Catching up with "The Place on Rugby"
I caught up with the Place on Rugby for a little Q&A:
Where is the band from?
Huntington Park, CA
How long has the group been together?
We've been together for 3 years.
Is there an interesting story as to how you all met?
Well, we met in middle school and the funny thing is that we all made fun of each other when we met. We've been friends ever since.
Band member names and instruments played?
Hayro Boiton- lyricist
Jesse Martinez- lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist
Daniel Mauricio- lead guitarist
Chris Perez- Bass guitarist
Ricky Sorto- Drums
I was drawn in by the Julian Casablancas’ similarity, were The Strokes an influence?
Yes the Strokes were a big influence when our lead singer Jesse Martinez was first writing music. He was trying to figure out how Julian wrote his music, so he was trying mimic that. Eventually he found his own sound and started writing music for the band.
Vox sound heavily saturated, and somewhat distorted, was this a concept initiated by the band or was this a producer’s take?
It was a concept initiated by the band. We felt like those sounds went better with our vocalist voice. It also felt like it gave more energy to the sound of the band. It made our sound and we feel like if people heard it they would say, "Oh that’s The Place on Rugby''
What other influences drive your music?
Interpol, Arctic Monkeys, the Growlers, Franz Ferdinand, and the Voidz
What is your process for writing? What comes first lyrics or Music?
Typically the track is created before we begin the thought process of what the song feels like to us, we listen to the song on loop over and over until we get inspired.
Can you tell me about the core meaning of each individual track? I sense a little bit of revenge heartbreak on “One Night Stand”, some bad decisions and a wild life-style on “Fuck it”, maybe a little depression trying or down times with “Giving Up”, overall angst on “Don't Want to Fall Back” and an interesting scoring choice for "Reaction"
As for each individual song each has it own sort of back story. "O.N.S" was sort of off an old experience where one person tries to let another down after a one night stand, the song is from the point of view of the person turning down the advances of the other, but in a sort of bitter sweet and blunt way. "Fuck it" is definitely about bad decisions and it really hits close to home because these were things I went thru. Personally, I never envisioned writing a song about a bad time in my past or something that made me who I am but when I wrote "Fuck It" I was oblivious to the fact that I was in the middle of the bad times, so it didn't feel like I was writing anything serious. It wasn't until I stepped back and listened to the music where i realized how subliminally I was shouting out for help. "Giving Up" was a piece I credit more to Jesse, I wrote the majority of the lyrics but the whole idea behind what we wrote was Jesse and how he felt like he wasn't going anywhere with his music career. "Don't Want to Fall Back" was one my favorites to write simply because both I and Jesse were coming out of bad times in our lives. I was coming out of drug abuse and Jesse was doing well with his anxiety, so the song just flew onto the paper. This song was just overall a blast to write and holds a great message of never giving up even when things seem like it’s hard to get where you want, life can be frustrating.
What other things in life play into your creativity?
Well it depends on our mood and how we feel that day. Depending on how we feel or what experiences we gain that day or if we revisit old experiences. All that helps with our creativity. Maybe a few beers and some pot helps too. lol
Has your music evolved from when you first started playing?
Yes it has. At first we sounded like we wrote music for video games. Very Nintendo-esk.
We were trying to go for a electro-alt-synthpop sound. A lot of people didn't like it. lol
Can you tell me anything about instrument choice? Are you brand loyal?
For the most part. Our bassist uses Jackson bass guitars for their style and their sound and Ampeg amplifier.
Our lead singer and lead guitarist like to play fender guitars. They just love the way it sounds clean and clear.
And our Drummer likes DW drum kits with calf tone Evans heads with Sabian cymbals. Currently he's trying out an Orange County Percussion drum kit with remo drum heads. He wants to see what kind of sound he can make with that kit and if it fits well with the bands sound.
