An Interview with Matt McAndrew of Rain City Drive

As their upcoming album draws closer, as well as an upcoming tour, Rain City Drive vocalist Matt McAndrew answered a few questions and gave us an insight into ‘Things Are Different Now’, their creative process, their upcoming tour and more. 

Be sure to catch Rain City Drive across Europe and the US to enjoy ‘Over Me’ and whole lot more live! (Tour posters below!)

Have you got a story behind your album title, ‘Things Are Different Now’?

We wanted it to be a phrase that could come up in conversation. It's a nod to the positive trajectory of the band but also represents the themes of loss, change, and uncertainty on the album.

What has the creative process been like, making the new album? 

This is the first record where we had written extensively and went into the studio with a collection of finished songs. In the past, we've had 40 days to write and record an album which can be stressful. It was great to take the time to collect ideas and refine them, but I wish the gap between the writing trips and tracking had been a bit shorter because it led to us overthinking things a bit when we were still in a demo phase.  

Which song have you been sitting on that you're most looking forward to letting people hear? 

I'm excited for people to hear Elusive Dream- definitely a favorite of mine from our catalog.

What were your influences going into making ‘Things Are Different Now? Have they stayed the same throughout, or evolved?

We listen to so much different music, inspiration could come from almost anything. The goal is to never sound like a copy of a copy but rather for RCD to become a new reference in rock music. 

Best way to describe ‘Things Are Different Now’ in one word?

Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

A lot of your music, especially the most recent single ‘Over Me’, has helped fans out of dark places. Have you got a band or song that has done that for you?

I can remember listening to That's The Spirit by BMTH when I was going through it. Music always helps.

You’ve got a busy year, with a headline US tour and a Europe tour run with Dayseeker, what are you most looking forward to?

Very excited for our first headliner but possibly more excited about going to EU with Rain City Drive for the first time. 

Most anticipated song to play live as you begin touring?

Over Me has that cool bouncy tempo that I think will be really fun live. Things are always different live though, so time will tell.