AS AUTHENTIC AS WE CAN BE
A CONVERSATION WITH RIVAL SONS’ SCOTT HOLIDAY
Rival Sons continue to prove themselves as one of the most thrilling rock bands of our modern era. In 2021, the band recorded a pair of albums live off the floor from the casino ballroom and movie theatre of Catalina Island. The first, Pair Of Aces, Pt. 1, released on Nov. 22, sees the band perform their 2009 debut album, Before The Fire, in its entirety while the second, Pair Of Aces, Pt. 2, set for release on Dec. 13, captures their 2011 eponymous EP in full. Guitarist Scott Holiday shares the story behind the making of these incredible live cuts.
In 2021, Rival Sons were in the midst of making a pair of full-length albums, Darkfighter and Lightbringer, both of which would be released in 2023. Given the circumstances of the pandemic, when the band was presented this opportunity to record on Catalina Island, they simply couldn’t refuse. “This was a culmination of some long-time dream to play on Catalina Island,” Holiday exclaims. Continuing, he explains, “I’ve visited Catlina so many times, done everything you can possibly do over there, and just fallen in love with it…. It’s this very interesting, historic place close to home that always seemed magical and far out.” The two live albums were recorded over two nights, the first of which saw them revisit their debut album for a front to back performance in the casino ballroom. The next night, they performed out of “a really beautiful movie theater that is, apparently, one of the first theaters in America where the first talkies were shown.”
A PAIR OF ACES: LIVE FROM SANTA CATALINA ISLAND (PART 1) ALBUM REVIEW
Impressively, both Pair Of Aces Pt. 1 and 2 are entirely live without any overdubs. With the band delivering a performance that leaves it all out there, you’d be surprised to discover that, due to the pandemic, there was no audience present. Holiday justifies this, “I think it goes back to that thing where it doesn’t matter if it’s an audience of 10, 100, or 1000, the energy on stage is the same when we get together.” Given how much music the band has released since 2009, this was also the chance to dust off some tracks that they don’t often perform anymore, something Holiday thoroughly enjoyed. “We played “The Man Who Wasn’t There” – something which never saw the light of day – very cool. One of my favourite things from the first night was “Flames Of Lanka”. It’s something we never play. Its melodies and tones and theme are close to my heart and is really avant-garde for the band. I think it came out really great. It was really fun to hear us recreate it ‘cause you just don’t know how something’s going to turn out when you don’t play it.” On the second session, Holiday describes similar instances, “The second night, when we did “Get What’s Coming”. We treat that middle section like a free section. We have a main solo, the parts that we hit, but we improvise and its different every single night. I will purposely throw absolutely weird things into the improvisation that the guys have never heard to make them go ‘what the hell is that?’ to make them react and give people that kind of show… We did a little bit of that with “Torture” and certainly with ‘Soul” – still to this day that’s dangerous and reckless.”
A PAIR OF ACES: LIVE FROM SANTA CATALINA ISLAND (PART 2) ALBUM REVIEW
There is something special about these new live albums from Rival Sons. Aside from the strong songwriting and performance, there is a raw energy to it that is often absence, even on most live albums, due to overdubbing areas. On Pair Of Aces Pt. 1 and 2, Rival Sons are truly performing live off the floor, “It’s as authentic as we can be. It’s live without a net. There’s bumps and bruises, but you should be happy with those, it means you’re getting something real.” When asked about rougher edges in music, Holiday laughs, adding “You should leave ‘em in. Listen to old blues records, old Stones and The Beatles records, old Kinks records – like all these old garage and early rock ‘n’ roll records. There is all sorts of stuff that isn’t perfect. We’re human beings and we’re not perfect. It’s in our imperfection where real beauty – real humanness – lies. When we remove those, we’ve taken away the most human element of art.” This is a central aspect to the rock ‘n’ roll ethos and creative process at the heart of Rival Sons. As the band enters the very early stages of writing for their next album – “We’re just in the beginnings of searching around in the dark, looking for the light switch” Holiday says – he reflects on the process of recording and releasing A Pair Of Aces as a “joyful” distraction at a time when they couldn’t perform and were neck deep in writing, adding “We were just getting out and running the track real hard with the boys.”
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Photo Credits: Rick Horn
