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The Rightovers' debt to Mutt Lange
Def Leppard producer created the 8 Bar Rule
A lot of people may know about The Rightovers without exactly knowing about The Rightovers. That's because a release by Conceptus, the 2010s Chris Tomorrow project that morphed into The Rightovers, can be seen on top of a stack of CDs in a picture taken of Marc Maron while he was interviewing Barack Obama on Maron’s WTF podcast circa 2015. “I was like a super fan of his podcast,” Tomorrow says. “There weren't that many podcasts back then, and he would always talk about records he got in from bands, and for the hell of it, I sent him one.”
By 2018, The Rightovers had morphed from a recording project between Chris Tomorrow and Matthew Baab to a full-fledged band, thanks to the additions of drummer Lumpy LoPilato and bassist Marcos Lizcano. They released the album Die Cruisin’ in 2019 and scored a gig opening for Pavement guitarist Spiral Stairs at Soda Bar that same year.
Covid paused the live shows, but the pandemic didn't hit them as hard as it did others. “To be honest, it wasn't too much of a blow for us because we were kind of off in our respective spaces making music,” explains guitarist/vocalist Tomorrow. “We weren't going out trying to get shows that much. So, it was kind of actually beneficial in terms of writing music. The one kind of downside was we did a record release show for the EP we released a couple of years ago during Covid. It was still during mandatory masking or proof of vaccination. Anyway, we played a record release show there and there were like four people other than the band."
In June of 2020, the band began releasing a series of singles that would eventually form the core of 2021’s Kruise Kontrol EP, which came out on Portland’s Jigsaw Records. The series also helped to form Spray Tracks: 1979-1988, a collection of demo recordings from 2018-2019 that was released in late 2020. The demos offer more of a darkwave, minimalist feel than the band's more polished and poppier standard releases. Part of that was due to Tomorrow using an analog drum machine on the songs, but the influence of certain underground '80s bands is quite apparent as well. “I certainly think for me,” says Baab, “and I think for Chris too, kind of Joy Division, early Cure records, you know, the early Banshees records, bands like that are always a big influence. And so that definitely comes out, especially in the demo phase.”
While the demos veer towards the '80s alternative, the recent singles fully embrace the big production stylings of '80s radio hits by the likes of The Cars, Yes, and Def Leppard. And speaking of the latter, Tomorrow says he employed tricks that Leppard producer Mutt Lange used on albums such as Hysteria for their recent singles, “Ticket to Ride” and “Me and My Girl." He used the “Mutt Lange 8 Bar Rule,” which requires introducing subtle changes or new elements every eight bars to keep songs interesting, and he recorded every element of the drum kit separately. “Doing that eliminated bleed between the mics and allowed us to get a super clean and punchy sound from each constituent part of the kit,” he says.
Video:
The Rightovers: "Me and My Girl"
Over the past four years, The Rightovers have once again opened for Spiral Stairs (this time at The Casbah), played a couple times on KUSI’s Good Morning San Diego, and even done a stint performing on the live concert on wheels that is the Wonderbus. “It was fun,” says Baab. “It's one of those things where you have to play through earbuds and not have amps. We're an old-school loud band with loud amps. I think that's our MO, so that aspect of it was kind of weird.”
One recent change of note was the addition of Renee Holley to the band’s lineup. “That's to bolster our vocals, which have never been our strong suit,” Tomorrow says. “She's been a great addition. She's classically trained. She's an actual musician. She adds a ton, both recording-wise and live. She is also handling keyboard duties live, so that's been hugely helpful.” The band is planning on releasing two or three more singles in 2025, and another collection of demos that will be titled Selected Ambien Works Volume II.
Here's something you might be interested in.
The Rightovers' debt to Mutt Lange
Def Leppard producer created the 8 Bar Rule
The Rightovers' debt to Mutt Lange
Def Leppard producer created the 8 Bar Rule
A lot of people may know about The Rightovers without exactly knowing about The Rightovers. That's because a release by Conceptus, the 2010s Chris Tomorrow project that morphed into The Rightovers, can be seen on top of a stack of CDs in a picture taken of Marc Maron while he was interviewing Barack Obama on Maron’s WTF podcast circa 2015. “I was like a super fan of his podcast,” Tomorrow says. “There weren't that many podcasts back then, and he would always talk about records he got in from bands, and for the hell of it, I sent him one.”
By 2018, The Rightovers had morphed from a recording project between Chris Tomorrow and Matthew Baab to a full-fledged band, thanks to the additions of drummer Lumpy LoPilato and bassist Marcos Lizcano. They released the album Die Cruisin’ in 2019 and scored a gig opening for Pavement guitarist Spiral Stairs at Soda Bar that same year.
Covid paused the live shows, but the pandemic didn't hit them as hard as it did others. “To be honest, it wasn't too much of a blow for us because we were kind of off in our respective spaces making music,” explains guitarist/vocalist Tomorrow. “We weren't going out trying to get shows that much. So, it was kind of actually beneficial in terms of writing music. The one kind of downside was we did a record release show for the EP we released a couple of years ago during Covid. It was still during mandatory masking or proof of vaccination. Anyway, we played a record release show there and there were like four people other than the band."
In June of 2020, the band began releasing a series of singles that would eventually form the core of 2021’s Kruise Kontrol EP, which came out on Portland’s Jigsaw Records. The series also helped to form Spray Tracks: 1979-1988, a collection of demo recordings from 2018-2019 that was released in late 2020. The demos offer more of a darkwave, minimalist feel than the band's more polished and poppier standard releases. Part of that was due to Tomorrow using an analog drum machine on the songs, but the influence of certain underground '80s bands is quite apparent as well. “I certainly think for me,” says Baab, “and I think for Chris too, kind of Joy Division, early Cure records, you know, the early Banshees records, bands like that are always a big influence. And so that definitely comes out, especially in the demo phase.”
While the demos veer towards the '80s alternative, the recent singles fully embrace the big production stylings of '80s radio hits by the likes of The Cars, Yes, and Def Leppard. And speaking of the latter, Tomorrow says he employed tricks that Leppard producer Mutt Lange used on albums such as Hysteria for their recent singles, “Ticket to Ride” and “Me and My Girl." He used the “Mutt Lange 8 Bar Rule,” which requires introducing subtle changes or new elements every eight bars to keep songs interesting, and he recorded every element of the drum kit separately. “Doing that eliminated bleed between the mics and allowed us to get a super clean and punchy sound from each constituent part of the kit,” he says.
Video:
The Rightovers: "Me and My Girl"
Over the past four years, The Rightovers have once again opened for Spiral Stairs (this time at The Casbah), played a couple times on KUSI’s Good Morning San Diego, and even done a stint performing on the live concert on wheels that is the Wonderbus. “It was fun,” says Baab. “It's one of those things where you have to play through earbuds and not have amps. We're an old-school loud band with loud amps. I think that's our MO, so that aspect of it was kind of weird.”
One recent change of note was the addition of Renee Holley to the band’s lineup. “That's to bolster our vocals, which have never been our strong suit,” Tomorrow says. “She's been a great addition. She's classically trained. She's an actual musician. She adds a ton, both recording-wise and live. She is also handling keyboard duties live, so that's been hugely helpful.” The band is planning on releasing two or three more singles in 2025, and another collection of demos that will be titled Selected Ambien Works Volume II.