Interview With Let It Rain
Let It Rain is a small pop punk band from Portland, Maine! They have some fantastic music that is incredibly underrated and deserves way more attention! My first interaction with them actually wasn't even on twitter. It was when I was leaving an As It Is show and Travis yelled something along the lines of "HEY YOU DID GOOD ON STAGE! CHECK OUT MY BAND LET IT RAIN! YA KNOW LIKE THE GRAYSCALE SONG!" to which I replied with "OK I'LL LOOK YOU GUYS UP!". And that is the story of how I became acquainted with these lovely fellows!
How did the band meet and decide to start?:
Travis - Matt and I had been trying to get something going for a couple of years prior to this and eventually hooked up with River and our old vocalist through their old band. From there everything just molded together and we got pushing through the early difficulties we had.
What inspired the band’s name?:
Travis - It actually took us a while to decide on a name. Matt and I really loved the band Grayscale from the first second we heard them and they’ve been so incredibly kind to us every time we’ve seen them, even letting us get on stage with them and sing Palette. So this was kind of our way of honoring them.
How would you describe your band to people who have never heard of you to maybe entice them into giving your band a shot?:
Travis - As of right now, we’re a pretty typical pop punk band. High energy, big drums and catchy melodies.
One thing i found interesting is that there is piano in the songs that sounds beautiful and takes the lead in some part. It sounds amazing over the guitar and gang vocals in Something More! I wanted to ask why you thought to have a piano lead in the intro instead of the standard pop punk guitar lead over the rhythm track?:
Travis - That definitely came from Jon but once he did it we were sold on it. We think it adds something a little different to our sound that not many other bands do or even try. However when we play the song live we do just have River play that part on guitar but we do love the way it sounds on the recording.
How did you get in contact with Jon and Timmy of Point North to record the singles?:
Travis - Jon just put on his Instagram story one day that we was available for co-writes and production so I immediately hit him up through there and worked everything out.
What was it like to work with them in the studio on the 2 songs?:
Travis - Working with them was very eye opening. Jon moves so fast and has so many great ideas constantly to a point that it at times it was just something we had to sit back and admire. He’s such a talented songwriter and musician and we’re so thankful we got the chance to work with him.
What are some of your biggest inspirations to pursue music?:
River - My parents always had some type of music playing in the house so I was always exposed to, and aware of, music. I wouldn't say I got really into it until I was around 8 years old. I was on the bus with a friend and he handed me a pair of headphones and played Welcome To Paradise by Green Day. I didn't understand the lyrics or what they meant at the time but I didn't care. I had never heard anything like it and I loved it! That was really when I started developing my own music tastes. As I got older I started understanding the meanings behind songs and just the way music affects people in general. That's really when I decided I wanted to play music for a living.
Logan- When I was 12 my friends asked me to join their band, I had never picked up an instrument before. Ever since then I've always loved playing music and having something I feel I'm good at. My favorite drummers are Travis Barker, and William Chevalier.
Matt - I had always loved music, as a kid I would listen to my ant’s Green Day and Yellowcard CDs and I just loved them. Then as I grew up I kinda understood more of what they were talking about and just fell in love with pop punk and kinda being able to talk about the hardships of life but also staying positive and having an overall positive sound. Then picking up a bass and playing was just a blast and I loved it.
Travis - I don’t think I was super interested in music until I was 12 or 13 and started finding bands like Sum 41, Blink, Bad Religion and those bands are what initially made me want to start playing and learning music. From there I just kept trying to grow and expand my musical interests and knowledge. Getting into more genres and taking bits and pieces I love from each of them to make my own style.
Alex - I have always loved any kind of alternative rock. Everything from Breaking Benjamin to Yellowcard. I didn’t start playing guitar until high school, and from that point forward I knew that this was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I try to keep my range of music taste very broad, and draw from every genre, but pop punk will always be my favorite.
What are some inspirations behind the 2 songs specifically?:
Matt - Something more is a song about mental health, just not being able to function properly because of this weight in your mind holding you down. The first line being “can’t get out of bed, I’m frozen. Stuck here again, there’s something wrong here.” Really kinda reflecting that this feeling that you have has brought you to a point where you are no longer yourself and isolating yourself and how it’s affecting you the people around you.
Travis - Better Than Me is a song that comes from my experience with an old friend who’s no longer a part of my life. It’s about watching someone you thought you knew turning into someone unrecognizable to the point the relationship has become toxic. You grow apart and you hate that you’re slipping away from each other but there’s nothing you can do to stop it or help it and you’re ultimately forced to just take a step back and say “I don’t deserve this, I don’t know why you’ve changed but I want nothing but the best for you and hope you find your peace in life.”
How long did it take to write the songs? Was it a long process or a quickly finished thing?:
Matt - Writing them was actually pretty fast and easy. They kind of came naturally, Something More was the first and it really only took us about a day. Better Than Me was the second song and it was also pretty fast to write, only taking up about a day as well.
Is there any possibility of some touring or any shows in the near future?:
Matt - We are currently working on getting some shows, including the one later this week on March 16th. More announcements will be made soon for some other shows that are a bit bigger.
You seem to have a very active social media presence, do you think that has helped you gain more listeners?
Matt - I think that being active on social media has definitely helped us, we always try to respond to anyone who wants to talk to us or even is just talking about us. We love to hear what people think and we absolutely love anyone who is helping us and supporting us. After all without them none of this would really be possible.
This question is absolutely a no brainer, but have you guys been working on any new music?:
Matt - We have all been kinda working on some new things in our personal time and coming up with new ideas and a bunch of stuff. We have some very exciting news about our new stuff coming thought and we can’t wait to talk about that when it’s time.
If you are then how would you describe your new songs?:
Matt - The new songs are definitely a bit different, when we did Better Than Me and Something More it was Travis, Seth and myself who worked on them. So now that we have everyone working on them it definitely carries over a new sound, but still Let it Rain.
Lastly on new music, when might we see some new stuff released to the world? I think we’re all dying for some more Let It Rain!:
Matt - We don’t really have an exact time of when you guys will be hearing new stuff, but we will definitely be getting some stuff out later this year. I would say at the absolute latest would be September, but if everything goes smooth then sooner than that.
Before finishing this interview if there is anything you want to say to people whether they have never heard of you or are a fan reading this article, now is the time to say whatever you want to them!:
Travis - We’re incredibly thankful for everyone who’s taken a chance on us so far and helping us grow. Big thank you to Jon Lundin and Timmy Rasmussen for all their help on these songs and showing us the ropes. We’re very excited for the future and can’t wait for the next chapter.
Matt - Also make sure to check out our Instagram and Twitter @letitrainme for announcements coming soon!
Listen to Let It Rain's latest single "Something More" right here and catch them March 16 at the VFW in Auburn, Maine! Go support them on the accounts listed below as well!