The EP of Liverpool-based rock quartet RISE, named “Memories and Possibilities” is a moving testimony to their original band member Steve Kinley who suffered an untimely death in 2022. While dealing with the complicated theme of loss RISE tie together driving guitars and vibrant synths proving they are creative and resilient to their future in the music industry.
“Without You” as a song symbolizes friendship and the fact that friends are always there for each other. Besides witty and ear-catching vocal hooks, RISE’s memorable instrumental arrangement demonstrates how strong they are in the rock n roll community.
Through this unique conversation, we will explore RISE’s career in music, including their advent in Liverpool pubs to their most recent co-operations and forthcoming developments. Get to know them better as we uncover the sources of their inspiration, their style of making music, and what the plans for their future may be.
Follow RISE on
Listen to Without You below
Spotify
What is your stage name
The band’s name is RISE
Is there a story behind your stage name?
The name came from band discussions…we went through various ideas and name, but we all agreed on RISE; that was in 1984
Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration come from life. It’s a balance to write about the positive as well as the negative situations and emotions we all face. Life can be tough and we all face challenges…but it does form good experiences to draw from
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
We all played in bands from our very early years…we gigged the Liverpool bars and clubs from as early as 16…we just didn’t tell anybody our age; that was some years ago now.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
No, but my twin brother and I did form RISE
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
We had a very close group of friends. We all bonded around rock music. We are still a close group of friends 40 years later.
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
Self taught; originally on guitar, then keyboards
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
Rush; 1980 on the Permanent Waves tour
How could you describe your music?
Melodic Rock that balances synth and guitar. Always driven by strong vocal hooks
Describe your creative process.
I write on a regular basis (almost daily) and always have a number of ideas going at the same time
What is your main inspiration?
My inspiration come from multiple sources…observations on life around me is a big area of development for ideas. Things tend to flow quite quickly it terms of initial ideas then I develop details later
What musician do you admire most and why?
I’ve always admired musicians that could perform well live, so bands such as Thin Lizzy, Genesis, Rush etc have always been leading lights. A strong live performance is always key to me
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
I’ve always kept with rock, and I still move between things that are quite prog…to more melodic ideas, but still routed in Rock
Who do you see as your main competitor?
I don’t view other artist or bands as competitors; let everybody have a go and good luck to them
What are your interests outside of music?
Family and friends…it’s the key focus for me
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
I’ve had jobs over the years (we all have to pay the bills). Music has always been there, but life gets in the ways sometimes. I’m always draw back to music though.
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
Probably getting the music out there…it’s a saturated market
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
Better support for live work and venues for artists. There are less and less venues available for today’s bands
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
It’s very personal. Our original singer/bass player Steve Kinley died in 2022 from cancer. We used this terrible situation to record some of our older songs but enhanced the EP with new material; hence “Memories and Possibilities”. I’m not one for looking back, but we all must remember where we came from
What are your plans for the coming months?
A new single called Here I Am is already recorded and due for release in May 2024. Further studio time is booked for June and July 2024
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans
We have collaborated with stayMellow, a singer/artist who replaced our original singer Steve. stayMellow’s vocal style is very similar to Steve’s so it works extremely well
What message would you like to give to your fans?
Glad to be back and getting our music out again; sorry for the slight delay….lol
