Hello everyone, thank you for joining us today on the Virtual RGM Lounge. Grab a beer and take a seat.
What made you decide that music was for you?
We all, at some point in our lives, began to change the way we listened to music, which turned into a love of musical instruments. Some of us started young, some of us were older, but on a rainy summer night in 2019, we all gathered together in Miles Platting’s rehearsal room for the first time and came up with some ideas. I think we knew when we talked about it. We had something important. That’s when the whole band became real to us.
Please introduce all the members and your musical history.
I’m Drew, I sing and play lead guitar. I’ve been playing guitar for about 16 years, and I taught myself how to sing when I was 14 or he was 15. For about four years before forming the band, he began practicing playing on the open mic circuit. Olly, the bass player, and Ewan, the other guitarist, both went to my high school. Ollie is in the same grade as me and we played in several bands together in our early high school years.
Ewan was a few years older than us, so we knew him. But it wasn’t until 2018 when we bumped into each other on the train heading home from a Blossoms show that we properly met and connected through music. Luis, our key player, and I met when we were 16 years old, and we often did open mics and cover gigs. We were together even before the band was formed. Drummer Mark came along a little later when he met Lewis at university.
What was your life like before you started making music?
I was really into soccer and Manchester United. I was obsessed with becoming a professional player and was playing two or three times a week at school and at my club.
I think football took a backseat when I discovered the wonders of the guitar and realized I was better at it than I was at kicking a ball. I still love watching and playing, although not as often. I used to love space and everything about it, and I still do. Brian May got it right when he returned home after the success of Queen to get a degree in astrophysics.
What was the first song you heard that introduced you to music?
Not necessarily the song, but the album. My whole family is obsessed with Red Hot Chili Peppers, it’s like a religion to us. When I was a kid, the album “Stadium Arcadium” was always playing. John Frusciante’s guitar playing and Anthony Kiedis’ melodies were the first pieces of music I remember as really influencing me.
Where do you think you are in the music industry right now?
We find a middle ground between indie rock and psychedelia/shoegaze. Having key players gives our music another dimension that other players don’t have. There aren’t many other guitar bands that can produce both a rich, powerful sound and a soft, complex sound like we do. Lewis’ role on the keyboard, along with the contributions of all of us, gives our music real diversity. If you want to explore more gentle numbers, listen to some of the B-sides.
We also take our songwriting very seriously and strive to write lyrics that have real meaning. Ewan and I both bonded over our love of writers such as Noel Gallagher, Michael Head and Neil Young. They all use very clever and well-conveyed lyrics that paint a vivid picture when you listen to their songs. Few bands and artists these days understand and communicate the importance of lyrics, and too many songs are written in hopeful, washed-up, throwaway language. The words themselves certainly aren’t the be-all and end-all of this song, but they are a big part of who we are in this band.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from others in the industry?
Professionalism. Having toured with bands like Starsailor, Planet, and Andrew Kussin, we’ve observed the many different ways these musicians develop their professionalism. Talking with the members of these bands and learning from how they perform on stage, communicate with the audience, and operate in different environments was a good lesson for Rosellas.
One band we’ve never met personally but who gets more than a page in their book is The War on Drugs. They are an incredible band whose live performance revolves around intros and outros, long psychedelic instrumentals, and stringing songs together one after the other. Do the same thing with your live set, making your performance more like a “show” than a rush of songs.
Tell me two truths and one lie about yourself.
I used to buy guitars and strings at the same store as Johnny Marr. Our music was played at Old Trafford. We headlined the Reading and Leeds Festival.
If you could wish for one thing to help your career, what would it be?
Bang. Any little joy is lost when I sit cramped in the back of a hatchback with an amp and pedals on my lap on a six-hour drive to Scotland and the south coast. The first few times were fine!
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture?
discuss….
There is nothing we can say “no” to ourselves. The same cannot be said for people who twist and distort your words to support their own narrative. We are a band that has always been free to speak out about our music and the music of those who have influenced us and helped us do what we love.
We believe we are the best and can be mentioned in the same sentence as the bands we and so many people adore. We don’t intentionally shout about bands or artists we don’t rate. Even if it’s not intentional, they’re just trying to cause a stir.
If you don’t like someone’s music or can’t relate to it at all, that’s fine, but you can go about your life just the same way, and so can they, without fishing for controversy in the public domain. can do. It shouldn’t be as important to you as your own music or your own ambitions, right? That’s how we see it anyway. All that matters to us is our music and the music that inspired us to form this band.
Do you agree with conspiracy theories? If not, why not?
I have a great interest in space and outer space, and have always been fascinated by research into the existence of extraterrestrial life. Don’t get me wrong. There are some absolutely hilarious documentaries and stories out there that completely and thoroughly undermine the importance of scientific research that seeks to truly answer some of the biggest questions humanity has ever faced.
However, I have spent many hours of my life reading, listening to, and watching footage of people claiming to have experienced alien life. That way you can be a little more confident. After all, I’d rather believe that other civilizations exist in an incomprehensibly vast space like ours.
I’m not convinced that that civilization visited our planet in flying saucers or in silver spacesuits. But then again, it’s more fun to have fun with that than to be completely indifferent about the existence of life on other planets.
What is your worst experience on stage?
We’ve had some hilarious blunders over the years. Those early moments where I lost myself in beer, those moments of technical horror where I had to completely improvise, and even those moments where the hustle and bustle with the audience went down like a lead balloon. You can almost see the tumbleweeds running across the back of the room. One thing I particularly remember is that it was my first gig as Rosellas. It was brutal.
We were doing an “acoustic” set (all of us without a drummer) at a local beer festival. I only had to piece together a 30-minute set, but it wasn’t unmanageable. We already had some originals and had been doing covers in pubs for years. But what I remember about the first song is when Ewan cut the strings on the only guitar he had and Ollie’s bass stopped working completely by the second or third song, and Ewan cut the strings on the only guitar he had, and Ewan cut the strings on the only guitar he had, and Ollie’s bass stopped working completely by the second or third song, and Ewan cut the strings on the only guitar he had. and Olly was in the audience and Lewis was supporting it with the keys and I was standing there like a complete lemon while I was singing, not knowing what to do with my hands. Ta. If something like that happened to us now, it would be like a walk in the park. We are experienced enough and can handle it. But the first Gigman, it was terrible. I don’t remember how many people it happened in front of, but it felt like there were about 3,000 people.
Tell us something you think people would be surprised about about you or each member.
I (Drew) have been skateboarding and snowboarding (anytime it’s actually snowing) since I was a kid. Ewan once met Robbie Savage in Big Tesco and he was surprisingly down to earth and very funny. Olly has an engineering degree and can fix anything technical. He drops all broken pedals into his lap.
Lewis is a very good impersonator, and his most admired work is probably Marge Simpson. Mark is obsessed with coffee. This guy has a fancy machine and loves all the tackle that comes with it.
What sets you apart as a band/artist?
How amazing is our live show? We’ve already talked about how our songwriting and sound differentiates us from other groups, but our live shows are where we really come into our own. We focus more on the intricacies of our live show than any other band at our level, and how we can pay homage to the influence of bands like Pink Floyd, The Verve and The War On Drugs. We are always trying to find out. to us.
I hear you have new music, could you tell us about it?
‘Is something strange?” explores a more complex and softer side of our sound than our previous A-sides. It has a very romantic, orchestral, and epic sound, comparable to Urban Hymns’ Verve tracks. This release features two B-sides, “Leaving for Chicago” and “For Tonight,” both of which lean toward the gentler side of our sound. He will be performing his new single live with a 25-piece orchestra at Manchester’s O2 Apollo on February 27, 2024, in collaboration with James, Starsailor, Slow Leaders Club, The Firm and more.
What was the recording process like?
We recorded the single in the summer of 2023 at Leyland’s Milkshed Studios with Oliver Shillito on production. We have a great working relationship with Oliver, and how our songs progress from inception to demo form to final masters is exactly how we wanted them to be.
Simply put, songs are written and recorded as voice notes, usually using an acoustic guitar. I then take this song and start producing a demo, fleshed out with recording sessions that capture drums, guitars, vocals, and more.
Contributions from all members of the band, including Lewis’ own production methods, help to give the demo courage and elevate it into a place you can listen to anytime. We often make demos for each album, and I think we’re on album 5 right now. The five of us at his will refine certain songs, choose our favorites and pass them on to Oliver for his influence and expertise, resulting in a professionally produced body of work.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing new songs?
A live performance with an orchestra will appear on the Apollo stage, and this single contains a significant enough string element to warrant a place in this performance, so I decided to include the string part in the song. I think I should write more.
Now that it’s complete, are there any changes?
There’s nothing wrong with that, we’re incredibly proud of this single. From start to finish, all three songs capture what’s great about our songwriting. It includes indie, singer-songwriter, jazz, and psychedelia. It’s the full package of Rosellas.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Roseras, remember the name.
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