The rockers that make up Rare Americans are up-and-comers─ but you’d never even know it. The Canadian punk rock band may as well consist of seasoned professionals judging by their latest single and video, “Same Boat We Row.”
Watch the video here.
The song is an honest commentary on life and death, and the accompanying video complements it beautifully, combining old family photos and scenes of frontman James Priestner with his nephew. The duo is joined by Priestner’s brother and fellow bandmate, Jared, on a boat, perfectly tying in the track’s title.
Rounding out the group are Slovakian guitarist Lubo Ivan and bassist Jeff Quinn. To fully craft their sound, the band collaborated with seasoned drummer Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse/Cold War Kids/The Shins and 10x Grammy winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (White Stripes, The Strokes, Arkells, Spoon, The Raconteurs, Alanis Morrissette, Morrissey).
A touching ode to family and the ones we love most, “Same Boat We Row” follows the band’s debut single “Cats, Dogs & Rats,” and comes off of their first self-titled album.
Rare Americans – two Canadian brothers who’d never written a song together until a year ago, a crazy Slovakian guitar virtuoso named Lubo, and a bassist named Jeff.
Go figure.
Rare Americans are an Alternative band based out of Vancouver BC. It started by brothers James and Jared Priestner taking a trip to the Caribbean in the spring of 2017. Having never written a song together, James thought it might be a fun vacation activity to do and suggest it to Jared. Being a big-thinker, Jared said “A song? Fuck that, why don’t we write an album?” They laughed in the moment but sure enough ten days later the first 15 Rare Americans songs were born. The band is rounded out by long-time collaborator and guitarist Lubo Ivan, who grew up in the sticks of Slovakia and finally just got his Canadian PR after two long years of battling the Canadian government. On bass is Jeff Quinn.
Their first few singles generated a lot of buzz online with over 7.5 million YouTube views, a Vimeo Staff Pick, 1 Million+ Spotify/ Apple streams, and features in publications like Clash Magazine, Punk News, and Alternative Press. They debuted at #86 on the NACC charts and were put in rotation stations such as Sirius XM Faction.
Their fans site influences from Twenty One Pilots, Weezer, Cake, and Gorillaz. They blend genres between punk, hip hop and rock, and don’t try to play within industry lines.
