Interview with Rising Elijah
Rising Elijah is a high-energy Hard Rock band from Los Angeles, CA. They're riffy, fun, heavy, and have a vintage attack with a modern feel. While their stage line up has ebbed and flowed, the core; Pete "Raz" Razo, Chris Blackavar & Chase Enriquez formed in 2019. (Dre Pulido [Guitar] & Tony Guzman [Bass] round out the current line up.) Shortly after they released their first few singles, they were featured on Heidi and Franks morning show on KLOS, Stay or Go, and swept 6-0. Their Self Titled album was released on Rock Solid Talent Entertainment on 8/26/22. Rising Elijah play all around Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Some of their notable gigs/venues include; Lucky Strike (Hollywood), Heritage Festival '22 (Camarillo) & the Viper Room (West Hollywood).
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
We all got into music at different times w/different bands and genres - but what brought us together is the love for no frills high energy rock n' roll.
It's kinda hard to answer what we'd be doing if we didn't - all of us have played for most of our lives in different projects. Can't really imagine not being musicians haha.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
We're all a pretty fun, drinkin bunch and also have our respective families and homes. Raz is really into college football for example. Chris does some community work with his church on the weekends - Chase is usually out running around the city bar hoppin, and Tony rides and works on motorcycles. We all pull influences from our daily lives.
How long has music been your career?
We formed in 2019. We all individually have been good at it while working on different projects along the way.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We're a Los Angeles band and we're all into that hard rock sound of the Sunset Strip. So ya know, this being rock n roll holy land, we just wanna represent.
Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.
Our worst gig - ummm - we don't talk about those things in front of the children. Haha. Best show? That's also tough. We recently played some good ass gigs at the Whisky and also at the Viper Room for our Album release party. But ya know, for us, whether it's great or crap, we don't really put too much hype on it in either direction; cuz either way the next gig is around the corner and we gotta get right for that.
Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
Locally in LA we've played all over - the viper and whisky always treat us really well. Lucky Strike Live is great too. Oh, Universal bar & grill has always been like a home court for us. Troubadour is one that's eluded us - but it's been in our sites haha - Chase likes to fantasize about the Hollywood bowl and the Wiltern. Chris likes anywhere with a solid backline. Haha.
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Ohhhh that's really tuff. So we'll keep it practical and keep it to current bands releasing stuff and not the classics we all know & love. We'd fit in well on a tour w/ bands like Volbeat, Dirty Honey, Dead Daisies. Similar high energy.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into music?
Don't stop being a student of your craft. That applies to everything kinda but yeah.
If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?
I think it probably goes for all of us, don't take yourself too seriously.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
"Sunday" has opened the most doors for us thus far, so that one. Haha.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Well we all have our different favorites, so it's hard to pin down 1 as our collective favorite. Our singles, "Sunday" & "Blue '72" are typically the crowd favorites.
What is the creative process for you, and what inspires you to write your music?
Raz will come up w/the riff and basic arrangement. And he'll send it out to us - Chase puts his lyric rough-draft together and then we all hash it out at rehearsal.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
Chase likes to use a lotta imagery in his writing. But in general we keep it light - we're a fun, hard rockin band - so it's a lot of nightlife action.
Do you ever have disagreements when collaborating and how do you get past them?
Of course. Every relationship has its disagreements, We're all adults here though, most times, things get handled w/out too much wildin' haha.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
We just released our Self Titled album, which is available on all your favorite streaming platforms, so we're pretty focused on supporting that fully right now. We have some dates through the end of the year booked locally, 10/14 at the Universal bar and grill, 12/10 at the Viper Room and a few other dates we're locking in to round out the rest of the year. We started tracking the next project and have already locked in a LEGENDARY feature - but you'll have to stay tuned for that!