White Reaper On Self-Producing, Rebellion And What’s Next

Forbes Business Hollywood & Entertainment White Reaper On Self-Producing, Rebellion And What’s Next Jim Ryan Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about the business of music Following Jul 19, 2023, 06:38pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin (Left to right) Tony Esposito, Sam Wilkerson, Ryan Hater, Hunter Thompson and Nick Wilkerson of . .

. [+] White Reaper pose backstage on day 3 at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ). Friday, July 8, 2023 in Québec City, Canada Photo by Barry Brecheisen Since 2015, Louisville alt rock quintet White Reaper has evolved over the course of four studio albums, eloquently capturing the spirit of their live set on the new Asking for a Ride , one of the year’s best rock records.

Prior to signing with major label Elektra Records four years ago, who released Asking for a Ride as well as 2019’s You Deserve Love , the group had time to cut their teeth, make mistakes and develop. The new album hits upon timeless ideas like rebellion and defiance, drawing from the power pop tradition of artists like Cheap Trick or Thin Lizzy on cuts like “Pages,” their second number one single, or the stellar “Pink Slip,” while hitting upon the punk spirited rock of Motörhead on the title track. Growing out of writing sessions that began during the pandemic in late 2020, the new album is a long time coming, with the group scrapping an initial recording of the album, opting to self-produce alongside engineer Jeremy Ferguson.

“We’ve got a lot of input between the five of us. So it feels pretty natural to just have those opinions and tastes informing what we ultimately put down,” said guitarist Hunter Thompson backstage on day three at Festival d’été de Québec ( FEQ ), prior to a main stage festival slot alongside artists like Starcrawler and Foo Fighters last week. MORE FOR YOU New Apple Exclusive Reveals iPhone 15 Design Surprise The Worst Scene From The Flash Is Now Going Viral Phoenix Salt Lake City Set High Temperature Records Here s Where Else Records Could Fall “We definitely wanted to capture the live energy of being in a room with us I suppose,” said singer and guitarist Tony Esposito of recording Asking for a Ride.

“And the smell,” joked keyboard player Ryan Hater in response. (Left to right) Tony Esposito, Hunter Thompson and Sam Wilkerson of White Reaper perform on day 3 at . .

. [+] Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ). Friday, July 8, 2023 in Québec City, Canada Photo by Barry Brecheisen I spoke with White Reaper, who resume a U.

S. tour Saturday, August 12, 2023 in Columbia, MO (a run which includes festival stops in Chicago at Riot Fest on September 16 as well a Louder Than Life homecoming appearance in Louisville on September 21), about capturing the spirit of their live set on Asking for a Ride , their unique trajectory and what’s next. A transcript of our conversation backstage in Québec City, Canada follows below.

. . Jim Ryan : I feel like this album really captures the band’s live spirit.

The last one was a little more polished. Was it important to achieve that? Tony Esposito : Definitely. We definitely wanted to capture the live energy of being in a room with us I suppose.

Ryan Hater : And the smell. Ryan Hater of White Reaper performs on day 3 at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ). Friday, July 8, 2023 .

. . [+] in Québec City, Canada Photo by Barry Brecheisen Jim Ryan : I know you guys kind of largely self-produced this time around.

What do you take away from that process? What do you learn? Hunter Thompson : I think with kind of producing ourselves, we’ve got a lot of input between the five of us. So it feels pretty natural to just have those opinions and tastes informing what we ultimately put down. Because there’s no lack of opinions and ideas going around.

So, sometimes it’s good to slim down the noises in the room. It can be nice to have an outside perspective though. We were lucky to work with an engineer who I think helped us do that.

His name is Jeremy Ferguson. It can be great to have an unbiased, kind of new perspective in the room. But, ultimately, it’s fun to get to actualize our five ideas and voices.

Ryan Hater (back, left), Sam Wilkerson (back, right), Nick Wilkerson (middle, left), Tony Esposito . . .

[+] (middle, right) and Hunter Thompson of White Reaper pose backstage on day three at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ). Saturday, July 8, 2023 in Québec City, Canada Photo by Barry Brecheisen Jim Ryan : In listening again this morning, a few themes kind of jumped out at me from this batch of songs: rebellion, anti-authority, defiance. How do those ideas kind of manifest themselves on this album? Tony : I think it kind of goes back to what you and Hunter just talked about, finding the power within ourselves – and kind of sometimes feeling like a square peg trying to be fit into a triangle hole as a band I suppose.

And maybe we do that to ourselves sometimes. But I really just think it was how we were feeling at the exact time – as a result of the way that we were trying to make the record versus the record that we wanted to make I suppose is what I’d say. Tony Esposito of White Reaper performs on day 3 at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ).

Friday, July 8, . . .

[+] 2023 in Québec City, Canada Photo by Barry Brecheisen Jim Ryan : I was kind of looking at your trajectory earlier. Before two albums on a major label, you had time to work together and put out music, make mistakes and figure out a path as independent artists. I think it’s hard for bands who get thrown straight onto a major label where, if things don’t go well immediately, sometimes things just end – there’s not always time to develop.

Hindsight being what it is, how important was it for you guys to have that trajectory heading into these first major label projects? Ryan Hater : I think that’s been kind of a big growing pain for us – finding the balance between tour time and writing time. Our new favorite word is being intentional with what we do. So that’s kind of something we’re still just figuring out: trying to find who we are.

Tony Esposito (left) and Hunter Thompson (right) of White Reaper perform on day 3 at Festival d’été . . .

[+] de Québec (FEQ). Friday, July 8, 2023 in Québec City, Canada Photo by Barry Brecheisen Hunter : I think we’ve kind of realized that we have to be very deliberate about the time that we write. Regardless of any pressure kind of externally or what have you, I think so much stuff happens in the momentum of being in a band that you almost kind of just grab whatever you can whenever it’s there.

But we recently have been talking a lot about really kind of measuring our writing time and our output and really making sure that we’re being consistent and scheduling ourselves to be able to do this for longer. So that we don’t kind of just have to catch waves where we see them and ride that. Ryan Hater : You get like 20 years to write your first album and then you get 18 months to write every album after that.

So it’s like trying to navigate that whole thing. MORE FROM FORBES Foo Fighters, Weezer And Imagine Dragons Shine As FEQ Wraps Up In Quebec City By Jim Ryan Jim Ryan : I know Asking for a Ride has only been out for a few months – but I also know it was a long time coming. Are you guys thinking about what’s next and how’s that shaping up? Tony : Yeah, definitely.

Right before this tour we talked about it a little bit. Sort of as the touring for this album winds down, everything we’ve been saying in the last few minutes, we’re going to really think about – pin our ears back and be deliberate and just get to work I think. As soon as we’re finished with the rest of our dates, that will be the main focus.

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