Roll of the Dice: 9 questions with Early Riser

Brooklyn’s cello-driven rockers Early Risers just released their record, Big Life, on Asbestos Records. Before heading to Gainesville this weekend to perform at Fest, vocalist Kiri Oliver and cellist Heidi Vanderlee were kind enough to spend some time with TGEFM discussing the new record, their sound and what the future holds.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congratulations on the release of  “Big Life” Let’s start it off by talking a little bit about how this album came into existence. What was going on at the time that helped kickstart and influence the songwriting process?

Kiri: When I wrote the first couple of songs for it (“Beetlejuice” and “Second Avenue Forever”), it was deep into COVID lockdown in 2020. So those came from a place of being extremely isolated and thinking about different people I wasn’t in touch with anymore. Then as the writing came along through 2023, I balanced out the theme of isolation with the other half of the songs about wanting connection and appreciating the people you’re close to. 

What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do”  Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?

Kiri: At the point in high school where I realized I wanted to write songs, I was into ska-punk and my favorite band was Less Than Jake, especially the album Hello Rockview. So my very first songs were kind of ripping them off. I remember I wrote one called “Silent Treatment” and the chorus was just a horn riff…because the person wasn’t saying anything. I thought it was very clever at the time. 

We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?

Kiri: I wish we had known when we started out that we had to be our own experts on and advocates for our live sound. A lot of local sound people who usually deal with rock bands have never done sound for a band with a cello, or one that’s led by two acoustic instruments. So we had a bunch of early shows that were just terrible because of the sound, like for example there would be feedback during the whole set and the sound person was just like “Sorry, I don’t know what to do about that” and we didn’t either. We eventually talked to some engineers we trusted and figured out what we needed to do to avoid that. 

What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences as a touring musician so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?

Kiri: One of our absolute favorite shows was at the Luna Theater, an old movie theater in Lowell, MA, with The Homeless Gospel Choir. They let us pick a movie to screen along with our sets, and we picked Rock ‘n’ Roll High School. Another favorite was when we played a pool party at Avery Mandeville’s (of Little Hag) house in New Jersey. We were in the pool for several hours before we played, and during our set people were doing flips into the pool. It felt like an epic party in a 90s teen movie. 

The music world has also changed a lot over the last few years.  What are some of the biggest industry changes you’ve come across in your time within the scene?

Kiri: A lot changed during and after the pandemic. So many venues closed, and it’s gotten much harder and more competitive to book the ones that are left. There was also a shift where a lot of younger bands started promoting themselves online and blowing up that way before they even started playing shows, which feels so strange to me coming from the DIY scene where everyone starts out by building a local community in person. But I’ve also found there is a nice community of punk and indie bands on TikTok, which can translate into real-world connections too. 

Our youngest daughter is named Sierra after the Cursive track with Greta Cohn’s killer cello arrangements. Her elementary school band didn’t offer cello as an instrument, how did Heidi get into the instrument? What do you think it will take to improve and diversify the early music education programs in the US or is it all up to the parents to enroll in private lessons?

Heidi: In elementary school we were offered the choice between learning to play a stringed instrument or a wind instrument. They let us test out instruments to decide. I don’t really remember my thinking at the time (I was 9 so it was a very long time ago), but I’m guessing I didn’t want to put my mouth on anything someone else had. Out of the stringed instruments, the cello produced the nicest sound in my attempt to play it, whereas violin and viola were screechy and the upright bass was way too big for me to imagine toting it around. My mom was also a music teacher in the school district at the time, so it wasn’t so much a question of IF I would play an instrument, but more like, which instrument I would play.

Kiri: As an aside, that’s amazing you named your daughter “Sierra” after the Cursive song! I was huge into Cursive when The Ugly Organ came out, and that song has one of the best climactic singalongs ever. 

Heidi: I don’t think it needs to be an either/or choice. On a macro level, it would mean American public schools and honestly, American culture in general valuing the performing arts as much as they do sports programs. I’m not too optimistic about that changing anytime soon, but it doesn’t have to be that way forever. In a lot of instances, it really is up to the parents! But not only in the way you mentioned. Joining the school board means you have more of a say over how the school district’s funds are spent. You can also make sure you’re supporting local candidates and politicians who value public school music education (everyone from your town supervisor to your Congressmember). Push back against public-private partnerships like charter schools, which can receive local, state and federal funding that would normally go to public schools, despite having very little oversight from any form of government. And finally, consider starting a booster club for the music education program at your school (or towards starting a program if it doesn’t exist). Should the music program already be funded by your taxes? Yes. Will that happen right away? No, and especially not without concerted efforts towards change.

One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?

Kiri: Our friends Little Hag from the aforementioned pool party put out an amazing album this year – they’re hard to define, but it’s like super fierce alt rock-electropop and they will blow you away live. One of the other best live bands we know is Mercy Union from New Jersey, which is fronted by Jared Hart from The Scandals and has a nostalgic post-hardcore vibe that gives me all the feels. And if you’re into power pop with hooks for days, two other bands we love are The Blackburns (mem. Plow United) from Philly and Sorry Darling from Brooklyn. 

What’s next for Early Riser?

Kiri: We’re playing Fest this year (October 26, 10:40pm at The Wooly). Next year, I’d love to play a bunch of festivals and make it out to some areas we haven’t gotten to before like the Midwest. 

Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?

Kiri: Thanks so much for giving us a chance to share about our music and our experiences! It would mean the world to us if everyone reading this would check out our new album Big Life and come sing along at a show sometime. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 

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Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.