We sat down with the talented Jeremy Rice to chat about what makes up his unique sound. He releases his new single ‘World War Three’ today, so make sure to check it out at the bottom and give him a follow to keep up to date with his journey!
Tell us about yourself as an artist?
Though primarily a musician and composer, I work with a variety of media such as video, illustration, animation and the written word. Ultimately these are all tools that serve to tell a story, and I just try to use all the means within my disposal to create as meaningful a story-telling experience as I can. I guess what I’m saying is I’m a story-teller, which I suppose is just another way of saying I’m a bullshitter.
What got you into music?
Initially I was more of a visually oriented child, kept happy with a pencil and some paper. With that said, I was always pretty musical, signing harmonies to songs I heard on the radio and coming up with little tunes in my head. I just didn’t focus on music seriously until I was in my late teens. One day I borrowed my Dad’s guitar and figured out some chords, and something just clicked. I wrote my first song before I learned to play any covers. It was the creative aspect that drove me more than anything.
How would you describe your sound?
I tend to go to a lot of places with my music. There’s quite a variety in the catalog. All you need to do is compare World War Three with The Legendary Fist of Takinawa to get a sense of that. Ultimately though, I suppose one could sum it up by classifying it in the pop/rock category. You know, if one really needed to classify it.
What is your favourite venue to play?
The one with the best crowd. So far I’ve been pretty lucky in that regard.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
It’s hard to say. I’m a big Supertramp fan, and Roger Hodgson seems like a nice guy (I met him briefly once). I’m not sure how well it would gel creatively, but even just to have a beer with him, I’d gladly give it a shot.
What is your creative process, and do you think it differs from others?
I tend to have a large number of projects running at any given time. This is the case for both writing and recording. Sometimes I’ll even start working on the video component of the music during the recording phase. On the downside, it can get extremely messy and difficult to manage. On the up side, if I ever hit a snag, I can step back and get some perspective without having to halt productivity. I just move on the next thing and hit the ground running.
What is special about this song to you?
I think what makes the song stand out most is the throwback element and its relevance to the theme of the song. I was trying to evoke the musical styles that were popular during the early atomic age (swing, rockabilly), to take us back to that period of time. I guess it was a way of saying we’ve been down this fucked up road before and we’ll get through it again, but maybe that’s just the “story-teller” in me. Either way, with global tensions rising, I felt that a little levity might be a welcome addition to the conversation, and that’s really how this single came to be. I suppose not everyone sees the humour in partying to the end of the world, but I think laughing about it is more desirable than the alternative.
