shotguns, ride horses and listen to Kendrick. In one of the bedrooms, there was a group of 5 or 6 of them cast out on the bed like modern day Marie Antoinette’s. They were laughing and passing around a blunt. It struck me because it wasn’t a performance, it wasn’t overtly sexual. They were just being themselves. There was a lawless-ness and a realness that struck me. This is the modern youth, I believe this is the majority of people, not the sensationalized thing we see in entertainment right now where everything needs to be shocking and full octane. In these times, you can shut the real you out because you feel like you need to put on a show to stand out. To me putting it all on the line is reconciling with who you are and putting it out to the world. That’s where the idea for the song came from initially.

Then the last record, “Love Gloom”, dropped late 2016 on Sumerian initially. Is the new single a sign of a new album/what to expect from new music?

Yeah we are building towards a new album. Although we’ve just been releasing songs, not necessarily as singles, but to get our fans excited. It’s a bit of an unconventional approach, not going with a direct single but the landscape of music is changing a lot. We are more stoked on the idea of just consistently putting out good content in whatever form that is, whether it’s an album, singles, etc.

If working on new music, where are you at in the process? Is there something new you tried this time around? Do you feel the writing process is changing or has it fallen into a pretty steady rhythm?

We have a ton of material and have been in the studio whenever we aren’t touring. I feel like our songwriting is steady but it’s definitely always evolving and changing a bit to keep things fresh. For this album we are really trying to keep the songs boiled down to the best version of what they can be. Keeping things minimalistic and let the songs be what they want to be. Not forcing them into a box or genre or bound by certain instruments. It’s been challenging and fun.

You’re starting your headlining run tomorrow. For this tour/fans who haven’t seen the band, how are you planning these sets? What should first timers look forward to?

We like to make our set a journey. We like to make our shows a whole experience, not just about playing the songs. We try to create a mood and atmosphere with our set and presence. For someone who’s never seen us they should expect a bit of theatrics, a lot of energy and overall being transported.

To end it off, what are some focuses/goals for Night Riots in these next few months?

Our main goal is to put out good content, music and art that people can listen to, connect with or escape with. We want to give people hope and something to feel a part of in this, at times, fucked up world we are in.

About Author

Colleen

Colleen has been writing about music since 2009. Interviewing bands since the glory days of Warped and has continued to do so for now over fourteen years. As well as doing freelance for other publications, the love for everything rock continues today.