Featured: An introduction to some Skyrocket Love

An up-and-coming band.

Members:

-Jeremy Bassett (Vocals).
-Merritt Graves (Keyboard).
-Russell Nelson (Guitar).
-Jordan Hemphill (Guitar).
-Curtis Corwin (Bass).
-Jeff Maddox(Drums).

After Jeremy and Merritt met and decided they wanted to make music for a living, they knew it would be a road filled with effort and hard work. After some time they teamed up with Russell Nelson, Curtis Corwin, Jordan Hemphill and Jeff Maddox to form the band Skyrocket Love. Already booking some shows here and there, they commenced their journey to fame and fortune. A journey well started.

The musical side of things.

If you take a look at their music, each song is well constructed and has its own unique feeling.  They all share this same sad essence or message if you will, but each song has its own identity. Sometimes I have the feeling that melody-wise things could be a tad bit better, but that’s just my opinion. The lyrics are good! Sometimes even very meaningful, I quote: “ Every dream in my head/ Every word that I’ve read/ Everything I have thought, thought but I should’ve said.” [from Save the world.] The lyrics have some truthfulness to them, no nonsense here.



 

The spoken word.

Now on to the interview.

- Tell us about yourself. Who are you guys?

Merritt:  I’m from Iowa City, Iowa.  Jeremy is from Tampa, Florida.  We met out in Los Angeles through a mutual friend and hit it off right away.  We both liked a lot of the same stuff and we could each do stuff that the other one couldn’t so we became friends pretty fast.
Jeremy:  In life and in music we both understood things in different lights but still seemed to find a common ground which summed up to the same conclusion, "we should work together".  This ultimately led to the formation of Skyrocket Love.

- When and why did you get into music. How and when did the band get formed?

Merritt:  I got into music pretty early on; first choir and then the piano a few years later when I was 12.  I started seriously writing when I was 18 and having a rough time when I was a freshman in college, but I've been hearing melodies in my head ever since I can remember.
Jeremy:  Ever since I remember, I loved to entertain.  I was bored with life and ran away when i was 14 years old and lived in Seattle by myself.  I was a rebel without a cause.  I guess everybody has a little bit of that in them when they're that age.  I just took it a little farther than i should have.  With no money, I started singing on the street with local kids and we were all trying to hustle our way to the next meal.  It was a tough time but actually a lot of fun too, except for when the rain and snow mixed in the bushes were not much of a blanket.  I promised a kid out there that I would leave and go to Los Angeles and try to make it in the music industry.  So I hitchhiked and there I went.

- Where did you get the idea  to name the band Skyrocket Love and what does that name stand for?

Merritt: The band name is a metaphor for what love often is - something more fleeting than you want it to be. It goes up fast at first when you're infatuated but things come back down to earth no matter how hard you try to stay up when you start examining things objectively.  It can also be a metaphor for any other emotion you want to hold on to but can't really.  It's kind of depressing but to me its still hopeful because its what we're always chasing and I do think its possible to find it and hold on to it.  But you just have to keep taking the flight with the hope that this time you won't come back down.
Jeremy:  What he said..he says it so well but I would like anyone to let it mean what it wants to them and that includes any songs.  They should be completely and utterly what it makes you feel in the moment, just like anything in life does. So, fleeting emotion is kind of right, huh?

- How would you describe the music that you make?

Merritt:  Melancholic but hopeful.

- Could you explain a little what you mean by that?

Merritt:  Our goal isn't to make a certain kind of music that has to sound a certain kind of way necessarily.  Each song kind of takes on a life of it's own and it's about doing justice musically to the feeling, concept or story at the core of the song.  Melancholic/hopeful was just a thread that ran through most of the album.
Jeremy:  To me the music expresses sadness, happiness, love, life, depression and any and everything in between.  That's how i feel when i sing.

- Who and/or what influenced you the most in life and the music business?

Merritt:  What’s happened to me has been the biggest influence.    There’s a big difference in sitting down to write a song when there’s turmoil or excitement happening in your life than when there isn’t.
Jeremy:  I love my family.  And you should too...that's what life's about to me.

- Are you working on an EP? Or maybe even an album? What can we expect on that area?

Jeremy and Merritt:  Yeah, we just our finished our first album and plan on releasing it late spring or early summer.

- Your single/song (if I may call it a single) Novacaine (Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IaAjiP7NlY) is already out, getting more views as we speak. Will you release a or another single from the album for the fans?

So far Novacaine is the only song we have a done a music video for, but we have 4 more planned in the next few months.  The next one we're doing is "Safe In My Dreams' and it starts shooting on February 27th.

- In January you had a show at a place called Busby's. You also Performed at Howl at the Moon and another show planned for February. How is that? Going on stage and show/perform your own music to complete strangers?

   Jeremy: That's why I do it. It gets me out of my head and allows me to be completely free and express a certain emotion and every time it seems a little different.
  Merritt: Being on stage is a pretty awesome feeling.  You feel so fortunate that people came to see you perform that you want to give them everything you can.  You want it to be an experience.  Previously, I've been kind of nervous about being on stage, but when we're doing these shows, playing these songs, I completely let go and channel the music.

  - What are your plans and goals for the future?

Merritt:  Our goal is to create the best music we can and share it with people.  We want to get as far as we can on our own – hopefully that means indefinitely. There is something cool about doing everything yourself and not having any artistic choices being dictated to you by someone at a label.  It’s easy to lose your way when that starts to happen.
Jeremy:  I'm very open-minded to any opportunity that comes our way.  I believe that art in every form should be free with no boundaries but i do want to create something for the masses that everyone can appreciate and relate to.  So I guess that is my biggest goal for the future.

- Artists you'd like to work with?

Merritt:  We’re opening to working with just about anybody.  I’d probably gravitate towards working with more fringe and experimental artists or even hip-hop or rap.  Anything to get us out of our comfort zone and doing things that we would never think to do on our own.
Jeremy:  Personally, I'm into classic rock music that can stand the test of time for the past, present and future.  Some of my favorite bands include Aerosmith and Queen which are two legendary bands that have still to this day kept their credibility.

- Are there genres you'd like to explore in the future?

Merritt:  We want to try as many things out as we can while still holding on to the elements that make us, us. Right now we’re working on blending some more classical and symphonic elements into our sound.  We’re always going to try and push the envelope.
Jeremy:  Like I said before, great music.  No labels..just good...I mean great.

- Are there any other things you would like to share with us?

Merritt:  We really like talking to people so If you just want to talk or share anything with us, we’re all ears.  Our fans mean everything to us.
Jeremy:  I would love to share a lot with you all and hopefully in the many years to come I'll be blessed enough to keep sharing and caring.

I would like to thank Skyrocket love for this interview and the chance to do one with a fresh new band from the States. Since this is the first interview I've done for theFonic I'm even more excited about the opportunity.

I wish the band lots of luck and happiness in the future and in their quest to pursue their dreams!

Contact them on Myspace: myspace.com/skyrocketlove
Follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/skyrocket_love
Listen to their Last.fm page: last.fm/music/Skyrocket+Love

Videos

Photos

For more photo's click here!

Additional editing done by Mimo

Be sure to leave us an @reply at twitter.com/thefonic and give us your opinion on the band and the interview.