Interview: Rah Rah

This Regina, Saskatchewan collective has been making a name for themselves across Canada and their debut album Going Steady has been continuing to garner praise from all over the place. With a new full length on the way and an obviously very bright future ahead, we had a chance to chat with singer and multi-instrumentalist Erin Passmore while the band was on their way to their next gig. So without further ado, here is our interview with Rah Rah.

Meet You At The Show: So first question, how long have you guys been together as a band?

Erin Passmore: We started playing music in high school and over the years we incorporated close friends and my brother and now there’s six members. Dan’s with us because Joel had surgery on his Achilles tendon back home and couldn’t tour with us so Dan is…I would say an honorary member. Okay, Dan’s a member, so seven of us. So there is Marshall, Leif, Christina, Vanessa, myself, Dan and Joel.

MYATS: I understand you have a new full length on the way. Have you decided on a release date yet?

EP: Yeah, we’re pretty excited about that actually, it should be out in the spring time we’re hoping. March or April I think. We’re just finishing up. I think we’ve got the final mixes and we’re going to send it away to get it mastered before Tuesday so (it’s) all comin’ together!

MYATS: Did you guys decide on a title yet?

EP: I think they decided on Breaking Hearts. We actually had some trouble finding a name that everybody felt represented the record adequately but that one seems to fit. It’s a little tongue in cheek but that’s the way we roll most of the time.

MYATS: You guys have played in numerous cities all over Canada. Do you plan on breaking ground in the U.S. in the coming year?

EP: If it comes up, if we get any opportunity, we would love to tour the States. Some of us have already in our previous bands and it’s just really great cause cities are closer together and they’re usually bigger and just more bang for your buck I suppose than driving around Canada. We love touring Canada too but it’s just a completely different environment.

MYATS: Since you’ve started you guys have received Saskatchewan’s Canadiana New Artist and Alternative New Artist of the Year acknowledgments from iTunes and your debut album won two iTunes Single of the Week. Do you place a lot of importance on acknowledgements like these?

EP: It’s pretty crazy. We definitely weren’t expecting a claim like that. It was a pleasant surprise, I know I personally wasn’t expecting it. We just released it, finally got it out after recording it and then a year later we’re getting all this recognition, it’s pretty exciting for a small town band. We don’t really place much importance on it. When we go into recording or anything like that we just try to be completely happy and successful with anything we’re doing. We don’t really think about other stuff like that, it’s not really on our minds but it was such a pleasant surprise that the iTunes stuff happened. Completely out of the blue. I guess people like us!

MYATS: Does everyone in the band have an equal role in songwriting?

EP: Yeah it’s a very collective effort. For Going Steady Marshall wrote a lot of the lyrics and basic song structure. For the new album everybody helped out. Joel and I switched up drums so it’s pretty much half and half on the new record which is also pretty cool since it frees me up to do some bass playing and keyboards and Christina has some of her songs on there and some of Marshall’s goodies so it turned out really well. I would say the roles are completely equal. For Going Steady it was too but it’s kind of different. It’s not like we were locked into our instruments because we did switch around but I just feel free or more liberated with the new stuff since we tried new things. We all play everything so we could try anything we want basically.

MYATS: How will the new album differ from your debut release?

EP: Yeah, I would say it’s definitely a wider range of music. You still have the folk elements of Marshall and my writing and you also get some more stuff in there with Joel, Christina and Leif. It’s definitely a broader range of creativity. I would call it more whole. It’s a better representation of who we are as people and as artists than Going Steady. We loved playing the material in Going Steady but this feels bigger and better. It’s been a growing experience!

MYATS: Where do you guys see yourself in ten years?

Marshall Burns: We’ve got the record we’re going to put out. So I think the next couples of years is touring to hype that just like we’ve been touring to hype the past record the last couple of years. Just try to get it out there as much as possible and try to physically get out there as well, play for people and enjoy every experience that comes.

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We would like to thank Rah Rah for taking the time to speak with us. As we heard from Erin Passmore and Marshall Burns, Rah Rah has been up to a lot lately and doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon. Again you can catch these guys live, this Friday, February 26th, at Green Room. Opening will be Black Mystic and Gramercy Riffs.

Tags: Black Mystic, Breaking Hearts, Erin Passmore, February 26, Going Steady, Gramercy Riffs, Green Room, Marshall Burns, Passovah, Rah Rah, Saskatchewan