2. October 2013
The New Roses: Brotherhood of Rock N’ Roll
By Walter Price
What if a mad, but genius, musical scientist took the DNA from Molly Hatchet & Skynyrd and tossed it into a beaker that contained further DNA from Godsmack, Guns N’ Roses and Buckcherry…
What if this scientist was from a far off corner of Germany?
The New Roses are out with their debut full length album Without a Trace and what is instantly evident, is that these five dudes are extremely serious about Rock N’ Roll and the brotherhood of their band.
(This brotherhood consisting of Timmy Rough, Norbert Vuin, Urban Bertz, Stefan Kassner & Dizzy Presley are from a part of Deutschland called Rheingau. A region better known for wine than Rock N’ Roll but that could soon change)
To say this album is tight from lyrics to compositions is an understatement. Without A Trace should have a prominent home in your record collection. Not tomorrow, today.
We recently had the opportunity to chat-up Timmy Rough about this band of pure Rock N’ Roll soul….Here is our conversation.
It takes kindred spirits to produce the sort of sound The New Roses have. How did you guys come together?
We all know each other for ages. Urban and me formed our first band almost ten years ago. But anyone of us played in a lot of bands in our area and that‘s how we all met. But it took us till last year to form a band. Glad we made it finally…
Who’s the lyricist or is it full-on band collaboration?
I wrote all the lyrics for “Without A Trace“. Of Course we all speak about the themes we want in the songs and just pick Lyrics that everybody feel comfortable with.
Do you do much tracking in the studio or is it all live to tape?
We had to do a lot of tracking on this record because we did‘t have time and room and money to play it all live. We played and produced the record by ourselves, that‘s why we only had this one shot and wanted to play it safe. And tracking is a much safer way…
Does the band have a natural leader in the studio or is it a legitimate democracy?
That‘s hard to say. We only did this one record together. So there‘s no way to already talk about general behaviors. But it‘s our record so it‘s very important that everybody in the band sees and hears himself on it. We try only to think about what‘s best for the song and not ourselves. That works for us so far.
What’s Rock’n Roll to you?
It might be easier to say what it‘s not for us. It‘s nothing you can do or live on your own. It has nothing to do with going with fashion. It‘s nothing you can learn or pretend. For us it has nothing to do with drugs. It‘s a spirit that transports itself through the music you make or listen to. When you hear or play the right songs you don‘t have to talk about it anymore…
If the band could emulate any artist’s career who would you name?
Of Course we don‘t want to emulate any band or artist. But there‘re a lot of good and bad examples in the history of Rock N’ Roll that can either inspire or save you from bad decisions. You can see what drugs did to so many great artists for example. And you can see that it‘s possible to stay true to yourself and still be successful.
As a German band do you think it’s harder to get your name and music out there or is it pretty much the same for every musician?
That depends on what you mean by „out there“. For a German Band it‘s harder to gain ground in Britain or the U.S. But in Germany it‘s our advantage that we‘re around and able to play all the time and everywhere. But I think in the end it‘s the song and the spirit it transports that really counts.
Your album “Without A Trace” just came out. What has changed for the band since your EP was released?
Now we have a record to play, to go on tour with and spread it to all the rock-fans out there. Now we can really start working on the band. Which means now the lazy days are over (smile). We had 10 years to make our first record. Now we got one to make the second. That‘s very challenging bur also very exciting and we have to develop our way to work under pressure. I can‘t wait for it.
How do you prepare for your upcoming tour?
We‘ll try to keep it exciting for us and the audience. We‘ve practiced a lot to present the best musical quality that‘s possible. But it‘s our first tour so we basically prepare to make good and bad experiences. We are very excited and can‘t wait to have a ball with our fans.
Is there a song on the album that is especially special to you? If so which one and what is it about?
Every Song has a history that means something to me. That‘s why I decided to write a song about it. And every band member has a favorite song on the record. But I think “Without A Trace“ is probably the most important song on the record for us, because it unites all the emotions we show on the record. It starts soft and fragile and ends with a big showdown. Also it‘s written for a very good friend of the band which makes it very personal and emotional for us as well.
How interested is the band in making a North American breakthrough?
Wherever Rock and Roll is welcome, we wanna be there! We can‘t wait for our Germany tour and to figure out how far our music will take us in the future. Of Course it‘ll be a blast for us to play in the U.S. the home of Rock N’ Roll!
Name 3 things on your bucket list.
1. Jump from a plane
2. Write a novel
3. Play music till you die
Name 3 songs that will stay with you forever.
1. Allman Brothers – Soulshine
2. AC/DC – Rock and Roll Damnation
Worst venue you’ve ever played in?
As long as you‘re together with the band it can‘t be that bad. But we have seen a lot of CRAZY places over the years
Name 1 nasty habit you can’t live without.
Smokin’, unfortunately
Which one’s better, The Cult or Guns’n Roses?
Are we called „THE NEW CULT“ ?
Well played Timmy, well played! Long live The New Roses!
This one goes to 11…