Rah Rah – Kristina Hedlund
Posted on June 18, 2009 at 1:00 am by Luke
The band is out of Saskatchewan, they’re called Rah Rah, and they’re currently taking their catchy folk influenced indie rock to all of Canada. Half way through the tour I was able to send off some questions to violinist Kristina Hedlund, here’s what she had to say.
WayTooLoud!: What got you up and playing?
Kristina Hedlund: A mutual enjoyment of music.
WTL!: How and where did this band meet, were you all friends before?
Kristina: Erin [Passmore] and Marshall [Burns] have known each other since elementary school. Samra [Sahlu] and Erin have known each other since they were little. I’ve known Marshall since high school. They all knew each other in university. Joel [Passmore] has known Erin since Erin was born because they are brother and sister. Leif [Thorseth] and Joel were friends and good musicians in town. Erin and Marshall started the band in high school. Slowly others joined, magic happened!
WTL!: Were there any goals in mind when you were putting together “Going Steady”?
Kristina: Finishing. Mostly just to put all our songs on a CD since the first EP wasn’t a very accurate representation of the band anymore, it had changed so much.
WTL!: Is there a theme for the album?
Kristina: Life in general. Social interaction. Love, feelings, anger, social norms, free trade, politics, bliss.
WTL!: Where did the title “Going Steady” come from?
Kristina: At one of the best shows we ever played, at Canmore Hotel, the following pick up line was used on one of the members: “Hey, uh, did you get that email I sent you?”, “No… no I didn’t…”, “It says we’re going steady”, “No, sorry, I didn’t get it”, “well, it’s coming”.
WTL!: What’s the writing process like for Rah Rah?
Kristina: It used to be different in times past, but now we mostly try to write our music as a collaborative team. One person will bring a song or idea to the group and the rest will build off of it, whether together or in small groups, then a new song emerges from Rah Rah’s womb.
WTL!: Where does the inspiration come from when writing?
Kristina: Universal and non-universal life type experiences.
WTL!: How did the song “Tentacles” come together, and what’s behind the lyrics?
Kristina: I once got attacked by a colony of trolls and turned into a sea monster! I then wrote all the lyrics to every song.
WTL!: Is there a connection between “Betrayal Pt. 1” and “Betrayal Pt. 2”?
Kristina: Yes…
WTL!: What’s behind the track, “Fuck NAFTA”?
Kristina: Neoliberalist policies make us uncomfortable.
WTL!: How did you guys get hooked up with Young Soul Records, Rob Morrison?
Kristina: Just from playing around Regina, it’s a pretty small musical community.
WTL!: What’s next for Rah Rah, have you already been writing for a next effort?
Kristina: We are currently in Montreal for two weeks recording our next album with Kees Dekker, it’s sounding pretty good so far. Then we go west to finish our cross Canada tour, then hopefully tour some more in the fall and get our album out.
WTL!: Do you have your own personal goals for the future of Rah Rah?
Kristina: We hope to be able to make music as much as possible and share it with the world!
WTL!: Is there a scene in Regina, or Saskatchewan, and how has it helped bring up you and the band?
Kristina: Yes, there is a very supportive music scene in Saskatchewan. In Regina, there is a really good community for sharing ideas and music and helping each other, and a lot of good music has come out of there.
WTL!: Do you or anyone else in the band have any other projects, like other bands or jobs, currently on the go?
Kristina: Joel and Erin are in the awesome band Sylvie. Leif is in Geronimo, also a good band.
WTL!: How do you keep yourselves entertained on the road?
Kristina: We listen to music, sing songs, talk about important issues (mostly bovinicide), make funny jokes, and play a whole lot of “would you rather”.
WTL!: What have you been listening to lately
Kristina: Biggie Smalls!
WTL!: Who would you like to tour with who’s both feasible and not obvious?
Kristina: Our next tour will be with Grammercy Riffs and Parlovr, we haven’t told them yet though.
WTL!: Same questions, minus the feasibility, so you can pick anyone, from anytime.
Kristina: Neil Young will be calling us soon, I’m fairly certain!
WTL!: Where in the world would you like to tour?
Kristina: We were talking the other day about how fun a European tour, including Scandinavia, would be. Also, there has been talk of Africa.
WTL!: Is this your first big tour, how has it been so far going across Canada?
Kristina: It’s been pretty much the bee’s knees! Sometimes tensions fly high but good times fly higher. It feels good when your job is doing something you love! Probably the highlight (or one of them) was our shows in St. Johns, the sixteen painful hours it takes to get there were very worth it!
“Tentacles”
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