The Setlist & The Script

Picture the scene – a cold night in York at the incredible Forty Five Vinyl cafe. Katy Hurt has just played a stunning set of country tunes and Harrison Rimmer is a week away from the biggest show of his career supporting Frank Turner. Got it in your mind? Great – well after the show our editor Adam Graver caught up with Harrison to chat all things new record, the importance of music in this world, mental health and much more. With a brand new album due for release on April 11th, Harrison is someone we feel like we can truly call a friend here at The Front Row and can’t wait for the release. Read on to find out just why we love him so much!

Adam: So you have a new record, album number two, Cheaper Than Therapy – talk to me about the process of making this record.

Harrison: Album two… it’s been a real slog this time around. I started this album literally the week after finishing album one. We had some songs that I’d been sitting on from album one that I wasn’t using, so I started working on them for album two. Then life happened, basically. A friend of mine pulled me aside and said, “Harrison, you should consider going to therapy.” I was like, “No, I’m going to record now; it’s cheaper than therapy,” and that’s where the album title came from. We’ve got a whole variety of styles on this one – trying country, a few other things – so yeah, it’s been positive.

Adam: Every artist I interview says everything goes into record one, so how hard is it to put out record number two after the first one comes out?

Harrison: Record one took ten years to make, album two was very quick. I feel like it’s my rawest record to date because it’s so in the moment. The songs were written as they happened, like the song Be Reyt, which is about my friend sadly passing away. It talks about the friendship we had with him and mental health. Then songs like Cold are about having my first panic attack, which was in 2022. The second half of that song came two years later and it all just came out of me. The album’s been like a slow turning of a valve, letting it all out. But definitely, album one was ten years of stuff, and this time I thought I’d just be more in the moment with the writing. I know it sounds cliché, but I genuinely was. For example, Dave’s House is a fun song about drinking with Dave and touring with him. I actually wrote that song on a steering wheel, just tapping the drum beat as I drove, and that’s how the song came together.

Adam: A bit of a different writing process to ten years in the making, then. The obvious question is, what’s next? Where do you see album three coming from?

Harrison: Currently, album three is my “tunnel of love” record. Album two has heavy undertones with my journey through therapy and mental health, while also exploring themes from album one. Album one I describe as the fun album because I was engaged at the time, but album two, sadly, didn’t work out. Album three is six songs in, and it feels more like the singles album – songs are more chilled about life. In its current state, it’s the “singles fun album,” a coming-of-age record, really.

Adam: I agree, and when you’re 21/22, you think the next ten years are going to be great, but in reality, they can be quite tough. From a mental health perspective and therapy, in a weird and wonderful way, that can create some amazing songwriting.

Harrison: Not wrong. So, the way I describe being put through crap in life is like flowers. With flowers, you have a garden, right? And these flowers are little seeds in the ground. There are songs, and you plant them like seeds, but sometimes, for flowers to grow, you need to cover them in shit. But that’s life, you know? That happened with Tough Love from album two, which came after a night out in Manchester. I was mourning the relationship I had, and I sacrifice a lot to do this job – missing funerals, birthdays, weddings, you name it, just to tour. I was reflecting when my friend said, “Shut up, we’re going out and getting destroyed.” I woke up with the worst hangover, staring out at the city of Manchester with my guitar, and I just started singing a verse. It poured out and it felt great. That song came together like that.

Adam: When you’ve got so many personal influences in your music, do you still take influence from other artists, or is it all just you?

Harrison: I do draw influence from a lot of other people – Frank Turner, Springsteen, Nirvana – they all influence me.

Adam: To what extent, though? Is it the songwriting, the musicianship, where do those influences actually impact your songs?

Harrison: It’s all about feel. The vibe of the tracks, the guitar sounds, the way the music wraps around you. It’s all about feel.

Adam: For someone who performs predominantly on your own, how hard is it to get your sound across live when you record with a band?

Harrison: I feel as though the energy of my delivery works. In my head, there are these massive amps when I’m performing, and I try to bring that energy out with my guitar. To give those songs justice, I need to pour every ounce of myself into them. I notice in some songs recently that I’ve actually had to take a breather because I’m just putting everything into it. No matter where it is – a petrol station in Queensland or a huge town hall – I give it my all because, at the end of the day, I need to.

Adam: You never know who’s in the room, do you? And you play every show like you’re on the Pyramid Stage. That must be deliberate wherever you are?

Harrison: 100%. There’s this piece of advice I always remember, and I hate to name-drop, but I was having a pint with Mark Chadwick from The Levellers, and he said, “You see those people who’ve paid money to see you? Don’t mess with them.” I remember going to a gig in 2010 with Three Doors Down, and Seether was supporting them. I was so disappointed with their set, and I walked out of the venue thinking, “I’m never going to do that to my fans. They’ve paid their money, times are hard, and if someone is willing to give you their time and money, you give it your all.”

Adam: As we’re talking, you’re about to play and open for Frank Turner. Getting ready for that must be stressful, right? How do you prepare for an opportunity like that?

Harrison: It’s like a Rocky montage! For me, I see it as a blessing. I know there are people in that room who can perform better than me, are better songwriters than me, but I have the opportunity and I need to honour my craft and the people who’ve supported me. I just have to give it my all. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I focus on the show, treat it as another gig, and it’s allowed me to reflect. Frank changed my life in a lot of ways. I was too folk for punk and too punk for folk, but I saw him in Darlington once, and I thought, “You can do that on an acoustic guitar? Dude, I can do this.”

Adam: You’re about to support Frank. Who’s the dream support, though?

Harrison: Springsteen. Has to be Springsteen. He’s the guy who’s been the rock in my family all my life. He has this pure love for music, and I love that.

Adam: The record is out on 11th April. What’s the realistic goal for the record?

Harrison: I want it to connect with people. That record saved my life; I won’t say much, but my producer called me when I was planning something, and he just asked, “What’s the plan for tomorrow?” I looked at my phone when he was reeling off plans, and yeah, it saved my life. I want it to inspire a conversation. There’s a song on there called Be Reyt about my friend Luke – it’s about grief, and I want it to resonate with men and inspire a conversation because we’re so rubbish at it. It’s hard to have those conversations, and it’s why I always make the point of asking, “Are you okay?” to people. I owe it to the songs and the people who’ve inspired the record to make this a meaningful one. I think I owe them a good record.

Adam: Deep question: for someone like you, would you rather influence one person than 1,000?

Harrison: I’ve had weird moments in my career where people have covered my music. There was this one moment when a kid walked into my dad’s shop and said, “I love I Am On Fire; can I learn the chords?” It felt like passing it down through generations, and it was so cool.

Adam: What does that song actually mean to you? It’s the singalong at every gig – what’s the significance of that, eight years on?

Harrison: It’s the song that started it all for me, really. It means a lot. It’s the song people know the most, the most requested, the most covered. It’s a song with a weird history, but it allowed me to open up and to a new audience. It laid the format out for the last five years.

Adam: But it would have been easy to replicate that in the last eight years, and you haven’t. Why that one?

Harrison: That’s a really good question. I think because I want to push myself as a writer. Songs like Cold or Dave’s House you can sing along to, but there’s more substance there. It’s about mental health, but I just want people to sing along because it means something.

Adam: Last question: I don’t know many people who work harder than you. There’ll be a lot of people who are good at what they do, but they give up. What’s made you not give up?

Harrison: It’s never got old. I love it. I love being able to jump in a car and just drive. My hometown is a small peninsula town full of cover bands. It’s famous for two things – Fleetwood Folk Festival and Alfie Boe. There are some good artists, but I never really aspired to stick around too long. I go back to cleanse my soul and be on the beach by the sea. For me, there’s a drive to see more of the world, and music is that tool. When I have kids, I’ll pass music onto them – I won’t force them, but my love of music will be passed on for sure. I can’t see anything but music in my life. It’s been my grace, my salvation, and the thing that has made me happiest. It doesn’t matter what you listen to, there are only 14 notes on the planet, and you can connect either through gospel, R&B, or country. As long as you feel something, it’s magical. I just love feeling energy. The fact that when you walk into a venue, the door closes, and all the bullshit in the world disappears – in that moment, you’re being given the gift of someone expressing their soul, and it’s real.

Adam: Let’s round off. Let’s imagine we’re having this conversation in 20 years’ time. What’s the bucket list?

Harrison: I’d love to be playing theatres on a regular basis. I’ll be 52, so I’d like to have played theatres. The Apollo is the big one for me, and anything bigger than that is just the cherry on top. I love the bar circuit, but yeah, 20 years from now, I’d love to be a dad, keep touring relentlessly, and I don’t see much more than that. Yeah, dad, bigger venues, touring. It’s just fun. I love it. I just don’t want it to end.

Harrison’s new record is out on April 11th and is available to order on vinyl here!