An Interview With The Providence, Rhode Island Pop-Rock Trio, ROYAL STREET!

Get to know about the funky pop/rock band Royal Street!

Last week, they released their new music video “Make Believe” and their album “Flavors” came out this week on 6/7/17!

Royal Street is a pop rock act from Providence, Rhode Island specializing in infectious, funky tunes – from the modern pop hooks of Maroon 5 to the alt-rock sounds of Taking Back Sunday or Paramore. The Royal Street sound appeals to a wide variety of listeners, combining the attitude and energy of hard rock with funky guitar lines and soulful melodies. Within only a few short months of becoming active, Royal Street was selected to play the 2015 Warped Tour (Mansfield, MA), and were also part of their first tour with Marina City in the summer of 2015, which covered 12 states in 12 days.

Learn more about Royal Street in the following All Access interview:

What are some words you would use to describe 2016 for this band and your music? What were some of the highlights? What has been the most exciting part about this year?

A few words to describe 2016 for us would be funky, fun, flavorful, flowery, firey and fabulous. One of the huge highlights was definitely being in the studio and working on and wrapping up our debut album. Flavors was a huge learning process for us as a band about who we really wanted to be, and we’re glad we came up with the answer…ourselves. Another big highlight was doing our Sleepless Summer tour in June with our friends in The Millenium. That was our first time playing a lot of places in the MidWest and the responses we got and friends we made will never be taken lightly nor will the amount of cheese curds we consumed. So far the most exciting part of this year has been planning for the album release and the future! We can’t wait for people to see what we’ve been working on.

Growing up, did you all always want to be musicians? Can you recall the moment you realized that you could really make music together and be a band? How did you all first meet each other?

Growing up, I know that there was nothing else I ever really wanted to do besides be a singer (Oh, hi, it’s Viana by the way). Alex started playing guitar pretty young and I know that Brian started playing drums a bit later than than us, but you would never know because he’s pretty awesome.  We met playing in different bands in the Providence music scene. Alex and I were in a band together and Brian was always friends with us and we played with his band a good amount. One day we went, hey… should we do this thing? And the answer was yes, and then we joined in musical matrimony and Royal Street began.

Was it hard to narrow down a band name? How did you finally decide? What other names were you considering?

Welp, it wasn’t super hard to narrow down a band name. Royal Street was the road on which discussions about the band began. One day we were all hanging out and were just like, why wouldn’t we just name the band after where we are? And it made total sense. Other names we were considering were Taco Town, Bad Ass Broads, and Mad Respect. So, I think we probably picked a winner?

How do you think this band’s sound has been influenced by being from Providence, Rhode Island? What is the music scene like there?

The music scene in Providence is super diverse. While I don’t think we were necessarily influenced by the scene around us, we definitely love to be the odd ones out on the bills we play. Starting off, we would always be put on hardcore or pop punk shows and we’d continuously be the band that on the first song everyone would turn their heads in confusion, and then by song two they’d be shamelessly dancing and moving their butts.

Do you think that you have grown since you first formed in 2015? How have the band dynamics changed over time?

Oh wow the ways in which we’ve changed. HA! We’ve become much more of a tight unit, learning about each other and how to really coexist. We’ve become better at working together and making sure that everyone is doing their part,which is hard to come by in bands sometimes. Also we’ve seemed to come up with a language of mumbling and high pitched sounds that makes no sense, but we get what each other is talking about. We’ve changed for the better.

I am curious to know what was it like being a part of the 2015 Vans Warped Tour when you had only been a band for a few months? What did you learn about being in a group during that tour?

Being selected to play Warped Tour after just starting up as a band was such a friggin honor. We were so pumped and also intimidated. We were like, well, guess we need to practice like every single day until we play! The time came, and we rocked the stage. We made a ton of new fans and friends, and a couple people from bigger bands caught our set and loved it, which showed me the possibilities that come along with being on Warped… You really never know who will be watching.  We learned that there are so many people doing the same thing that we are, trying to make a name in the music industry. Hard work can go unnoticed and good music and a good image isn’t always everything. Warped taught us that the world is our oyster, but we are also fish swimming in a sea of a bunch of other fishies.

Next month, you will be releasing your album, “Flavors,” so let’s talk about how this collection came together? Did anything surprise you about the process?

We started writing the day we became a band. We wrote and wrote, and scrapped songs, and wrote more, and forgot some, and then remembered, and added to them and then threw them away, and at the end of all of that, we had 10. I think what surprised me about the process was how hard we were on ourselves. We really wanted this release to be something special, so we took time to gently care for each song and make sure it was all the way we wanted it to be. That’s important too. This record was for us, we wrote it the way we wanted. That’s why there are different vibes on it, because the three of us are different people and we all have a little something to bring to the table. I think you can see that in our album.

What was the inspiration for the album’s lead single “Make Believe”? What other songs on the collection are you excited to share with people?

The original inspiration for the song Make Believe was one of my friends going through something really tough. Alex had written a little guitar riff, and one day we were sitting on the couch and the lyrics started flowing. It’s about someone taking what they have for granted, and then losing it. I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it… And if you haven’t then you’re a better person then I am. But, we learn from our mistakes… Hopefully. Make Believe is full of angst, sarcasm, and raw emotion.

While every song has it’s own little quirks that I’m excited for people to see, I love Prove It and it’s message of living for yourself and being happy and inspired and wanting to make yourself happy. Also Dua’s cameo on that song is fire and we had a fun time in the studio listening to him record his magic.

Cranston Crank is an old favorite, and people seem to know exactly how to move to that one, which I love. I also love the old school feel of Hand In Hand. It’s a classic love song, and I just feel like it’s so powerful to me.

Do you have plans to tour a lot this Summer? Where can fans see you perform live next?

We are hoping to get out a bunch this Summer and especially in the Fall. We are doing a small run in June called the Summer Fling Tour with our friends in The Millenium. You can check any of our social medias for the full list of dates, but we’re hitting Nashville, Indiana, Ohio, Providence, NY, Jersey, and Pennsylvania!

Who are some of your favorite artists? Who would you all to work with in the future? What would be a dream collaboration for each of you and Royal Street?

We have a pretty diverse list of favorite artists as a band goes. We love listening to everything from Bad Suns, to Ashanti to Paramore in the van. A dream collab would probably be with The 1975, No Doubt or Weezer. Let’s do it.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people take away from your songs?

As a band we’re all about living in the moment and having fun. Our songs individually have different meanings, but as a whole, we want you to have a place you can go to when things are bad… or good for that matter. Listening to music is all about what you make of it.  We hope people can take a few minutes listening to our songs to just forget about whatever else is going on around them. Roll down your windows, bump a Royal Street jam, sip on your iced coffee, and let the wind flow through your luscious locks.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about this band or your music?

Welp, we love making new friends and meeting new people. We want to play music to anyone, anywhere, so we would love to hear from you. Join up on any of our social medias to become part of the Royal Street house. Thank you for reading!