Rising Canadian rock band Summer Rain has hit over a million streams with their single, “South Of The Border”, with a new song “Hold Her Hand” out now! What’s their secret to success, you ask? We had to find out, as well! Clearly, this band has a formulated and meticulous approach to the music industry that is quickly paying off.
Summer Rain is “happy just to know you”, so we, in turn, wanted to know them!
We reached out to this eccentric three-piece band out of Qualicum Beach, asking Summer Rain on their influences, the story behind their snazzy polished look and their future plans. Here is what Will McLelland (guitar, vocals), Josh Beausoleil (bass, vocals) and Logan Hale (drums) said.
You guys are a classy bunch! What’s the inspiration for your formal apparel?
- Josh: Half of putting on a good show is looking the part. When we were getting ready to play our first gig together, unsure of what to wear, I came up with the idea that we should wear formal attire so that, even if we don’t sound good, we at least look good!
Let’s talk “Hold Her Hand”. The parallels to the Beatles’ classic is obvious, yet what other bands of the early 60s rock era did you look to in the creation of the song?
- Will: Surprising as it may be, I wasn’t listening to any 60s groups when I wrote the song, though there are lots of 60s bands that we like and the Beatles are definitely one of them. The song’s name came about as a result of our group conscience when the time came to name the song. The line “I’m happy just to hold your hand” was something I had wanted to say to the person whom the song is about. I wrote the lyrics in a very simple confessional style and that’s what came out.
- Now, that was in 2014. We recorded the song in 2020 and gave it its title shortly after. We saw obvious parallels between the name “Hold Her Hand” and the Beatles “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and we thought the latter was memorable and wanted the name of our song to be just that. Any conscious connection between “Hold Her Hand” and the 1960s was an afterthought.
Let’s talk about the predominantly senior community you grew up in. Does this factor into your unique modern-meets-oldies sound?
- Will: Where we were raised was part of what shaped us as human beings; it influenced how we see the world. Since we are so true to ourselves as artists, there’s a good chance that strong hints of our Senior Central upbringing crept into “Hold Her Hand”, though we’re not offering senior discounts at this time. While our upbringing is a factor, it’s probably a secondary one.
- When I wrote the song almost seven years ago, lots of the artists I was into were heavily influenced by retro music, but maintained a modern sound; it seemed like the popular thing to do at the time. And, maybe it still is, judging by The Weeknd’s album ‘After Hours’, which we like very much. Instead of defining ourselves as modern-meets-oldies, we tend to think of music as being timeless — what was good yesterday is good today. We pull inspiration from all genres and eras, using whatever elements we think will make a great song for today’s audience and for ourselves.
Where can we see Summer Rain in action? Do you guys have a tour in the works?
- If we had our way, we would be touring the UK and Northern Europe right now. Unfortunately, the current state of things prevents us from doing so and the only way you can see us in action directly is by going to one of our shows on Vancouver Island, where we live. We’re set to play a decently large show in Vancouver, Canada this fall, which is a big city to us. Once things have opened up more, it will be much easier to see Summer Rain in action and we will likely go on tour to support our first album after it’s finished.
What’s next for Summer Rain?
- We’re going into retirement.
- We’ve got some exciting new material on the horizon that was recorded over lockdown. We’re releasing our next single “Let Me Tell You” soon and after that, we’ll be releasing a new song every six weeks. We also have around 50 songs underway that we’re going to pick through and decide what we’re going to do with. We’re the busiest we’ve ever been with writing and producing music. “Hold Her Hand” is just the beginning!
Purchase or stream “Hold Her Hand” single:
Summer Rain – “Hold Her Hand”
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