Interview with Rebel Emergency vocalist Roddy Colmer

Check out the song: “Up All Night”

I caught up with Rebel Emergency vocalist Roddy Colmer for a quick chat on the phone, while they were in British Columbia for the first time. Roddy seemed pretty content with the Joint Venture tour, and the direction the band was heading in. Their new album Aphrodisiology consists of eleven tracks and comes out on June 24th.

You have a large fan base all over Canada. Despite this, you guys manage to stay in contact with a majority of your fans. Do you make it a point to really keep in touch with them?
Roddy: I like having an online presence. It’s so important now, to keep your fan base up to date and keep them coming back. We make and effort to make sure our fans feel like they’re a part of something. We like to keep an interaction going on for sure.

What would you guys define yourself as genre wise?
Roddy: Rock, Reggae, Pop and some Ska sometimes.

What song do you guys enjoy playing the most?
Roddy: I think people are most familiar with the radio singles “Walk On By”, “Wander Far Away” and “Sunrise” right now. We have some new songs, one with KO called “Lion In A Cage”.

Your single “Up All Night” from the new album is pretty diverse, there’s a lot more going on. Did this come naturally or did you guys decide to change it up a bit?
Roddy: We didn’t really decide to, it just came out that way. We worked with a new producer, Matthew Von Wagner, he’s done USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) albums. They have that electronic aspect so we kind of gave him some free reign to go in that direction. We were there the whole time working together on it, and he definitely opened some doors for us on the sound. We’re really excited for the album.

Where’s your favourite place to play?
Roddy: I like Mod Club in Toronto. It’s definitely one of our favorite spots to play. We always have a good time there. The coolest place we’ve played is probably Joe’s Pub in New York. We’re on tour right now, and have played at some new places we really liked.

How’s the Joint Venture Tour been treating you?
Roddy: It’s been awesome. We’re touring with KO and Daniel Wesley. They’re two of our favourite bands right now. Being able to play with them and watch them every night has been great. We’re all in one band traveling together, we laugh all day, and get to play a show at night. Probably the best time for our band ever. The shows have been really good in terms of playing new cities and meeting new people.

Is it difficult to have band members be involved in other musical projects?
Roddy: I think that’s helped us a lot. Mike and Jeremy love playing with Daniel. I think playing with as many artists as you can, learning their songs and playing with them is exciting and it only makes us a better band. It’s been a very positive experience.

What artists would your fans be surprised to find on your iPod?
Roddy: Dixie Chicks, Hall and Oates

Who writes the lyrics?
Roddy: I do most of it, Geoff helps me out. We’ll sit down and go through everything and see what parts could be stronger and better. The other guys will not be afraid to tell us if something sucks. I’ll usually get the idea, put out a template and we’ll go over it. It’s good to get a different perspective on it; a new idea can spark a whole new direction.

What are your bands plans for the summer and future in general?
Roddy: The tour is going for two more weeks, and then the album release is going to be June 24th, we’re going to play a big show in Toronto. We’re going to come back out West in August and play some festivals in Ontario and play as much as we can. We’ll be coming out with couple singles and some videos. We’re doing our best to get ourselves out there. We put out “Up All Night” to the radio.