April Showers bring Blue Rain Boots
Simon Griffen and Simon Palo gifted ION Indie Music Magazine time from their very busy schedule for a conversation with journalist, Kira Doman, to discuss the band’s origin, journey, and future.
A band’s baby steps
Blue Rain Boots front man and first member, Simon Griffen, has been playing music and experimenting with writing his own songs and instrumentals for almost a decade, before he would find companions to share the journey.
“The first song released ‘“Good Old Days” was originally done by myself, and I was playing drums, guitar, and singing, with my dad playing bass,” chuckled Griffen. “It wasn’t until after “Good Old Days” release that it became more of a collaborative project, rather than just me doing the instrumentation.”
Griffen brought on a high school friend, Simon Palo to play bass on a few songs, and was soon asked to stay on what was at the time, an unofficial band.
“He played bass on “Oh My God You Are Fine”, and that was when I asked him if he wanted to be part of a band,” revealed Griffen.
Around this same time in 2018, Griffen began to upload some of their newly recorded music to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and they noticed they had yet to land on a band name.
Palo pitched the name Blue Rain Boots for the band once back in 2018 when they first came together as a band and needed an official name for their Instagram account. The name was quickly shot down by the rest of the members but used as a placeholder for the time being, and they moved on with their days and lives.
When the band came back together and had the same question, Palo pitched the name again, and this time the members gave in, stating they hadn’t thought of anything better.
They brought on a few other people to cover guitar and drums, but finally landed a solid crew with Simon Griffen as the lead vocalist and guitar, Simon Palo on bass, Carter Sears on guitar, and Brecon Hunter on drums.
Gone were the days of Griffen and his father balancing the instrumentals on their own.
Out on the Open Road
Palo and Griffen have been performing live together for about 5 years, and the complete band just recently came off of a tour on the West Coast, and are preparing to head off for an East Coast tour.
Their first full tour was scheduled along the West Coast, starting in March of 2020 – we all know what happened then.
“We were able to perform in San Diego and Las Vegas, but COVID-19 led to our Albuquerque show being canceled, followed by the rest of the tour,” Griffen sighed. “We are, however, about to venture out on a month-long tour around the East Coast!”
“We've played probably upwards of 100 shows,” Griffen laughed in astonishment at his own words, before revealing where some of his favorite stops have been so far. “LA was cool. LA and Seattle are definitely the highlights, but nothing beats home: Kilby Court. We got a great scene out here in Salt Lake City, Utah.”
Kilby Court Block Party is a music festival in Salt Lake City Utah, the band’s hometown, that brings in popular indie artists like Dominic Fike, Phoebe Bridgers, and The Strokes. Blue Rain Boots performed at the Kilby Court Block Party in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Looking back at the band’s lineup, Palo and Griffen revealed some of their favorite songs to perform.
“I love playing “Won't You Be With Me”,” Griffen gushed. “The guitar part is a lot of fun, but's a pain in the ass to sing. We recorded that when I was 16," he laughed. “My voice was a lot higher. But it's still one of my favorites, energy-wise. Currently, my favorite newer song to perform is an unreleased song of ours, called “Making Me Okay”, which has similar vibes to “Oh My God, You Are Fine”,” he decides. “I'm definitely a fan of letting loose a bit and just getting the energy out.”
““Paint” is an unreleased, really fun song of ours,” Palo smiled. “It's just a chaotic song that has little to no structure to it. Loud and fast. But I do like to get back with a lot of the slower songs too.”
Writing and music inspiration
Because Griffen has been writing music since he was in high school, and is now studying music while enrolled in college, his writing style has seen both minor and major tweaks.
He notes that how he feels about where he’s at in his life directly influences his music, and after a few unexpected years for everyone regarding a worldwide pandemic, he has some changes.
“I wrote “2023” in 2019, I was still in high school, the band was just starting to really take shape and we were super stoked about what could be, and the song itself was about how we were looking forward to being a bit more successful a few years down the line,” Griffen happily recalled. “Now in 2023, I feel like we’re in a position where we’ve reached a bigger audience and we have something to really be proud of.”
In their writing, Blue Rain Boots has been inspired primarily by folk and jazz music, by artists such as Alabama Shakes and bassist Ron Carter, and even college courses.
“I'm studying jazz composition and I find that I'm always most inspired after learning a new concept,” Griffen said. “Whenever I learn something new, I think 'How can I integrate this?' or 'How can I write a song around it?'”
Palo piggybacks off Griffen, recalling his own love for jazz and the feelings it evokes.
“I've always been really drawn to jazz music in general since I was a kid so I do like dialing it back and seeing what I can experiment with,” explained Palo. “With slower songs, it feels like more of a challenge when you have to dial back what you're playing, be more specific and intentional. Everything should have intention when you're playing, and really having to put specific thought into what you're playing in writing is fun. I really enjoy it.”
Palo explains that his music writing, primarily for his bass parts, comes with experimenting on his instrument.
“Most of the time I'm trying to find something new, on my own, just by playing,” smiled Palo. “I played with other bands aside from Blue Rain Boots and they're very different styles, all three of them. And so, being able to explore different genres helps me go in different directions in my style, which is really fun. I really like chromaticism when I play which I tend to find in a lot of places.”
Griffen and Palo both agree that pushing oneself out of a comfort zone is important for art to flourish.
“I feel like I'm always trying to push my own boundaries when it comes to writing bass parts,” Palo said. “Whether it's more complicated or more simple letter writing, it's usually about challenging myself.”
Griffen and Palo enjoy not only pushing themselves, but their listeners as well, who can expect a different sound from Blue Rain Boots on their upcoming album, “The Grand Idea”.
“The Grand Idea”
Three singles from the band's new album have already made their debut to the public, being met with what Griffen and Palo assume to be good reactions.
“We are going to be releasing an album over the summer called “The Grand Idea”: “Hold Me”, “Penelope”, and “I'll See You in Dreams” are already available on streaming services, and they’re a bit different from what we've made in the past,” Griffen revealed. “Everything we've put out is a bit more bubble-gummy. “The Grand Idea” is more serious. A little less indie-pop influenced, a bit more rock and jazz-influenced.”
The pandemic made the band look at their music through a different lens and take note of how they wanted to truly feel coming off a stage after performing their music to the public.
“We had to take about a year off from playing after the pandemic hit, and it made me realize two things: I wasn’t very happy with myself, and I wasn’t particularly happy with how the music misrepresented how I was feeling,” explained Griffen. “I didn't want to keep writing stuff that didn't feel super authentic, it was a matter of trying to figure out what I wanted the project to be. It helped me realize that I wanted to focus more on songwriting rather than the musicality of it all, which is what I've always preferred.”
Watch for the release of Blue Rain Boots new album that will be setting up our playlists for the summer, “The Grand Idea”, and listen to Eye on Jamz, ION Indie Music Magazine’s very own radio station, to catch a few of their tunes, and more indie artists!
