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<\/p>\nA five-piece group based in Salt Lake City, Blue Rain Boots makes pop music that doesn\u2019t fit easily into any one genre. A vehicle for the songwriting talents of singer and guitarist Simon Griffen, the band recently released its first full-length album, The Grand Idea<\/i>. But between touring commitments, the group is already busy on its next album, one that looks to take the music in a very different direction.<\/p>\n
The earliest Blue Rain Boots release, \u201cGood Old Days\u201d predates the group. At that point, Griffen was a freshman in high school. He had been writing songs since middle school, but that song was his first serious foray into the world of recording and releasing music. In addition to composing and singing the song, he played guitar and drums on the recording. \u201cMy dad played bass for me,\u201d he says. \u201cGood Old Days\u201d took off on streaming services; at present the song has more than 2.2 million plays on Spotify.<\/p>\n
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Griffen met bassist Simon Palo in 2018, when both were still in high school. Shortly after they met, the pair found a drummer and launched Blue Rain Boots as a three-piece band. Today the group has five members: Griffen and Palo plus lead guitarist Carter Sears, drummer Jackson Price and Courtney Lane on keyboards. The current lineup has been together for a year.<\/p>\n
Griffen is the band\u2019s primary lyricist, but he\u2019s careful not to take all the credit. \u201cI [write] most of the lyrics, but I get help from my partner Simon if I’m in a rut,\u201d he says. \u201cI write the chord structures and the music, but then everybody else comes in and makes it sound good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that I really want to do with this iteration of the band is make sure that everyone is as involved as they can be,\u201d Griffen says. He emphasizes that he aims to make the album in progress a truly collaborative endeavor. \u201cI want to give up as much control as I can,\u201d he says, \u201cand make sure everyone [in the band] feels like it\u2019s their album.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blue Rain Boots is in the midst of a burst of productivity. The current recording sessions follow closely on the heels of The Grand Idea<\/i>. \u201cThat album took us three years to complete; I\u2019m still in school,\u201d Griffen explains. \u201cAnd until we\u2019re [as popular as] Taylor Swift, we will all have day jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there are uptempo songs on The Grand Idea<\/i>, its overall character is subtle, displaying jazz influences. The next album will be a departure. \u201cIt\u2019s [going to be] a lot folkier, a lot more inspired by country music,\u201d Griffen says. \u201cBut at the same time, it\u2019s inspired by pop that\u2019s coming out right now.\u201d Chuckling inwardly at the apparent contradiction, he adds, \u201cSo we\u2019ll see how that<\/i> turns out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Griffen feels that he has come a long way as a songwriter. \u201cWhen we started, I was 15,\u201d he emphasizes. At that point, making music was for him simply a means of trying to fit in. \u201cMusic was a really good \u2018Hey, look at me,\u2019\u201d he admits candidly. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s how a lot of people start in music.\u201d Today his lyrics focus on the things that he finds important: \u201clike love, the things that ground me\u2026 and uncertainty. Uncertainty is a big driving force for my lyrics,\u201d Griffen says.<\/p>\n
At present, Blue Rain Boots has released The Grand Idea<\/i> album plus more than a dozen singles. But to date none of the band\u2019s music has been marketed in a physical format; it\u2019s all digital. Griffen says that going forward, the group\u2019s approach to releasing music might change. \u201cI\u2019d love to do a vinyl release,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it\u2019s expensive, and I\u2019d like to keep [manufacturing] local, which is also hard.\u201d The details aren\u2019t fully sorted yet, but The Grand Idea<\/i> may get a limited-run cassette release this summer.<\/p>\n
While Blue Rain Boots has cultivated a strong following in and around Salt Lake City, the band has taken their music on tour, wowing audiences as far away as Toronto, Canada. \u201cWe played there last summer,\u201d says Carter Sears. \u201cIt was great. It was crazy to see people who were enjoying our music, who knew who we were even that far from home.\u201d That tour found Blue Rain Boots playing 17 shows in 28 days, with dates in Kansas, Nashville, Philadelphia and New York, with additional dates in the Midwest on the way back home.<\/p>\n
En route to the Canada gig, Sears drove the vehicle that was towing a trailer with the band\u2019s gear. He says that getting through the border check was \u201ca little bit nightmarish. But other than that, it was super fun.\u201d He mentions that at the bar where they performed, Griffen shot a game of pool with a local guy. \u201cThat guy tried to give us drugs to take back across the border,\u201d Sears says with a hearty laugh. \u201cWe had to say no.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s next tour commences in September and will run through November. And as with the previous tour, Sears organizes the tours. He says that he developed the skills and know-how to book tours when he was just 17. \u201cI originally did it for my personal band that I sing for,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo I had a couple of years experience booking something that long and intensive. It\u2019s a lot of work, but it\u2019s not so bad now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Touring is a gamble; one never knows quite what to expect. But that\u2019s part of the excitement. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting jumping from place to place,\u201d says Jackson Price. \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018We have no idea how many people we might be performing in front of. A thousand? Two?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But all of the band members enjoy touring. \u201cOne of the most fun things is how many friends we\u2019ve made,\u201d says Simon Palo. Griffen smiles as he names the biggest surprise that Blue Rain Boots has encountered as the group plays in cities across the country. \u201cIt\u2019s great when people [in the audience] sing our songs,\u201d he says. \u201cEspecially when it\u2019s in a town that we\u2019ve never been to before. That\u2019s the best feeling in the world, truly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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