These Boots Are Made For Rocking

Fun. Memories. Togetherness.

These are the words that Highland’s Blue Rain Boots uses to describe their band.

If you haven’t heard of them already, Blue Rain Boots is an indie-pop rock band composed of some friendly faces. The group consists of Highland sophomore Simon Griffen as the lead guitarist and vocals, senior Simon Palo on bass, and junior Geovanny Quintanilla on drums.

The group came together quite slowly.

“I knew Geo first. He wanted to kick my butt,” Griffen said. This was due to an incident over a timpani solo at a band concert 3 years ago. “I heard about Simon through friends.”

Each member of Blue Rain Boots has history with music. For Griffen, his parents were both musicians; his father played in a band, and his mother for a symphony. At age 8, he began learning the drum kit. Quintanilla has a similar story, as his father was a guitar player and his mother a flautist for a symphony in Mexico. Palo had a brief affair with the piano and the guitar when he was younger, before picking up bass around 6 years ago.

While not much activity happened for the trio last year, it was over the summer that things started kicking off. Griffen and Palo grew closer as friends, jamming together with another guitarist before introducing Quintanilla to their jam sessions.

These sessions began as fun and casual before evolving into something much more serious.

“We just started jamming.. And then we got a concert,” Palo said.

The concert, arranged by fellow band Ritt Momney, was so sudden that their own drummer was taken off guard by it.

“Two weeks in after practicing everyday they’re like ‘We have a concert,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh? I thought we were just doing this for the fun of it,’” Quintanilla said.

Despite its impromptu nature, the concert marked a milestone the band had hit. Up until then, Blue Rain Boots had only uploaded their song “Good Old Days” to Soundcloud. While the song was gaining popularity, the booking of Kilby Court meant that they’d actually be performing.

“Once we found out that we had gotten a concert, it was like ‘Woah. Okay. This is real,” Griffen said.

Their first concert with Krooked Kings was a success. While there were the usual errors that come with a first performance, overall it created some great memories that will carry with the members.

“Good Old Days was probably the most surreal moment for me. It’s like, you see all these people who are your close friends, but they know all of the words,” Griffen said. “I also remember my stomach hurt a lot.”

The name ‘Blue Rain Boots’ comes from their bassist.

“That was me. I did that,” Palo said.

About a year ago, Palo had been involved with a small cover group. They had decided that they needed a name for their band.

“I brought up Blue Rain Boots, and no one liked it,” he explained. “Then we started this group and so I brought it up again and they ran with it.” Though Griffen didn’t care for the name at first, it eventually stuck.

The band takes heavy influence from artists such as Alabama Shakes and Slow Hollow, with dashes of Ritt Momney and Rex Orange County. Though their recognition is not as widespread as some of their favored acts, the group continues to grow in fan base.

Currently, their song “Good Old Days” has surpassed 30,000 listens on Spotify. Their top five cities span the country, from Los Angeles, California to New York, New York.

Becoming rich and famous is not the goal for Blue Rain Boots, though. To each member, it has much more meaning than that. Despite not having been together for very long, the band has grown to be an imperative part of their lives.

“It’s an experience, and it’s a really fun one. I’m planning on sticking to it for a while, because this is an opportunity I haven’t gotten in a long time,” Quintanilla said

When it comes to their fans, Blue Rain Boots wants you to have as much fun as they’re having.

“Feeling what we feel, and experiencing what we experience. Having them understand how happy it makes us,” Palo said. The adventure of performance is an intense feeling that they want their fans to enjoy as well.

The ideal response to their music is encapsulated in a quote by Griffen.

“I want them to have a special feeling when they hear Blue Rain Boots. Something new, something that they can connect to something good, something they can relate to. Something relatable is my biggest thing,” Griffen said. “Them having a part of us.”

There have been some ups and downs over the course of time, dealing with miscommunications and injuries, but despite this the group is brimming with potential. Already they have begun to experiment with different genres to incorporate into their sound.

“Once I get my synth.. Oh it’s gonna be on,” Quintanilla laughed.

The future of Blue Rain Boots is yet to be determined, but it looks optimistic. They already have another concert at Kilby Court booked on December 10th with Mckenzie Smith. There, in their pajamas, they’ll take the stage once again.

The rookie group has come far from their jam session days, and have even brighter ones ahead of them.