Interview by Anselm Anderson
Rambling Man's Reviews returns with the first of many interviews by speaking with Chigger A.K.A Tim Louie, the Rahway bassist. The band have recently released 'Rocketship', the latest of several singles from the band.
I grabbed an opportunity to speak with the bassist about the new single, their upcoming EP, and which famous rock star came up with the band name.
Please scroll down to read the full interview.
Interview with Anselm from Rambling Man.
Good morning, could you introduce yourself to the readers?
Good morning! My name is Chigger a.k.a. Tim Louie and I’m the bass player for the band Rahway.
Could you tell me about Rahway and how they came to be?
Rahway was started by the brothers, David (guitars) and Steve (drummer) Cardenas. They used to be
called Sun until producer Jack Douglas, who was also producing Aerosmith at the time, let Aerosmith
frontman Steven Tyler listen to a few tracks. Steven Tyler dug the songs and asked the band’s name.
He thought Sun was terrible and asked where the band was from. Jack Douglas responded with
“Rahway, NJ.” Steven Tyler said, “Why don’t they just call the band Rahway?” So, the name stuck
through quite a few singers until they rescued singer Nick Hade from the obscurities of the Jersey
music scene. When their original bass player decided to leave the band for Florida, the brothers
enlisted an old friend to fill out the bottom end…..ME! Now, they won’t let me leave!
You are described as ‘The Slumlords of New Jersey, could you elaborate further on what that
means for Rahway?
The name just seemed to come up in another interview like this one and I used the moniker to
describe the band and it kind of stuck. We started using it for everything. Our producer, Mike
Orlando said, “Why don’t you just title the CD Slumlords of New Jersey?” So, we just went with it.
Plus, if you really knew the band, we are kind of “slumlordy,” so the moniker kind of fits!
Your music is best described as ‘Industrial’ and has been compared to bands like Godsmack,
Motley Crue and Led Zeppelin, how would you describe your sound?
I don’t know if I would say Industrial. When I think of Industrial, I think of bands like Ministry, Static
X, Fear Factory, etc. We like that we fit in line with Godsmack, Motley and Zep. Those are our
influences. I think our sound really makes all body parts move, so I like to call it Body Rock! But if I
had to pick, we’re just a rock ‘n’ roll band.
Rahway recently released ‘Rocketship’, what can you tell readers about the meaning behind the
track?
There are no hidden meanings behind our songs. We like to let our listeners, fans, friends, family, and
whoever comes up with their own meanings for our songs. What I think “Rocketship” is about is following your dreams, forgetting the past, and breaking through to bigger things.
Your songwriting has been described as “innovative and Ever-Revolving", what can you tell me
about it, and, on ‘Rocketship’?
“Innovative and Ever-Revolving”? Hahahaha! Not sure about that! We’re definitely not reinventing
the wheel. Our drummer, Steve usually comes in with riff ideas that he hums to his brother or
records onto his phone and plays them to us at a rehearsal. We figure out the notes he’s humming
and he already has the melody and sometimes lyrics in his head, we collaborate the ideas together
and by the end of rehearsal, we have a new song. Sometimes it’s me or David who comes up with an
interesting riff and as a band, we collaborate to create a new song. For “Rocketship,” David came to
rehearsal with this riff idea and how he wanted the hook to sound, very open and anthemic. Our
singer Nick Hade took David’s idea and penned the lyrics, while we crafted the rest of the song. We
knew we had something special the minute we started to strum any chords. Sometimes, we just feel
it. See? Nothing innovative here…..Ever-evolving? Yes. Our songwriting as a band has certainly
evolved as we tend to finish each other's sentences now and that is something special when you’re in
a band together.
You have released several great singles in the form of ‘Carry You' ‘Drowning’, and ‘Cats Away'
What can you tell me about those singles?
As of now, we’ve only released “Carry You” and “Rocketship.” We plan to release “Drowning” this
summer with an incredible new video that we recently filmed at a Haunted House in Staten Island,
NY. That was creepy as hell! “Cats Away” has been changed in title to “Pain In My Ass,” and we’re
not sure if that will be released as a single or not, but it sure will be fun to film a video for that one.
“Carry You” and “Rocketship” really came out swinging and helped us carry over the momentum
we’ve created for ourselves from the Slumlords of New Jersey EP. See? Songwriting
evolution…..Writing better songs!
Will these singles contribute to your new EP, which is due out this year?
Absolutely! These songs will be on our next EP, tentatively titled, Sounds of Spanktown. Before you
let that mind wander into the gutter, which is what we expect, Spanktown was the name of the
town of Rahway during the Revolutionary War. Google it! So, there is a bit of history attached to the
title as well as sounding dirty! We are shooting for a September / October release date.
You have supported bands like Buckcherry, Slash, Three Days Grace, and Godsmack, they are some
incredible bands to open for. How did that experience impact the band and your career?
We’re always students of the game. We made our connections with these bands, we watched how
they carried themselves backstage, and it made us a more professional band because of it. We even
got a standing ovation backstage from the guys of Greta Van Fleet after our performance opening
for them. We’re not by any means the biggest band in New Jersey, but if you come to a Rahway
“Family Reunion,” we certainly act like we’re the biggest band in NJ. Not on an egotistical level, but
on a professional level. There are no egos in this band except for our roadies. They definitely think
about who they are.
Do you think it helps a band when they are able to get support slots like these?
I do. When you get support slots opening for these bigger national acts, you’re performing in front of
thousands of people as opposed to the two to three hundred cap rooms that you would normally be
playing in. Playing a support role in these bigger venues gives you a taste of the big leagues and we
like the big leagues, so hopefully that taste becomes a meal very soon!
Do you plan to do further touring?
Yes, we do. We’re currently working with a booking agent, who plans to put us on the road in
support of our upcoming new EP. Where we’ll be playing still remains to be seen, but the plan is to
tour to support the new music.
And finally, what are the future aspirations for Rahway?
Future aspirations include growing our fanbase, making new friends in the process, hitting the road,
and playing the other side of the US and outside of the US. We just want to play and make people smile
and throw their panties at us!
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You can find a link to the 'Rocketship' music video via the Rahway YouTube channel below
