Following on from the release of their single, ‘Rev It Up‘, we spoke with the Divergent trio about their music, their latest single, and their desires for the future.
How does it feel to be chasing a dream that started decades ago?
James: To be honest, it’s quite surreal. I always had this dream in my heart, but I thought it was long gone. I bailed on my dream in my early 20s and it was a decision that has always haunted me. I was too scared and didn’t have the confidence to step out and go for it. I played it safe and pursued an education. I obtained an undergraduate degree in economics and a master’s degree in finance. Of course, that wasn’t a bad thing, as my education has served me very well. However, my music dream was unfulfilled and was always there in the background, calling me. I credit my wife, Jacque, for saving my dream and bringing out my true self. We met in my 30s and she electrified me and brought my true life into being. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. She is still electrifying me. She is my total soulmate, and I wouldn’t be pursuing my current musical dream without her.
Mike: I don’t think words are enough to express how blessed and fortunate I feel getting the opportunity to make new music with James and Paul. When James and I were teenagers, we played for people we knew, and it was difficult to get an objective opinion on whether we were actually good at what we did, or maybe we were big fish in a small pond and people were just being nice. I think the last few years have shown us that keeping our dream alive and believing in ourselves was the right thing to do. We hope our story inspires folks to keep pushing and follow their own dreams.
Paul: It feels amazing. I’ve never been more jazzed about creating music than right now.
James and Paul, how does being brothers affect the way you create together?
James: Paul and I grew up in a musical family that inspired us to have open minds to learn about many genres of music. We both grew up as total Beatles fans so we have a musical bond that goes back to our childhoods. Paul and I have an ability to think alike and yet be different at the same time. Paul is 14 years younger than I am, so he has musical roots that are different than mine, but that’s okay because we can play off our differences in a positive way. I admire Paul’s broad musical palette, and it shows up in his drumming and how we play off each other to create the best song arrangements possible.
Mike: I know this isn’t a question for me, but I’m in perpetual awe at what they create together and send my way. They are amazing!
Paul: James and I work really well together. We push and pull each other. That’s what makes our musical relationship work. Do we always agree? No, but we always get the solution right.
You’ve made it clear you’re not chasing trends. Why was that important to you?
James: Creativity and being free to be independent are traits that are very important to me. I admire how the Beatles had complete creative freedom in their later career. To me, that’s what being an artist is all about. We don’t want to create widgets; we want to create truly unique pieces of art with each musical composition. We have the luxury of not having to do this as a living to pay the bills. We are truly pursuing art because we want to, and it’s our lifelong dream. So why not?
Mike: I have to be honest, I wouldn’t know where to start to follow a trend anymore. The music I hear other people play or in public spaces sometimes sounds great and sometimes I say to myself that I just don’tget it… I don’t mean to offend anyone, but some of it just doesn’t appeal to me. There are so many genres out there, it’s hard to know what drives what trend. I would like to think one of our strengths is the organic approach we take to create Divergent songs. The music comes from within… It’s what we feel when we start putting them together based on James’ original chords and melody. On one of our songs on the first album, ‘Not Until its Right’, James said he had a different idea for the bassline in mind, but I came up with the walking bassline. Afterwards, James said that I think like a bass player and that’s why it worked. I think Divergent works because all three of us bring it to the table for every song.
Paul: I have no interest in musical ruts or trends. Trends come and go. We’re consistent in that we’ll always be a rock band first and foremost. Anything we incorporate into our music from other genres only enhances the end product in my opinion.
‘Rev It Up’ captures that rush of freedom and speed. Do you remember when the song really locked in?
James: I showed the song to Paul during our rehearsals. We played it over and over until we had the groove locked in and the arrangement worked out. It took us a little bit of time to figure out the ending. We had a few versions of the ending before we found the right one that’s on the recording.
Mike: James will have to answer about how he put the song together. Sonically, I love the choruses for the song. They are commands, not suggestions.
Paul: The song locked in when we were rehearsing right before going into the studio. We developed the ending of that song together.
The track sounds polished but still raw. How did you find that balance?
James: That’s a great question! I have a great guitar tube amp that is just a beast. It’s a Revv Generator 120, and it can melt paint off the walls. That amp has gotten me in a lot of trouble because when I get excited, I tend to turn it up. After all, it’s so much fun. Anyway, that amp can sound so alive that it gives off a live sound vibe on our recordings, which is pretty cool.
Mike: From my perspective, I was able to use a Dingwall bass that sounded great in the mix. Running it through a late 1950’s Ampeg B-15 amp and the other amazing systems at Sweetwater Studios really brought out the strength of the bassline. As for the tone of the song, I give all the credit to James and the work he puts into his guitar tone and the amazing work Jason Peets did as our engineer/producer. Paul is a powerful drummer and I think the comparison to John Bonham is fair. Paul puts everything he has into every take and it shows.
Paul: Working with a great sound engineer helps keep us sounding the way we do. You can work wonders in the studio now to keep a live sound and keep it tight at the same time.
There’s a nonstop energy running through it. Was that the goal from the start?
James: Oh yeah, Rev It Up was written to be a total rocker. No doubt about it. The louder the better for that song!
Mike: As a consumer of James Richards’ songs from an early age, I would say that the vast majority of his music has nonstop energy in its DNA. Rock songs are inherently energetic, but I believe James has a way of building a verse leading to a great hook and keeping it going the entire song. There is more to come on the Rev It Up album!
Paul: Absolutely the goal from the start. It’s a full-bore experience for sure.
This video feels bigger and more cinematic than your earlier ones. What pushed you in that direction?
James: It was the song that drove the direction. A big rock song like Rev It Up needs a big video to go with it. We knew we had to find a badass muscle car to be in it.
Mike: We had the opportunity to work with a different video production company, HIP Video Productions, headed by Andy Gesner and directed by Mike Kundrath. There was some brainstorming that took place once we decided Rev It Up was going to be the debut song for the album and the concept allowed us to create an ‘inside’ video of a garage band and an outside ‘narrative’ of us revving it up. To be honest, being able to work with professionals who know how to put a great video together made it seem easy. The whole process was a ton of fun and we love the results.
Paul: It’s go big or go home. We’re not interested in going home. We wanted to make a statement with this video.
Looking back at where you started, what have you learned about yourselves as a band?
James: We’ve learned that we have the confidence and the ability to go for it in the studio. We didn’t have that before we started Divergent. We’re growing by leaps and bounds now.
Mike: We have always had confidence in our talent and abilities, but the cover band venues are not always a great place to fully express yourself or get meaningful feedback. Being able to create new music and get positive reactions from people across the globe is so much more gratifying. We have learned that there is an audience for what we are doing. We have learned that when we trust each other to bring our skills and talent to the table, Divergent creates amazing music.
Paul: It’s hard work, but very rewarding!
As you keep moving forward, what’s the bigger goal for Divergent – and anything else you’d like to share with fans before we wrap up?
James: The big goal for Divergent is to expand our audience as much as possible. A bigger audience brings bigger opportunities. We’re very serious about our music, and we want to do all we can to reach as many people as possible. We’re really just getting started.
Mike: From a goal-setting point of view, we haven’t talked about much more than starting work on the third album. What is interesting to me is that we have been able to organically grow our presence on social media with the help of Andy Gesner and his amazing team at HIP Video Promo. We can’t say enough about how much they have helped us get our name and music out into the world. With that said, I would like to think there are going to be other opportunities out there for us that we can’t fathom right now. At the end of the day, our goal is to reach as many people as possible with our music. If our story of keeping the flame of creativity and making music alive all these years encourages others to do the same, then we are making a little bit of a positive difference in this world.
Paul: We’d love to do some shows where we open for another band.
Check out the music video for ‘Rev It Up’ below, and find out more about Divergent and their music online on their official website, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
