Barrhaven based soul-rock band The Lionyls will be performing the finals of Live 88.5’s Big Money Shot at Ritual on Oct. 17.
After a year of trying to find their sound, founding members Zach Raynor and Anto Rizzuti met Robbie Rigg and Alex Jee Rodriguez through a mutual friend from high school.
Since then, they’ve rocked the Everybody Loves Everybody festival on two occasions, a festival that Raynor co-founded. They also played Barrhaven’s Canada Day stage over the summer.
Vocalist Raynor said the band is walking a fine line with their musical relationship with the Big Money Shot.
“We’ve created our own little niche where we aren’t in direct competition with the other bands,” he said.
Through the competition the band said they had the chance to work with producers in Toronto studios, record some tracks, and improve their songwriting.
“We recorded ‘Big Leagues’ not too long ago for the Big Money Shot. It has got all the energy. It has got the hip hop angle we wanted. It’s dancy and it has got a killer guitar solo,” Rodriguez said. “I think it has all the elements that people enjoy from music.”
The songwriting process fluctuates but typically starts with a riff or progression that gets built upon, Raynor said.
They also integrate Top 40 songs into their set, including Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home.”
“The song itself did not pop to us,” Rodriguez said. They reworked it and made it their own, he said.
The band said they are excited for the final round of the Big Money Shot.
“I looked at Facebook and our name was on top. I didn’t even look at the other bands on the list,” said Rodriguez. “I was like, holy crap.”
“Nothing beats playing a great show to an even better audience,” Raynor said.
They said Ottawa’s musical potential is untapped and they hope to bring the attention of big labels to the city.
The Charlatan speaks with Alex Jee Rodriguez from The Lionyls about their recent success in Live 88.5’s Big Money Shot.
