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 The Rifles can admit they are of the ‘Brit pop'
generation. They're one of many who have
been inspired by the vibrant indie scene of the ‘90s when the likes of Suede,
Pulp and the two giants of the era, Blur and Oasis, ruled.
"It definitely changed my life. It was a massive thing,"
begins guitarist Luke Crowther. "That was just normal lads making music that
inspired the whole country".
"I think everyone who's into band music started listening to
bands through that," adds frontman Joel Stoker.
The London
four-piece formed in 2004 nd released their first single Peace And Quiet was released in March 2005. Since then they have attracted a following, even winning
over influential music bods such as Zane Lowe and Alan McGee, the man who
signed Oasis to his label Creation. Luke and Joel met at music College
where they were studying, or at least trying to study, popular music. The course
wasn't for them and neither completed the course.
"It was good because we started playing music together,"
says Luke. "But once we decided we wanted to
be in a band to be sort of just left the course".
Next to join would be bassist and school friend of Joel's
Rob Pyne followed by drummer Grant Marsh who was a ‘friend of a friend'. "I
didn't even know I'd joined!" Grant quips.
"The next morning he woke up and Luke was on the phone, then
he remembered joining a band," explains Joel.
"Then he tried to get out of it!"
Whilst being a Londoner may have the advantage of being on
the door step of record company executives etc, but it's not all plain sailing.
To rehearse "Coming from London is also a pain
in the arse to rehearse and get to places and it costs a lot more money whereas
in like Liverpool all the bands have one big
place and they've got their own room," says Joel.
"We had to travel an hour and a half out of London to get to rehearsal and back as well
at 11 o'clock at night," recalls Rob.
"So it took three hours travelling a day to practise three times a
week".
Their first gig was at the Bull And Gate and according to
Rob: "We thought it went really well. We've got a video of it and we watched it
not that long ago and it was terrible".
Their debut album, No Love Lost, was recorded over several months with Lightening Seeds frontman Ian
Broudie.
"It was long winded recording that album. We recorded it in
six different places. It was good but it
seemed like it took forever though because it was all broken up, it wasn't like
one long stint," says Joel. "We had to
record two songs before the album, because we had to have a single ready. We had to pick like one or two songs we
thought was going to go on the album, record that and we was up ‘til about one
o'clock in the morning".
"It was that guitar part weren't it?" chips in Luke. "We
must have played the same guitar part for five hours, constantly. Ian Broudie was like that's it, we've had
enough now".
Their latest single, She's Got Standards lays into
‘scenesters, those who only follow a band because it's cool to. Who was it
inspired by?
"It's not about anyone in particular," Joel insists. "It's
more of a pisstake really, like they see a band in the NME and they think
they're cool just because they're in the NME".
"Most bands get that when they get a bit successful," adds
Rob, "I'm mean that's a fact".
But is being in a band all it's cracked up to be.
"Yeah man," replies Luke. "We're grateful people"
Their album No Love Lost is out now
For more info: www.therifles.co.uk
Words: Helen Duong
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