Stone Rider talks classic rock in a parking lot
Atlanta's sons of rock ’n' roll return with new album Fountains Left to Wake
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- From left: Neil Warren, Jason Krutzky, Matt Tanner
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As Jason Krutsky (drummer) and Matt Tanner (lead guitar/vocalist) of Stone Rider share an unlabeled bottle while standing by the bed of a gold pickup late on a February night, I get the feeling that they’re not the type to put on a show for anyone — writer present or not. That same unassuming confidence is also deeply ingrained in the Atlanta band’s new LP, Fountains Left to Wake, which dropped yesterday. In an age consumed by micro-genres, it takes a certain fearlessness to create a straight-ahead, ’70s-inspired, classic rock album, which is the best way to describe the follow-up to their 2008 debut, Three Legs of Trouble. Though third member Neil Warren (bassist), was busy printing tees during the interview, Krutsky and Tanner were eager to talk about the tenacity it takes to chase dreams into adulthood, getting lifted with Jimi Hendrix, and finding spirituality in death and drugs.
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The song "When I Was Young" begins "Well now when I was young couldn't listen to nobody else/take the world on by myself." How does that resonant with you all?
Jason Krutzky: It's a fearlessness that you're kind of always chasing as you get older. It's a fearlessness that I can do anything that I put my mind to. Any wildest dream that I have, it's obtainable. It's this idea of maintaining that mentality now, as an adult. As a bill paying, working class, adult-type of person with so much other shit to deal with and worry about.
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Have you guys ever felt discouraged as musicians?
JK: Sure laughs. Moment to moment. You can feel completely discouraged and then five minutes later feel on top of the world.
Matt Tanner: During a show, during a practice, during a conversation, while you're making breakfast, spill your eggs on the ground you feel pretty shitty.
JK: Cause that's all your eggs.
MT: The goal is to sustain yourself in what you love. When people say "I don't give a fuck about whether people like this," well, you do in a sense because you want people to hear it if you're releasing it.