We had the honor of catching up with “We Are The Riot” guitarist and co-founder Cheyne Fritts. The band has released a demo along with a hard hitting single and music video for “It’s Not What You Wanted.” The band includes two members of Coal Chamber, guitarist Meegs Rascon, and drummer Mikal Cox. The band was formed in 2010 and was the first time Meegs and Mikal had played together since the Coal Chamber split in 2003. The material released so far is a fresh new sound that will appeal to a wide range of audiences. In a recent interview on Bods Mayhem Hour, Mikal referred to We Are The Riot as a “baby band”. Even though the band released material a year ago they are still considered a “newborn” in the music world. The band has all the right pieces and is in the writing process of capturing what will eventually become an album I’m sure we will all grow to love.
Cheyne Fritts
Metal Nexus: You and Meegs formed We Are The Riot in 2010, Did you have a specific sound in mind when you first started?
Cheyne : Not really. We just wanted to have fun and not have any rules. Our only rule was that there were no rules. No idea could be shot down unless we tried it. We try and stick to that as much as we can. I don’t give a shit if one of the guys wants to play a flute in a song as long as it sounds good.
Metal Nexus: The Hollywood Demos was released in 2014, as well as the video for “Not What You Wanted”, How did that material go over with everyone?
Cheyne : I think it did ok. We only really put that out so that we could have something to give away and sell when we went on tour with Wayne Static. We have been hard at work with new material recently.
MN: You have recently been working on new music, When can we expect a debut album?
Cheyne: I really have no idea. We are just trying to write as much as we can right now . I’m hoping to have at least 20 good songs to choose from for an album. We will definitely have more of a idea of a timeline in the next few months. Sometimes our writing process feels like we are taking as long as Tool . Sorry.
MN: Do you have a title in mind for the album or know who might produce it?
Cheyne: As far as a album title; I think I’d like Jimmy to come up with one after we finish it. He might have a certain direction he wants to go with as far as lyrics. Who knows. We have worked on a couple of songs with Ulrich Wild and I think we might be sticking with him. He has a pretty awesome group of artists and bands that he has worked with, and he’s just a really cool guy.
MN: One of the last tours you went on was the Static-X “Wisconsin Death Trip Tour” celebrating 15th anniversary of that release. The tour ended in June and Wayne passed away around 5 months later, was that something hard to handle after being on tour with him so recently?
Cheyne: I didn’t get to know him as well as Mikey, Meegs and Andy but it definitely came to everyone as a surprise. It always sucks to loose a close friend to addiction or accidents.
MN: What is the earliest we can expect a tour from you guys? And will you be making it to the east coast as well?
Cheyne: There are no plans for tour right now. We are looking for booking agents for the near future. So those things will come when we find the right one. Trust me; we want to go EVERYWHERE!!
MN: If you had to describe how We Are The Riot sounds to someone that hasn’t heard you guys before how would you describe it to them?
Cheyne: Maybe If Helmet had a bastard child with Deftones but was raised by Bring Me The Horizon and The Cure.
The satisfaction of knowing the debut album will not take as long as the new Tool album is a great piece of information. We are looking forward to hearing the new material and have our fingers crossed it doesn’t include a a flute player. Make sure to follow these guys as they put alot of hard work into their writing process. You can purchase “The Hollywood Demos” via iTunes here. You can keep up with them on social media through Facebook, Twitter, or their website http://www.wearetheriot.info/ We would like to thank Cheyne for the interview, we know he is a busy guy and we are very gracious for his time.
