Rival Schools

  • New York, NY
    hometown
  • Rock
    genre
  • 1999
    started
  • Bio
    full story
  • Share
  • Similar
Close

About Rival Schools


Born out of a hearty hardcore pedigree, the members of Rival Schools stepped to the plate with a phenomenal history and the qualities that would point towards an amazing future. Singer and guitarist Walter Schreifels began making waves as the guitarist for '80s hardcore pioneers Gorilla Biscuits and then went on to influence the entire post-hardcore movement with his influential work in Quicksand, as well as production for acts like CIV and Hot Water Music. Drummer Sam Siegler has seen almost as much in his day, performing with an impressive list of bands that includes Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Judge, Shelter, CIV, and Glassjaw before finding his place in Rival Schools. Guitarist Ian Love honed his chops in NY's Burn and Die 116, and bassist Cache "Utah Slim" Tolman is an alumni of exploratory jazz metalloids Iceburn, as well as a former bandmate of Siegler in CIV. With such an expansive amount of experience, it was only natural that these musicians would find their common bonds and create a new group that took their collective talents to even greater heights.

Coming together in the first year of the new century, the group quickly gained a reputation for powerful rock before they even started to record. Combing the live intensity of Quicksand with more exploratory guitars and a newly melodic singing approach from Schreifels, Rival School took the urgency of the new metal trend and gave it a solid heart and a thoughtful mind. In an age when music was becoming dominated by completely unbelievable faux rock, the band disposed of clichés and focused on unbiased creativity. In an even more adventurous move, the group decided to make their first release something of a concept record and turned to Schreifels' own label, NY's Some Records, for the project. The idea was to start up a series of EPs wherein multiple groups would combine to create a single band, and Rival Schools looked no further than former Far frontman, current Onelinedrawing member, future New End Original singer, and sometimes touring partner Jonah Matranga to complete the equation. The resulting EP, Rival Schools United By Onelinedrawing, saw the band's initial excitement explode onto record with tracks like "Take One for the Team" and "Contraire," but the best was still to come. With allegiances to Island Records still existing from Schreifels' Quicksand days, the label scooped up the band's upcoming music, and summer 2001 saw the release of their first full-length LP, United By Fate. The record is a powerful document with adventurous songwriting, explosive energy, and melodically abrasive guitars, results that anyone who was paying attention should have been expecting all along.

The wheels began to come off shortly afterwards in 2002 when Ian Love left the group to focus on his side-project, Cardia. The rest of the band plugged away on a second album, but the group dissolved the following year amidst rumors that a second album was on the way. (It was finally officially released by the band in 2013 as Found.) After going their separate ways, Rival Schools reunited again in 2008 and hit the European festival circuit before heading back into the studio to begin working on their sophomore effort in earnest. After a decade of anticipation, Pedals finally arrived in 2011. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo, Rovi

Scroll up Scroll down

Music

From position 0, showing 2 items, asking 10
See All
  • Shot After Shot
    rival-schools
    Video
    Shot After Shot
  • Used For Glue
    rival-schools
    Video
    Used For Glue
  • 60303
    SoundStream
    SoundStream
    song name
    0:00
    Audio powered by
    All the music you want, just 10 bucks a month. Try it free.
    • Wring it Out
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/3/4/5/8/5/384158543.mp3
    • Undercovers On
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/4/1/5/9/2/938329514.mp3
    • Small Doses
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/3/6/6/8/5/384158663.mp3
    • The Ghost Is Out There
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/4/2/5/8/5/384158524.mp3
    • Eyes Wide Open
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/8/3/8/5/384158388.mp3
    • Big Waves
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/2/6/5/8/5/384158562.mp3

Photos

From position 0, showing 1 items, asking 10
See All
  • Island
    Rival Schools
    Island
    Terry Richardson

News

From position 0, showing 6 items, asking 10
See All
  • Rival Schools
    Reunited Rival Schools Plot U.S. Tour
    www.billboard.com
    Following a host of summer European shows, reunited New York rock outfit Rival Schools is plotting its first U.S. tour in five years. Dates begin Oct....
    Read More
  • Rival Schools
    Watch: Rival Schools' Walter Schreifels acoustic set
    www.drownedinsound.com
    Walter Schreifels is commonly remembered as the fellow who founded Rival Schools back in 1999. We all know what happened there. Since they split up an...
    Read More
  • Rival Schools
    Watch: Rival Schools' Walter Schreifels acoustic set
    www.drownedinsound.com
    Schreifels is commonly remembered as the fellow who founded Rival Schools back in 1999. We all know what happened there. Since they split up and more ...
    Read More
  • Rival Schools
    NYC: Win Tickets To Rival Schools, Weezer, AWOLNATION
    prefixmag.com
    Hey NYC! We've got another big ticket giveaway. On July 16, Rival Schools, Weezer, and AWOLNATION will be playing at the Williamsburg Waterfront. We h...
    Read More
  • Rival Schools
    Rival Schools Roar About 'Indisposable Heroes' - Song Premiere
    music.yahoo.com
    RELATED CONTENTView Photo Rival Schools Roar About 'Indisposable Heroes' - Song PremiereView Photo Rival Schools Roar About 'Indisposable Heroes' - So...
    Read More
  • Rival Schools
    Rival Schools Roar About 'Indisposable Heroes' - Song Premiere
    www.rollingstone.com
    Click to listen to Rival Schools' 'Indisposable Heroes' Back in 2003, guitarist Ian Love parted ways with the New York post-hardcore outfit Rival Scho...
    Read More

Discography

From position 0, showing 2 items, asking 10
See All
  • Pedals (2011)
    Rival Schools
    Pedals (2011)
    Photo Finish Records
  • United by Fate (2001)
    Rival Schools
    United by Fate (2001)
    Island Records
Are You Rival Schools? Claim this page | Learn more about Artists.MTV | FAQ for Artists
Rival Schools Bio | Rival Schools Music | Rival Schools News | Rival Schools Discography |
MTV | MTV Jobs | Privacy Policy | User Content Agreement | Copyright | Artist Index | Social Projects Agreements | Ad Choices |
Portions of this page powered by
This site contains content from artists, fans, and writers from around the internet in it's natural form. Such content is not representative of Viacom Media Networks.

©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

  • Explore
    • Popular
    • Emerging
    • Genres
      • Rock
      • Hip Hop
      • Indie
      • Electronic/EDM
      • Country
      • Pop
    • Collections
    • Artist To Watch
  • Search
  • Are you an artist?
    • Claim Your Page
    • Learn More
    • FAQ
    • Opportunities