Rory is the front man for the Rhode Island band Soul Control. I have become very good friends with him since he joined Soul Control and was very excited to have him do this interview. He is a passionate, convicted and intelligent guy, who puts more of himself into performing and his band than i've seen from others. Onto the interview.
All photos taken by Rich Gaccione.
1- Give me a description of where you come from as a person, and as a musician. Where did it all start for you to get you where you are today with Soul Control and the projects you've done leading up to Soul Control.
As a person I would say that I try to be a compassionate human being. I think that sums up the way I try and live my life, I realize that I may not achieve that all the time, but I try. As a musician I try to be as honest as I can with what I am doing.
I guess it all started when my friends and I got together to form a band in about 96' maybe. We were called Longshot, that was a total music casserole, then Standfast(1998-2002) this was the first band I toured with, recorded with, and probably learned the most from. XWitnessX(01-04), Achilles(03- present), How We Are(04-07), these were the most active bands I have been in. I'm bad with dates so some of the times might be a little off.
After HWA broke up and Achilles wasn't going to be super active so, I was asked by a close friend to move to Providence, RI. I didn't have anything keeping me in Rochester, Ny so I decided to say ok and move to a city where I really didn't know anyone and do something different. I told myself I needed to be there for at least a year before I moved, So far it's gone past a year so I'm doing alright. Jim asked me to try out for SC when I was working at Nice Slice one day, I said I was down to try it out and see where things would go, and well that brings us to where we are now.
2- Coming from upstate NY and being a transplant into a small scene like providence, was it hard for you to find a common group of friends or did it come natural? Also, what prompted you to move to providence?
Well I will start with Rochester,Ny has a pretty small tight knit scene as well so I don't mind that at all. When I first got involved with shows and so forth getting 30 kids to come out to a show in Rochester was amazing. So with that in mind, I didn't have any pre concieved idea of what Providence would be like. It took me awhile to get used to the Providence vibe, people are a lot more closed off to new people in Providence than what I'm used to. I feel like I'm a pretty easy person to talk to and meet so with a little bit of help from some acquaintances I managed to meet some great people. My friend Lauren and I hungout a lot and that helped me adjust and feel really comfortable, I also got used to relying on myself a lot more which is something I really wanted to happen.
The move was prompted by my friend Brian who also played drums in the first bands I was ever involved in(Longshot and Standfast). He was going to be attending Johnson and Wales for cooking and well he asked me to move, the rest I already explained in question #1. I loaded up my van and drove down.
3- Ive been thinking a lot about the level of passion that people have for hardcore and the beliefs that are involved with the hardcore scene, such as straight edge, krsna, vegetarian/veganism etc. I remember back when i started going to shows, there were always tables full of literature, and shirts and flyers for meetings against animal cruelty and just tons of involvement and passion in these things. Do you think this era has that passion for these things, like i remember having, and im sure you do as well, about ten years ago?
I think the passion is there, I just think people have become to concerened about what other people think of them. They don't want to be pigeonholed as one of those crazy Vegan(or straight edge, krishna) kids trying to convert everyone, when in reality they are just trying to spread some information in a manor that they know how to, whether that's a zine or pamphlets at a show. Although I do see some bright spot now and again in Santa Barbara there were vegan baked goods benefiting political prisoners and some women at out Vancouver show were handing out Why Vegan? pamphlets at our show. With the abaility for anyone to walk into our community and then instantly attack and pass judgements so easily from a messgeboard moments later after the show is very disheartening and takes away from anyone wanting to be a part of something. I think (with animal rights anyway) the issue should still be pushed, look at how easy it is to be vegan now than it was ten years ago? I think that we owe a lot of credit to the bands and people who were very outspoken about those issues before us. I think the people who care about these issues just don't take the hardcore and punk scene as seriously as they once have and they put their energy elsewhere.
I don't think I would be vegan if it wasn't for those pamphlets and videos that I saw when I first started going to shows. I took the information in, read up on certain issues and made my own decisions from there. The same happened when I first found out about Mumia, and the MOVE 9, and Leonard Peltier. I was informed about these issues at hardcore and punk shows.
But like I said it's easier to just talk shit, consider anything like that preachy and pushy. So people tend to take what other people say and don't think for themselves that's why things like that become discouraged.
4- What or who, has influenced you the most as a front man for a band, and what/who has influenced you the most as a person in general terms.
I have a couple people who have influenced me as a front man for a band.
Aaron Bedard- From the first time I saw Bane I saw blown away by the energy and honesty that was conveyed hrough the bands music and message. I loved how the band was more than just music and yelling, it was a celebration and it was such a release of everything in our lives. I felt a lot of the things that were said in between songs had a huge impact on me when I started singing for bands and a part of me wanted to convey that feeling.
Tommy Corrigan- The lyrics for "Life of a Spectator" are some of the most honest that I have come across. Connecting to that record got me through my senior year in high school. Those connections are something that happen less and less these days for whatever reason. But, I still get chills at certain times when I listen to Silent Majority. Plus Tommy is down right hilarious in-between songs.
5- 4 bands. One show. Living/dead/together/broken up. Who are the bands and where do they play?
Minor Threat
Inside Out
Nirvana
Buddy Holly
They play at AS220 becuase it's honestly one of the best venues in America, it sounds great and the stage is perfect for dives.
6- Tell me what its been like with SOul COntrol, being you took the spot of someone who left the band. What has the Soul Control experience been like thus far?
I was nervous at first, I think think it took me a good week of shows to really feel it out and get comfortable with the songs live and so forth. This was my first time replacing someone in a band and so that aspect is weird. Always being compard to someone else and having to sing lyrics I didn't write is a bit weird. It's nice when people say they like it, but I'm just doing what I do and having fun with it, it's nice that people dig it. As far as the experience so far, well I think this tour we are on right now has definately made us all a lot closer which is a good thing. We definately feed off of each other now and can feel things out, which is great. Things are vibin great!
7- What have been the 2 most memorable experiences in your career in bands. Give me the Worst one and the Best one.
I'll preface this with I wouldn't take back any experience back at all. It might have sucked at that point in time, but you learn from this stuff and it's made me who I am today, so with that said. . .
The Worst- I think the worst was the Standfast US tour that ended before the first show. Our van died in Ohio on our way to our very first show of our first full U.S tour. Well we never got to do another U.S tour and I'm just now completing my first U.S tour now with SC. I think it's the worst because we were all bright eyed and so excited. The van died in Ohio and we had to rent a U-Haul box truck with a trailer hitch to take back to Rochester, Ny. So three of us rode in the closed box truck for a few hours in the heat. That wasn't all that fun thats for sure.
The Best- Might be touring Central America with Soul Control. Just being able to do that was amazing and I hope that is just the beginning.
8-You are a very very passionate person, when it comes to music, performing, and i guess mostly anything you hold close to yourself. Ive seen you perform many times and you always give 110% of yourself, no matter 5 people or 500. Give me an insight as to how your mind works, onstage, off stage, in the lyric writing process and such. What fuels your passion to get up in front of the people at the shows and do what it is you do?
As far as my mind working offstage, I don't know how to really explain that in everyday life. I just try and focus on what's in front of me and go from there.
Onstage I would have to say I just feel it out for the most part. I just loose myself when we play, I realize that when we play I have my eyes closed a lot of the time. I think that's because I really just need this as a release and for the most part it's such a stress reliever for me, it makes me a calmer and more centered person.
As for lyric writing I tend to just go with my gut at first. I try not to force anything. I usually come up with ideas at random and write them down and then when I have time I continue my train of thought. If I have time I usually just write, maybe free flowing writing style is what I am for. I usually tend to write and revise a lot because of that style, but I think that allows me to then focus on what I'm trying to say.
What fuels me to play shows? Damn sometimes I have to ask myself that a lot. For me a lot of it has to do with just the release it gives me. I know it's selfish, but I feel so much better when I'm playing music. I feel creative, I feel like I'm doing something. It's motivating to me, It makes me happy. I know that sounds cheesy to some extent but it's true. It also feels good when people are generally into and can relate to what your doing. Seeing the world and meeting people is also an inspiration to keep on doing what I'm doing. I also believe that hardcore an be an open forum for communicating ideas, so that keeps me coming back to these rooms.
9-Whats your take on the " MySpace Generation" of bands, the bands that get together, get a million friends, play a very similar and generic style of music that tons of other bands are playing, that is all the rage with the more mainstream aggressive music fans. Part 2 to this question, how has the internet in general changed hardcore and underground music, in your opinion.
The ability to be a hardcore/punk band right now is very easy and to expose yourself to so many people via the internet. So with that said the world is over saturated with awful bands right now with no real attachment or grounding within hardcore. They have the sound but they just don't get it, they think that just because your in a band and have a demo people should be singing along and moshing for your band. So in my eyes I just see these bands trying to" jump onto someone else's train." I think the real bands will shince through and the crap will be just that crap.
As far as the internet changing hardcore. It's simple it's made being a hardcore/punk kid easier, lazier, and more spoiled. You can sit at your home and be connected to everything that happened at a show without actually being there, You can read the messgeboard updates, the pictures, you can even buy the vinyl and shirts online, and download the records. For all intensive purposes you don't have to step inside a basement, legion hall, or beer soaked club in your lifetime. I'm not saying this is everyone, because if it was bands wouldn't be able to tour and I wouldn't get to meet new people and so forth. I also think that it's helped in some ways by making booking tours easier and staying in touch with friends and loved ones that you have met along the way. So it has it's pluses and minuses, so you always have to take the good with the bad.
10-Will you please grow your hair long again?
We'll see what happens. I'm not making any promises, but I will say this the people who missed out on the long hair Rory want to see it happen. The people who were around enjoy the current hair more.
11-What are some things that you are stoked on at the moment in music and in life?
I'm stoked to be in a band that actually is motivated to tour and travel as much as I want to. I'm excited to start writing a full length record. The How We Are LP came out on Secret Jams and Stop Whining Start Winning Records and that makes me happy. The new Propaghandi is going to be fucking awesome. Like Wolves!
12-Ok, on a lighter note....first thing that comes to mind when i say:
Jim Connolly: Loves facebook!
Touring Europe: I want to right now!
Hardcore Messageboards: Blah!
being straight edge in 2009: Rules!
Providence RI: Nice Slice!
Barak Obama: Loves The Wire!
home made vegan pancakes: I will now add peanut butter as a topping thanks to Kim Possible.
13-What are your long term goals and expectations of the life you lead? Where would you think youll be in 15 years from now?
My goals and expectations holy fuck I have no idea. I think i would feel good about working in a field helping people in some sort of way. That or open some sort of my own business. In 15 years I'll probably living back in Rochester,NY and who knows what else.
14-Thanks for cooperating and humoring my questions. Any last comments or anything you'd like to put out there for people who would be reading this?
Think for yourself! Go Vegan!
Check out Soul Control on tour when you can. They have a busy spring/summer coming up, so be sure you go and say hello.
www.myspace.com/soulcontrolhc
and their newest "Paralyzed" 
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