STACK NZ Magazine November Issue 57

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FEATURE MUSIC visit
NOVEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
S am Browne, singer/guitarist with
Auckland rockers Black River Drive,
now reckons that their debut Perfect
Flaws was not without its faults. “I was really
still finding my voice when we did the first
album,” he tells STACK. “We got it right on a
few songs … but overall, it is lacking in
confidence and weight.”
But having spent the last four years
relentlessly refining their craft, he is a lot more
comfortable about Black River Drive’s eagerly
anticipated sophomore release Quicksand.
“I definitely have a more refined sense of how
to create now than I did then; what I like and
don’t like, and what works for me. In terms
of how we work in the studio, we don’t stop
working on something until it is as good as it
can possibly be. And vocally, I’ve never been
stronger. My range has probably expanded by
an octave since we did the first album.”
Quicksand was recorded in Nashville with
veteran producerTobyWright (Alice in Chains,
Ozzy Osbourne) and Browne says the move
fromAuckland toTennessee was a
difficult, but logical, decision.
“Our friends Cy andVanessa
fromTattletale Saints had just
been to Nashville to record, and
came back filled with stories
about the city. Being based
there for the duration of
tracking was fantastic
– it allowed us to leave
normal life distractions
behind, and really focus on what
we were doing.”The band’s
partnership withWright came
from a chance meeting in
Auckland, again facilitated by
friends of the band. “Toby
had recently relocated
from LA, to of all places,
Nashville,” Browne says. “I’m not at all one
for believing in fate and so forth but we
simply couldn’t let this slide!”.
The most notable change for Black River
Drive since 2010 has been the addition of
guitarist DavieWong of the now-defunct
Shotgun Alley, to the core line-up of Browne,
Rusty McNaughton, Matt Stone and MikeTan.
“We met Davie through playing a few shows
with Shotgun Alley,” Browne explains.
“Even back then I knew I wanted him for
Black River Drive.We finally got him to start
jamming with us halfway through this year.
It’s been great having [Davie] on board.”
With the crew now up to five members,
each of them chomping at the bit to make a
name for themselves, the sky is the limit. So
what is Browne’s favourite track on the new
LP? “It’s hard to pick favourites, but I do love
Grenade,” he replies. “It’s a riff unlike anything
we’ve done before. It’s one we all love to play
and audiences respond to it even if they’ve
never heard it before.
I also love I’m Ready Now.They all have
their moments really.”
Like so many projects today, Quicksand was
created in part with crowd funding. Even though
the band are now at the end of that process and
they did reach their funding goal – where so
many others have failed – they aren’t completely
convinced that it’s necessarily the way to go.
“It seems like ‘money for nothing’, but nothing
could be further from the truth.We had a very
stressful eight weeks from starting our crowd
funding efforts through to the final hours, where
we only just managed to hit our target”.
Even with all the ups and downs that came
with it, would the boys ever try it again?
Browne is coy on the subject. “I can’t say for
sure if we would, maybe with a bit more
thought behind it next time.”
Black River
Drive,
Quicksand
,
is out on
November 7
Black River Drive found themselves in Nashville to create their
second album Quicksand. Singer/guitarist Sam Browne
explains to Ricardo Kerr just how they got there.
I’m not at all one for believing in
fate and so forth but we simply
couldn’t let this slide!