Ryders Creed released a video on April 20th, and their self-titled album is due to rattle your eardrums from June 1st. They’re ramping up the hype with a swathe of festival appearances (including Wildfire) and an interview or two. Like this one!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Ryders Creed are from Stafford (Ryan), Burton (Lee G and Richard), Drayton Bassett (Myles) and Tamworth (Lee S). We’re a Midlands based band, our home city is Birmingham.
How did you meet?
I met Myles and Richard back when I first auditioned to be the vocalist of our previous band, Black Rose Cadillac, and I met Lee Spencer when we first played Fake Festival 2016. Later he then became our roadie for our tour with James Toseland back in April 2017. When BRC broke up in May 2017, Myles, Richard and myself brought in Lee Gilbert on drums (who they both knew from college) and we brought in Lee Spencer on guitar. Ryders Creed officially formed on May 16th 2017.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The band name comes from the olde English word “Ryder” meaning Knight (which to us symbolised resilience and strength – a will to never give up and a duty to fight for what we believe we can achieve), and “Creed” which means faith or belief, which to us just emphasises the attitude we all share of determination to make it in this difficult industry. We are Knights of our own Belief so to speak; we are Ryders Creed.
What are your influences?
We have many influences, including Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Guns and Roses, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Status Quo, Iron Maiden, as well as more modern influences such as Monster Truck, Clutch, Audioslave, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Stone Cherry, Dream Theatre and so on. Our drummer Lee also comes from a funk (Dennis Chambers), groove (Neil Peart), jazz background (Buddy Rich), as well as all of us taking influence from blues rock and Southern American rock music. Our collective taste is vast, and we strive to keep tapping in to that to create music of a high standard.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our music to us is how we feel. It’s our personality and characteristics shining through using music to paint a picture. We put our heart and soul into every track and we try to make it speak for us in ways that are universally understood. We are still very much finding our true style, our true sound, we know that we are close, but we are still new and fresh, we are still trying our hands at many things. We fall comfortably into the category of “rock” because we don’t try to stick to any one genre. We play what we feel, and if we are happy with it, we roll with it.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
In regards to lyrical themes, I’m using our music as a way to get across strong messages, be it positive or just to let people know that they’re not alone with how they’re feeling. I am now able to tap in to my past experiences, my previous vulnerabilities, my highest and lowest moments, and use them in my writing to express myself in a huge way. I can tell my stories and share my memories through music. I can write songs that allow other people to relate on a highly personal level. It’s powerful, and most humbling. It’s not so important to me what the songs mean to me, because once I’ve written them I have my closure. It’s more important to me what it means to the fans, the listeners.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We’ve played a lot of shows for a band that have only been together a year! They have ranged from small, not very well attended pub/function room shows, to full blown venues with a couple thousand people in the crowd. Our live show is energetic, it’s fun, it’s captivating and interactive. We aim to put on a performance that’ll leave people craving more, and we are constantly improving and growing. Every show we play, we learn, we change, but at the same time it’s always flowed so naturally and comfortably. I’ve never met a bunch of lads that I feel so comfortable and confident around on stage as I do with my band mates. We put our all in, and then go out and mingle, getting to know our fans and future fans, loving every second of it.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
At one of our shows back in 2017 we played an old song for the last time, and to commemorate the occasion I decided to leave the stage, come out in to the crowd, climb upon a table and start working with the audience. I used the build up of the track to split the crowd into two halves, getting both sides pumped up and ready. I played both sides off of each other in competition by getting them to scream for me. Then as the last heavy break in the song was approaching I made every single person in the crowd scream louder than before as I leapt off the table and returned to the stage. The song had a huge finish and everyone was cheering so loud once it had finished. It was emotional. I’d done the crowd split at many other shows before but knowing that this one would be the last time made it extra special for me. It marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new, better one.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I use a Shure SM58 Microphone with a Hercules Mic Stand decorated with scarves that I collect from different places I go.
Richard uses Rickenbacker bass guitars, with Ashdown mag 220 head & cabs, fitted beautifully into a custom made flight case (Flight Case Warehouse).
Myles uses a PRS guitar, as well as a Gibson, with an Orange Thunderverb head, and Orange cabs.
Lee Gilbert uses a Pearl drum kit at the moment with VicFirth Sticks, a custom made Pearl Masters snare, Zildjian & Istanbul cymbals, Remo drum heads.
Lee Spencer uses Blackstar amp heads and cabs, with a Westfield guitar, Ernie Ball strings and Dunlop Jazz 3’s Picks.
As I’m only the singer I can’t possibly explain their gear in as much detail and passion as the lads can, but our gear is a massive part of the band.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
At the moment we are plugging and promoting the recent release of our debut single “Headspace”, and also the upcoming release of our debut album Ryders Creed on June 1st. We are working with Duff Press and releasing our material through Off Yer Rocka Recordings (our label), working very closely with our manager Terri on every area of the releases. Its an extremely exciting time! Some of our fans have already received the album as they pledged via PledgeMusic for it to be made, and we’ve heard nothing but amazing feedback. We hope the world loves it as much as we do when it’s finally released in June.
What are your plans for 2018?
Our plans for 2018 are to release all of our important releases before summer, then tour and gig as much as humanly possible to promote the album/releases. We’re currently booked on over 25 shows between June 16th and December 15th, and they are widely spread across the country (including one show abroad in Ibiza, The HRH Road Trip!). Pushing our music out there and spreading the word about our band is a strong plan of ours for the rest of 2018.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
There are a great many bands that we would love to support, and also a great many who we would love to open a show for us, so this is a tough one… I think if we are talking realistically then a really awesome support slot on tour or a one off show for us would be supporting The Dead Daisies. We love those guys, and their music is right up our street! We’ll be sharing a bill and having a few drinks with them at HRH12 in November, so who’s knows what we’ll get chatting about…
I think a band that we would love have supporting us, out of so many possible choices would have to be Dead Man’s Whiskey. They’re cool, their music is bluesy and awesome, really riff based and rock n’ roll, and they’re just the nicest guys! Honestly! There are a lot of really nice, cool bands out there, that we are close with and really dig, but DMW are our boys! It’d be a party every day with those guys! Great band!
From previous Band of the Day, Empire Warning: If a Norse God had to take over from one band member what god will it be, what position would they be filling?
What a question! Without knowing a massive amount about Norse Gods, I’d have to say Thor, to replace Lee on drums, because he’s also very good at smashing things… Or Loki to replace either Myles or Richard because I’d notice no difference as the level of mischief would stay the same!
From another BotD, The Crawling: Being in a band can be as much of curse as a source of enjoyment and satisfaction. What keeps you going when things get tough?
The big picture, the end goal, the achievements we have yet to make and the things we have yet to do. The people we have yet to meet, the music we have yet to make, the stages, venues, festivals, countries we have yet to play… we are in this to live the dream and make this our life-long career!
What keeps us going is that no matter how tough it gets or how much we just want to scream at each other about things, we know that it’s only a few years of blood sweat and tears until it becomes the life we’ve always wanted. We live for the roar of the crowds, the lights, the sea of faces, the music… The road is our collective home. Persistence and hard work pays off, we’re all on the same page with regards to that, and that’s why, no matter how hard it gets, we carry on. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.
And from King Bison (UK): If you could join any band on stage for one song, who would it be and what track would you play?
If I could join any band on stage for one song, it would be Prophets of Rage, as I would love to sing “Like A Stone” in memory and honour of the late, great, Chris Cornell. He’s one of my biggest influences and to sing that song with the rest of his old band members, would be a real dream come true. I may never get to meet him now, which upsets me hugely, but at least then I’d be able to share a spiritual moment with him, stepping into his shoes for a song.
Ryders Creed: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | soundcloud | youtube
