Interview - Reno Divorce

1.Greetings from Peru Brent,how are you brother? whats news in Reno Divorce?
Hello, David! There’s a lot of new and exciting things happening for us at the moment. I almost don’t know where to begin haha. Well, we are a three piece now. We are releasing an EP in June called “Ship of Fools” which has some new and old recordings. The new songs are some of the best material we’ve recorded, to date. We will even have a Tom Petty cover on it! We’re excited for that, of course. Also, we will be touring Europe this summer and we hope to have a full length recorded before the year is through. The band has never sounded better and there’s a whole new stream of creativity that we are tapping into. 

2.How is formed Reno Divorce? give me a short bio about this raw and killer band.
Haha, I will try to keep it short, but we’ve really been a band since 1996, so there’s really no short version. I started the band with my best friend, Tony Owens, in Orlando, FL in 1996. We really tried to get it going, but it was much harder to tour back in those days. We were kids back then, and Orlando isn't renown for its thriving punk rock scene. I moved to California to try my luck there, but to no avail. My oldest son’s mother moved to Colorado, and by chance Tony had moved there to, so the rest is history.

3.Basic influences at Reno Divorce?
The biggest influence for us initially was Social Distortion and the other bands to come from southern California in the early 1980’s. Social D. was the first concert Tony and I ever saw, back when we were 13 years old, so naturally it made a huge impression on us. Over the years we’ve forged our own sound and let our other influences take us to new places, but at the heart of this band, there will always be a punk rock heartbeat. Tony and I are both from the south, so there is a lot of classic country and rockabilly influence, as well. For example, our latest single, “Ship of Fools”, could easily be on a RFTC record or a Police record. Its got everything from old school hardcore to reggae. I love the chances we are taking and experimenting with. I’m not sure if I even consider us a punk band anymore because we really don’t sound like what’s being marketed as “punk rock” now. We are just a rock and roll band.

4.How many stuff have at the moment? available?
Digitally, you can own just about everything we’ve ever released. Our latest record, “Lover’s Leap”, is available on vinyl. We hope to re-release our first two records, “Naysayers and Yesmen” and “You’re Only Making it Worse” on vinyl this year, too. We also have a full-length called “Tears before Breakfast”. It’s always been a little more difficult for us because we are an independent band. We’ve never really had a record deal and we’ve always paid for our own recordings. People ask us all the time why we aren't famous haha. We tell them because we are the only ones that we’re willing to take a chance on ourselves. It makes it hard to reach new ears, but when we do, they are usually fans for life. When I was young, I always did my homework on new music. I didn’t like something just because it was on this label or that. 

5.Some member from Reno Divorce have another project? band,label,distro?
Our drummer plays in a pop punk band called American Blackout and he also plays with my solo band “Brent Loveday and the Dirty Dollars”. We are very busy men these days.

6.How is the hardcore/punk scene in your city/country?
You know, I really don’t get to caught up in the scene side of things these days. I’m a father to two sons, one who is only 16 months old, so that holds my attention more than anything else. I see it this way: I’m a songwriter. I’m going to write songs and make music that appeals to me. If people can connect with it and enjoy it, then of course, that’s awesome. But I’m going to make it regardless. I don't have a mohawk. I don’t like what most people call “punk”. Ive loved, lived, and breathed this lifestyle for 23 years. I know what’s good and I know what’s shit. But of course, at the end of the day, those are just my opinions. I don’t waste my time trying to make people see whats good and what’s not. I’m too old to do it for any other reason. If I like something, I will go see it or buy it for myself, but as far as a “scene” goes, I don’t really subscribe to thinking in those terms. I was expelled from high school for a reason;-)

7.Reno Divorce in tour this year?
Yes, lots of touring is planned. California in June, Texas in July, Europe in August, and then… who knows? maybe Peru in the winter;-)

8.You know some from the hc punk scene from Peru?
Yes, our old drummer, Ruben Patino, is Peruvian. I can’t think of his band off the top of my head, but I do think they were quite popular there and they may still do festivals. I’ve seen videos of punk shows there and was amazed at the musicianship and the energy from the audience. We really would love to see it for ourselves!

9.Future plans in Reno Divorce?
Keep making music. Try to make the world a better place with our art. Making some gas money is always a nice thing, too;-)

10.Brent thanks for your time! keep the destruction!
David, thank you! Peace and hair grease!

https://renodivorce1.bandcamp.com/