New Rock City, is a rock band formed in NYC in 2010. Rossano (vocals and rhythm guitar) & Kick (lead guitar) met that year taking the same cab after a concert at Jones Beach, and upon discovering their same affinities in music, decided to start the project as a duo playing acoustic shows around the city since 2011! It wasn’t until 2014 when the band decided to go on tour, they became a four piece group with the addition of Jem Warren on bass and Tim Kuhl on drums. New Rock City released their progressive rock EP titled “Emergency Platform 1”.
Beginning with the perfect introductory record, “Emergency Takeoff”, New Rock City sets the bar high for this project and we will see if they reach the expectations! I started listening to "Emergency Takeoff" and I liked how they began with a countdown while the guitar strings climaxes in--it was a real flavorful way of kicking off the record! The edgy vocalist gives off the whole rock n' roll vibe with her gritty and valiant attitude. That lionhearted spirit just carries the song from the beginning to end. It’s so infectious and contagious where you’re immediately pumped up and slowly just become “drugged out" by the starter song, giving you the anticipation for the next record!
The next song “Right Now” keeps the momentum going. I mean, the bar has already been set high so New Rock City couldn’t just leave us disappointed right? “Right Now” was less aggressive but in this songs case, the main highlighted focus was the dream-like melody. Highly bizarre and atypical from rock music, is the incorporation of an ethereal jingle but New Rock City gave us that, and they executed it precisely. At this point, I’m impressed with the versatility this EP has while sticking to the nature of rock music. So now will the closing record on this EP completely rapture the bar? New Rock City says it “Loud and Clear” that they aren’t here to leave their listeners disappointed but yet leave us wanting more! “Loud and Clear” wastes no time with giving us a consistent guitar riff, not allowing us to calm our highly energetic and charismatic energy. My favorite lyric was “Hear me loud and clear, I am here to stay”. It was the perfect response to the question of can they perfectly execute an EP without any moments of dismaying songs? Well, they did exactly that. Not only did they gain a profound amount of respect for their ability to stick to their style while giving you small moments of bubblegum pop, subtle vigor, and atmospheric haze.
Check out New Rock City's EP now on Spotify, and read below for the bands exclusive interview outlining the creation process of "Emergency Platform 1" and catch the band live at the Coney Island Baby in NYC on March 14th!
How did the conversation come about when you guys first met about forming a band after discovering the passion for music!?
Forming a band was something that we didn't plan or expect while meeting each other. Everything was a series of unexpected events which we couldn't imagine would've happened. We met in the summer of 2010 after a show in Jones Beach, we took the same cab to get back to the city and we spent the whole trip talking about music and why we ended up in NY. After that, we got together to jam and the musical connection just happened. We clicked immediately and began to write solid songs. At the end of the summer we had enough material so we decided to go out there and play those songs around the city and we kept doing it for a year or so.
We both had our solo projects, however, we felt that we had to do something together, it felt right and exciting so we became a duo before going as a 4-piece band. After some acoustic shows and more writing together we decided to record an album. In that moment we knew that this was going to be a serious and solid project. We went in the studio two years after we met (Kick and Rossano) and started the recording for our debut full-length record.
Can you tell us a little bit about your first full length album, “New Rock City”?
In Sept of 2012 we went to Connecticut to record in only 6 days. We decided to self-produce the album with the help of engineers Paul Frye and Roni Pillischer at Carriage House Studios. The experience was very special and it went by so fast! We were practically in the middle of nowhere, sleeping at the top of the house right above the studio for 4-5 hours to get back to work very early in the morning. More than 15 hours recording everyday, non-stop. It was an exhausting week but an unforgettable moment for us as musicians. We felt so inspired and creative. This record was a total reflection of how we felt in the summer of 2010 when we met. Every line of every song is related to that time. We felt so inspired by bands like The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, The Clash and Pretenders. We were hanging out around Bowery where CBGB's was until it closed its doors, Lower East Side and East Village. We absorbed that energy that once was alive visiting every single place where those artists from CB's used to go, every corner of the city seemed to talk to us. We didn't intend to recreate anything in that record, it just happened that every song we wrote absorbed that energy from us.
How did that pave the way for your artistry later on?
What we felt and discovered about ourselves as musicians when we first met and wrote together was basically what would pave the way for our artistry as a band, as a team. That identity has been growing progressively since the first time we grabbed a guitar and played the first chords and melody of our first song called "All Yours" (which has never been released), and even before that, before we met each other, we were already paving the way while growing as kids cause we always knew what was going to be the way to take. As kids we developed a profound interest for music and for the arts in general. Cassettes, vinyls, posters, guitars..., all this was all over the floors and walls of our rooms. We are talking about the mid 80's..., that's when it all started.
How has the production for “Emergency Platform 1” been for you guys?
This first EP 'Emergency Platform 1' is part of a new EP Series and has taken a different feel from our previous album. It has been clearly inspired by various movie characters from retro sci-fi movies and sagas. The imagery and vibe of Flash Gordon, Logan's Run and sagas like Star Trek for example, have influenced the concept behind the visuals and artwork that we created and designed to promote the EP that opens this music saga. The apocalyptic landscapes of Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssey and Hitchcock's cinematography also helped to conceptualize this work. Artists and poets like Patti Smith, Joan Jett, Brian May and bands like Queen, Black Sabbath, Beatles (White Album era) among many others were on our everyday playlist rotation. So we found ourselves in the middle of a deep creative vortex last summer when we started to centralize and focus all this on the structure of this first 3-song EP. Each one will have its own identity and flavor as well as its own influences. We wanted to start a very versatile and deep project with a strong message behind. How this will end? Who knows, it's a total mystery..
For the production of 'Emergency Platform 1' we worked with producer Matt Chiaravalle. The sessions were great, a lot of fun, everything was flowing smoothly all the time and Matt was able to bring out the best in everybody. We lost less time with the details because he was able to pinpoint the best takes quite fast. We recorded at Mercy Sound Studios in Manhattan in the East Village so the atmosphere was great, we could feel the city's rock n roll vibe the whole time!
Any favorite songs from your albums? Which and why?
Hard to pick one. All of us have our favorites depending on the day. We feel different with each song cause each song has its own identity and vibe, which is something that we always try to keep alive, the versatility in the songwriting is essential so each track has something special for each of us.
How excited are you to perform at the Coney Island Baby on March 14!? Ever been to the venue prior?
It's always exciting to play in NY and next Thursday, Mar 14th will be a blast for sure! We've never played at this venue, they opened their doors recently. We've been playing in the NY music scene for some years now. We're used to play at the Bowery Electric and Berlin a lot and we plan to go on tour soon. Stay tuned!
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