Reno Divorce-Every Overnight Success is 10 Years of Hard Work
by Tim Wenger
Reno Divorce has been around the block . . . a few times. Their new record Lover’s Leap is proof of that. Whether it’s touring Europe or just rocking a one-night stand here in Denver, the band put their melodic punk infused brand of dirty rock and roll to the test, and won over crowds in just about every situation. What they have to show for it are the battle scars of the true road-wearied musician, not the tales of glamorous back-stage parties, and a tour bus full of drugs, but the ragged lifestyle of a true blue-collar rock and roll band that has kept their head above the water by working their asses off with relentless energy; whether they are playing in front of a jam-packed club, or an empty dive bar.
The guys might come across as tough, in-your-face greasers, but that confidence is a result of years of relentless passion and dedication towards their musical career. Reno Divorce has their shit together, and despite the fact that they’ve been together 11 years, they still feel that their best, and toughest, days are still ahead of them.
The band’s style is a gritty mix of nineties punk rock and outlaw country. There are tastes of rockabilly thrown in, although they never really intended for it to be that way. “We’ve never really gone out of our way to come off that way,” says Brent Loveday, the band’s front man and lead guitarist. “I think it’s engrained. Blues is just like country, which is like rock and roll, there’s a common denominator. I feel we are a punk band first and foremost.”
Loveday does the songwriting. He is the perfect front man for a band like Reno, his greasy, tattooed demeanor an appropriate precursor to the heartfelt lyrics he has poured into the band’s four full-length records and three EPs.
“Pretty much with Brent’s writing, he gets an idea in his head,” says guitarist, Tye Battistella. “I’ve seen it many times. In moments he’s got the idea of the song, then he’ll come up with some crazy dark idea to put in the song. He just kind of crafts the song.”
“Nothing feels forced,” says Loveday. “It feels like a natural progression where the songs went. Write what you know. You have to be honest with yourself. If something is shitty, don’t put it out. Pull the plug on it.”
Through numerous national and European tours, Reno Divorce has established a solid fan base. The guys feel comfortable on the road. Despite the bitterness that arises when a bunch of dudes are trapped in a van together for weeks on end, they are able to maintain professionalism and a high energy level.
“We took our buddy to Europe,” says Loveday. “When you’re out for that long, you’re going to hate whoever’s sitting next to you, it just happens. (Our buddy) was like a fly on the wall watching this. He would go, ‘It’s amazing how this dude will hate this dude, and then as soon as you guys hit the stage, it’s like nothing has happened. It’s like you’re best friends.”
“You want to be on tour,” says Battistella. “We get a lot of love from people in Denver, but when you’re on the road, that’s where we want to be. That’s where we should be. You still think you’re twenty years old. All the pain from lifting all the stuff, you’re not getting any sleep, and you’re in this van and your back’s hurting. When you’re on stage for that hour and a half, that’s what you’re doing this for. There will be times when you’re in the van and you’ll go ‘what am I doing this for, why am I not at home with my family?”
On the road, they have dealt with all kinds of crazy situations from shoddy van drivers and shady promoters, to playing one night at a packed festival to a half-empty bar the next. “I like going into a cold room where people have never heard you, and you’ve gotta win that room over,” says Loveday. “It’s a lot easier to do that locally, but you go to Poland on a Tuesday night, it’s a little more difficult.”
“Plus when you’re at home, you’re just playing that one show,” says Battistella. “When you’re in the van for fifteen days, you can get yourself pretty down and beat and tired. Your mentality on the road is much different than playing a show at home.”
“On this last tour, we played to 3,500 people in downtown Berlin,” says Loveday. “At that point, it becomes so massive, it’s almost intimate. “There’s about three people in front of you and that’s who you’re focused on, but you’ve got the energy of 3,500 people behind you.”
Eleven years into their legacy, Reno Divorce still maintains the mindset of a band looking to break the ice for the first time. They work as hard now as ever. “I feel like our best stuff’s yet to come,” says Loveday. “In the making of this record, I had no idea it was going to turn out as great as it did. I want to get out, I want to support it, and make the next one.”
“I think our hardest time is yet to come,” says Battistella. “Meaning that, we’re gonna have to be touring more. We’re gonna have to work harder. With this next record, it’s going to be the most work that the band has had to put in. In all honesty, if you’re a band and you’re not on tour six months out of the year, you’re not going to make it. Last year, we did maybe two and a half months? That’s nothing compared to where you need to be.”
“Here we are, going on tours, away from our families and people we want to be with,” says drummer Ruben Patino. “When you start doing that, it definitely takes over certain parts of your life. It puts a mark on, so when you look back, it is definitely something that was there.”
The guys are getting older, a bit wiser, and way more determined than they ever have been before. “The thing I can say about Reno Divorce,” says Loveday, “throughout our career, we never compromised anything. We may have made some shady deals or whatever, but as far as our sound and the rights to our music, we’ve never given up shit. Maybe we would be financially in a better position if we did, but we’re just four dumb punk rockers. We’ve made our own rules, and it’s worked out.”
“Easy street is miles up the road for us,” says Loveday. “You know what they say, ‘Every overnight success is ten years of hard work.’ We’re here at eleven years. We’re starting to see the benefits of all that shit. All those shitty shows, all the crazy stuff that we thought would never come back. People are starting to take notice. Now it’s like, if you have anything left in you, you have the gas to keep going. Because now, people are actually watching.”
Online: renodivorceband.com.
Category: Buzzworthy
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