Puresouthernrock.com did an email interview with Rebel Pride’s Tom Spittle in April 2009. Here are the results:
For those who are not familiar with Rebel Pride, could you give some info on your background?
Rebel Pride was formed in 1995 with all different members. We were originally a country band put together to back up a karaoke singer. With the addition of Brian, Tom, and Dave, a Southern Rock element became apparent, and eventually came to the forefront. In 2004, the present lineup formed with the addition of Pat and Sonny. This band quickly started recording and developing the present sound.
There are three albums or demos mentioned on your press kit, that I’m not familiar with. Are they still available to fans?
No, these albums included the old lineup and are not good representations of the Rebel Pride lineup you know from the last four CD’s.
I liked the southern rock treatment you gave to Toby Keith songs on your tribute. Tell us a little bit about that album, how did you guys end up recording that?
We were hired by CMH Records, a niche label that does nothing but tributes, to make that CD. They chose the artist to cover.
New album All Points In Between is definitely your best work so far, can you walk us through some high points.
First of all the album was recorded in two days with minimum overdubs. All songs had been road tested prior to that. Pat and Brian came up with the first song “Girls Want to Dance,” to address the fact that they usually aren’t there just to listen. “My Kind of Girl” was written for Pat’s girlfriend Mandy. “Gonna Take a Lot More” was the need for a medium tempo blues rock number to address the present world situation. “Touch our Souls” was a song about our musical influences. “Backin’ It Up” was inspired by the movie Smokey and the Bandit and “It Is What It Is” are the titles of our first two CDs put to song. “It Is What It Is” It just a story from the road. “Heritage Not Hate” was written to address the flak that the band gets for its name. If you look up the definition of the word Rebel in the dictionary, it says “one who defies authority,” and we take pride in that. But the name is often associated with southern, slave owning white supremacy, and this is not us. So the song addresses that. “One More Chance” was written by our drummer Sonny about our friend Troy Montgomery. We are very proud of the entire package, including the artwork. We hope ya’ll like it too.
Can you describe your music writing process? Do you come up with a lyrics first, melody or maybe a song title?
Brian usually has some preconceived licks and song ideas. Pat has a notebook full of lyrics and then they match them up or address a concept. Then they are presented to go the band in rehearsal. Each member adds his part and we take the song out and road test it for a few months. After a few tweaks here and there it’s off to the studio to record.
You have busy summer ahead of you. Besides live shows, any other future plans for Rebel Pride?
We want to play Europe and need to make the right contacts to make that happen. Somebody stands to make some dough off us. If you know of anyone, get in touch.
Thank you Tom for this interview and remember to check out our Rebel Pride‘s profile here on puresouthernrock.com
