Describing themselves as a 90s alt-rock inspired band from the UK, Just A Ride are setting the world alight with a set of singles tackling modern social issues and killer live sets. The band are carefully crafting their rise to one of the biggest bands in the UK. We caught up with them before they reached the top.
Give us a potted history of the band
We formed out of the ashes of early 2000s punk/metal band Violent Delight. I (Rod )was the frontman of that band, Drew had a brief stint on guitar, and recently joined bassist John was a tech.In 2015, after taking an almost 10 year break from music, I stumbled across a Facebook post that Drew had put up in search of a singer for his dream project; a 90s alt-rock inspired band. After reconnecting and recording some demos it was quite clear the project had legs and soon after Just A Ride was born.
Over the next few years we focussed mainly on writing with Drew committed to his role as guitarist for NWOCR favourites Inglorious, and myself living abroad, then throw in a few lineup changes…As with so many creatives the onset of the 2020 COVID pandemic really put a lot of things into focus and was a catalyst for the band to start to take centre stage in all of our lives. In October 2020 we jumped at the chance to get in the studio with producer Dave Draper (The Wildhearts, They Fell From The Sky) to record our debut album, eventually bringing on board the legendary Chris Sheldon’s (Foo Fighters, Therapy?) talents for the mix.
A concerted campaign of single releases every 6 weeks, podcasting, video production, and an aggressive social media strategy throughout 2021 saw us pick up support from some of the biggest names in UK rock radio and Spotify’s editorial team. This helped us to build momentum for the release of the album in February 2022. A debut UK tour including an unforgettable night at The Black Heart in London followed and since then we’ve continued a regular release cycle of new material which we are proud to say we now do almost entirely DIY and self-produced.
Our last single “LAST MAN STANDING” hit Planet Rock’s NEW ROCK SHOW and Kerrang! radio and with the festival season in full effect, we’ll be hitting the stage with our live show and aiming to take fans along for the ride with us!
Who inspired you to start making music
We are all inspired by the early 90s grunge; bands like Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and other alt-rock acts like Jane’s Addiction, Filter, and The Smashing Pumpkins.These are the bands we loved when we were growing up and after seeing the burgeoning NWOCR scene in the UK spawning so many great bands that were inspired by 70s bluesy rock, we felt we could channel that energy into rejuvenating grunge in the same way.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
No.4 by Stone Temple Pilots is a pretty big one. It might not be their biggest album, but it just has a sound, energy, and variety that is a bit of a blueprint for what we’d like to do as a band. We might not have hit the softer tones of tunes like “Sour Girl” yet, but it is something we’d love to explore. With that in mind “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” is another big one. It is a masterpiece and we covered “Bodies” to celebrate its 25th anniversary a few years ago. I’m not sure how much if at all that we sound like them, but the double album just shows the prolific nature of Billy Corgan as a writer which always inspires us to write on a regular basis.
If you’re trying to explain whom you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say
Filter meets Jane’s Addiction meets Stone Temple Pilots
Tell us about your new single
Our new single “GREAT DIVIDE” is out Friday 29th July and is a hard hitting, angst-ridden anthem that speaks out against the division in our society and explores the consequences of living in a post-truth world.
Mixed by our guitarist Drew, the track unleashes a tidal wave of guitars, pounding drums reminiscent of the early 90s alt-rock bands we idolise.
Where can we get hold of it
https://ffm.to/jargreatdivide.DGV
The track is on all the major streaming services and our band YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/JustARide
Tell us how you write
Just A Ride started as a writing project for Drew and I and this has generally stayed the same to this day. We tend to fire demos over to each other via email and work on them in isolation and send the results back. We follow this process until we have a track.This song was written with our old bassist Russ, who came up with the main riff which we developed into the song as it is on the record.
Tell us about your live show and how much have you been missing it recently
We are at the stage in our career where we are focussing on our support set. With all dayers and festivals coming up we have put together a high-energy, punchy 30 mins that leaves the audience wanting more. There are some great shows coming up that we can’t wait to play and test ourselves against our peers.
What can we expect from you in the near future
Our aim is to continue to reach new people with our music and bring them along for the ride. We aim to release a new song every 6 weeks until the end of the year and host our own livestream show every Tuesday on YouTube called “SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY with Just A Ride”. It goes out 8pm GMT.
Tell us your favourite records that’s rocking your headphones/tour bus/stereo
There are a few records that have really done it for me in the last year or so, “Decade” by They Fell From The Sky really stands out. I was a big fan of Hundred Reasons so it was great to see Colin Doran back behind the mic. “Babylon” by Andrew WK, who is one of my favourite artists, was well worth the wait. He’s gone heavier, darker, and ever more avante garde with this one and I just love it. Finally I’d also recommend “Too Many Too Much” by our friends Dead Star Talk. I grew up in the 90s in the UK so indie/britpop was a huge influence and they really tap into that vibe. I call them the Danish Oasis.
Check out the bands track Last Man Standing, below:
Find out more via the band’s Facebook
