Mike Bongertman
River Seven has already taken Canada by storm with their self-entitled debut album - and they look set to do the same here in the UK.
I caught up with lead singer Mike Bongertman to discuss the new single, the album and what lies ahead for the band.
- River Seven are about to release their new single Falling Hard here in the UK so what can we expect from the track?
Hopefully good things (laughs). I have only been here for a few days but I have played it at a couple of venues now and it seems to come over very well, it has been an acoustic set so it has just been me and my acoustic guitar.
It has been getting a good response so far and I am happy about it.
- The track and the album has a sort of blues meets rock & pop sound so how would you describe the sound of the band?
I think that you did pretty got there as that is definitely it. It has a bluesy rock sound to it and there is some definitely some pop in there as well. A lot of people compare us to Maroon 5 meets Jason Mraz or John Mayer, that is what I am hearing. So yeah you kind of hit it on the head - but there are some soul elements in there as well.
- You have touched on my next question really the band has been compared to the likes of Maroon 5 so how do you feel about those comments?
I don’t mind, I like that group and John Mayer and Mraz are fantastic artists and I enjoy their music.
You are always going to be compared to somebody so if I have to be compared to someone that it might as well be those successful artists (laughs).
- You released you debut album earlier this year so for anyone who hasn’t checked out the album yet how does the new single introduce us to the rest of the record?
In my opinion it takes you on a little bit of a rollercoaster ride and it introduces it kind of well. But there are some heavier sounding songs on the record as well and a little more laid back soulful/blues or just soul kind of sounding tunes as well.
The single doesn’t describe the whole album so I definitely say give the rest of it a chance because there is a diversity on the record for sure in terms of the sound and style of music. But I still think that there is a style the band has that you can recognise.
- Like I said that album has been out a few weeks so how have you found the response to the record so far and to the band here in the UK?
Very well so far I am getting great responses from the live shows. I have done a few more interviews like these and I am hearing great things - people who have heard the album have really liked it.
So I am really pleased about the response and I am excited to continue my little tour here and hopefully I will be back to do some more.
- The vast majority of the album has been penned by the band so how does the songs writing process work? And who and what inspires you to write?
Well we all kind of bring stuff to the table, someone will bring an idea like a melody or some chord structure and then we all jump in and finish a song.
Mainly the writing is done between me and the bass player, as far as lyrical content and melody, but there are a few that the drummer had on the record, but he is great with arrangements and grooves and things like that.
I am inspired by life situations and obviously other artists inspire you to write. On this record there are some love songs, songs about the environment and life lesson songs and music.
- Terry Brown mixed and produced the album so how did that collaboration come about?
Well it was through the drummer Tony. I was living in Los Angeles at the time when I got a call… we are a very new band and I have been playing with the guys in different bands for many years. Us sort of joining together is still very fresh.
I had just moved to LA and I was there less than a years before I got a call asking if I could come up and do this project with producer Terry Brown, and I couldn’t say no because he has an amazing track record.
Many people know him for the band Rush, they are one of the big bands that he has worked with, and I believe he also produced a band called the Cutting Crew.
Working with him has just been amazing because he is a great guy too and just so humble and he is so great at what he does. He is from the UK he was born and raised here and moved to Canada when he was in his twenties.
He has got some amazing rock and roll history as he worked with the likes of The Who so it has been an extreme pleasure working with this man.
- He is incredibly experienced so what did that experience bring to the album?
Definitely a lot of talent of course but also an old school type of thinking, a lot of new producers or younger producers are so interested in fixing things and using new technology; of course you have to use some of it and keep up with the times.
On the album I do a Jeff Buckley cover and a Jimi Hendrix cover and when you are singing in the studio and mess up the lyrics or whatever and I want to change them but he is like ‘well I don’t know if I want to do that because it sounded so good and I want to keep the vibe’ and I was like ‘ok’.
There are not may producers would do these days, even if it doesn’t come out perfect but the feel is there that is the kind of producer that he is - it’s great to be working with a guy that thinks that way.
- The album features a cover of Everybody Here Wants You by Jeff Buckley & Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix so what made you want to record these tracks?
I am a big fan of Jeff Buckley and I love the song Everybody Here Wants You and it was on a record that he never finished, apparently he was really unhappy with what he did before he died.
So I wanted to take one of those songs and finish it - hopefully wherever he is he is happy with it. So I was interested in doing that for that reason - and it is such a great tune.
And the Jimi Hendrix tune I know that a lot of people have covered Little Wing but it is just something that we have done in our live show, we have done it differently and really changed it up. So we thought it would have been a good idea to throw on since we have played it and it is usually a crowd pleaser.
- These are obviously two very well known songs so how did you go about putting your own stamp on them?
I guess again playing with these guys over the years, even just doing the live shows; we are just really comfortable and get into a really nice groove. I feel at home with this band so it comes naturally putting your own twist on it.
The Jimi Hendrix track I will take a little bit of what he plays rift wise but I also want to throw in some of my own guitar style on there. And same with the Jeff Buckley song I have added some harmonies that weren’t there on the original song because it was unfinished.
So I would do stuff like that and even different tones and variations of the song. The Hendrix song is a much longer tune and we have made it more like a single, it’s usually a much shorter song but we have extended it.
- You have touched on this slightly already but how did the band form?
The drummer I played with in a band in early to mid 2000 and the bass player I have known him since I was a teenager and we have been playing in different bands for what seems like forever (laughs).
When I got the call from the drummer to come up and do this project I just had the bassist Peter in mind and I asked him if he wanted to be involved because I have always enjoyed writing and playing with him. He was interested and that is really how it happened.
Even though it’s a new band we feel like we have been doing this much longer because of our history together in different bands and we clicked right away. So we quickly got whatever songs that we had and put them on the table and got to work right away.
- Finally what’s coming up for you for the rest of 2012?
Well hopefully some more touring. When I get home I will probably so some writing, we have already touched on some new writing, so maybe we will hopefully get in the studio, we will see what the tour schedule is this summer.
I think there is some stuff in New York coming up when I get back as we are starting to get some good press out there. And I think I will be heading back here in the summer not just with River Seven but another band that I am playing with. So it’s going to be a busy year I expect.
River Album’s debut album River Seven is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw