When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens,
Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's
"Detroit Rock City,"
it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and
mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's
since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and
revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
For me I always grew up in the rock world. My dad would always be listening to Tool, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam etc. I think the biggest epiphany for me in my musical life was the first time I saw Underoath live when I was in High School. I left that show with a burning desire and determined to work within the music industry as an artist or on the business side. That show really shaped my future.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
It really does depend. We all write on our own as a band and share ideas through a template our producer Tyler Ruehl made for us in reaper. Sometimes DJ will just send a little riff or like half of a song then come into the studio and play with melody ideas. Sometimes I just have a line or a word that we want to write around, just kind of depends on the day.
Who has influenced you the most?
Musically Underoath has been a very very huge influence on me as a musician. I learned how to sing and scream emulating Spencer Chamberlin’s parts, then later on singing the chorus as well. My dad has been a huge influence on me as well, he isn’t a musician by any means but his sheer love of the rock genre and the support he has given me through the years has been extremely motivating. Not everyone’s parents will actively tell you to quit your corporate job to pursue your dreams full heartedly.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
The motivation is just ingrained in my mind now, I set out with a goal and I don’t plan on stopping until I achieve it. Inspiration is kind of a weird one because it is extremely random for ideas. I have written lyrics for songs with my own life events all the way to just being inspired by movies such as Titanic for concepts.
We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?
We are from Denver, Colorado which is an absolute beautiful place to live. Denver has always had a pretty solid metal scene, so it is nice being in a place surrounded by some other really cool bands. We actually don’t get to experience too much of its beautiful nature due to always being in a studio continually writing music (laughs).
Where'd the band name come from?
DJ came up with the name Rozu. We had just come out of a project that fell apart due to differences and we were wanting something easy to remember and truly mean something to us. Rozu is the Japanese word for Rose and was just kind of a perfect fit. This band is a new blooming rose coming from the ashes of previous failed endeavours. It was really fun to work on the branding behind that idea as well, it just works, and we wouldn’t want any other name.
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?
Any kind of murder mystery thriller. I love dark ominous tones and would really have a lot of fun scoring those kinds of feels.
You now write for a music publication (The Ripple Effect?). You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?
Easy Africa by Toto, I could write a 3,000 word essay on that song just trying to get to bottom of why it became so big because it is still such a damn mystery to me.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
We are actually pretty tame when it comes to being on the road minus the occasional black out session the night before a day off. I couldn’t even tell those stories because I can’t remember the whole thing.
Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you and for your fans?
Well to start off those 30 minutes are the best reward we get after all the hours of working on our craft and music. We write very honest music that we all enjoy and love, so we have a very energetic live show. We make it a point to leave everything we have on that stage every time we get to take it.
What makes a great song?
It first starts with the structure. I am a big fan of the pop structure of chorus intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus. The tone is big with me and how it makes me feel. Then finally the honesty of the song. I love honest song writing and when someone isn’t doing something because it is “in” or words that have a false sense of authenticity to it. Example modern day pop country where you have these guys singing about working on the ranch having never even stepped foot on a ranch or worked an honest day of manual labor.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
It was absolutely terrible. Just everything about it was so bad vocally, lyrically, and mixing. I recently deleted it off the face of the earth this year because I want to keep that trash in the past decade.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
With an old project I did an acoustic rendition of one of my favourite songs I ever wrote. It was around the time I was actually starting to record my singing and I worked my ass off on that song. It was a shame the rest of the band didn’t want to do that because it was the best thing we did.
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Still to this day Underoath writes nothing but perfection. Their last album got a lot of heat because it wasn’t the classic “Underoath style” but I absolutely loved it and the evolution of sound was exactly what I needed in my life. They just can’t do any wrong.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
I mean I utilize digital the most because it is just so damn convenient and easily accessible. If I am buying the format, I do love a good old Vinyl. There always seems to be a lot more thought and detail that goes into the artwork for Vinyl and being a sucker for the aesthetics I absolutely am in love.
Whiskey or beer? And defend your choice
Well frick, being from Colorado I love a good Coors Light or a Colorado Latte as we call them. I am a huge fan of whiskey though especially with a well-made classic Old Fashion. The Old Fashion is my favorite drink of choice due to the simplicity of the delicious drink.
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
In Denver you want to find Angelo’s simply because it is the only music store I can think of that’s still open.
What's next for the band?
We are finishing up our debut album this year and making a lot of plans for the summer and fall touring wise.
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?
Honestly just thank you guys for having us and to the fans new and old out there thank you for all the support we have been receiving at still such an early stage of this band’s development! We love you all.
