Rival Schools: Reunited by Fate (and possibly monetary compensation)

If you’ve ever gone through middle school (and I hope that you have; it’s quite informative), you’ve inevitably run into people who completely, utterly defined cool - like Mr. Cool Ice above. These weren’t necessarily those who embodied trends, nor were they those who were incredibly popular (or even those who radically opposed popularity). Those deemed cool in middle school probably aren’t too far off of those who currently define cool; they were the people who intuitively knew where to be and when to be there. They’re those who just happened upon fantastic taste in music, literature, art, or whatever it is that middle schoolers value. And, in even in retrospect, those who embodied cool (and no, I’m not speaking of Lupe Fiasco, but he’s alright, I guess) stood the test of time: in the years since middle school, they might have gotten a job, accidentally impregnated someone, or they might have become frighteningly right wing; but, even in your ripe middle-age, you’d still respect the fact that, at age 12, these people were visionaries. And they probably continue to manufacture cool on a daily basis, much as Anal Cunt have been defining and re-defining cool in their 20-odd years of excellence.

I’m convinced that the most admirably cool people (and God, this is really embarrassing to write about) possessed intuition. I’m convinced that intuition is the absolute key to being cool. Effort and cool are polar opposites; I can’t think of a single person who has tried to be cool and has actually succeeded. I’m convinced that it’s just not possible.

That being said, I can’t think of a cooler genre than hardcore – and this truly, truly baffles me. Of course, I am entirely impartial to hardcore – it’s a genre that I grew up with, and still follow semi-closely to this day. But hardcore never really struck me as cool; rather, it just seems interesting. Hardcore, as a subculture, has chosen an interesting set of memes in its almost 40-year history: as a sampling, hardcore trending the 90s-2000s alone chose abstinence, animal rights, sneaker obsession, and fixed gear cycling. For most, there’s only a certain degree of cool allocated to each of these trends (and none to abstinence – really), but it’s simply just more interesting that a specific group of angry music listeners decided on these trends.

And, if we’re to examine the demographics of hardcore music fans, it strays even further from cool. Pockets of hardcore typically develop far outside of what most would consider centres of cultural production; hardcore thrives in places like Connecticut and Brockville, ON. Not exactly meccas of ‘cool’ (but, it should be stated: completely awesome places).

Yet, somehow, it seems like musicians coming from a hardcore background simply perform cool better than most. I’m of the belief that some of the best bands in rock n’ roll are graduates of hardcore. The Adored – an excellent new wave / brit-pop mashup, with an EP under their belts featuring Buzzcocks vocalist Pete Shelley – boasts members of LA straight edge band Carry On. Renee Heartfelt, who were a dreamy, almost shoe-gazy, post-punk band harbours ex-members of American Nightmare and Striking Distance. Ian Mackaye, following his days in Minor Threat, went on to change the face of indie rock with Fugazi, and still continues his strong musical career with the the Evens. Hell, even Moby was active in hardcore in the early 80s as a member of the Vatican Commandos (who I’ve never heard, but I can assume were a complete babe-magnet of a band).

Which brings us to Walter Schreifels – a man who I’ve personally anointed as the most underrated songwriter in rock n’ roll. Schreifels CV lists membership in Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits – two notable bands who were certainly popular in suburban Connecticut – but it’s entirely his post-hardcore career which is the most intriguing. From Quicksand, to Walking Concert, to Rival Schools, Schreifels' career has spanned from proto-metal to power pop; and while such genre-hopping is not usually advised for most musicians, Schreifels just isn’t most musicians. Each Schreifels-related project is drastically different from the previous without seeming contrived, and each is effortlessly amazing; I still can’t decide which is my favourite Schreifels project.

So, needless to say, I’m extremely pleased that Schreifels has decided to reunite his initial post-Quicksand project, Rival Schools. Brooklynvegan posted a recent interview with Rival Schools last week, and you can check that out here. Per the interview, it looks like they're going to be a band beyond playing reunion shows (unlike Gorilla Biscuits), original guitarist Ian Love is returning, and they are, indeed, playing a few shows in early November in the Northeast (does anyone want to drive me?).

So, in tribute to Walter Schreifels (and my giant man-crush on him), here are several videos I’ve mined detailing his career – including an incredible acoustic solo track that should console just about any bike theft victim. Enjoy!

Gorilla Biscuits - Stand Still

Quicksand - Dine Alone

Rival Schools - Used for Glue

Walking Concert - What's Your New Thing?

Walter Schreifels - The Bicycle Song