The world is ours and ours alone

Interview with the Rifles

The Rifles are about to perform here in Amsterdam. This should be their biggest show outside of the UK. They already know he Dutch audience from previous performances including the London Calling festival, so they are qite sure that the gig will be a good lot of fun this rainy evening in the Melkweg. Before the gig I got the chance to have a nice chat with Grant (drummer) and he told me everything that's new and interesting around this great band from London: The Rifles.

We started right at the beginning. He told me about his school period and what it has been like. At his school there weren't a lot of musicians, but still he managed to start his first band there. They played Nirvana covers and things like that. It didn't make them very populair in school, but I started to get the idea that it is really not important for him to be seen as a real rockstar or something like that. He really doesn't have an attitude, he even seems a bit shy!

It's getting really obvious that they are in this just for the music. They are not really interested in everything that is usually associated with the rock 'n roll lifestyle. Especially the fahion, they really don't try to have a specific kind of style. Grant told us that they are nobody but themselves on stage, they don't put up an act and they don't put on stylish clothes just to look cool.

It seems like a very grown up point of view. That's what also comes to my mind when I see them perform. They are different from most of the Britpop bands, because they're more serious and grown up. You can even see it in the audience where the average age is definitely above 25. Which is rare in the Britpop scene.

Despite of the lack of critical acclaim they got with the previous album No Love Lost, they still managed to built up a solid fanbase. Even though this fanbase is growing bigger and bigger, they still realise where they came from and where they once started. That might be one of the ingredients of their succesfull career. It's just like Grant told us: 'You shouldn't act like a rockstar if you would like to be in a succesfull band, you should just keep on going and don't try to be just like the other rockbands.'

But even though the Rifles are different from a lot of other rockbands, they do like to hang out and have fun. Music is definitely the most important aspect of their career, but Grant does admit to enjoy things such as groupies and alcohol. Well, boys will be boys and rockstars will be rockstars.

Another aspect that resembles a lot with many other Britpop bands are the lyrics. Most of their lyrics are about experiences they've had trough everyday life. They don't get inspired by poets and the darker side of life. What you hear is definitely what they're all about.

Although there might be some interesting facts that you couldn't know from just listening to the lyrics. Like the fact that Grant admitted to be terrified for dogs.' They jump on you and they scratch you!'And do you know that Joel is getting married? Fortunatly that wouldn't change the Rifles as a band. They will continue to keep on going and make great music.

Like every band they do have to urge to become bigger and bigger. They want more people to know them, but that might be the only change that this band will go trough during the next years.

The Rifles is the sort of rare grown up Britpop band that sticks to your mind. They are able to stand out in the big Britscene mass and that makes them right about:

The world is ours and ours alone!