Untitled Document

HOME

NEWS

ARTISTS

PHOTOS

PODCASTS

TOURS

FESTIVALS

WIN

REVIEWS

Featured
Lowrider
Celebrating the release of Lowrider's new album 'Round The World' we go behind the scenes of the hot new single!

Featured Artist
Amy Meredith
A journey is a fitting way to describe the last two years of life for Amy Meredith. From shaping...

Win Stuff
Bam! Festival
BAM! Festival is pleased to announce its first all Aussie, emerging artist line up, full of gems waiting...

On Tour
Crowded House
Crowded House, some of Australasia’s favourite sons and one of the most exceptional and enduring bands...

ON THE COUCH WITH: Rival Schools

RSS Artist Interviews Feed

QUICK LINKS: Artist Interview | Artist Biography | Artist Website

Share this

Send this to my mate

ARTIST INTERVIEW

Access All Areas.net.au: Hey walter, How are you doing?
Walter - Rival Schools: Yeah, Yeah, Hey. I'm doing really good. Been in the studio and just really excited to get out to Australia.

Access All Areas.net.au: How's the rest of the band?
Walter - Rival Schools: They are all doing really good. We have all been busy.

Access All Areas.net.au: Now, I didn't know this and I feel bad for not knowing but, you where in Gorilla Biscuits.
Walter - Rival Schools: Wow. Oh my god yeah. I played lead guitar and wrote all the lyrics for Gorilla Biscuits.

Access All Areas.net.au: Gorilla Biscuits was a big influence to a lot of bands who are around now. Fall Out Boy did a cover of your song 'Start
Today'. What did you think of the cover?
Walter - Rival Schools: They did a good job. I mean you can never replace the original.

Access All Areas.net.au: And they didn't have the sweet harmonica solo that you guys did.
Walter - Rival Schools: Haha, yeah well, you know if they would have asked me I would have been happy to do it for them, with a more expensive harmonica. But, they did a good job.

Access All Areas.net.au: They are playing the night before you guys in Brisbane. Any chance of catching up with the guys? I know Patrick Stump is a big fan.
Walter - Rival Schools: Really? Wow, that is awesome yeah totally. I would love to meet up with those guys. I think Sam knows them and played with them on stage. But, yeah if I get the chance to meet them I would really like to.

Access All Areas.net.au: You where in Australia in December for the Gorilla Biscuits tour. How was that?
Walter - Rival Schools: It was great we all had a lot of fun. We were able to play for the kids there and I only wish I got to spend more time in Australia.

Access All Areas.net.au: How did the name 'Rival School's' come about?
Walter - Rival Schools: It's funny I was trying to come up with a name for the band, and with some band names they just never seem to work. It's actually from a videogame. There is this bar near my place that had this video game called "Rival Schools: United By Fate" and I just thought it sounded like a great name. I didn't want to use the whole thing so, that is why the album is titled 'United By Fate'. We didn't have any problems with copy write laws, they seemed pretty happy for us to use it and it's one of those name's that are easy to remember.

Access All Areas.net.au: Your coming here in February for Soundwave. Are you excited?
Walter - Rival Schools: I am really excited to get out there. I am looking forward to it.

Access All Areas.net.au: What band's are you interested to see play at Soundwave?
Walter - Rival Schools: I haven't really looked at the set list but, I have a few friends bands who are also playing. I would have to say I am most excited to see Nine Inch Nails. They always do an amazing show.

Access All Areas.net.au: How will you spend your day's at Soundwave surviving the hot Australian Summer?
Walter - Rival Schools: Is it really that hot there?

Access All Areas.net.au: Yesterday it was 83° Fahrenheit by 8am.
Walter - Rival Schools: Oh damn, wow. No wonder everyone keep's telling me to take a hat. Haha. I always wondered where in the world could things ever be that hot, now I know. Haha. Yeah, I think I am going to wear a hat and just keep my hydration levels up.

Access All Areas.net.au: While in Australia is there anything you would like to do while here?
Walter - Rival Schools: I did the whole cuddle a koala thing, but honestly I want more time at the beach. I loved it. If I could spend more time at the beach surfing I will be happy.

Access All Areas.net.au: Have you done the Vegemite taste test yet?
Walter - Rival Schools: No! I haven't. Yeah I have to do that. That's going to be my plan while there. I am going to go surfing and eat a vegemite sandwich!

Access All Areas.net.au: Finally, what are the 2009 plans of Rival Schools?
Walter - Rival Schools: We are working on an album which hopefully will be out end of summer, early fall and then tour, tour, tour.

Access All Areas.net.au: Well, It's been great talking to you Walter. I wish you and the guys all the best. I will be at Soundwave so hopefully I will see you there and I will bring along some Vegemite.
Walter - Rival Schools: Haha. Thank you. You have a deal. I am totally up for that!

Interview by Kira Newlands

INTERVIEW: DECEMBER, 2008

Access All Areas.net.au: Hey walter, hows it going
Rival Schools: Hey man, yeh its good, I’m sitting in a restaurant doing interviews, so its been difficult doing interviews, but its kinda clearing out, so I should hear you.

Access All Areas.net.au: You as a band have recently reunited after a lengthy break, how are things since reuniting
Rival Schools: Yeah things have been great, we always wanted to get back together & when we actually made the commitment to it, we were all excited. The reunion has been a lot bigger than we thought it’d be, we’ve had massive tours in Europe & the states here, so its been good.

Access All Areas.net.au: Now with reuniting, after 5 years was it difficult to get back together
Rival Schools: Well legisticly it was difficult, but really it wasn’t that much in organising. As I said we all wanted to do something new with the band, over time I’ve been living in Europe & other members lived around the world so we kept in contact over the years & we all were excited. We’ve managed to not only do some amazing shows, but also write some new material, we’ve got some cool new songs we like & our fans have been giving us a good response.

Coming back together, you must be looking to get new material out, is it difficult writing new material as a band again?
Rival Schools: Well as we had a bunch of demos we didn’t get around to finishing before we split, we had a platform you could say of where we wanted to go with the material. These songs have since been leaked on the net so the fans of ours have heard them, but we’re changing up how the songs are. We’ve written about 4 or 5 new ones & we feel that they’re good songs. Working with the guys, its like they know my kind of music & I’m able to write alongside them really easily.

You recently did some Touring through the summer, taking in europe & the states, how was the response to these shows & any new material
Rival Schools: Yeah its been just so much more than we thought. I really didn’t think we’d get as big a response as we would, when we played the festivals it was so much fun & the crowds were great. The proper shows we headlined in the smaller clubs were just crazy, the fans went nuts & we played some cool sets. The fans liked some new material more than others, but it all worked in well.

In the coming year, you are touring australia on the soundwave festival, are you looking forward to the tour
Rival Schools: Yeah its going to be really fun, I’m looking forward to the tour as its our first festival run of australia. We did a tour back a while, but only did sydney & melbourne, so to get out & see more cities & parts of the country will be awesome. Also as its summer down there & not winter its all the much better.

Have you seen the lineup at all & are there any bands you are looking forward to be seeing or play with
Rival Schools: Yeah its pretty much a good lineup, I’m not too sure of the full lineup, but theres bands I’m going for. Bands such as Nine Inch Nails, the Bloodhound Gang & others & playing with bands I know from canada such as Beduine soundclash & billy talent it should be cool.

Access All Areas.net.au: At the festival, What kind of set will you be playing
Rival Schools: We will obviously do the hits from united by fate & the other stuff we got, besides that we will probably play a few new songs. We’ve just rehearsed 4 new songs, so we’d like to play all of them hopefully, but will see how much time we got.

Access All Areas.net.au: Do you have any Festival tips for the kids who will be coming to see you at Soundwave
Rival Schools: Well if its anything like Europe, bring some good footwear as its wet as hell. But I think it should be summer there, so maybe a good hat to protect yourself from the sun & maybe some water or something. That’s pretty much the tips from Walter

Access All Areas.net.au: Do you have many memorable festival memories
Rival Schools: Yeah of course, but my stories go for too long. Basically we’ve done heaps of cool larger & smaller festivals & pretty much to play with the bands & see the people at the festivals go crazy for us, its just the best you know, so that’s my memories.

Have you any favourite artists you’ve seen at festivals
Rival Schools: Yeah I’d probably say The Breeders & Greenday. We did some festival stuff with the breeders when they came back & we made friends with them & had some fun. With Greenday, they seriously worked the festival so well, they had an awesome set, had the crowd going & even got someone up to play guitar who was wearing one of our shirts, so it was cool.

Access All Areas.net.au: Are there any favourite festivals you have done
Rival Schools: Yeah a festival I did solo in the UK called Truckfest I think it was, I’m not sure. It was a great indie festival with some small bands but still great ones. It was small but cool, about five thousand people, so good fun.

Access All Areas.net.au: Well walter, thanks for your time, all the best, bye.
Rival Schools: Yeah, thankyou, bye.

Interview By: Ben Coby.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Born out of a hearty hardcore pedigree, the members of Rival Schools stepped to the plate with a phenomenal history and the qualities that would point towards an amazing future.

Singer and guitarist Walter Schreifels began making waves as the guitarist for '80s hardcore pioneers Gorilla Biscuits and then went on to influence the entire post-hardcore movement with his influential work in Quicksand, as well as production for acts like CIV and Hot Water Music.

Drummer Sam Siegler has seen almost as much in his day, performing with an impressive list of bands that includes Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Judge, Shelter, CIV, and Glassjaw before finding his place in Rival Schools.

Guitarist Ian Love honed his chops in NY's Burn and Die 116, and bassist Cache "Utah Slim" Tolman is an alumni of exploratory jazz metalloids Iceburn, as well as a former bandmate of Siegler in CIV. With such an expansive amount of experience, it was only natural that these musicians would find their common bonds and create a new group that took their collective talents to even greater heights.

Coming together in the first year of the new century, the group quickly gained a reputation for powerful rock before they even started to record. Combing the live intensity of Quicksand with more exploratory guitars and a newly melodic singing approach from Schreifels, Rival Schools took the urgency of the new metal trend and gave it a solid heart and a thoughtful mind.

In an age when music was becoming dominated by completely unbelievable faux rock, the band disposed of clichés and focused on unbiased creativity. In an even more adventurous move, the group decided to make their first release something of a concept record and turned to Schreifels' own label, NY's Some Records, for the project

The resulting EP, Rival Schools United By Onelinedrawing, saw the band's initial excitement explode onto record with tracks like "Take One for the Team" and "Contraire," but the best was still to come. With allegiances to Island Records still existing from Schreifels' Quicksand days, the label scooped up the band's upcoming music, and summer 2001 saw the release of their first full-length LP, United By Fate. The record is a powerful document with adventurous songwriting, explosive energy, and melodically abrasive guitars, results that anyone who was paying attention should have been expecting all along.

On April 9, 2008 the German Rock am Ring & Rock im Park rock music festival announced that Rival Schools would be performingl on June 8, 2008. The band has also played the second stage of the Download Festival in Donington, UK on the same day Kiss headlined. In an unbelievable coup Soundwave has managed to score the services of Rival Schools for 09…this is too good to be true.

www.myspace.com/rivalschoolsmusic

GIGS & TOURS GUIDE

search by Artist:

Search by Festival:

Recently Announced: Crowded House | Gorillaz | Amy Meredith | Klaxons | MORE GIGS

EVENTS & COMPETITIONS

+ View more competitions

Win Tix

Bam! Festival

BAM! Festival is pleased to announce its first all Aussie, emerging artist line up, full of gems waiting to be discovered in a true...

Win Tix

The Likes Of You w/ Stephan Bodzin

Intuition is the little man inside all our heads. A flash of illumination that can’t be judged by logical reason. Intuition gives us...

Win Tix

Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro have announced new tour dates for Brisbane 18th The Hi Fi, Melbourne 19th The Hi Fi and Sydney 20th Metro this May. Coming...

Win Tix

The Holidays

Sydney quartet The Holidays announce East Coast headline dates to coincide with the release of their imminent new single Golden Sky....

LIVE PHOTO GALLERY

+ View more photos

Amy Meredith + Finabah
Live @ Rock at the Schools tour 2010

Karnivool + MM9
Live @ The Hi Fi Bar, Brisbane, QLD (June 2010)

Train
Live @ The Forum, Melbourne, VIC (June 2010)

Gyroscope
Live @ HQ, Adelaide, SA (2010)

MUSIC FESTIVAL NEWS

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS TURNS 10 : Day1 Reviewed

Posted August 1 2010

It’s a celebration bitches enjoy yourselves. That’s...

WIN TX TO GODSKITCHEN 3D IN MELBOURNE

Posted July 28 2010

Godskitchen returns to Australia in October to blow...

30 Seconds To Mars to return to Oz for Soundwave Festival!

Posted July 28 2010

30 Seconds To Mars will return to Australia in February...

MY FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

Bliss N Eso
It was at the Great Escape Festival in Sydney. It was a really nice setting as the stage was set up alongside the Parramatta river. The only problem was about 15 minutes before the show it was raining and there was no crowd in front of the stage. So we where obviously like a little bit worried. Then about 5 minutes to show time, suddenly like clockwork the sun came out as well as a swarm of a few thousand people rowdy and ready to go crazy. Needless to say it was an awesome show and even better because it was in front of a home town crowd!

Ideal Lineup?
Outkast, Bubba Sparxxx, Mos Def Featuring The Roots, K-os, Rage Against the Machine, Dead Prez, Notorious B.I.G & 2pac (hey you said ideal! J)