Reily
During the NXNE Indie Music Market, I had the chance to sit down with Reily, and up and coming independent rock quintet from Brampton, Ontario just north of Toronto. After listening to their music, I spoke to Lisa Horvath, vocalist and keyboard for Reily at the band’s tent on the windy Saturday afternoon. We talked about the beginnings, the first album entitled Listen to the Rain, their choice of sound, what’s next, and why they think they are #1 on my friends’ recommendation list.
The band – which its members range in age from 19 to 23 – got its start at Mayfield Secondary School in Brampton, where Lisa and Megan Bonnell attended. The band began with “…just the girls, mainly chick-rock” but they would go on to be the vocalists for the now five-person group. In fact, their album was recorded in Lisa’s own basement studio which has also been used for other bands.
The name Reily came after a number of other possibilities that had to be dropped due to being claimed by other musical groups. Lisa would not let on to what the names were, but she did say that their current moniker stems from the saying “Living the life of Reily” or living the good life. While researching prior to the interview, I surprisingly came across another band named Reily. When I mentioned it, Lisa had in fact heard of the Seattle, Washington twin and told the story of them trying to sue for infringement. Let it be known, they are the original!
Listen to the Rain was released on March 16 and their music can be requested on CBC Radio. A review of the album will be on shortly at Lucid Forge. The music is incredibly professional and as Lisa let on, one of the reasons for this can be credited to her and guitarist/cellist Nick Burnal attending university for classical instruction.
I had to ask for the reason behind such a heavy-toned album surrounded by themes of silence, darkness and loss. Is this the sound we can expect from Reily or was it simply one of their many styles? Lisa laughed at the question as she has been hearing it more often since the release. As it turns out, Lisa, Nick and Megan do all the songwriting for the band and in her own words, “It’s not like we’ve been through a bunch of breakups!” She states that the first album was a trial, their sound is not defined as of yet. In her opinion, the music is not ‘dark’ by any means. Upon the second round of listening, it became clear that the music was not to bring darkness and silence from its listeners, but as a way to purge those emotions and feel positive.
So what’s after NXNE? She responded, “We’re just trying to get out and do as much as possible.” This includes touring Ottawa and participating for a cancer benefit in their hometown of Brampton. Through August and September, they will be touring western Canada with stops in Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver just to name a few.
Finally, I asked Lisa what she thought the reason was for Reily being picked as the must-see group from my email contact list. Upon hearing the news, she first laughed, and then modestly credited the rest of the band for all their effort and Nick for his additional hard work at promotions this year (whom I was in contact with throughout the entire process of getting the interview initially).
The interview was personal and light, despite the noise and movement from Dundas Square. I look forward to seeing how exactly Reily lives its life next.
You can check out Reily at www.reily.ca and www.myspace.com/reilymusic.
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