wordplay by Cassie Hood
image courtesy RoseHillDrive.com

There will always be a battle between good and evil; for without good, evil couldn’t exist, and without evil, we wouldn’t know the true meaning of good. This struggle lives amongst us everyday, as we are forced to choose a side: The dark side, filled with pain, torment and anguish, or the good side, filled with happiness, smiles and sunshine. For Rose Hill Drive, this battle is exemplified by their music.

Their songs are filled with desolation as they face a dog eat dog world. It’s a world that lives inside their self-titled debut album; it inherits their very essence.

“People have their choice to walk down a good path or a bad path,” bassist Jake Sproul commented. “It makes me happy to go out on the road and sing about that stuff, because I still feel it,” Though it wasn’t a conscious effort to create such a phenomenal and philosophical message; it just kind of happened. “It comes from the excitement of creating,” Sproul explained.

For the trio, it seems that they chose the right path, with recently releasing their new disc, being signed to Megaforce/SCI Fidelity Records, and seven years of touring, they have gained a name for themselves throughout the USA and now the UK. And they're still in their early 20’s!

Hailing from Boulder, Rose Hill Drive consists of brothers Jake and Daniel, and their friend Nate Barnes. They formed while in high school and started playing live right away. Creating a fan base, first locally, then nationally and now globally, they toured for years before recording their debut. Over the years they have played with many bands, such as The Who, Wilco, Queens of the Stone Age, Robert Randolph and The Black Crowes.

In Jake’s memory, the shows have all strung together. “It’s interesting,” he said, “There’s memorable times, but not necessarily a memorable show.” He went on to explain that with so many concerts under their belt, it’s hard to pick just one as his favorite, because they were all memorable for different reasons. Although, The Who stands out as his favorite band to play with to date.

When they finally braved the recording studio, they decided to take things back to the good ol’ days. They recorded their entire album in analog. In the November issue of Relix, Rose Hill said that they opted for this outdated method because it sounds better. They did most everything in one take, live, and then overdubbed and added extra instruments. But they did it all without the assistance of fancy studio tricks. To Relix, Jake commented, “Now anybody can be this meticulous asshole behind the mouse, just punching everything together and making it extremely perfect and making everyone sound good. It takes courage to let it all hang out and have that be it.”

And this method worked for them. With self-taught Daniel’s mind-bending ax-grinding that will send you into a ‘60s infused acid-trip aiming to match those of Jimi Hendrix, his old school sound brings back bellbottomed jeans and peace signs. Using wah-enhanced riffs and whammy filled fretwork, Daniel has developed his own style by learning through listening.

Jake bends his bass around people’s minds and fills their heads with images of gun fights and mystery with his full-throated vocals. In his words, “The content is just giant feelings that only music creates,” explaining that the words and the feelings come together to make beautiful songs.

All the while, Barnes drives the songs into their old, blues inspired, ‘60s sound with his thunderous drums. Keeping time and leading each song into the hearts of fans and newcomers alike.

Jake said that the band found their sound, and their way, by mimicking some of their favorites. “You listen to an album and it goes through your head,” he laughed, “But when you actually break down a song and play it and understand what they were doing and where they were at, it becomes a big experience.” He said that really any band has to cover songs until they come up with their own sound, or, “fake it until you make it.” He added, “We just try to be true to what we like and let ourselves come through.”

Driven by what they love, Rose Hill Drive has gone from here to there and back again. Touring through the UK this past fall, the band had a chance to expand their fan base. After returning in November, they continued to tour along the West Coast, and finally return to their hometown this month. They have sacrificed friendships and relationships, grown apart from people they loved and had to endure the pain of drifting away.

“That can be hard because I have had people mean a lot to me and the nature of our interaction couldn’t go on without immediate attention every day, and it drifts away,” Jake said. “That can be a heartbreaking thing to lose, but being on the road is just a new thing everyday,” he added. To him and his band mates, doing what they love to do is worth the sacrifice.

And they will continue to do it for as long as they can. As Jake says, “I want to play in as many different places and for as many different people as I can. I don’t want to stop it.”

December 30 & 31 @ Boulder Theater

RoseHillDrive.com