The Requisite are a promising band out of Seattle, that play cathartic “alternative” rock music, or even more precisely to use their own term: Stealth Rock. Our very own Drew Dickinson (bass) joined the band in early 2016, while lead singer and founding member Maxwell Royce undertook the following interesting interview.
Who are The Requisite? Please introduce yourselves to our readers…
Hi, we’re The Requisite! A band out of Seattle Washington in the US. We like long walks on the beach, and romantic nights in playing Mario Kart 64 by candlelight. When we’re not enjoying a collective Epsom salt bath together, we write songs about our feelings, record them, and tour.
Could you tell us about your current lineup and any previous or current side projects you are involved with?
We are Maxwell (Vocals/Guitar), Matt (Lead Guitar), Sam (Drums), and Drew (Bass). We’ve all been in bands since we were teenagers, playing all kinds of music (rock, metal, acoustic, grindcore, pop punk, etc). While none of us are in any other bands right now, Max used to play in a skate punk/thrash band called The Greengoes, as well as a pop punk band called Poorsport. Matt was in an indie rock band called Socrates And The Lava Gods, as well as a pop punk band called Home Alone. Drew came to us from the state of Maine, and played in post rock bands, as well as grindcore bands before joining us. Sam came up playing various forms of punk rock and ska music.
Listening to your ‘Squared’ EP , one can easily obtain an easy going atmosphere and a laid back attitude. Is this a reflection of your relationships? No band fighting?
Our previous 2 Eps definitely have a laid back vibe to them. I (Maxwell) founded the band back in 2009, and am the only original member. The lineup we have now has been solidified for about 7 months, and we all get along really well. Our guitarist Matt has been in the band about 3 years, our drummer Sam almost a year, and our bassist Drew about 7 months. Things can get heated at practice during the writing process, but only because we all care so much about crafting the songs to be the best they can be. I wouldn’t say there’s band fighting.
How would you describe your music? Is it indie? Soft rock? Pop rock?
The first two Eps have a much softer/laid back tone. We were really experimenting with genres, and figuring out what we wanted to play. Recently within the last 6 months, since we solidified the lineup, our sound has gotten darker and heavier. We’ve been referring to our new sound as “Stealth Rock”. I used to be in multiple other bands besides The Requisite, and I would try to write to those specific genres. But what I found was that I had stretched myself too thin…So I turned all my focus onto The Requisite, and let all of my collective inspirations come through in the music. Originally I had started The Requisite to be an indie/folk/rock kind of band (think Fleet Foxes or Crosby, Stills & Nash). But now that I’m no longer playing in other heavier projects, those sounds are coming through in our new direction. I’ve always felt that while labels can be an invaluable way to find and categorize music, sometimes they can be self-aggrandizing. So instead of telling people we’re an indie alternative rock band with hints of post rock, pop punk and emo…we just say we play stealth rock.. lol.
Which are the main differences between ‘Polaroid’ EP & ‘Squared’ EP?
Polaroid is a collection of songs that had been written over the course of several years, dating back to my earliest days in high school. So, when I finally got a band together and recorded them, we named it ‘Polaroid’, because each song is a snap shot of a different time in my life when it was written. Our follow up EP, ‘Squared’, was more cohesive in sound, as the songs had all been written much closer together. Both EP’s experiment with different sounds/genres, but ‘Squared’ was really pushing for the indie/folk vibe whereas ‘Polaroid’ had more alternative rock elements.
If you had to choose 2 songs form yours as your favorite ones, which ones would they be and why?
My favorite songs are the newest ones we’ve been writing, but we’re still in the process of recording those. But from the first two EP’s, my two favorites would be ‘Meet Me At Dawn’ (‘Polaroid’) and ‘Americana’ (‘Squared’). ‘Meet Me At Dawn’ has always been a crowd favorite, and was one of the earliest songs I’ve written. We still play it live to this day. I love ‘Americana’ because of the vocal harmonies and the guitar work. I’ve always been proud of that one.
You recently opened for The Parlotones. How as the experience like?
We opened for The Parlotones in 2013, and it was a fantastic time! Their singer, Kahn, is an incredibly nice, down to Earth person. We’d love to share the stage with them again some time!
Are you in search of a label at the moment? Or do you believe that DIY suits you better?
We are currently unsigned, but work closely with a label called Soniphone Records. They have been building a musical community in the city of Everett (North of Seattle). They’re wonderful people who genuinely care about their community and the musicians who reside in it. We’re open to the idea of signing to a label, but there would have to be a notable benefit for us to do it. We’ve been running the business side of the band ourselves since the beginning, and there isn’t a lot we can’t/haven’t been doing ourselves. We always want to take things to the next level, but for now, we carry that burden ourselves.
You are coming form Seattle, famous of its 90s grunge scene. What’s ‘hot’ in Seattle at the moment? Any interesting bands/acts we should dig?
All the bands associated with Soniphone Records are amazing. In Seattle specifically, there’s a lot of amazing music right now. Northern Shakedown, Ever-So-Android, American Island, Moments, The Hollers, Duke Evers…to name a few.
Which are your future plans? Maybe your debut album? Touring?
Right now we’re focusing on finishing our new EP, and rolling out an entirely rebranded band. Now that we’ve focused our sound, we’ll be releasing this EP, touring on it (to include a stop in Texas for South by Southwest), and writing for the next release (possibly our first full length). In the meantime we have shows booked around the Seattle area, a music video in the works, and an entire online store being built for new merch.
Last words belong to you….
Thank you so much for reaching out! We really appreciate you taking the time, and had a blast answering your questions. Until Next time!
All the best, The Requisite.
Photo credits: Christopher Mintken
Christos Doukakis