We were lucky to catch up with Rosebay recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rosebay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
For all of us in the band, making music is instinctive. Its second nature really. Expressing ourselves through our music is not only a passion, but also a spiritual release and a pleasure to top it all off. It’s fun, therapeutic, and most importantly authentically us.
Although songwriting, composing, and performing is deep rooted within all of us there were other aspects of being a band that we essentially had to learn on the fly. For me (Creighton Evans), Ezra, Akayna, and Grant Rosebay was the first band any of us had ever legitimately played in. As founding members Grant and I always shared that similarity of never having any prior band experience which always made every step of the process very exciting and new. Akayna and Ezra were very similar, having not performed music in years before joining Rosebay.
Though we lacked experience at our inception, a year later we are thriving and constantly finding ourselves playing for some of the best crowds and with the greatest artists in not only Fort Collins, but Colorado in general.
We’ve had to teach ourselves how to market, promote, and record our music on a professional level without having any guidance outside of replicating what we’ve seen work for other local bands and by following the suggestions that they give us. One thing that I think is crucial for anyone starting a creative project is to reach out to those that inspire you and that you’ve seen succeed in the field you’re going into. Some people can be intimidated by the thought of just casually reaching out to their “heroes”, but speaking from personal experience we can say that it’s totally worth it and one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself. As a band Rosebay would not be anywhere close to where it is now had it not been for the guidance, kindness, and genuine love and support we’ve received from our fellow musicians. Everything from organizing shows to helping us navigate social media, EPKs, recording, etc we’ve always been so blessed to work with and learn from some of the best, most talented, and gifted musicians we know.
Thanks to their help and our own infectious sound we’ve been able to establish ourselves as one of the best bands in Fort Collins and we couldn’t be more honored to be part of such a growing and prosperous music scene. The community that we’ve interwoven ourselves into is so supporting and encouraging that we know we’re destined for renowned success, like many others that make up the growing Colorado music scene.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Rosebay is an indie surf rock band made up of diversely unique artists that come together to create one stand alone sound. We foster an environment of love, positivity, and inclusivity with our music through expressing ourselves authentically and creating a vibe that can connect with anyone. We hope to make our music universal to engage any and every listener possible.
Our first show was October 28, 2023 and we just played our one year anniversary Halloween house show with Co-Stanza, Violet Visionaries, Virgil Vigil, Sunrise Daydream, Basement Baby, and Sagan Petr Smith. Many of those artists we just listed either played with us last year at our first show or were extremely inspirational for us to become a band and take music seriously. Since our first show we’ve had the opportunity to share the stage with other local incredible musicians and even internationally touring acts. We hope to start considering touring ourselves so that we can perform and bring our music to as many people as possible.
We’re about to release our second studio single entitled The Whale November 24, 2023. It’s a three and a half minute ripper interpreting Herman Melville’s Moby Dick from the perspective of the crew of the Pequod. Being obsessed with literature (especially concerning The American Dream), Creighton wrote the song as an homage to the epic novel and the themes it instills. Particularly, the ideal of chasing your dreams with undying enthusiasm. The dreams of Captain Ahab were rash, unrealistic, and maniacal but the drive and overwhelming spirit of purpose inspired the attitude of the song.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of what we do is seeing people become physically, spiritually, and emotionally engaged with our music. There’s nothing that could ever beat that feeling. Playing a show and seeing the faces of strangers smiling, dancing, and singing your songs even if they don’t know the lyrics is truly incredible and ultimately rewarding. Having people come up to you after ripping a set and tell you that they loved what you did and that they’re going to catch another show and follow you on social media is pretty awesome and super heartwarming. A ton of practice, rehearsing, and investment goes into being in a band and we couldn’t be more grateful for the warm embrace that we’ve received after every step in this process of becoming musicians.
It helps us know that we’re doing the right things and that people are connecting with our music which in other words means that they’re connecting with us, as our music is just an extension of who we are. Making art is a very gratifying endeavor, especially when it’s appreciated by the masses. Even when it’s not received by a large audience, if your art is something transcendent and straight from your soul as it should be, there will always be an aspect of pride, joy, and overall satisfaction regardless where or how many people you’re playing for. We feel very blessed and extremely humbled to have accumulated such a following after just one year of being a band and we will continue to build off of that momentum with every everything we have as being apart of this band and making music is one of the most important things in all of our lives.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
The ultimate goal in any creative pursuit should be to express yourself as authentically and as vividly as possible. To show yourself to the world and be unabashed even though you’re putting yourself in a very vulnerable position. It’s hard for people to express themselves in general let alone creatively. I think the ultimate goal with our music is to do just that, while also reaching a point where music is a sustainable source of income but more importantly happiness and purpose for all of us.
It’s already a point of happiness, focus, and excitement for all of us but being able to do it in a way where it was sustaining us would give it even more purpose and is an ultimate motivator for us moving forward.
No one should set out on a creative pursuit with “success”, being the ultimate driving force. That shouldn’t be the point. That can be a desired outcome and goal possibly, but it shouldn’t be the inspiration behind why you’re doing something creatively. It should be about expressing yourself, being authentic, and connectivity. That’s what will set you apart. That’s what will give your art the “it”, factor that no one else could replicate. Making something that is undeniably you is what separates great artistry from benign art with no substance. Genuine authenticity will give your work the undeniable element that is needed for art to succeed and become widely accepted and recognized. The truth is that if you’re only making art with success, money, or any other artificial reason in mind as your driving inspiration, your work will be nothing more then inept galavanting that will most definitely fizzle out because it is in fact not art and only a facade of real artistry.
Our sound is authentic, undeniable, infectious, and most importantly purpose driven. We know that so long as we keep doing what we’re doing we’ll reach our goals and our versions of success because perseverance, authenticity, and a contagious sound is all you need to make it as a musician. With all humbleness we know, as do you if you’ve seen us perform, that we have a surplus of those elements and package it in a stand alone fashion. We know our newest single The Whale will encapsulate and prove that point.
Contact Info:
- Website: Rosebaytheband.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/rosebay.band?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/p/Rosebay-Band-100088052271010/?wtsid=rdr_0dkSmEEJ5HDzED3Hl
Image Credits
Alexa Archuleta, Grayson Reed, and Christian Garcia