Listen to interview here, or read below: https://m.soundcloud.com/highfivesandstagedives/good-rockys-revolver-interview
Very few bands in the Southern California local music scene dare to break the mold and create an innovation sound for their group. Good Rocky’s Revolver is definitely one of the bands in that minority that has crafted a unique sound of blues and psychedelic rock from the combined influences of the band.
Good Rocky’s Revolver started in the summer of 2012. The band’s founding members, Dan Gee and Evan Achen, originally started the band as a two-piece ensemble. The band’s current lineup is made entirely of Cal Poly Pomona alumni.
“When I had originally met Dan, we both did not like each other,” says Evan Achen, drummer of the band. Achen is also a fifth-year graphic design student at CPP. “I thought he was a jerk and I think that he thought the same of me at the time. It wasn’t until I started playing Dan’s drum set one night that we started jamming together and started to actually getting to know each other.”
The band was offered to play a summer festival two weeks after the initial formation of the group. The band practiced for a week straight, according to Achen, to prepare for the upcoming performance. The band ended up playing around 10 songs the day of the festival. The festival was the band’s first official public performance with Gee on guitar and lead vocals and Achen on drums.
“Our current bassist, Jacob Cook, found us on social media,” says Gee. Gee also graduated from CPP with a degree in music industry studies. “He hit us up when we had our temporary bassist, which was problematic, however, we found out quickly that Cook was the better fit for the band.”
The band found keyboardist Michael Webb soon after bringing Cook on board to play bass. The band soon after went to record their debut EP with CPP alumnus Peter Duff.
“I saw them live a couple years ago at a house show,” says fourth-year computer information systems Cole Fritzenkotter. “I loved the energy that the band put out that night. They have really good chemistry with each other. You can really tell they love what they do and they love playing together.”
“It was fun to watch them that night because after a couple songs into their set, there was this edge that really came through in their music and it was really apparent. They reminded me of The Black Keys.”
Good Rocky’s Revolver shares the same ambitions as every other band attempting to break into the music industry. The band wants to take this project as far as possible in hopes of turning the group into a career.
“We want to push this band as far as we can,” says Gee. “Obviously, there will be a moment in the future where we get the signs that we need to call it quits. Those signs are nowhere near the band at the moment, so why not pursue this? We are all young, so this is the time to push this project as much as we can.”
“We do realize our goals are a long shot like being an athlete, but we believe in what we are doing and that is why we want to pursue this. The only downside we can foresee is if we can’t see the signs to quit when they come.”
Pursuing a band as a career takes more than just being a good musician. Independent bands must also take on the tasks of booking shows, bookkeeping, marketing and more.
“One of the hardest things the band is facing right now is getting our name out on social media,” says Achen. “We also need to play more gigs out of our comfort zone. We play most of our shows in the Inland Empire and I want to see us branch out to the LA scene as soon as we possibly can. We need to do all of that during the times when we are not working at our day jobs or at school.”
Good Rocky’s Revolver’s passion and ambition shines through over the struggle of trying to make it into the industry. The band’s tendency to explore the darker side of blues-rock has given them a sound of their own. The live raw energy that Good Rocky’s Revolver brings to the stage keeps their fans coming back.
Good Rocky’s Revolver is determined to make their dreams become a reality and refuse to let anything come between them and their goals.
https://www.facebook.com/GoodRockysRevolver
http://twitter.com/grs_revolver
https://goodrockysrevolver.bandcamp.com
This post is courtesy of Matthew Saunders
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