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Last Updated:
May 13th, 2008 - 11:42:39 |
Rilo Kiley
A Picture Of Success
Rilo Kiley are one of the few bands that continue to immensely impress me with every album they release, from the scrappy Initial Friend E.P. to the somber The Execution of All Things and landing at the funky Under the Blacklight with, of course, a couple of other stops along the way. Rilo Kiley have been around for almost a decade, but they’re not taking naps anytime soon.
In every article ever written about Rilo Kiley, the childhood acting pasts of members Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis are always mentioned. I’m pretty sure I’ve even read an article that mentions how every article mentions the childhood actor pasts of Sennett and Lewis. Got it? Anyways, I’m not going to mention it. But I will mention how indie darlings Rilo Kiley are currently on tour supporting their latest release Under the Blacklight which is a collage of tunes revisiting previous directions Rilo Kiley have taken along the way. Real Detroit caught up with bassist Pierre de Reeder to not talk about how some of his band members were child actors.
Rilo Kiley has released all their albums on different labels. Why?
Different opportunities came along. There’s no real reason. There’s no habitual disloyalment. We just seized different opportunities at different times and just followed our nose along the way.
What’s the most annoying question that you always get asked by the press?
It’s probably a little cache of obvious ones. More a category of questions that is seemingly so obvious. Stuff that’s been out there and reported on so much … “What does Rilo Kiley mean? How does it feel to have child actors in the band?” It comes across as if they’ve never heard us before and know nothing about us.
Under the Blacklight sounds completely different from the previous releases. It has a more hip-hop vibe. How did you make the jump?
Well, we had a very limited first release called the Initial Friend E.P. In a lot of ways Under the Blacklight goes back to our EP, which is a very eclectic mix. It would go from country to rock to a hip-hop sound. It feels like we went back to that. We also just tried to let every song be its own song and not pigeonhole them into a theme for the record.
Was there ever a point in your career with Rilo Kiley where you’ve thought, “We’ve made it?"
No, this is a question I’ve been asked a lot … but it’s not an annoying question. It’s an interesting one because the perception on the outside is always different from what’s happening on the inside with the band. We’ve been a band for almost ten years and taken such incredible steps along the way. The internal perspective is we’re always on the upslope. We’ve had a lot of pivotal moments. I’ve never thought, “Wow, we’ve made it,” but I’ve had a lot of, “Wow, this is amazing!” moments.
Do you have any plans to re-release the Initial Friend E.P.?
No, but who knows, maybe in eight years we’ll get sentimental and re-release it.
I have a Rilo Kiley tattoo, you know.
Wow!
I waited 'til the end of the interview to tell you this. Does it creep you out?
No, that’s awesome. I want to see it! | RDW
Rilo Kiley • 5/25 • Royal Oak Music Theatre
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