We present another interview with an unsigned / independent act! This time, we asked 5 questions to Pete and Dave from Rusty Salt, an alternative rock trio based in Brighton.
- For those unaware, how would you describe the music of Rusty Salt?
Pete Ferris (singer/guitarist): I’d describe it as being a sound combined of punchy melodies, fat riffs, thunderous basslines and huge drums, with the occasional odd time signature thrown in for good measure.
Dave Beadle (bassist): Hard-hitting and dynamic alt rock with a touch of introspection and fragility. We’re largely influenced by the current crop of rock acts with a few other references interwoven in places. - You released your debut EP last year, what was the production process?
Pete: Our second bassist had joined the band less than a month before we actually recorded the EP, so it was a matter of tightening up the 4 songs as much as possible for 3 weeks before heading to AudioBeach Studios in Hove to record all 4 tracks in one 6-hour session. Needless to say that month was a good lesson in time management and working fast, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to do it the same way again! - Who writes your material, do you do any covers in your live set?
Pete: Up until recently all of the songs were written by me. This started to change when our drummer Jack joined the band and started playing his own drum parts instead of depending on me to tell him what to play. Ever since Dave joined in October he’s been bringing new ideas to the table and we’re putting one of them in our live set for the first time now, which is really exciting! As for covers, we used to do a snippet of Psycho by Muse at the end of our song Finished but apart from that the set has always been entirely our own stuff.
Dave: Me and Pete are both experienced songwriters so since I’ve joined the songwriting has become more collaborative and competitive. I’m a firm believer in an iron sharpens iron approach so it’ll hopefully push us all to become better at what we do. - If someone came to see Rusty Salt, what would they see?
Pete: Anyone who comes to one of our gigs can expect to see three sweaty guys playing a set that is huge and tight in its sound, and at the same time raw in its energy.
Dave: High energy and high impact, we love letting loose on stage. And all the sweat flying around will keep the audience hydrated! - Are there any plans for a second EP?
Pete: At the minute we haven’t started planning any more recording sessions, but we do want to get back in the studio at some point soon and nail something down – especially one or more of our newer tracks!
Dave: We’ve got half a dozen songs we’ve written since the EP came out rotating in our live set, it’s likely we’ll have one or two released as a single soon but nothing’s set in stone yet.
We would like to thank Pete and Dave from Rusty Salt for taking the time to answer our questions. For more information about the band, please see the associated links section below.
Picture: Left to right: Pete, Jack, Dave
Associated Links:
Rusty Salt on Facebook