 Courtesy: In Music We Trust PR Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Countryside Ride are prepping to release their forthcoming sophomore album, I Hope He Breaks Your Heart. The fourteen-track collection of tunes finds the band doing what they do best: playing ole' fashioned country, honky-tonk, hillbilly, and western swing. The quintet - Ervin Lien (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Josh Kunze (lead Telecaster guitar, vocals), Jessica Kunze (stand-up bass, vocals), Johnny Payola (drums, vocals), and Ian Miller (pedal-steel) - mix seven classic country songs (by the likes of Johnny Horton, Willie Nelson, Hank Cochran, and Billie Shaver) with seven originals to create a record that sounds like it is straight out of the golden era of honky-tonk and western swing. In advance of the album's release, front man Lien took the time to answer his Essential 8 and talk songwriting, tacos, tunes and the road, and much more! Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? Having played so many honytonk, all-night-long-type shows, we cover a ton of material, and different material, depending on what we feel like doing. For this record we wanted to not only showcase much of our original material, but get some of the standards you might see us pull out on any given night: Songs we love. We also wanted to round the record out as much as possible playing songs with different feels, as opposed to a record where everything just sounds the same. There are definitely some styles that we didn’t get to cover, but maybe on the next record. When/where do you do your best writing? I do my best writing at home usually. When I get an idea: like when I have my antenna up, and instead of being work it all just falls into place. Melody, lyrics, etc. Sometimes that can be hard to capture, because I really can’t pick when it happens. I end up recording ideas into my phone or writing them down if I’m preoccupied with something else, but I really struggle going back, putting in the work, and finishing that stuff up. I have some songs I’ve been messing with for years. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? I mainly write a combination of personal experiences, feelings, observations. Sometimes I will write half a song that is completely true, but end up stretching or bending the truth to come out with a better song. I’m really just learning how to do this, so hopefully I will keep getting better and be able to write songs every which way some day. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician?
A friend of mine and I went to see Robbie Fulks at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle and I my friend really wanted to meet him. We had both had a few drinks and when she introduced herself, she also introduced me loudly proclaiming that I had a band. It was a little embarrassing, but Robbie asked the name of my band, smiled, and told me to “have fun with it.” I can’t argue with that: if it ceases to be fun, it’s time to do something else. What’s your favorite food on the road? Definitely tacos. Like “street tacos” from food carts or stands or whatever. A taqueria if we can find one. We like all kinds of food and I apply the same philosophy to food as I do to music: Just like music, there are only two types of food… good and bad. With technology and information being at our fingertips, it gives us something to do… trying to find some good food. We get lucky quite often. How do you kill the long hours in the van? Listening to music, reading, trying to find some interesting food on the road to eat: we carry a cheap guitar or two without a case that we can pass around… take turns singing tunes or working stuff out. Luckily, we’re all close friends on and off the stage, so we really just enjoy each other’s company. What do you love most about being on the road? The thing I love about playing different places is all the crazy situations that you end up in, people you meet, and things that you see. As cliché as it is, Willie’s song "On the Road Again" sums it up perfectly. Just the experience of being with your friends and being on a little adventure is great. I love playing music, but what I love most about it is all the people I have met and the experiences. Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off? No there isn’t. I would like to just keep progressing musically and see how far I can take it. I was in my early twenties before I started playing guitar and singing, and I figured “what the hell, I have until I die to learn how to do this.” That’s still how I feel; I just want to see what I can get done. Website Purchase
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