Interview: New Orleans Rock Band Rich Octopus Talk About Their Self-Titled Album "Rich Octopus"
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“These songs really are a snapshot of our early twenties and mean a lot to us. Recording an album is no easy feat, but we’re very proud of ourselves for putting in the work to make it happen.”
Where did the band's name "Rich Octopus" originate and what does it mean?
It's kind of a goofy story, as you can imagine. In our senior year of high school, we tried to start a band with a few of our friends. It was a ridiculous line-up of six or seven people with limited or no prior music experience. We met up for one writing session and somehow managed to create a very corny and bad "spoken word" song.
We had a different band name we were going to release it under, but we decided against it because it included the name of one of our teachers. We were kicking around alternate band names when a friend was suddenly like, "Look at me, guys!" He was half-dancing, half-flailing around the room, holding two Chaos Emeralds in his hands... Chaos Emeralds like, from Sonic The Hedgehog. We all got a kick out of it, and Ian exclaimed, "You look like a... rich octopus!"
Something about that line clicked with us, so we decided to release the "single" under the moniker Rich Octopus. Like we said, nothing else would come from that iteration of the band after that song was released. When Christian, Will, and Ian decided to start a band for real a few years later, the idea of re-using the name came up and it just stuck with us. You guys are now the first outlet to officially have that story on record, haha!
Congratulations on the completion and release of your self-titled debut album "Rich Octopus"; tell us what you are most proud of with this project.
Thank you so much! Honestly, just to have the record out at all feels like an incredible accomplishment! The band has been through a lot, from our early days as an acoustic trio to where we are now as a full band. But after two whole years of writing, we were beyond stoked to finally get to immortalize these songs we'd been playing for so long at shows.
These songs really are a snapshot of our early twenties and mean a lot to us. Recording an album is no easy feat, but we're very proud of ourselves for putting in the work to make it happen.
Tell us about the band's creative process for the album's songs, and the things/people/places that inspired the songwriting.
In the Rich Octopus camp, the creative process is probably a bit more sporadic than most. Typically, we just start with a guitar part, then we work on a melody and lyrics, then the drums and bass come in. But in a few instances, one of us will write a song, music and lyrics, and the rest of us will work to create the rest of the song around it.
As far as inspirations go, we give credit to bands like Say Anything, The Front Bottoms, The Wonder Years, and New Found Glory. In terms of lyrical content, like we said, our self-titled record was really inspired by where we were in life at the time of writing those songs: Drinking High Lifes with our friends at house parties, playing shows while working day jobs in the pizza industry, falling in and out of love and coping with the emotions that come with that, and just coming to terms with who you are as a person and the challenges that "growing up" brings.
While we are heavily inspired by the emo genre, we wanted to write songs that could be honest and deeply personal, but also songs that were uplifting and not afraid to be whimsical, too.
How would you describe the rock music scene in New Orleans in 2020? Are locals supportive of homegrown talent and are there a lot of rock venues to perform at?
The scene in Louisiana, in general, is very rad. We've been lucky enough to play a multitude of shows over the years in our hometown of New Orleans, as well other nearby cities. Each scene is unique in itself, but you can feel there's a common thread that runs through them all: bands that genuinely love what they do, and audiences who are always eager in their support of those bands.
As far as venues go, we've played so many cool places and no two are the same. Gasa Gasa is our favorite hometown venue in New Orleans, not only as performers but as show-goers; It's a fun atmosphere that caters to so many different types of acts. Southside Arts Center in Baton Rouge is an old car shop, converted into a DIY space with local art painted on every wall. We also have to give a mention to the incredible house venues like The Spot (RIP) and The Loud House in Hammond and Lafayette respectively, which are truly as DIY as they come.
Getting your foot in the door in the music scene down here seems daunting at first glance, but once you join the show circuit, you make so many incredible friendships that connect you to so many different artists and venues. It's truly an honor to be even a small part of that community, and watching it blossom over the past few years has been awesome.
With the album now released, what's next for the band musically? Any new projects on the horizon?
We're working on creating some more content related to our first album, including music videos! We desperately miss playing live shows, so we're planning on doing a few livestreams over on our Instagram, too!
We're also currently in the process of writing our second EP, which includes some of our favorite songs we've written yet! With the current state of the music scene being up-in-the-air at the moment, we're just excited to press forward and look to the future in any way that we can.
Stream and Share “Rich Octopus” on: Spotify | Bandcamp