Labeling rock music can be misleading. Indie? Metal? Alternative? Post-hardcore? Sometimes you hear it and it makes perfect sense. Other times it simply doesn’t. What we do know about All the Way Rider is that it’s a band from Minneapolis, MN that has been making some sort of rock music for over 5 years. With a debut EP in 2006, followed quickly by full lengths “Lahuna” and “The Eagle’s Revenge” in 2007 and 2008, All the Way Rider has stayed busy and stayed true to the core concept that they value greatly: independence. Is this an “indie rock” band? By modern music press definitions, probably not. You won’t see them on stage wearing scarves and disaffected, ironic smirks. But you will see and hear them doing things on their own terms, individually and independently. Make no mistake; rock stardom is always part of the goal. It’s just not the biggest part of the goal for this band. All the Way Rider makes organic rock music as a unit, making each new record better than the last and doing so without compromise. To them, a record is more important than any one song. The performance of those songs should speak more loudly than the “look.”
The members of All the Way Rider grew up on classic rock, punk, hardcore and alternative rock spanning from the ‘70s all the way through the unheralded American indie rock at the turn of the millennium. Acts like Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix inspired these boys to get cheap guitars and beat-up drums as kids. As young adults, bands like Jawbox, Quicksand, Helmet, The Toadies, Hum and Soundgarden pushed them to save their pennies for better instruments and to start taking things a little more seriously. Currently, bands like Clutch, Oceansize, Shiner, Hot Water Music and Isis have inspired this band to continue fighting their own, unique version of “the good fight.” Their list of influences is not a simple “sounds like” list. Some of these bands naturally influence All the Way Rider’s sound more than others, but they all play a part in defining how this band goes about its business. They serve as a glimpse into a distinct recipe of honesty, integrity, attention to the tone and craftsmanship of songs. From the first day they decided to step onto the stages of the Twin Cities and the upper Midwest, All the Way Rider has tried their very best to contribute something tangible and valuable to the rock music community. With their new record “City of Champions” completed and nearing release, you can count on seeing quite a bit more of this band in the near future.
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