rockyourlyricsHow do you usually write the lyrics of your songs?
Jeremy Richardson: Usually a concept comes before lyrics, we generally write separately and then bring our lyrics together but often it creates a cool dynamic where we write from different perspectives on whatever the song is about.
Most important thing about songwriting?
Ruel James: HONESTY. Always honesty, if the lyrics resonate with YOU it will most definitely resonate with others.
Are you ever scared of revealing aspects of your personal life/experience to strangers through your music?
It’s always a little nerve wracking to dig deep and pull from personal experiences, but that’s where the best art comes from.
What is the best lyric that you ever wrote (the most meaningful for you)?
Ruel: “In just a matter of seconds I went bystander to standing in that way of your weapon”
Jeremy: “I know how hard it gets, when you get lost still finding out how dark it gets”
What inspired “Welcome//The End,” from your forthcoming EP “Hostile”?
Jeremy: The first line I have in ‘Hostile‘ was inspired by a gentleman who had approached our van in Kelowna, BC and said “We are nothing, we come from nothing this is hostile” and at the time I had been writing down anything I heard throughout the day because it’s a good method to help me write, and those words took me completely off guard. I knew they would have to live forever in a Widmore track. Thanks random dude.
While writing for the EP I began at those words and branched off and began building on the narrative with Ruel. The song is supposed to portray our reaction to things that are out of our own control, when we are faced with reality and the world doesn’t seem so bright, how do we react?
Our song “The End” is ironically the start of our journey into the question, “how do we as people deal with situations that are out of our control but still impact our lives?”
And “Letter To Myself”?
Ruel: This song is kind of like a letter to my anxieties. Hint the name “Letter to Myself”. I was going through a rough patch in my life and decided the best way to get through it was to address the things that were holding me back head on, I eventually came to find that those things were me.
Do you remember the day you wrote “Hollow Heart”?
Ruel: “Hollow Heart” was actually written in a past band that Jeremy, James and myself were in. Special shout out to Brandynn Evans on this one, he’s the real homie.
Is there a link/a common theme among the songs of the new EP?
Jeremy: Everything from the soundscape of the interludes to the song titles of the EP are intricately linked to one another. We really wanted to challenge ourselves to see if we could make a 10 minute piece that felt like a real journey.
What is the best suggestion your producer gave you?
“I don’t know if you can say the “N” word in a metal song” – we didn’t listen to this advice.
What are your plans for the rest of 2019?
Tour as much as we possibly can and release double the amount of music we released in 2018.
To conclude the interview a short Q/A session, please answer the first thing that comes to your mind:
- Define in one word your EP “Hostile”: HOSTILE.
- The best show you ever played: Houston, Texas, Warped Tour 2018.
- The one thing that you must have in your backstage: A place to do vocal warmups.
- The soundtrack of your childhood: No Strings Attached – NSYNC.
- Your favourite song lyrically speaking, but not written by you: Ruel & Jeremy – Grief – Earl Sweatshirt.
- Last question is “unusual”, we want to know your best relationship advice: Communicate and always share food. This applies to bands and relationships.
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