It’s by no means too late to observe the goals of your youth. The members of Divergent thought they’d put all of it behind them, however the nagging “what ifs” nonetheless lingered. We spoke to James Richards, Mike McAlister, and Paul Richards, from Divergent, about what it’s wish to make their goals a actuality, their new single, ‘Runnin’ Free‘, and what’s subsequent.
How did you all find yourself reconnecting and deciding to chase these outdated goals?
JAMES: Again in 2016, Mike reached out by way of Fb and requested if we needed to get collectively in the course of the summer time and jam out on all of the outdated songs we used to play in Chautauqua Street Band. In fact, I used to be instantly in. He stated he can be prepared to return out to Iowa from New Jersey to make it occur. I hadn’t talked to Mike in about 25 years and had really misplaced monitor of him. Gregg Messer, one of many founding members of Chatauqua Street Band, lives within the Des Moines, Iowa space together with Paul and me. Des Moines was the pure place for all of us to get collectively and put the Chautauqua Street Band again collectively. We requested Paul to affix us on drums. He slot in so naturally that we have been instantly a band once more. All of us had such a good time that we determined to begin attempting to do some gigs.
MIKE: James’ model is that I despatched a message on Fb after I noticed him submit about establishing a house studio, which is true. However from my perspective, I feel that since Gregg Messer, the opposite guitarist within the unique band, had been in contact with James somewhat through the years, they usually each knew one another had continued to play. As soon as I requested in a Fb message, half joking, if James wanted a bass participant. It wasn’t lengthy after that, Gregg messaged that perhaps he wanted one other guitar participant, too. I could have lit the match, however I feel the fireplace was all the time there. The icing on the cake was that James’ brother, Paul, was and is an incredible drummer. Once we determined we may make a 2-3 day reunion work, somebody had the concept of studying 10-12 songs that we may play collectively, as an alternative of simply sitting round and jamming to the identical 3 chords. As soon as we began enjoying a track collectively (Rocky Mountain Method, maybe?) I feel we knew we have been going to make it work.
How did you all meet initially, and who performs what within the band now?
JAMES: My household moved to Crimson Oak, Iowa, from Indiana in the course of the summer time earlier than my eighth-grade yr. Crimson Oak was the hometown of my mother and pa, and I used to be born there. I met Mike once I began center faculty that fall. Mike was focused on music and so was I, so we grew to become mates due to that mutual curiosity. We used to hang around at one another’s homes and play music. I prompt that he ought to attempt enjoying bass since he had lengthy fingers. So he did! The bass is a pure match for Mike and he shortly grew to become proficient. Along with Mike on bass, I play guitars and keyboards and my brother, Paul, performs drums.
MIKE: James and I have been in junior excessive collectively and I had dabbled in enjoying the guitar earlier than I met James. I knew James was actually good guitar participant and was a terrific singer, as a result of he had gained a neighborhood expertise contest with one other man, Peter Martin, they usually had additionally at carried out in a live performance at the highschool. I finally labored my manner into James’ orbit and we grew to become mates. We might play acoustic guitar duets from educational books on his porch at his home on Corning Avenue and I finally gravitated to enjoying bass with James in numerous faculty productions. James was additionally a great keyboard participant then, and it’s the identical now. James performs keyboard and guitars of all kinds, and I play the bass. Paul has all the time performed the drums. James sings the lead vocals and Paul sings plenty of harmonies with James. I sing some background vocals, often within the decrease registers.
‘Runnin’ Free’ took nearly 20 years to complete. James you had the chord development sitting round ceaselessly earlier than all of it clicked. What was it like when all of it fell into place?
JAMES: Nicely, it felt nice! I don’t know why it took me so lengthy to complete that track. I often write the music earlier than I write the lyrics. I feel within the case of ‘Runnin’ Free’, I attempted to write down the lyrics earlier than I had the music completed. I wasn’t pleased with the lyrics I used to be developing with, in order that triggered me to set it apart for a very long time. Nonetheless, I liked the rhythm and chord development a lot that I stored coming again to it every so often. At the moment in my life, I had no urgency to complete plenty of my songs. It was like I advised myself, don’t fear about it till I get again into music in a severe manner. When Mike instigated our reunion again in 2016, that lit a fireplace for my unique music, and I began writing plenty of new music in addition to ending up plenty of my older songs. I began a songwriting binge that simply stored going and going and remains to be going to at the present time. Then someday, I used to be enjoying the ‘Runnin’ Free’ chord development once more for the umpteenth time, and I simply occurred to increase it and I grooved into the refrain and began scatting the phrases runnin’ free. It labored so completely that I knew instantly I had a profitable refrain. As soon as I had the phrases runnin’ free, I knew precisely what course I needed to take the lyrics. I considered attempting to write down a bridge, however the track has such a terrific groove that I concluded a bridge can be too busy. As soon as I completed the track, I knew instantly that it will be the primary track we’d report!
You went from Chautauqua Street Band doing covers to Divergent specializing in originals – that’s an enormous shift! How do you all work collectively creatively while you’re writing?
JAMES: The way in which it really works is that since Paul and I dwell in Iowa, we rehearse new music collectively first after which ship Mike a tough demo in New Jersey. I introduce new songs to Paul and we work out the preparations and make remaining tweaks. Paul is a gifted musician and he makes nice solutions. Since I do my writing on my own, typically my rhythms aren’t technically right since I write by really feel. It’s hilarious typically once I present a track to Paul and he’ll say, “You’re lacking a beat on this measure”. I really like Paul’s drumming, so I’m discovering that once I write new music, I’m all the time occupied with the place Paul can slot in a terrific drum fill. Mike sends us demos of his bass traces after listening to our tough demos. He often nails it instantly, however typically we speak forwards and backwards to dial the bass line in somewhat higher. All three of us are open to solutions, and there has by no means been any rigidity, which is a superb factor.
MIKE: James has all the time had unique music round, and we even performed 2 or 3 originals again within the Chautauqua Street Band days. The present inventive course of could also be somewhat unorthodox, primarily as a result of I dwell in New Jersey and James and Paul dwell in Des Moines. James and Paul will work on the songs that James brings into the apply area we lease. They may work out the fundamental components collectively and a few of the harmonies after which ship me a recording that I’ll hearken to on my setup in my basement. It might take a couple of days, however I often give you a bassline that is smart and I’ll report it together with the ‘demo’ they despatched to me, to allow them to type of hear no matter I’m understanding. We are going to then speak about it, and if I would like to return to the drafting board, which could be very uncommon, then I’ll repeat it and ship it again to them. What we’ve discovered is that despite the fact that we might rehearse a couple of days collectively earlier than recording, we proceed to create and construct the songs within the studio. It’s ever-evolving…and so enjoyable!
PAUL: Proper now, the songs have all been James’. He and I’ll initially rehearse songs after which as soon as we be ok with it, we report a tough demo and introduce it to Mike to do his factor. We all the time make sure that to work on harmonies proper off the bat, too, since they’re such an integral a part of our sound. Mike sends us again tough demos with bass traces added. This was really how we demoed all of the songs that made it onto the primary EP. We did nearly 30 demos.
The track has this basic 70s and 80s rock anthem really feel, with these hovering harmonies. What have been you listening to that conjures up this sound?
JAMES: Mike and I grew up on the Doobies Brothers’ music. I’ve all the time liked their easy, glassy-sounding harmonies. They positively have been the inspiration behind the harmonies that we give you on ‘Runnin’ Free’. We advised our producer, Jason Peets, what we have been on the lookout for so far as the combination on these harmonies, and he nailed it.
MIKE: I’ll let James speak concerning the guitar riff and melody…I feel the vocals on the choruses are impressed by bands just like the Doobie Brothers and perhaps even the Eagles, to some extent. We have been studying songs like ‘Lengthy Practice Runnin’, and ‘China Grove’ a yr or two after the songs have been on the radio within the mid-70s and we liked 3 and 4-part harmonies.
PAUL: It positively has a marching really feel to it. It’s quarter notes that sustain the tempo. To me ,it’s actually bought a ’60s sound to it as properly. The Beatles, Queen, The Seaside Boys…harmonies have all the time been an enormous affect on me.
You recorded at Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne – that gear heaven will need to have been enjoyable for you guys! What was the recording course of like there?
JAMES: We first recorded a mattress monitor with all three of us enjoying on the similar time. That was nice as we may see one another, which gave the monitor a extra dynamic and natural really feel. We recorded three mattress tracks after which chosen the very best one to construct on. From there, we recorded our vocal components, with every of us singing individually. After that, I began recording layers of rhythm guitars. I used a Martin acoustic that the studio had along with my Les Paul. Then I recorded the primary guitar solo that’s in the course of the track utilizing my Les Paul with solely the neck pickup. That gave the solo a pleasant legato really feel. Lastly, I recorded layers of guitar fills and the outro guitar with my Stratocaster. Jason, our producer, prompt utilizing my Strat for these components because it gave a lighter really feel, which the track wanted. Jason is all the time nice at making the suitable calls. He’s so good and jived with our sound. It started to really feel like he was a fourth member of the band. The chemistry was positively there.
MIKE: It was a dream come true. I feel that after we recorded ‘Runnin’ Free’ (the primary track we ever recorded) and heard how good it sounded, we discovered we may make it work. A giant a part of our success is that the employees at Sweetwater Studios and our sound engineer/producer, Jason Peets, made us really feel very comfy. I keep in mind coming into the management room the primary time after recording the bottom monitor for ‘Runnin’ Free’ and Jason was bobbing his head to the rhythm of the track…I assumed it should be fairly good if a younger man who might not have been round plenty of rock music is catching our groove.
PAUL: So we arrange, rehearsed every tune a bit then tracked it I feel 3 times. Then we’d go and do any reworks if there have been sections that we felt we needed to do one thing totally different or regulate drum fill, a cool be aware or one thing. The producer is such an enormous half in how the album sounds. Jason Peets was wonderful.
Paul, the press launch mentions your “eager ear” actually gave the monitor the drive it wanted. How do you deal with inventive variations while you’re all contributing concepts?
PAUL: I knew the second I heard James play the riff that it wanted to be tight, hard-driving quarter notes. The fills are a throwback to the 60s for me, and it’s nuances like these that give the track its attraction. Within the studio, the percussion solo simply “occurred” after we had the preliminary monitor down. The fellows have been okay with attempting it, and it made it onto the ultimate recording. James is the grasp of the last-minute shock, and we’ve come to just accept that. I imply we actually simply speak issues out, and it makes an enormous distinction in how issues sound ultimately. Communication is vital.
In any case these years of questioning “what if,” what does the help from followers imply to you as a band now that you simply’re lastly doing this?
JAMES: It means the world to us. There may be nothing like writing and performing music that strikes or conjures up followers to expertise significant emotion that enhances their lives for the higher. On the finish of the day, that’s what it’s all about. One in every of my goals is to write down a track that’s so good {that a} stadium stuffed with followers needs to sing each phrase with me. I don’t know if that may ever occur, but when it does, there might be an enormous smile on my face!
MIKE: It’s wonderful. We’re so very grateful that individuals like our music. We get plenty of nice feedback from our long-time followers who watched us at the highschool dances within the 70s, they usually love what we’re doing now. We really feel very lucky to be able to make this occur and be capable of create music that’s out on this planet for everybody to listen to.
PAUL: We’re extraordinarily humbled to have the ability to create music that individuals wish to hear. It means we’ve a brand new journey. We wish to unfold like wildfire.
Any remaining ideas on your followers on the market?
JAMES: Keep hanging with us as a result of we’re removed from being completed. In truth, we’re simply getting began. We’ve plenty of new music on the way in which. We are going to begin dropping singles from our upcoming second album in January of subsequent yr. Then later subsequent yr, we’ll be again at Sweetwater Studios to report our third album. We will’t wait. We could also be later in life, however we’re very a lot younger at coronary heart. I nonetheless get in hassle for enjoying too loudly, so I’ve plenty of rock in me ready to get out.
MIKE: ‘Runnin’ Free’ is a superb debut track for us, and we all know it means plenty of various things for lots of people. We should always all be ‘Runnin’ Free’ to be who we’re or to be our aspirational selves…We hope that our story of protecting the dream alive and making it occur will encourage our followers to do the identical, no matter their dream could also be.
You’ll be able to watch the music video for ‘Runnin’ Free’ beneath, and discover out extra about Divergent and their music on-line on their official web site, Fb, Instagram, and TikTok.
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