Featuring singer Kevin Riner, guitarists Josiah Wilder and Tyler McKinney, bassist Stephen Mauk and drummer Stefen Burns, quintet Sever Red release Thief - their fifth single and final track from the Sick & Tormented EP on Friday 26th January (see review here: https://www.hotelhobbies.com/post/single-review-sever-red-thief-2024 ).
Frontman and songwriter, Kevin Riner took a break during a band rehearsal to speak candidly with Hotel Hobbies about his past struggles with addiction, how the band came together, the songs that make up the EP and the future for Sever Red.
Hotel Hobbies: With the release of Thief – your fifth single – in a few days, the Sick & Tormented EP will be complete. Having now listened to the songs back-to-back in the order of release, it is a dark journey. What was the timeline of the writing of each song? Did you write them in the order you released them?
Kevin Riner: A couple of the songs I wrote quickly. Desperation, for example, is from an idea on my phone from 2019 and I never got to record it because I was too drunk or high at the time. I started really pushing it in January or February 2023. I set a goal. I wanted to get it done. Next was Forever Changed, which had a working title of Early 2000s Rock Song because the main riff was the first thing I had. It came together organically; I would sit and try and put myself back in that dark place. It wasn’t hard to do at all. When you’re using stuff, you don’t deal with emotions. It’s only when you get sober you start facing what you have been running from. Then I started pouring out everything I had inside.
HH: You put together everything and all the songs on Sick and Tormented were ready to go before you started to put the band together. How did you put across to the other members what you wanted them to do?
KR: I had an idea of what I wanted from the guys. They liked the music enough to want to join and we have similar musical influences. I met Tyler through Josiah who had been buddies since high school and Stephen and I were in a band back in high school. Stefen joined two weeks later. I am not a dictator. We are musicians and have the same goal, which is to write the best song. There’s no egos here. We have already started work on two new songs.
HH: With the new songs, do they link to Sick & Tormented or will that stand alone as pieces you wrote about that particular time?
KR: That’s a good question. We haven’t really thought about a particular direction. We are just writing. They are melancholy and similar to the songs on the EP but they are outward-looking rather than introspective. They might change – songs change so much during the writing process.
HH: You put a lot of thought into the structures and arrangements of your songs. For example, in Gone where the guitars join, just as there is particularly harsh lyric.
KR: There definitely is. I like to take the genericness away from the songs. I wanted the main riff to build up and then later add the lead layer to show there is something happening here. I told a story with Gone. The first two songs (Desperation and Forever Changed) were contemplative about my situation and Gone was about having had enough of it.
HH: What was it like working with Josh Schroder?
KR: That was freaking awesome. It was the best time. We were out there two weeks. Just being in the studio where so many successful bands have been and we even used the same microphones and same basses as some of them. We used the same basses as bands like King 810 and Varials had used. He was so helpful with structuring the songs from my demos. For example, he suggested adding a third chorus on Forever Changed. Probably the best two weeks of my life; he was so humble and down to Earth. I would love to work with him again.
HH: That sounds exactly what you want from a producer. Someone who is not so hands on they take over but someone who will give guidance when it is needed.
KR: He pulled my best performances from me. I was full of nerves, first time recording. He was so supportive but would tell me when I needed to do things again. When I was doing the vocals, I tried to put myself back in those dark places. I still keep in touch with him.
HH: Now the EP is on the verge of release, you must be rehearsing for the launch show.
KR: Yes – February 24th, we are really excited. We are sounding good every time we practice. I just can’t wait to play all the songs from the EP and hopefully one of the new songs we have been working on. We are also doing a couple of covers because they are fun to do and as an up-and-coming band, there will be some familiarity for the crowd. We will be doing a Crossfade song and a Chevelle song.
HH: Do you have any other gigs lined up at present?
KR: We have just hopped on festival called Appalachian Rock which will have a lot of very decent bands. It is going to be pretty cool. We are stoked for that and we are trying to get other things lined up. Our goal is to sell out the first show and put that in our EPK and send a message to promoters. This industry is all about networking and we don’t want to play so close to home all the time. We are also supposed to play a show in Richmond in April.
The Sick & Tormented EP is released on 26th January 2024.
Sever Red play Blue Fox Billiards, Bar and Grill on Saturday 24th February. https://www.facebook.com/events/889264012937140
Sever Red play Appalachian Rock Fest on Saturday 8th June.
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