“You better take a shot, when it’s all you’ve got; tomorrow could be the end….RISE UP!”

From the looks of things, there is no end in sight for Saliva as they are once again “rising up” and hitting the road this Friday; kicking off a national tour in Orlando, FL. in support of their soon to be released album, Rise Up.

“Yeah, the first show is Friday in Orlando,” said lead singer Bobby Amaru as he discussed at length, his role in the band, their new disc and filling the shoes of his predecessor Josey Scott.  “We are going to be all over the map in the states and then we are going to Russia; our people are working on that as we speak. We talked about it as a band and once the record drops, we feel it’s important to stay on the road. I have never been to Russia, so it’s my first time. We’re anxious to see how our music, the new music is going over; especially over there and in Europe and Japan. Those audiences are starving for great music, any music from over here really, if they like you; they are your fans for life.”

February 18 saw the digital release of the disc’s first single and title track “Rise Up,” well in advance of the band’s anticipated April 29 release on Luis Bacardi’s new label, “Rum Bum Records.”  “Rise Up” …it’s a statement on where we’re at,” said guitarist Wayne Swinny recently; “The title just has that fire to it.”

Amaru echoed Swinny’s sentiments, when asked his thoughts on their upcoming release, his first as a member of the group and one that his fellow band mates have been quoted as saying is perhaps their “best ever;”, he had this to say, ”I mean, anytime a band puts out a record, they want to outdo their last. Everything feels good when we get together, a great fit. The (recording) process was not too difficult; we were touring together prior to recording, I mean we play like six nights a week and usually only take one day off, so we were constantly around each other; we kind of knew how things would work out. There was nothing forced in any of the process and I think that you can really see a difference in the songs.”

“Rise Up” is a twelve track effort, which once released, will be the first Amaru calls his own; something he’s conscious of when asked if he feels pressure from the fan base as he replaces Scott as the group’s front man. “No man,” he explained, “It’s definitely like a new life in the band, we are refueled and ready to take off. I’m not so new; I’ve been doing shows with the band since December 2011 but like anything else, there are those who will always be skeptical. There will always be fans who think the band’s not the same or won’t listen because of the change. I’ve had people come up to me after shows and say, “You were great! I wrote a bunch of bad stuff on Facebook about you; I have to fix that now.” There’s been a lot of that; it’s always good to hear that it’s not what they expected; it’s better.”

Amaru’s band mates feel the same way; Swinny once again left no doubt, making statements in a recent press release such as, “We’re lucky to have found him” and “He really energized the rest of us,” leaves no doubt that the boys are ready to rock. “We’ve just gone back to the basics…” said Amaru, “We’re just ready to rock, straight forward….”

With a video in the works for “Rise Up” and the corresponding tour, Amaru and Saliva are going to be very busy as they prepare for the year ahead. Amaru seemed to soften a bit as he discussed the balance which sometimes gets lost when the fun of being a working and touring musician conflicts with family life. “Yeah man, touring, recording, performing are all very fun but I’ve got a six year old son and a two and a half year old daughter. I miss the soccer games and school things and other activities because I’m on the road; sometimes it’s rough ya’ know but it’s the price you pay to be a working musician. It’s me, it’s my job, it’s what I do.”

Amaru seemed to hesitate a bit before going on about the band’s future and what can be expected from them after this tour finally winds down. “Man, we hope to keep making great music that the public digs and that we dig. If this album is any indication and with the way we are feeling, we are going to be around a long time; we’re not going anywhere.”

As his voice trailed off, the air of confidence seemed to build. One could tell that he and the band are ready to rock, ready to bring high energy shows to their fans and ready to start fresh; ready to “Rise Up” and take the music world by storm and I get the sense, they just might do it.