Oct. 10, 2012 - Issue #886: Typhoon Judy
Secret Rivals
Secret Rivals may be one of Edmonton's newest hardcore outfits, but the members are far from new to the scene.
Vocalist John Kennedy of E-town Beatdown began putting the band together six months ago, rounding up a group of the city's hardcore fixtures, including bassist Aaron Clarke, guitarist Don Palmer and drummer Ryan "Junior" Kittlitz of Savannah, who he had toured with in the past.
"We kind of know what to expect; there's no surprises," Junior says of the tight-knit group. "We know what this band's about, we know what we sound like, we know what we're going for. It's just all fun and it's good hangs whenever we're hanging out together. There's no bullshit."
Since solidifying the lineup, it's been a whirlwind of booking offers, which meant getting an album out as soon as possible. The band is set to release its debut album, The Committed Few, a disc firmly rooted in the style of '80s and '90s New York hardcore. Kennedy says the album is a reflection of influences stemming from the likes of Madball and Comeback Kid, who also happen to be friends of the group.
"It's not a rip of those bands, but you're influenced by what you listen to and those influences come out in all of us," he notes, adding each band member has been listening to hardcore for at least a decade. "Some of those dudes who influence us are our friends, like Madball. We're homies with those dudes and those are some of the bands we look up to."
Just as the style pays homage to the hardcore bands who have influenced them, the title of the album is a testament to the staunch supporters of the hardcore scene, whether they're still directly part of it or not.
"Over the years we've seen so many bands come and go and so many people come and go," Kennedy notes. "There's people out there who are committed to it and will go the extra mile to make sure that they're supporting a scene they've always believed in, whether they're 15 years old or 30 years old."
Fri, Oct 12 (6 pm)
With Randy Graves, Shelbi, Ringleader
Pawn Shop, $10
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