Page 34 - Black Velvet Issue 101

BV101 pg32-35 _BV101 pg35 12/06/2019 18:44 Page 3

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 34

sues. We’re people’s break from all that. Adam explains, “We wrote that song in 2007. Their last album, ‘Weekend Man’, was
We’re purely entertainment. That’s all it is. 2011. We were on our way to Paris to do two released in 2016 and includes the song
Let go of whatever you need to let go of for support shows for The Offspring and our ‘Walk!’, a quirky ditty about, er, walking.
the night and come and spend the night with tour manager had booked us to stay in a, so ‘Club Majesty’ includes what could be its fol-
Royal Republic. That’s what we set out to do. to say, beach house in Normandy, and he low-up – ‘Stop Movin’’. Although ‘Stop
That being said, I never thought we would be said, ‘It’s going to be amazing, we’re going Movin’’ is a tune that just includes one re-
a band that had any actual effect on people’s to have our own little beach house with a peated line throughout the song – ‘I wouldn’t
emotions, but we had this one moment, or porch right next to the beach. We can go for stop movin’ if I could stop movin’’.
we had a lot of those moments, but there a walk, have a swim, play volleyball, do some “It’s a one-line song. We did ‘Walk!’ on
was one that really stuck in my head and my barbecues, it’s going to be smashing.’ So we the last record. But sometimes doing the
heart, which was… We have a large number arrived at this so-called beach house. It was simplest thing is the hardest. Writing the
of fans that follow the tours around from city not a beach house. It was, in fact, the white simplest song is the hardest song to write,
to city. I don’t know how the hell they afford trashiest trailer camp I have ever seen in my and I just thought that was a really cool
it but anyway they do. And at the end of the entire life – and I’ve been to Texas. There song. It was longer, there were a lot more
tour in either 2013 or 2014, they all gathered were people in bathrobes with shotguns and lyrics to begin with, and this was just one of
around our tour bus after the tour finale, one one tooth. It was miserable. We were locked the lines of that song. And I said, ‘When the
little girl came in front and they made a little up in our tiny little trailer. Me and Hannes song starts I always love it, when you open
speech, kind of. We were borderline annoyed couldn’t go to sleep. We were seriously wor- with this line, and then it just drifts off to all
with some of these people, always on the ried that someone was going to break into this other shit that doesn’t mean anything. It
meet and greets, always taking photos, al- our trailer and shoot us in our sleep, so we doesn’t help. It doesn’t do any good. It does-
ways in the front row, they know all the decided to share a bottle of whiskey and we n’t introduce the song. What if we just do it
tricks, but they said decided to as one line over and over?’ ‘Cause I love it
‘We love you guys, “We’re purely entertainment. just hang when I hear that line, I really dig it. So we did
blah blah blah, it’s out. This was that for two minutes and I think it totally
been an amazing tour. That’s all it is. Let go of whatever you back when worked out.”
We know that you there was no
think we might be an- need to let go of for the night and roaming on ith the band growing, progressing
noying sometimes but come and spend the night with Royal phones so Wand sounding better than ever –
all of us standing here, Republic.” - Adam Grahn you couldn’t even if their lyrics are nonsense – it made
we didn’t know each be on your sense to include some new and lesser-used
other before. We met phone, so we instruments and to push themselves further
through your music, were playing – making for an even more intriguing album
kinda. The only thing we had in common was games and everyone was asleep except us, and sound. Jonas plays the keytar, while
that we love your band, and now we’ve made so we said, ‘Let’s just write a song’, in two Adam learned the saxophone shortly before
friends for life from different countries, dif- seconds, just because it’s fun. We started playing it on the album.
ferent cities. We’ve toured the world together coming up with rhymes. We did one line The frontman says, “Learned is a strong
and made friends for life. We wouldn’t have each. ‘Hey Mr. Bulldog, why so sad?’ – you word. I did my best. It was actually a year and
that if it wasn’t for your music – and we went, go!’ ‘You take a dump, I pick it up in a bag,’ a half ago. I woke up one day and thought,
‘Wow, that IS really cool.’ We actually DO alright!’ And then we kept going like that and ‘Ugh, I know everything so well. I need to just
make some kind of difference in people’s finally, we had all the verses for ‘Bulldog’. find something I don’t know!’ I thought, ‘Hey,
lives, and that is something that we’ve kept And then last year we came up with a riff for saxophone’! I had no idea how a saxophone
building on. That’s our place, that’s our area the song, the vibe, and said, ‘Hey, we have works. If I put it in my mouth I don’t know
in this world of genres and what people say these lyrics here in the Hook Cemetery. We how to make it sound. It’s not just ‘put it in
and what people do. This is our little slice of have a Hook Cemetery. It’s the Post-It and your mouth and blow’. That’s not the way it
land. Trying to make people a little happier.” ideas and sketches that never made it to an goes. You need a special technique and a
album. Whenever we run out of ideas we can special yada-yada, so I just started doing
he new album, ‘Club Majesty’, which pick one from there. That was one of those.” that. I like that feeling of not knowing, of
Twas, incidentally, originally a poten- So if you ever do read or listen to Royal swimming in unknown waters. That’s a good
tial name for the band before they decided Republic lyrics, take them for the humour place to find inspiration; when you’re in that
on Royal Republic, kicks off with ‘Fireman & that they are. Most, if not all, of them, are kind of mood and mode. I used to have that
Dancer’. With lyrics such as ‘When you are NOT relating to their own lives in any way, with the guitar when I was very, very young.
down I can turn it around, fireman. You got it shape or form, and are just slices of hilarious It’s the same when you introduce something
bad, feelin’ lonely and sad, fireman’, you may randomness. Even the ones related to rela- new, when you buy a new instrument. You
picture that as being a song that would help tionships are not actually about their own. know there are at least two songs that you
fans feel less alone. But the band didn’t write Adam adds, “It’s funny. We keep writing can squeeze for that instrument that you can
it with that thought in mind. things to do with really dysfunctional love. squeeze out, while you have that fresh new
“I can’t remember why the hell we named We have a couple on every album; ‘Oh, you love and the saxophone totally gave me that.
the song ‘Fireman & Dancer’,” says Adam. and me, we’re so bad for each other but I So I put the solo on ‘Fireman & Dancer’ on
“But I guess he’s not just a fireman nor a love it,’ or something like that. And I don’t the demo and I sent the song off to our man-
dancer, he’s both. We had an idea of a guy think any of us is really in that position. I ager who said, ‘I love the song, but you can-
running into a burning building to save think we’re just really good liars. If we were not under any circumstances put saxophone
someone and instead of carrying that person to just write about our daily lives and being on this record or the radio is not going to
out he would rip his fireman jacket off and truthful with everything, I think our lyrics touch it,’ and I was like, ‘Is that right?’ so I
start dancing to our song. I don’t really would suck… they might make sense, but I started putting saxophone on every single
know. Like I said, you shouldn’t dig too like this better.” demo that we made! It’s an interesting addi-
deeply into the lyrics ‘cause it makes ab- With a song called ‘Blunt Force Trauma’ tion to the sound and it kind of fits the mood.
solutely no sense. I can’t explain it myself! It where Adam sings ‘Our kind of love is a vio- It fits the picture of Royal Republic, at least
just feels good when I sing it – so we’ll just lent case’, we can’t help but ask Adam’s our picture. We’ll see how much sax there is
leave it at that!” opinion on those that ARE in bad relation- live.”
Picturing that in our head makes us ships. We can’t wait to see the band live again
laugh – although we imagine the person “I don’t know, that’s everyone’s answer and see for ourselves how much saxophone
needing to be saved probably wouldn’t be for themselves, I guess. There are all kinds is played and how all of the new ‘Club
too happy if the fireman just started dancing of relationships that might work out in one Majesty’ songs sound live. You can find them
instead of saving them. Another of the songs way or another, but if you’re being treated playing the festival circuit this summer with
we find humorous is ‘Bulldog’. It begins, badly, or if you hate your relationship, obvi- a UK and European headline tour kicking off
‘Hey Mr. Bulldog, why so sad? You take a ously you shouldn’t stay in it. That’s pretty in October. Visit www.royalrepublic.net for
dump I pick it up in a bag’. So true, yet so hi- simple, isn’t it?” more info.
larious. But it turns out that Adam doesn’t
own a bulldog, and the song was one that oyal Republic have released five stu- Words by Shari Black Velvet
came to them back in 2011 quite randomly. Rdio albums since their formation in
ROYAL REPUBLIC