Garret Rapp - The Colour Morale (12/10/2014)
Hope is something that a lot of bands like to talk about in their songs, and it’s something that resonates a lot with audiences and listeners. The Color Morale have been at the forefront of this a while now but for them it’s not just some gimmick, it’s just about being sincere and honest and the post-hardcore quintet’s latest album, Hold On Pain Ends (Fearless Records) is proof of this. The 59th Sound had a quick chat with lead vocalist Garret Rapp while he was at home in between tours to talk about Soundwave, Australian audiences, and the meaning behind their latest album.
For Hold On Pain Ends, the band have dropped a lot of the heavier, metalcore elements which had previously been a major part of their music. “It’s where I was at personally. I’ve been burnt out on the heavier side of things and I’m more into the melodic side of things lately. I haven’t really been listening to much heavy music at all lately”. When asked if they may bring back some of the heavier elements, Rapp wasn’t sure. “It’s hard to say. It’s a question I’ve been asking myself going into the next album, like what exactly does The Color Morale want to do, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I mean, who’s to say we even have a heavy side of the band, we might just drop the whole screaming thing all together. One thing our band will never do is force ourselves to do something that we don’t feel”.
Rapp also explained the meaning behind their new album. “I had it all predetermined. The title was about picking up where Know Hope left off. To have it bigger with more focus on song writing and to be more lyrically driven. Know Hope was written in a very personal place at a very personal place in my life and Hold On Pain Ends was written about observing that whole year of touring under Know Hope and seeing what kids are going through. So what the record ended up being was everyone else’s stories that they’ve shared with me and all of my personal observations”.
As some may have noticed, the band likes to play around with their titles. Whether it’s the acronym of their new album, the title of their last record, or song names like In Light In Me and Hole Hearted, Rapp explains this kind of writing. “It’s something that I just consciously do. I’m not a singer or an entertainer; I’m just a writer that got thrown into being a band on accident. So I like to challenge myself with what I write and the hidden contextual meanings. I want kids to hear our songs and be able to decipher the lyrical content and relate to it, but I also want to challenge myself as a writer. So there’s a fine line between the two that I try to coincide with”.
In January this year, the band had a run of national dates with fellow US band, Blessthefall, and local upstarts, Prepared Like A Bride. The singer tells us that it was a truly awesome experience. “We were already friends with Blessthefall and it was awesome to meet the guys in Prepared Like A Bride, they were awesome too. It was just a lot of fun. That was our first time in Australia and we’ve had this fan base slowly growing there that’s been waiting to see us play. It was so great to finally meet people that you’ve connected to over social media. I play a big role in the bands social networking and I’m pretty accessible, so meeting so many faces that I can now put to name now was great. I also felt more at home in Australia than I do in the States some times, which was really cool”.
With The Colour Morale scheduled to play Soundwave next year, Rapp spoke of how excited he was to be on the powerhouse line-up. “Personally, I couldn’t be any more excited to see Fear Factory. They’ve been one of my favourite bands since I was kid. Obsolete was one of the records that got me into metal music when I was fourteen. Bands like Fear Factory, Pantera, Sepultura, were just a bunch of bands that opened me up to a whole world of other music”.
Rapp also had some very interesting things to say regarding different audiences, and also shared some of his personal thoughts on connecting to an artist’s work. “I know that the culture is different but I think that the fan base in Australia is just more appreciative and more connected with the emotional side of music like ours. I feel that in the States there’s a lot more gimmicks in the music, unfortunately. In Australia, I felt such a strong connection of the heart to the music. Something that I’ve actually been dealing with personally lately is that fine line between if people really do connect with what you do as an artist versus if their just connected to what you do because it’s popular…”
There’s definitely some food for thought there, and following on from that is that the band’s music is quite honest and hopeful so when asked whether or not he thought that the fans would embrace the songs if differing themes and ideas were presented in them, he had this to say. ”I feel like there’s this wave of positive message lately, and I see a lot of bands jump on this bandwagon, and that word ‘hope’ gets thrown around so much. There’s a million non-for-profit organisation and a million bands promoting the message of hope. I don’t feel like it’s my job to question what another artist or band is doing. If bands are just trying to jump on a bandwagon, even if there’s a gimmick behind, at least it’s positive. Like, a similar thing happened with Christian hardcore music at one point. There where all these tours and festivals and now there’s none of that stuff anymore. If people want to get popular and exposure through doing that sort of thing instead of looking for something authentic then I guess it’s not really anyone place to question it. I just try not to worry what about what other bands and people are doing, because what I do with my time behind closed doors is what I try to prioritise”.
As a part of the Punk Goes 90’s compilation that was released earlier this year, The Color Morale recorded a cover of Foo Fighters’ seminal track, Everlong. Rapp explains that it was a no-brainer to go with that song. “We were asked if that was the song we wanted to do it for the compilation, it’s ironic because Foo Fighters are one of our favourite bands. I didn’t have to look up the lyrics and the rest of the band didn’t need to look up the tabs as we all know and love their songs”.
Now, if you follow The Smith Street Band, or Stray From The Path, than you’ve most likely heard about the stage diving debate surrounding US band, Joyce Manor. The singer did have a few final things to say regarding stage diving at shows. “I never even heard of the band before that so good for them, they’ve gotten more exposure than ever before from this stage diving phenomenon”, laughs Rapp. “It depends. Like I wouldn’t go to a country music show and stage dive into the first row of people seated, so it really kind of depends on the outlet really. It also can just depend on the band and if they have a history and ethos to that kind of thing, then by all means”.
Alex Sievers
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE
For Hold On Pain Ends, the band have dropped a lot of the heavier, metalcore elements which had previously been a major part of their music. “It’s where I was at personally. I’ve been burnt out on the heavier side of things and I’m more into the melodic side of things lately. I haven’t really been listening to much heavy music at all lately”. When asked if they may bring back some of the heavier elements, Rapp wasn’t sure. “It’s hard to say. It’s a question I’ve been asking myself going into the next album, like what exactly does The Color Morale want to do, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I mean, who’s to say we even have a heavy side of the band, we might just drop the whole screaming thing all together. One thing our band will never do is force ourselves to do something that we don’t feel”.
Rapp also explained the meaning behind their new album. “I had it all predetermined. The title was about picking up where Know Hope left off. To have it bigger with more focus on song writing and to be more lyrically driven. Know Hope was written in a very personal place at a very personal place in my life and Hold On Pain Ends was written about observing that whole year of touring under Know Hope and seeing what kids are going through. So what the record ended up being was everyone else’s stories that they’ve shared with me and all of my personal observations”.
As some may have noticed, the band likes to play around with their titles. Whether it’s the acronym of their new album, the title of their last record, or song names like In Light In Me and Hole Hearted, Rapp explains this kind of writing. “It’s something that I just consciously do. I’m not a singer or an entertainer; I’m just a writer that got thrown into being a band on accident. So I like to challenge myself with what I write and the hidden contextual meanings. I want kids to hear our songs and be able to decipher the lyrical content and relate to it, but I also want to challenge myself as a writer. So there’s a fine line between the two that I try to coincide with”.
In January this year, the band had a run of national dates with fellow US band, Blessthefall, and local upstarts, Prepared Like A Bride. The singer tells us that it was a truly awesome experience. “We were already friends with Blessthefall and it was awesome to meet the guys in Prepared Like A Bride, they were awesome too. It was just a lot of fun. That was our first time in Australia and we’ve had this fan base slowly growing there that’s been waiting to see us play. It was so great to finally meet people that you’ve connected to over social media. I play a big role in the bands social networking and I’m pretty accessible, so meeting so many faces that I can now put to name now was great. I also felt more at home in Australia than I do in the States some times, which was really cool”.
With The Colour Morale scheduled to play Soundwave next year, Rapp spoke of how excited he was to be on the powerhouse line-up. “Personally, I couldn’t be any more excited to see Fear Factory. They’ve been one of my favourite bands since I was kid. Obsolete was one of the records that got me into metal music when I was fourteen. Bands like Fear Factory, Pantera, Sepultura, were just a bunch of bands that opened me up to a whole world of other music”.
Rapp also had some very interesting things to say regarding different audiences, and also shared some of his personal thoughts on connecting to an artist’s work. “I know that the culture is different but I think that the fan base in Australia is just more appreciative and more connected with the emotional side of music like ours. I feel that in the States there’s a lot more gimmicks in the music, unfortunately. In Australia, I felt such a strong connection of the heart to the music. Something that I’ve actually been dealing with personally lately is that fine line between if people really do connect with what you do as an artist versus if their just connected to what you do because it’s popular…”
There’s definitely some food for thought there, and following on from that is that the band’s music is quite honest and hopeful so when asked whether or not he thought that the fans would embrace the songs if differing themes and ideas were presented in them, he had this to say. ”I feel like there’s this wave of positive message lately, and I see a lot of bands jump on this bandwagon, and that word ‘hope’ gets thrown around so much. There’s a million non-for-profit organisation and a million bands promoting the message of hope. I don’t feel like it’s my job to question what another artist or band is doing. If bands are just trying to jump on a bandwagon, even if there’s a gimmick behind, at least it’s positive. Like, a similar thing happened with Christian hardcore music at one point. There where all these tours and festivals and now there’s none of that stuff anymore. If people want to get popular and exposure through doing that sort of thing instead of looking for something authentic then I guess it’s not really anyone place to question it. I just try not to worry what about what other bands and people are doing, because what I do with my time behind closed doors is what I try to prioritise”.
As a part of the Punk Goes 90’s compilation that was released earlier this year, The Color Morale recorded a cover of Foo Fighters’ seminal track, Everlong. Rapp explains that it was a no-brainer to go with that song. “We were asked if that was the song we wanted to do it for the compilation, it’s ironic because Foo Fighters are one of our favourite bands. I didn’t have to look up the lyrics and the rest of the band didn’t need to look up the tabs as we all know and love their songs”.
Now, if you follow The Smith Street Band, or Stray From The Path, than you’ve most likely heard about the stage diving debate surrounding US band, Joyce Manor. The singer did have a few final things to say regarding stage diving at shows. “I never even heard of the band before that so good for them, they’ve gotten more exposure than ever before from this stage diving phenomenon”, laughs Rapp. “It depends. Like I wouldn’t go to a country music show and stage dive into the first row of people seated, so it really kind of depends on the outlet really. It also can just depend on the band and if they have a history and ethos to that kind of thing, then by all means”.
Alex Sievers
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE