Meet Jordan Rivers of Rivers And Suns in Los Feliz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Rivers.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Malibu, CA and from a young age, writing lyrics and poetry became my best way to cope with my flurry of emotions. I lost my father when I was 15, and desperately craved a way to express myself. I found that curling up with my journal was the rawest and purest way I could find to truly give my feelings the voice they deserved.

I began diving deep into my dad’s old record collection and found myself getting lost in the sounds of Queen, The Stones, Procal Harem, The Band, The Who, and U2. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the 1985 LiveAid footage, I felt like I was right there in the audience and I was forever hooked. U2’s performance spoke to me loudly. I don’t know if it was the Edge’s hypnotizing guitar riffs, Bono’s mullet or the way Bono jumped into the audience but I knew right then, and there I wanted to make music for the rest of my life.

I went out to The Guitar Center that weekend and bought a Stratocaster just like The Edge, and the beginning stages of Rivers And Suns started. I ended up moving to Mexico when I was 21. Being an LA native, I think I needed to shake things up a bit and get inspiration elsewhere to really appreciate all that LA has to offer. I ended up spending six years in Mexico, learning the language, falling in love with the culture and writings songs and stories all along the way.

Upon returning, I had a whole new found love for LA and all it has to offer to all its many artists and musicians. I moved to the East Side, being a West Side girl my whole life it was quite the change. I was inspired with my new found rhythm of life, and I began bringing my guitar out and playing art shows, coffee houses and solo shows in bars all over LA.

After a few attempts of recording my music with different producers, I finally met Julien Baptiste, of the LA band Ivy Wood (From playing on the same bill as him at The Viper Room) and it felt like magic. He got me, and what I was trying to do. I am not a trained musician and/or vocalist, but I have a passion and a story that needed to be told.

When it comes to writing my music, I only know a song will work if I can go deep into myself to truly tell the truest version of my story, even though that can be quite painful at times. I’ve written of my unlucky draws with love, some of foolish mistakes and losses in life. But Julien really helped me dive deep into my story, my bluesy voice and folksy riffs and bring in new elements and sounds that have given my music the voice it truly deserved.

I began playing with an incredibly talented band, and that allowed me to experiment more with performing and not having to hide behind my instrument for my whole set. And over the past year, Rivers And Suns has really come together.

Mike Stuart on guitar, Leanne Bowes on bass, Dennis Nilsson on drums and Taryn Lounsbury on cello. These guys have made it so the songs can completely come to life on stage, and we all have become a family and have a blast together on and off the stage. We released our debut music video for our single Crooked Mind in August and are preparing to release our next single, followed by our debut EP. We can’t wait to share it with you all!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t know if any road can really ever be that smooth, there have definitely been quite a few bumps in my mine, to say the least. But one thing I have learned on this journey is that I had to live all those bumps to get to where I am today.

Unfortunately, there are many people in this world that promise you a lot and can’t deliver, and it ends up just wasting everyone’s time. After having my band for three years now, I can finally say I have a producer who I can trust and who is incredibly talented. I have a band who are wizards at their instruments and are reliable and always deliver. But that was not an easy road to get to. I worked with a producer for a long time who never delivered me a finished recording, and it set me back and brought me down. I had countless people who promised me and my music the world and nothing ever came of it. Unfortunately, so many of those people were just in it for the wrong reasons.

But even in those times, I had to always remember why I was doing what I was doing in the first place. I loved music, I loved to play and write, and as long as I could continue doing that, I knew everything would have to work out the way it was meant to. Only good things could come from staying true to my art, but it still was going to take a lot of hard work and patience. And I know it may never be smooth sailing from here, there are still some tidal waves yet to come I’m sure, but as long as I can still find clarity to sit down in a quiet space with my guitar and write a new song, it’s worth all the bumps in the world. It always will be and always has been about the music, first and foremost!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are Rivers And Suns, a folk-rock band from Los Angeles. Our songs have vintage and rugged vocal stylings which are layered over folksy guitar and heart-wrenching cello that bring our sound a humbling uniqueness. We have been referenced to The Kills, Mazzy Star and The White Stripes.

I would say I am most proud of how we got to where we are. I never studied music and have memories from childhood of people telling me I wasn’t good enough and wouldn’t make it. But that never seemed to stop me.

I could always hear a guitar from a mile away and would run over to sing alongside it. I went from playing coffee houses to playing The El Rey theatre in only one year. And the only way we did that is through persistence, a lot of practice and an undeniable love for the music we make. If you want something hard enough, anything is possible!

What were you like growing up?
I was a complete and utter hippie! I always thought I was born in the wrong time and wished I was a flower child in the sixties, traveling the country being a groupie for Zeppelin and The Beatles. Growing up in Malibu, I loved going down to the beach with my fathers 1967 Alvarez, a bundle of bright colored markers and a notepad. I could spend countless hours, drawing, playing guitar and writing music. But that all helped me to be the musician I am today.

I always loved music that was not from my time, and that certainly helped me to define the sound I have today. There are clear references to the greats, Zeppelin, The Stones, Bob Dylan, etc. in some of my songs. And even now I sometimes wish I go back to the generations from before my time and experience it all for myself, Liveaid 1985 at Wembly Stadium to be precise!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.riversandsuns.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riversandsuns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiversandSuns/

Image Credit: Rhivanz

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