Rivet Interview: Rivet Rocks the Dead

Why limit Halloween celebrations to just one day?  There is way too much fun to be had and Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles kicked off the party with the Rock the Dead Halloween Show on October 24. Witches, pirates, ghouls, cats, fairy tale characters and more filled the house while local rock acts: Lit Soul, Burn Cycle, Rivet and Sinicle poured their heart and soul into a night living up to its name.

Lit Soul

Each band offered their version of pure heavy rock with Lit Soul getting the party started. The band’s set featured many songs from their recently released Love and War album giving fans a compelling reason to buy the CD and relive the show. Lit Soul offers poetic, melodic heavy rock anthems in a classic yet modern style with themes of liberty during our time.

Burn Cycle was up next and had a dedicated following full of old and new fans alike. Their energetic stage presence kept up with the pace of the music and didn’t slow down a bit during their dynamic eight song set.  Though the band began this year, it is obvious that the members are veteran rockers who get right down to business. Luckily Burn Cycle knew exactly how to command a crowd and left them enthusiastic and craving more.

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Sinicle

You may have heard Rivet on their most recent EP, Naked Queen, or on internet and social media sites, but you’ve never truly experienced their sound until you’ve seen them live. The performance of these four rockers was off the charts and using an adjective such as ‘passionate’ does not do them justice or capture the full essence of the set. The guys in Rivet are truly one with their music and provide anything but a static show. From raging guitar riffs delivered while kneeling on the edge of the stage to performing out in the crowd, Rivet far exceeded this writer’s already positive expectation.

Last on the bill was Sinicle. Though the crowd had thinned, Sinicle brought their full energy to the stage and engaged the crowd throughout their set. It was a night of four new bands for this writer and all four are bands are on the radar to follow and see again. By the Barricade had opportunity to talk with Rivet after their set so check out the full interview transcripts below to find out exactly what brings Rivet over the top.

Rivet is:

Sleight Hammond- Vocals
Mat Rile – Guitars
Tom Bielek – Bass
Dave Krause – Drumsfeature

By the Barricade: I heard your band name concept came to Mat during a turbulent flight to Japan. How do you think the band represents or personifies the name Rivet now?

Mat Rile: I was in a band and we were flying to Japan and there was turbulence so bad that I looked at the wings and it was worse than Elvis dancing on stage. I said, “Thank God for those rivets!” It means we are tough.

Sleight Hammond: The glue that holds us together.

Mat Rile: Nuts and bolts. If people ask what is a rivet I tell them it holds tanks together. It’s got a ring to it.

By the Barricade: You have all been playing in bands for a while. At what age did you start and what inspired you?

Dave Krause: Who started first, let’s do this as a competition.

Tom Bielek: I started at age 11.

Dave Krause: I started at 12.

Mat Rile: 15

Sleight Hammond: I was actually a late bloomer, it wasn’t until I was like 20.

Dave Krause: So Tom wins! Tom, tell us your story.

Tom Bielek: I liked watching how rockers played. My main influence at the time was Red Hot Chili Peppers. My uncle Steve was a real kick ass bass player and I learned from watching him. I loved the instrument. I was never really into playing any other instruments.

Mat Rile: It was kind of a similar situation for me. I was underage and with my friends who were older boys and they would get me and we would go into clubs. I saw these guitar players and only a few rare ones, the good ones who were down on their knees gritting their teeth, and dripping with sweat, closing their eyes with their guitars feeding back with massive electricity. I thought the total natural organic process was absolutely incredible and I knew that was what I wanted to be doing. Look where it got me! I’m a prime example of struggle and stardom.

Dave Krause: My story is completely different. I come from a musical family. Both of my parents were singers, they sing very well and I can’t sing to save my life, but both my older brother and sister were drummers. They would play drums all the time so as a kid the house was always full of percussion. I would sit outside their rooms and I would try to mimic what they were doing. When I was nine years old my parents bought me a Pac Man drum. I wish I still had that to this day because it was awesome. It had a little paper drum head and small sticks. I then took up drums and I kept working and working and it’s still the same for me today. I’m really just a 9 year old banging on the drums and it is just that simple for me. It’s the best release ever.

Sleight Hammond: At the time people kept saying that I looked like I was in a band because I had blonde curly hair down past my ass. They kept saying that I belong in a band and liked what I saw so I just kept at it.

By the Barricade: How has the release of your EP in August changed things for the band?

Tom Bielek: It actually defines what our newer sound is. Mat can expand on that.

Mat Rile: This “album” truly identifies our true identity and sound of Rivet. I had the privilege with everyone’s consent to produce it 100%. It came out phenomenally and the musical direction and type of sound that we carry now is different than when Rivet originally started. I consider this to be not only defining, but we have mastered our sound and this EP signifies how we are going to go. People should hear it. And you are not going to hear it for free unless you buy it.

By the Barricade: You play a lot of places locally; do you have a favorite venue in LA?

Mat Rile: No, we can’t say that. Come on.

Tom Bielek: We can think it but we can’t say it.

Dave Krause: We are all about vibe so it is where ever the vibe is. We don’t care if it is a hole in the wall or a giant venue and has wall to wall people; it is all about the vibe. Even a small group of people if they are really into the music and are really music fans and they enjoy the connection we are giving to them that is the best scenario of all and it doesn’t matter where it is at.

Mat Rile: We never discriminate on the type of audience or amount of audience that come to see us because we are doing this as more of a job (and I mean this in a positive way). It is nice to chase around girls but this is more of us getting to the next level. We want to show our accomplishments and we appreciate the people coming. As far as any club we play, like Dave said, we put out full 100% energy.

DSC00602Dave Krause: We are in the business of rock here, we are in the business of delivery. We get up on that stage and that is all we are about. So it is serious business but it’s a just great time so we love it too.

By the Barricade: You have a rock sound reminiscent of many of the great bands of the past. If you could create a dream line up to tour with (no limit on time in history) who would make the cut?

Mat Rile: I wouldn’t want to take the guitar players place because it won’t be the same anymore, so what about favorite musicians? One of them is Ace Frehley, he is one of my gods and of course Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page.

Tom Bielek: I’m on board with the Jimi Hendrix thing also Jack Bruce, Flea, Les Claypool.

Dave Krause: Playing drums I guess I am the weirdo, I have never studied any drummer. I’m not really into who’s who I’m more about the songs and there are some great songs that I love the drums on so I associate that with what I want to be a part of or the kind of sound I want to get to. I don’t really follow the players but if they are playing a song that I like and the drum part really delivers, I love it. If I had a time machine, I would go to 1981 and I would go to the Sunset Strip and I would punch out Tommy Lee and take his place and play for a couple of years.

Mat Rile: What about Terry Bozzio?

All: *Laughing

Dave Krause: Terry Bozzio would be way too much work.

Sleight Hammond: Ian Gillan is definitely a major influence, especially when he sang lead vocals on the Born Again album by Black Sabbath. That is my favorite album of all time and that is where a lot of my influences are coming from.

By the Barricade: What is your next hurdle or short term goal as a band?

Mat Rile: Staples Center.

Tom Bielek: Sell more records possibly get some label support.

Dave Krause: Definitely get some label support.

Mat Rile: Yeah, we actually have a label interest.

Sleight Hammond: Label interest is definitely the number one priority.

Mat Rile: We are getting a very good response as far as the level of PR that we are doing online. We are getting people engaging with likes and our fan base is really growing. It is just a matter of time for labels to really find out that we do have that particular type of recognition because audiences don’t lie. If they don’t like it they will tell you by not even showing up. What we do here is what we do best. You will see the reaction tonight and we are ready for the next step.

By the Barricade: Rivet supports a lot of bands, what bands are on your personal playlist?

Tom Bielek: I listen to whatever bands we play with. They usually give me a CD and I listen to it on the way home. Most recently Order 66 from Lancaster, Shindig Avenue they are from Hollywood.

Sleight Hammond: Shindig is cool.

Tom Bielek: Also Newborn Authority, I listen to them. We are playing with Burn Cycle and Lit Soul, I have heard their record is pretty good and Sinicle, we play with a lot of bands it is hard to pinpoint.

Sleight Hammond: Because we are playing we have been around and involved with a lot of different acts.

By the Barricade: What types of things can fans do to show their support?

Mat Rile: Take off their tops. Just kidding!

Tom Bielek: Buy CD’s, come to shows and when you go to shows come to the front of the stage when we are playing.

Dave Krause:Go to shows.

Mat Rile: I told you we speak the truth. If my wife sees this it’s fine. This is show business and it must go on.

Tom Bielek: Support us and all the bands that are there too. We are also building a scene too. That is important. If you want to grow internally, you have to reach out and you have to work with other bands too.

Mat Rile: Being in LA for a while even as the band Rivet, not to make a judgment, but there is really no scene. The thing is we have a really good buzz going as I mentioned online with our fan base growing so that is what we want to do. We want to start selling out even small venues so that we can prove that we are ready for this. We are trying to shake it up so people will notice us even more. That is why we entertain. When you see us live, we don’t set ourselves on fire, but we do everything else.

Dave Krause: We will at the next show actually. *Laughing When it comes to what fans can do, it is all about connection. It is a two way street. We want to connect with people; we want people to be interested in us. It is really about the small things. We love feedback about our shows. We thrive on when people give input on what they like and tell us what they want to hear and maybe something we can improve upon. We take every comment seriously. Little things matter such as liking our page or comments on the show; simple things that anyone can do on their phone while waiting at a stoplight. We appreciate people engaging in what we are doing.

Mat Rile: But at the same time this is “our” baby and “our” world. We are in focus and know the way we want to steer the wheel. We just keep going.

By the Barricade: Is there anything else you would like to tell readers of By the Barricade?

Tom Bielek: Check us out, follow us, subscribe to our online sites and tell people about us and bring them to shows. Our live show is what you need to see.

Follow Rivet on Twitter.
Listen to Rivet on Reverbnation
Friend Rivet on Myspace.
Like Rivet on Facebook.

10612601_928513617162122_3623831987318044540_nKeep it on Bythebarricade.com for more rock, punk and metal  interviews, reviews, articles, and photos! Also, “Like” By the Barricade on Facebook to never miss a post. If you liked this article check out:

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