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Monday, December 1, 2014 10:30am ET by  
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Fit For Rivals chat to Pressparty about their new album 'Freak Machine' and women in rock

Florida-based rock band Fit For Rivals are gearing up to release a new record and Pressparty recently sat down with the band's frontwoman, Renee Phoenix, and guitarist Thomas Amason to chat about their journey so far and their upcoming and highly anticipated album, 'Freak Machine'.

How did you meet each other and form the band?

Renee: Before Fit For Rivals, I was in a punk band called The Explicits and I was looking for a guitarist to join the band. Thomas had heard of me before and he found an ad that I placed on Craigslist and he was like, 'whoever you've got, I'm better than that'! He came out and we ended up writing a lot of music that was different from what I was doing and we formed Fit For Rivals from there. We both knew of each other... we didn't know each other, but we knew the projects we were both in. 

What are your musical influences?

Renee: I love The Distillers, personally. When I was younger they were one of my favourite bands along with No Doubt, Garbage, and Nine Inch Nails. Thomas is a little different from me - he likes raw recordings.

Thomas: I favour older stuff because the bass is real, the drums are real... there hasn't been any tuning on the vocals. Queen is exciting because you can hear history being made on tape. 

Your forthcoming new album is called 'Freak Machine', how does it embody what you stand for as a band?

Renee: I think our style reflects who were are and especially this new album... it really hits the nail on the head in terms of who Fit For Rivals really are. It's a lot more dynamic, a lot more fun, a lot dancier. It doesn't have a release date yet, but hopefully as soon as possible into 2015. 

Thomas: Making the album was a weird process because it has been a while since we put out an album. We were talking about it back in 2012 and were ready to do it, but then we signed to an indie label and that changed our timeline. By the time we finally buckled down and made the album, we had already written a few different albums. We had hundreds of songs and I think it was a good process - it's really nice that we had that extra time to discover what we truly wanted to put out and what we wanted to be as a band. We made the album ourselves. 

Thomas: Songwriting is a joint effort between Renee and I... there's no set rule. Renee plays guitar as well and she'll come in with a riff or chorus or melodies, and we'll join up and hammer it out until we're happy with it.

What's it like to be a woman in rock at the moment and how are you maintaining your identity?

Renee: Being a woman fronting a rock band, there's that pre-disposed, 'well, she's probably going to sound like Paramore', and you kind of just get grouped into that before people even hear us. It's frustrating at times, but I'm having fun and I believe in what we're doing. Once people come and see us and listen to the record, it really sets everything apart and becomes more about the music and the band, rather than, 'hey, this is a girl'.

 

 

 

Which bands are you all listening to at the moment?

Renee: I was listening to No Doubt on the way here - 'Tragic Kingdom'... it's one of my favourite albums for sure. 

Thomas: I'm generally the guy that listens to older stuff. I know it's cliche, but I really like vinyl. There was a while where I got caught up in the whole downloading and streaming stuff, but I love vinyl. The first thing I bought for my new house was a record player and it's impacted my listening. I bought some Buddy Holly and Tom Jones.

What is your most memorable moment so far?

Thomas: We went out with Icons For Hire on tour and played Toronto for the first time ever, and half the crowd was singing along. It was the first time we had played outside of America - even though it's only just outside of the border - but it was huge. It was pretty cool. 

What are your fans like?

Renee: We have a very broad range of fans, which is really cool that it transcends so many groups of people. They've been fantastic and are really responsive to what we're doing, which is great.

How important is social media to you in your collective career:

Renee: Very. I try to write back to as many messages as possible and it's a nice way to open up communication with our fans. We can see how they're feeling about our new music... it's nice when you get a message that says we've helped someone out with a song or helped get them through something. It's nice hearing that. 

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Listen to 'Freak Machine' below:

 

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