Where can we find you right now and what are you up to?
We can be found, geographically, in Florida and Nevada. We are working as a recording project only, as of yet, and recording through file sharing. It’s a very different writing and recording process from what conventional bands are doing, but it’s an amazing experience. We’ve never even been in the same room together as a band. Our drummer, Pete Bartolomei does all of our mixing and mastering. We are progressively building a concept album, releasing a single at a time. Musically, we can be found on all the streaming services, our YouTube channel, Facebook, X, and our website, ROF.rocks.
Tell us about your influences.
As a band, we are really influenced by a mix of music, artists like Avenge Sevenfold, Shinedown, Disturbed on the current front, but also bands like Queensryche, Rainbow, Dio, Pink Floyd, The Who. We draw from ancient music forms, Medieval, Celtic, classical, you name it. We are all fascinated with blending old and new. Each of us have our individual influences, but we share a lot of them, which really helps us communicate with each other in terms of musical vision.
How did you start?
Pete Bartolomei (drummer) and I had been working on tracks with our old band from Chicago, StrictNine, when we lost our keyboardist to cancer and our guitarist left the country. In our hope to continue, we recruited bassist Jim Davidge, and guitarist Rob Christman. Pete worked with Jim in previous projects and Rob and I had played together 30 years ago. We were planning on reworking some old StrictNine songs, but Rob sent me what would become our first single, Reign of Fire. The band synergy developed immediately. Rob and I started formulating the concept for the album from the first song and it’s been an obsession ever since. It’s about a soldier wounded in battle, on the verge of death or insanity, experiencing past lives in each song.
What obstacles do emerging artists have to face in our time?
I’ve heard this number, “100,000 songs a day” are uploaded to Spotify. That size field of competition makes it incredibly difficult to attract attention. And for a recording project with no live audience development, it is really tough. You really have to differentiate yourself. Your style, your sound, your advertising approach…everything you do must, in some ways, separate you from the pack. Social media has become an integral part of our promotional vehicle.
What worked for you marketing-wise? What advice or tips would you give to new artists?
We had to do a lot of networking, primarily through social media, I spend a lot of time connecting with other artists, contacting radio and magazines, bloggers and vloggers, anyone in the industry that is willing to give an ear to an indie band. Social media platforms have really allowed us to grow our audience, but it requires diligence and a lot of dedication to promote yourself. New artists really need to tap into that. There is a huge community of indie artists that support one another, so get connected to other indie bands. It definitely pays off. It’s really important to use every medium possible to get recognized, as well. We focused on music video from the very beginning, I produce all of our music videos, our bass player developed our artwork and website, New artists need to become full blown artists, use every media source. But at the same time, you have to enjoy what you are doing. If it ain’t fun, you won’t wanna do it for long. Love your art, love your music, love your message. If you do that and you do the work to get yourself out there, you can’t fail.
What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
We don’t have delusions of grandeur, but we love what we do, we love our songs. We intend to continue growing our body of music and, in turn, growing our fan base. Ideally we would like to move to touring-act status, should the opportunity arise. Within the next year, we will complete the debut album. At the 5 year mark we should be completing album #3, touring and establishing ourselves as a household name. Hehe, I did say we don’t have delusions of grandeur, right?
Tell us about your latest or upcoming release.
Our next song is soon to be released, it’s entitled Call of Vikings. It constitutes the next “life” of our concept album’s protagonist. It’s a big grandiose piece, very theatrical and powerful, hard driving and complex. It’s a real joy-ride! We’re pretty excited about it. Right from the intro, its really sucks you into the mood and the story. You’re gonna wanna pick up a battle axe and start plundering!