Portland’s 1776 are band members; Mitchell Ruppe, Nigel Ledgerwood, Chris Cook and Zach Whiton. The bands influences include: The Rolling Stones, Iggy and the Stooges and T.REX.   1776 have released several tracks over the past couple of years and are about to release their first full length album. In support of the official release the guys have a few gigs coming up. 1776  is making sure Rock and Roll is alive and well the boys are definitely worth a listen.

 

 

FAULT: How long have 1776 been together?

NIGEL: 5 Years

FAULT: How did you come up with the band’s name?

MITCH: 1776 is when we got our independence in  America. We were probably learning about it in high school.

FAULT: How would you describe your sound?

NIGEL: Optimistic retrospective looking forward, I would hope.

MITCH:  I would get stoned first. Then i might say something like, “God, that’s rad.”

FAULT: Were any of you involved in previous music projects prior to becoming a band?

NIGEL: Not really, we all knew each other and we wanted to play rock n’ roll, so we did.

MITCH: There has always been some kind of a music project since i can remember. It is nice to direct energy to just 1776 now.

FAULT: What are some of your influences behind your songs?

MITCH: Drumming love.  Charlie Watts, believe it or not.

NIGEL: Ray Davies structure, almost piano songs. But it’s guitar.

FAULT: What’s your song writing process; is it a collective group effort?

MITCH: We all throw in on what Nigel will pitch.

NIGEL: I pitch jingles.

FAULT: What bands, musicians do you guys admire?

MITCH:  The Rolling Stones are the greatest. Right now I’m listening to The Stone Roses and admiring them so much it’s embarrassing.

NIGEL: Santo & Johnny. The Cramps.

FAULT: Where have you been recording your tracks?

MITCH: At our studio in Longview, WA

NIGEL: It’s above my parent’s hair salon.

FAULT: Do have plans to release a full album anytime soon?

NIGEL: We’ve had the first one around for some time, but we’re finally making it “official” this next month. It’ll be on the Itunes and stuff.

FAULT:  1776  have a few videos out, how important to you are the visuals that correspond with your music?

MITCH: Pretty important. I might just make you interested in listening or rocking to the song even more.

NIGEL: We won’t be trying to wow anybody with animal costumes or giant see-through bubbles, though.

FAULT: The video for ” I Won’t Be Your Prey” was produced by Courtney Taylor Taylor  how did you guys end up working with him on this project?

MITCH: Courtney called us and said, “come down to Portland and lets shoot a video.” and we got there and shot it. That was a fun night.

NIGEL: We drink a lot of wine.

1776 – I Will Be Your Prey

FAULT: Do you think media outlets, such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook are good ways to get the word out about your music?

MITCH: It seems it’s the only way.

FAULT: Who would you like to collaborate with and why?

MITCH: I would love for us to be Iggy Pop’s backing band. Or play with Keith.

NIGEL: James Mercer would be cool.

FAULT: What’s the music scene like in Portland?

MITCH: The music scene we’re familiar with just rocks. There isn’t one big scene and i wish there was.

NIGEL: Any scene will be constantly changing formats, it seems. As far as a kid from a guitar band can tell. But there will always be that noisy metal group or a hairy dude with an acoustic guitar.

FAULT: Do you have any shows coming up?

MITCH: yes a handful this month and in August we’re going to sweep through California.

NIGEL: We love that California.

FAULT: What can we expect from 1776 the rest of 2011?

NIGEL: New songs, more rock n’ roll.

MITCH: Something bigger and better.

FAULT: What is your FAULT?

MITCH: i still like primus.

NIGEL:  I love barbecues.

 

1776 – Website

 

Special thanks to Courtney Taylor