An email interview with Rocky Loves Emily.
Please give your name and what you do in the band.
My name is Brandon Ellis and I sing for the band.
For those who haven’t heard Rocky Loves Emily yet, tell us where your band comes from and what you sound like.
We all live in the greater Detroit area. We are pop/rock. We try to keep the sound happy cause being sad is, well… sad.
What are some of your creative influences, including bands but also other things that inspire you to make the music you do?
I can’t speak for everyone but some of my favorite bands are The Honorary Title, Postal Service, Right Away Great Captain.
You’ve recently signed to Tooth & Nail. How did you get hooked up with that label?
RLE was touring the west coast back in March of 2010. We were in Seattle the same night that Copeland was playing El Corazon (during their farewell tour). We couldn’t pass up seeing Copeland (one of my favorite bands) so a few of us went to the show. After the show was over we were walking back to our van when we heard someone yelling down the sidewalk “ROCKY LOVES EMILY! IS ANYONE HERE IN ROCKY LOVES EMILY!” Sure enough it was Micah Dean (A&R at Tooth and Nail). He had heard we were at the show and wanted to say hello. We ended up hanging out with him til around 4 am and stopped by the Tooth office the next day. We had never sent a press kit or anything. It is definitely a huge blessing.
There was some controversy at that time surrounding a change in your line-up. Could you comment on what actually happened and why?
Yeah, after seeing all the dialogue on the internet we have thought long and hard over how to approach this situation publicly. By keeping silent on the issue for the past 10 months we thought it gave Ryan (my brother, the former bass player) the most respect possible. Naturally, in place of our silence, the dialogue turned into an all out war on certain websites. And let’s be honest, from the outside, it looks pretty shady. “How could someone kick his brother out of a band?” a lot of people ask. Honestly, if I was outside of the situation, I would be wondering the same thing. Ryan was a lot of people’s favorite member of the band and for good reason. He is probably the most lovable person I have ever known. He will bend over backwards to help anyone out and he is sincerely an awesome person. When it comes to him not being in our band, people are going to believe what they want and I’m not on here to sway anyone’s opinion or convince anyone to take a side because I hate that there are sides to begin with. That said, I will say this: All of the conspiracy theories about why we “kicked Ryan out of the band” are far from the truth. The situation was not nearly as dramatic as people seem to hope it was. It had nothing to do with business or record labels or image. That is completely bogus. No, there wasn’t a fist fight or some crazy dramatic exit. It really just came down to some very personal issues and that’s really all it was. There is no hate or ill feelings on either side. When it comes down to the basics, we love Ryan and will always support him in whatever he does.
As a band getting its start with a great label, what are your hopes for the future? Both short and long term, what are your goals for Rocky Loves Emily?
Basically we just want to tour long and hard. We have no plans of slowing down. Personally, I’d love to play overseas.
Your debut is titled American Dream. How did you pick that name and what do you mean by it? What other themes are explored in your songs?
American Dream means a lot to us. It’s our inspiration to keep doing what we do and never take this road for granted. I thought of the idea of AD while we were demoing our EP at a cabin in Upper Michigan. It just felt right.
What role does faith play in Rocky Loves Emily?
Faith is everything to us. Faith in the one true God. Faith in Jesus and his grace and plan for our lives. Without Faith we have nothing.
Lastly, what can fans expect from you in 2011? What are your touring and recording plans thus far?
We are currently on a tour with a band called Set It Off for a month. We hit the whole east coast and a bit of Canada. After that we have a few tours in the works but we can’t announce them just yet. Get pumped for what’s in store with us though, we are beyond stoked to announce some awesome tours this spring.
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
Thanks so much for supporting us and coming out to our shows. Just the fact that we are in your thoughts inspires us to keep moving. We love you all!
