Paper Rival

Life on the road always offers the potential for adventure and mishap. Last week, the Photo Finish Records act Paper Rival (formerly known as Keating) found themselves unwitting participants in a petty crime that left them stranded mid-tour without transportation and will perhaps influence their future budget planning.

Things began smoothly enough in July when the Nashville-based Indie Rockers, (Brent Coleman - guitar/keyboards, Cody McCall – bass, Patrick Damphier - guitar/drums, Jacob Rolleston - vocals/guitar) hitched their van to a trailer to begin their a month long tour with
The Honorary Title, The New Frontiers and Mansions.

In New Orleans a high-speed chase in a stolen car crippled
Paper Rivals’ parked van – forcing the cancellation of some shows and the need for alternate transportation.

We spoke to Patrick Damphier about the high cost of touring days before this unexpected tour detour...

AP: Just when people had you pegged as a post grunge, Alternative Seattle-sounding act, you switch things up with your new EP, Dialog.
PD: I'd say that our music sounds like early nineties Alternative with a slight Folk twist on it.

AP: How does the band manage the business duties?
PD: Brent and I do a good bit of work through MySpace. Our label, manager and booking handle the rest. And we hire outside companies who specialize in motivation programs to keep [our street team’s) morale high.

AP: How far away from your home state will you travel this summer?
PD: 2,356.49 miles is the furthest away from home we will be. We will be hitting a few new areas this summer such as Lawrence, KS, Albuquerque, NM, New Orleans, LA, and Carrboro, NC.

AP: Have high gas costs impacted the budget at all?
PD: We have definitely added extra money for gas and we’ll also be sleeping in our van. We have $1500 budgeted for our tour. We reached that amount by taking into consideration how much our show guarantees are, how much it costs to fill our van's tank with gasoline, and how much our monthly van and insurance payments are. We really haven't cut back on anything. Even when the cost of gas was half of what it is now, we never spent money on anything we didn't really need.

AP: Are you recording your shows?
PD: No. We're poor. Sometimes other people will film shows and put them on You Tube. The quality is typically pretty poor with those videos.

AP: How would you describe the live music scene – thriving or just surviving?
PD: Live music is still very much alive and thriving. Much of the rest of the business is less stable. Live music is as much a social event as it is a musical event. Before records were made and sold, that's what people had. You paid your money, experienced the show, and left with nothing to take with you but your memories. I feel this is the most human way to experience music and it will always have its place.

Get tour dates: www.myspace.com/paperrival