One of the most exciting things when you are in a band or a solo artist for that matter, is when you start to record and play your own music for everyone to hear. But this can also be the scariest part because you are essentially opening up and reaching out to people, and that can make you vulnerable. But once you leap over the reservations you have the outcome of the hard work you have put in will be clear for your audience to hear and the complete passion that you have for music will soon be evident for the world to see.
Brighton based three piece rock/garage blues band ‘Rooted’ are about to embark on such a journey as I found out whilst interviewing; Beth Monroe (Lead Vocalist/Guitar), Jordan Carty (Bass) and Ryan Mounteney (Drums).
How long has “Rooted” been an active band? That is a bit of a long and convoluted story, technically this 3-piece has been together since December 2014, but to get to that point has taken 3 years and 11 line-up changes before we found this dedicated 3-piece that works.
Where did the name Rooted come from? [Beth]: When I play onstage, I fill up with so much adrenaline that I can barely control myself, I’m shaking, I’m panicking and I don’t remember anything that’s going on. I often don’t wear shoes when I play, and as a way of trying to ground myself I’d imagine roots coming from my feet, keeping me in control of all the excess energy, it would calm me down and I’d think “I am Rooted” it just came from that really, and I still do it now.
What have you been doing in the last five months to develop and promote “Rooted”? [Beth]: Before Ryan joined myself and Jordan were self-recording some tracks in the hopes of finding a drummer of a higher caliber, then since Ryan joined its been a bit non-stop.[Ryan]: After I joined, we pretty much jumped into everything head first with the band. We are writing new songs all the time and spent time in the studio recording our EP. We’ve spent so much time together planning and working on different things for the band, whether it’s photo shoots with paint, designing our online profiles, or out gigging and busking in Brighton, we’ve just spent hours and hours together and we’ve really bonded as a band.
Do you gig often around Brighton? We’ve got a ton of gigs over the next few months. For the full list of gig dates, check out our Facebook page, but the main gig we’re gearing up for is our EP launch on the 22nd April at The Brunswick, Brighton.
You mentioned that you have almost completed your E.P. Can you give some insight into the music on the E.P and the process that went into creating it?
We chose four slightly different tracks that showed the full variety of our sound. In reality we hadn’t been together very long at all, so we spent hours every week rehearsing the songs, making sure they were tight before we went into the studio. We then spent a week recording and mixing our EP, which was amazing fun and we’re very proud of it.
How long has it taken you to record the E.P?
[Beth]: Haha, well that depends on your perspective. This is actually the 3rd time this E.P has been recorded, each time with different band members, so you could say it took 4 days, or 3 years, its definitely been a lesson in persistence.
When will the E.P be released? The online release is the 11thof April 2015, with our E.P launch on the 22nd.
Once the E.P is released can we expect more exciting things from “Rooted” this year? We’ve got a ton of stuff planned for after the EP already, including a whole set of new songs, a Kickstarter campaign, a second EP and a southern UK tour. We’re also making plans for music videos and bigger gigs later in the year.
When initially forming “Rooted” what bands were you taking as inspiration? [Beth]: We definitely all bring different things to the table, it never crossed our minds to sound like anyone in particular. Myself and Jordan found our combined sound through our mutual love of garage blues riffs and grunge rock, so when Ryan joined with his technical jazz background and bouncier feel, it really brought it all to life. With my vocals on top we ended up with something like upbeat old-school Muse via Florence and the Machine.
The E.P will be out soon, in regards to the tracks that are on it. Who wrote them? Is it an individual duty or is it a group effort?
[Ryan]: Beth will come to us with a few riff ideas and melodies, we then all work together to streamline the song into something that naturally reflects all three of us, and me and Jordan bring in the rhythm and backbone to make it all work.
(To writer/s) Can you write in any environment? [Beth]: The way I write is quite private, because I definitely go into another headspace that I can’t really explain, it just flows. But once I’ve got the ideas, and the emotion I want from the song, that’s when I bring it to the boys and they work their magic on it and bring it to life, and the song will evolve a little or completely at that point to flow with the beat.
How will the E.P become available to the audience?
All the ways! On the 11th of April it will be up on Itunes, Spotify, Facebook, Soundcloud, Youtube, Amazon MP3, Deezer to name a few. Then on our EP release on the 22nd Physical CD copies will become available too, on a “pay what you think its worth” basis.
Your presence on social media is pretty much limited to Facebook it would seem at the moment. Will you become more active on other networks once the E.P is released?
We’ve been working hard on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and our Youtube, Soundcloud and Spotify accounts are on standby waiting for the music to be uploaded on the 11th April.
Presently how are you all feeling about the E.Ps release?
We’re just a big ball of excitement, there’s so much work to do but we’re enjoying every bit of it. It’s amazing to see hard work paying off, and we want to use this EP to show everyone our potential!
Has the experience of making the E.P been a challenging one?[Beth]: The good thing about finding Ryan and gelling together is that, for the first time, things have been tiring in a good way, because we’re doing so much that it’s crazy. But nothing’s been a challenge in the sense of it being a slog, we’re never having to pull each other through the mud, and even when we’re struggling to find time or we’re exhausted, we’re still happy. There aren’t really creative differences because we know we’re still evolving our sound as a unit.
Can you reveal the track list on the E.P? 1. Robot 2. Cards 3. Weakness 4. Fire
Can you reveal the name of the E.P? We decided to call it The Roots, because this is just our starting point, our potential, and the foundation of whatever our sound evolves into.
Individually, Do you have a favourite song on the E.P and why? [Beth]: The one that definitely puts a smile on my face is Fire, it’s a bit more upbeat than the others, and I wrote it to an old bully of mine, a kind of final “fuck you” and I feel that every time we play it, it just makes me grin.[Ryan]: As for me, I think it would have to be Robot, simply for the fact that it was the first song we all played together, and with the slightly off-kilter rhythm and snare breakdown really excites me as a drummer.
Where do you see ‘Rooted’ 5 years from now? [Ryan]: Me and Beth have quite a cute thing where we text one another whenever we have a dream about the band… things like supporting Muse at Wembley Stadium, performing and being interviewed on live TV, radio live lounges etc. Thinking about it, it happens quite a lot. We don’t want to sound like we’re expecting to conquer the world, but we definitely want to take it as far as possible, no matter what.
You say ‘Rooted’ is a “Rock/Garage Blues band. Define if you can what “Rock/Garage Blues” means for people whom have never heard of it before. [Beth]: Well nowadays rock can mean almost anything, by calling ourselves garage blues I hope to make people think of a slightly grungy, rhythm and riff-based songs, along the lines of early Muse, Rage against the Machine, or Queens of the Stone age. It’s the closest genre I can think for us, but I wouldn’t define ourselves by that as we’re still evolving, and my vocals are quite melodic which is unusual to that genre anyway. I’m hoping people will hear us and make up their own minds.
Do you think you will always define yourselves as a “Rock Garage Blues Band”? Probably not, we’ve only been together a few months and although we’re evolving quickly together, our stamp, our sound that makes people go “Oh, that’s Rooted” is still being developed, honestly we don’t think much in terms of genre, but when we find our definitive sound, we’ll know.
I stopped by a rehearsal that Rooted had at Brighton Electric in order to take this photo, but whilst there it was clear to me that they have a chemistry that even the most successful bands wish to posses, you could see the family like love they all share with each other.When you are in love with what you do then passion is present in your eyes and I saw that passion in the eyes of Beth, Jordan and Ryan whilst I was watching them rehearse. Music brought them together and in all honesty I think this kind of bond will be infinet, no matter what the future brings for Rooted.
To find out more about Rooted and their future gigs and progress, follow the links below and keep yourselves updated:
Rooted Facebook Rooted Twitter Rooted Instagram Get yourselves down to some of the fantastic gigs they have coming up !
Written By: Samantha McQueeney
treblewiththebass@outlook.com Seeing as it is Mothers Day, I would like to dedicate this blog to my Mum who continues to support and motivate my ever changing ideas and who is a big inspiration for me. I love you Mum x (The number 1 fan of this blog)