Page 40 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine - Issue 100

BV100 Adelitas Way interview_BV100 pg40 13/03/2019 00:08 Page 3

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 40
feel helpless. You feel like, ‘Alright, I’ve got to go With long-time friend Tavis Stanley currently tak- ter, it all takes hard work. It all takes hard work
do something else. Should I be a FedEx driver? ing on guitar duties, Adelitas Way know what and dedication and there is nothing that’s ever
What should I do? They’re not letting me write they are capable of and they are not afraid of handed to anybody. We want to inspire people,
songs, they’re not letting me go in the studio, continuously working hard in order to accom- we want to uplift people, if they are in a hole we
they are not letting me play shows. What are plish the goals they have set for the future. want to bring them out of that hole; if they are
they going to do?’ It’s really tough being under “We’re in the best shape of our lives, we’re feeling down we want to lift them up, we want to
someone else’s thumb like that. It was a learning in the best mindset of our careers, we’re writing make them feel confident.”
experience and you know what? I’ll tell you, I’ll the best material, we know who we are more Referring to their killer anthem ‘Notorious’
never sign a contract again with anyone in my than ever,” says Rick proudly. “In the beginning from the current album of the same name, Rick
whole life, so there’s that. That’s the learning ex- you get the benefit of not knowing who you are notes that the song isn’t just about himself, it’s a
perience.” and not knowing how to do this, so your first mindset. “I want people to wake up and feel like
record is very honest. Then from there you just they can conquer whatever is in their way, no
s the old saying goes, everything hap- have to work hard, use your talents and use matter how down they feel and how defeated.
Apens for a reason. After parting ways your abilities. After making five albums we’re We’ve been pretty low, we’ve felt pretty de-
with the label, it wasn’t too long before the band much more seasoned, we know who we are, we feated; people wrote us off, I mean, they were
got to work on their fourth album ‘Getaway’, know our sound. When you hear us on the radio throwing dirt on our grave after our third record,
which was crowdfunded on PledgeMusic and you fucking know it’s Adelitas Way, you’re not it was done, and look what we’ve accomplished,
was the first release on their own label, Vegas like, ‘Who is this band?’ We have our own we’re arguably bigger than we’ve ever been
Syn. “It’s definitely life-changing,” Rick says sound, when people are like, ‘Who do you right now.”
about being an During the live
independent shows, before per-
band. “I feel forming ‘Notorious’
like God has Rick informs the
had our back crowd how the
the whole way song has received
through, be- 15 million streams
cause of the on Spotify. While
position that Spotify often re-
we are in now. ceives flak from
We feel that artists and labels
the path we alike, there are
are on now is many other artists
the right path like Adelitas Way
for us. There that do see the ad-
was a point vantages of such
where we sites. When we ask
weren’t able to whether using such
move at the a platform proved
pace that we to be a more useful
wanted to way for the band to
move at, for get to know their
ourselves and audience demo-
for our fans. graphics from the
There would data they provide,
be times when Rick responds,
we wanted to “1000%! I love
go out and do Spotify, I think
a headline tour artists have a mis-
and the label conception of what
and the man- Spotify pays out;
agers, they it’s not great but it’s
would never let not what they are
us do it; they seeing. I think a lot
would never let of artists are ill-in-
us go in the formed; they are
studio when we were ready to go in the studio. sound like?’ I couldn’t even tell you anymore. I not informed on the truth. Spotify has the best
Now that we have our own freedom we can think we are very unique in the way we’re putting music discovery that I’ve seen. They put our
make music whenever we want. We can show everything together, from guitars to synths, to music in front of so many fans and they’ve let
people that not only are we for real, that we are beats. I’m proud. I’m proud of what we’ve be- the fans decide who the best bands in rock are.
here to stay. When you can continually put out come; we’ve carved our own sound out and I The numbers don’t lie, we’re one of them. I say
music that people love, song after song, I think think we’ve carved our own fans out, we don’t 15 million streams because you have to dig hard
it shows that you are no fluke and it shows you have the same fans as really a lot of other bands to see who else has 15 million streams on a
are here for the long haul. We are not a band and I think we’re going to continue to grow and song, it’s top-tier bands, it’s bands that are all at
that just has one hit song, we are a band that be our own thing.” the top of our genre. There’s a ton of bands that
has a catalogue of songs that people love. I Rick tells us that he wants people to take in- are getting played on the radio that have all this
don’t believe that there is going to be a single spiration from Adelitas Way’s story; if you work hype, that don’t have nearly as many streams.”
song that defines us by the end of our careers, hard enough and stay determined you can fulfil Rick goes on to talk about terrestrial radio,
it will be our catalogue. I think us being on our your ambitions, whatever they may be. “We’re saying that the problem with radio is that the sta-
own label and being independent is a perfect going to show kids that you can come from noth- tions only tend to play what the biggest man-
scenario for us to go show people what we are ing to something; you can accomplish your agers tells them to play or the biggest label tells
capable of because we can go into the studio at dreams. You can feel lost, hopeless and alone them to play, even if the song is not a hit song.
any time we want, we can plan our tours the way along the way. There are so many emotions that He says that he finds it weird the way in which
we want to do it and we just feel that our system come with this but if you can see the light at the some artists get treated and shunned by radio
and the way do things is very effective for us.” end of the tunnel it’s very inspirational. We want stations. “I see them choose to play so many
to be an example. I’m from Philadelphia, I had bands that come and go instead of…you almost
fter many years of unsettlement, Rick nothing half my life and here we are heading to- get penalised for longevity. When we deliver a
Aalongside drummer Trevor ‘Tre’ Stafford wards this path of really making a change for new single to radio they think, ‘Oh, this band has
and bassist Andrew Cushing are feeling more artists, making a change for anybody that has a already been around ten years’, like it’s a bad
comfortable than they ever have, not only with dream; whether someone wants to be a doctor thing, not, ‘This band has been around for ten
their position but with the music they create. or a baseball player or anything, it doesn’t mat- years, they’re the real deal.’ At the end of the
ADELITAS WAY