RESIDE // BEHIND THE BAND

Photo: Oversimplified Complications Photography

If I had to pick 5 acts from Melbourne that I think will blow up, Reside is one of them. Their debut EP "Closing Doors" dropped a few short months ago and has seen the band play bigger and more frequent shows! Give them a spin, see what I mean..

//Can you give us a brief history of the band and your releases?//

Sale: Starting in late 2016. Originally a studio project, Liam wanted to do something different from his current roots in hip hop/rap. Starting the demos with Dylan Houston, eventually Ariel and I were invited to fill out the rest of the lineup.

Liam: Yeah so basically, in late 2016 I had been listening to a lot of heavier, more aggressive music and I really wanted to do something that was different to the norm that was Akroyd Smart (the music project I was doing at the time). I had start writing some demos and invited.

Dylan to come help with them and the idea to have a band that would just get together once every 1 - 2 months to jam out covers and some of these ideas for fun was born. Some of these demos circulated to our friends and soon after we started getting opportunities to play shows and before we knew it, we became somewhat more of a legitimate band.

//Who’s the first band who made you love music?//

Sale: I grew up listening to Grunge and Alternative Rock. While bands like Nirvana were catalysts to my teen angst, the first band that made me love music was Audioslave. I remember thinking how insane I thought Chris Cornell’s vocals we’re alongside the surreal sounds Tom Morello made on a guitar. Tim Commerford’s bass playing was infectious, I wanted to be just like him.

Ariel: It took me a while to find what I enjoy in music. At younger ages, I listened to everything that dad listened to, which while good, never truly excited me. Getting to know about different music through friends really broadened my views, one of the first in particular being Foo Fighters, and later Karnivool.

Liam: I know I was often played lots of 90s rock and grunge while I was in the womb and in my early years of being. I actually didn’t get properly into music until I was about 7 or 8 however. I can remember my first artists that I really liked at this age were N*E*R*D funnily enough and bands like Blink 182 and Green Day. After that it was merely exploring all the genres that I could and learning everything I could about them.

Dylan: It's always been a bit of a mixed bag. Through my adolescence it was pop rock, pop punk, then phases of classic rock, hair metal, then hardcore, deathcore, emo. I never really stop listening to any genre, but just add more to a never ending proverbial playlist.

//Who inspires you to make music now?//

Sale: The people I’ve met in the last few years playing music. It does sound a little douchey to me, but endearing too. Meeting people who have either made a little more progress than myself or are on the same level, make incredible music. Some of my favourite songs, have been by local bands or by friends I’ve made.

Ariel: Ditto Sale.

Liam: I guess I have my list of artists that I continually listen to and look to for inspiration but I suppose any act that is pushing the envelope in their style are the ones who inspire me. And I don’t mean just in how the music sounds or is written. Even if they’re innovating the model in how things are realised. A lot of hip hops are interesting because of that. At least to me that is. Also any band that is able to reinvent themselves successfully is super inspiring to me. Birds of Tokyo are a great example I find of this.

Dylan: That's kind of two questions in one. Like, there are bands and artists that I think just nail it like Little Brother/Trophy Eyes and Ocean Grove. But inspiration to make music lies more in things happening around me. I often find myself freefalling through life, and then freefalling through circumstances that are subsequent to my initial freefall, etc. A lot of the time I kind of just step back and try and observe things objectively, and see just how I've gotten from A to B, and usually it's inspiration enough to write something, even if it's just as short as a haiku.

//What are some of the most important things you have learned while being together?//

Sale: Practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice. There’s something I learnt a little about a while back, but Reside further cements that. “A band is a marriage”.

Ariel: How important the “whole product” of a band is. It takes multiple skillsets, and a heap of creativity in more than just music to have fun and avoid spending too much money at our level.

Liam: Keeping on top of everything that is involved with being in (two) bands. Organisation and creativity. Keeping the momentum up to continue through with those two things.

Dylan: That sometimes it's hard to keep up with something that you helped create. Maybe similar to the feeling of parenthood.

//How do you view RESIDE now as opposed to when you first started?//

Sale: It doesn’t feel like a year has passed since the band’s wheels we starting to roll. Things have snowballed, we’ve started moving at a pace that we were probably uncomfortable with. It was something to we had to catch up to, instead of it slowing down for us. I am hoping the year ahead goes the same way.

Liam: I don’t view the band much differently. I still see us as a young group still finding our feet and finding our place in this world.

Dylan: It's definitely no longer a “we just like to play house parties and goof around” deal for me, that's for sure!

//Can you explain what goes on during the writing process?//

Liam: Well so far it has been me writing the majority of the songs. How it has worked so far is I come up with the basic skeleton of the song. I then get Dylan in to add in what we call “the cheeky bits” which we bounce off each other and then whoever connects with the song the most will write lyrics to it. Again mostly it’s been myself but Sale has written lyrics and Ariel has as well. Lyrics go through a process of refinement and then the songs get recorded for real at my house.

//Can you explain the recording process you go through?//

Liam: The recording process happens at my house. All instruments were recorded in my studio at home. Keen to get more things recorded in this room with other bands. The EP was mixed by me and then taken to Chris Lalic’s studio where him and I mastered it together.

//What does your new release, Closing Doors EP, mean to you?//

Sale: It means I get to a leave a mark on the world, while that mark is small and as douchey as that sounds. I get the tell the world I exist and more importantly get to share a body of work I’m proud of. We’ve got CD’s, physical evidence that this is real. It’s a great feeling.

Ariel: It’s a new adventure for me. I’ve never been so immersed in the music scene. Closing doors makes a neat mark, showing where, ironically, a door opened for me.

Liam: Closing Doors is a time stamp on my life, outlook on relationships and my musical interests in a 4 - 6 months period. It’s a project about growth and how we choose to face decisions and obstacles in our lives.

Dylan: For me, Closing Doors is exactly what it sounds like; closing doors. A lot of people use "when one door closes, another opens", but honestly, sometimes the former is more important than the latter. Closing Doors didn't help me grow into the person I want to be, but it helped give me a brief glimps at what that guy might be like for the first time in too long. Most importantly though, it's been significant of me closing the door on the parts of life I no longer want, and the person I no longer want to be.

What does the local music scene mean to you?

Liam: The local music scene is a place where I build most of my connections. I don’t think this band would have gotten the head start it did without the help of our friends and the connections we had made in the years prior to forming. I am forever thankful all of the people who helped Reside get a foot up.

Dylan: People will always try to emulate others and you'll never think of a new colour, but at least in the local scene there is, more often than not, bands with an unadulterated sound, true to their own vision.

//What song on the EP means the most to you?//

I think Fidelity has become my favourite song on the EP. Late Night Driving painted the most vivid picture of what I had imagined the song to be in its conception. But Fidelity’s execution felt like Reside at its strongest. The subject matter on that song is awfully personal to me as well outlining my flaws and what I need to fix to better myself.

//Why do you all play music?//

Sale: I’ve never enjoyed doing anything more than playing music, the band amplifies that like ten fold. It’s almost overwhelming the feeling you get when you the sounds you play go clash with the rest of the band and it explodes into something magical.

Ariel: Having diverse skills is pretty important to being an individual. I don’t want to do the same thing my whole life, or as a minimum, I want to be more than just what I do 9-5. Music is nice to have, as I don’t need to treat it as a full time job.

Liam: I play music because it’s the only thing that I have exceptional knowledge about. I am completely average at everything else that this is what I have to. It is also an expression of who I am that I want people to be able to follow as I grow and develop as a human. It’s the thing that makes me the happiest.

Dylan: I’ve been playing since I was five. It's one of the only ways I ever learnt to be truly expressive, and it's the most honest way I know how. I don't really want to do much else.

//Would you encourage people to start a band?//

Sale: Depends, before the band, I was poor and now I’m poorer and in a band. So if that’s a lifestyle you want to live, then yes, I encourage anyone to start a band.

Ariel: Time management and organisation is pretty huge if you want to do something with scale. This is the big deterrent for me, but if you can get past that, I encourage anyone to get their feet wet.

Liam: I would say, in most cases, yes. It depends on what you hope to achieve or get out of a Band. It certainly isn’t the easiest business on your mental health but if you enjoy performing or writing then even making it work as a hobby is great provided you’re playing with people who are on the same page as you with what they hope to achieve.

Dylan: With likeminded individuals, definitely.

//What advice do you have for new bands?//

Sale: Practice, and drink plenty of water. Also dress comfortably.

Ariel: Planning goes a long way. We still need to get that down too.

Liam: As Ariel said, planning certainly helps sort of execution work. I would also say persistence is key. Never expect everything to work on the first go. I’ve played in so many bands before this one and I’m only just figuring out how this all works.

Dylan: Have fun, and do it for the sole purpose of having fun. You can mould a sound to be a marketable product, make all the right moves, and still flop. If you're gonna fail, have a good time.

//How important is it to network with other bands?//

Sale: It’s incredibly important. A small example, I wouldn’t in Reside if I hadn’t met Liam three years ago doing battle of the bands. From my old band, it seemed I was the only one who mingled with other bands playing on the same lineup. A lot of those people I kept in contact with and we’re still good friends today.

Liam: possibly the most important thing. The relationships you make in this industry are lasting. The scene doesn’t need any more fake people. Just be genuine and make as many friends as you can because you never know how much they can help you and how much you can help them.

//One last question…why should people check your band out?//

Sale: Our band’s quality IG game. Honestly though, it depends, we’re a band who aren’t offering salvation or people who are really lead anyone into anything. We’re a band that shares stories and plays music they enjoy.

Liam: I think we have a unique take on the whole emo/alt rock thing that is kind of popular at the moment. Our social media game is pretty great if I must say so as well to reiterate what Sale said.

Dylan: Because they've already made it this far into the interview, why not suss what it's about?

#Reside