-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
Idaho Indie band Finn Riggins to Invade the SUB Tuesday
Evan Westerfield, Journalist
Comments
Story
The Concerts on Campus series will bring local bands Finn Riggins and Spondee to the SUB for a concert Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
The music of headliner Finn Riggins is an eclectic hybrid of styles from Prog-rock to Indie. Their songs are multi-layered, complicated compositions pushing the boundaries of simple rock formatting. On top of their compositional eccentricities, Finn Riggins also writes catchy highbrow tunes. Their last album “Vs. Wilderness” includes two songs about Marie Antoinette and a song about Salvador Dali.
“The song “Battle” on our new album (Vs. Wilderness) is a song that’s been in the family for a long time,” said Eric Gilbert, who plays a bevy of keyboard instruments, sampler, and guitar in the band.
According to Gilbert, the song was originally written for a band called Bunnycuss that the three band members were in before forming Finn Riggins.
“The song came out of a jam between Mark, Cam and I. Mark wrote the wacky lyrics for it one day. It’s apparently about his grandma and a boot-shaped chicken nugget, which is awesome and makes total sense,” he said.
Finn Riggins is comprised of a trio of music grads from the University of Idaho: Cameron Bouiss, Lisa Simpson, and Eric Gilbert.
“We all loved going to school in Moscow,” Gilbert said. “We all started playing music because we loved it and were essentially seduced by it.”
Gilbert said they haven’t been the same since. The goals for the band are big, but not in a typical sell-a-ton-of albums way.
Finn Riggins, seen pre and post ‘pupa’ stage, with Eric and Cameron before the silk thread cocoon and Lisa having emerged with her adult wings. Courtesy of Finn Riggins
“We are in this to do good deeds in our community, make a difference in the cultural fabric of our towns and country, help encourage people to get out of their houses and hang out with each other face to face and maybe even dance a little.”
The experience of Finn Riggins music is one of sounds being yoked together to create adventurous music. The lyrics at times are drowned out by the instruments, until a single, witty line emerges to reinvigorate the composition—as the case is in “Antoinette Pt. 1”.
In other songs when traditional rock would call for a virtuosic guitar solo, Finn Riggins instead slips into the harsh noise of repetitious guitar feedback in “Furs”. In a style paralleling Modest Mouse’s pre-major label sound.
The band formed in August 2006 when the three of the moved from Moscow to Hailey.
“We formed Finn Riggins to pursue being in a touring rock band full time,” said Gilbert. “It was post-college for all of us.”
Since Finn Riggins’ formation in 2006 the band has become the epitome of the DIY—Do It Yourself—mentality. Since their inception they have toured relentlessly and recorded their last album, Vs. Wilderness in AudioLab studio, a branch of Idaho’s Visual Arts Collective.
Outside of music, the band’s interest are as varying as their musical sound.
“We all like to travel and explore new places,” Gilbert said. “Lisa likes film. Cam likes to ski. I’m pretty much one-track minded and spend myself around music all the time. I also like to fish. We all like the outdoors and that’s a big reason why we still live in Idaho. We love living in Boise and being a part of its growing music scene.”
For information, check out Finn Riggins Web site at FinnRiggins.com.
Thank you for writing this article. The Student Programs Board is very excited to bring Finn Riggins. We expect a large turnout!
Should be AWESOME!