Rocky’s Pride And Joy Are Good To Go For Froth & Fury

‘We’re going to go for it and give it everything we’ve got. I think there’s something to an opening band with that sort of fire to impress, you know what I mean?’

Brenton Wilson, guitarist and vocalist of Adelaide doom merchants Rocky’s Pride & Joy, describes his band’s work ethic and what to expect when they perform. Speaking just before they opened for Stoned Jesus, with a storming smorgasbord of grooves, Brenton is joined by drummer Jessi Tilbrook and new guitarist Fraser Alexander to discuss next year’s Froth & Fury Festival in Adelaide, of which the band will making a maiden appearance.

Brenton: ‘It’s big and loud, we like to perform as much as play the songs. You know what I mean? Actually try and put on a bit of a show and yeah, it’s just doom, rock loud, lots of guitars. Hear some guitar solos.‘

Fraser: ‘Yeah, some shredding. As many solos as we can fit in! We are playing mainly new songs and these songs are a lot longer form compared to the older stuff, which I wasn’t a part of, but was a big fan of.’

Jessi: ‘Those songs, (on the Stoned Jesus support set) three of those songs we’ve never played before. It’s like a whole new show. Wow! It’s actually all the songs from the new album.’

It’s been two years since debut All The Colours Of Darkness dropped and the band have rocked on shows with bands such as Pallbearer and Dirty Pagans since. A couple of new songs have already been committed to tape while work takes effect on the others with a single release expected by the time Froth & Fury lands. Fans can expect a musical progression, not just lyrically, when they hear the new stuff.

Brenton : ‘The last album that we did was very much fantasy fiction type of writing. Stories of the Armageddon, hell and demons and all of that. More dark subjects, but in a more fantastical sort of way, which was more derived from the Electric Wizard, Uncle Acid approach of storytelling. Whereas the new stuff, is a lot more introspective, a lot more exploring the darkness within yourself. A lot of mental health exploration in that sense as well. That’s what’s driving a lot of the lyrical themes. So that would be, if anything, the concept overall.’

Fraser: ‘I feel recently it would’ve transformed a bit. I’ve only been in the band a few months, so hopefully a bit heavier sounding, more layers to guitars and that kind of thing.’

Brenton: ‘You never really know if a song is good or if it works until you play it at a show, play it in front of an audience. You get the vibe from them straight away and you can tell if you go into that particular breakdown or the bridge that didn’t really work. The energy dropped or their attention wasn’t kept in the right way. It is important for us and has been the whole time to play unreleased new stuff live to see if it works.’

Fraser: ‘Based on how much the front row is, the level, that they’re moving their heads. If it’s vigorous, we know it’s working.’

The band themselves have quite the profile in Adelaide that makes getting in early to Froth & Fury Festival to watch their set a must. Jessi co-founded PAK Records, a music label that is actually committed to promoting bands, putting on shows and festivals and can boast having worked with current Australian musical fave’s Amyl & The Sniffers to their backstory, Brenton has also thrown down in Baby Candy along with newbie Fraser meaning their presence will draw a crowd from a huge cross section of Adelaide fans.

Fraser: ‘Huge riffs, low and slow, massive shredding solos. I mean, what more could you want?’

Brenton: ‘Although we categorise ourselves as doom for the most part, especially with the new stuff that we are writing, we’ll be playing at a festival. So there’s some twists and turns in there that are not typical of the genre. If you’re looking for something that’s a little bit, dare I say fresh, it’s not going to be something that you’ve heard a hundred times before. We’re going to take a wild left turn into something that you’re not expecting. Entertaining is the goal. Big solos, big riffs, everything!’

Jessi: ‘I think we’re really fun. It’s a fun show. I would love to see us. I would totally go to a Rocky show, but hey, I’m in the band!’

Brenton: ‘We have fun doing it. It’s not super serious. We take the music seriously, but we will be putting in heaps of energy and leave the stage absolutely drenched in sweat!’

Interview By Iain McCallum

Catch Rocky’s Pride & Joy headlining Froth & Fury Festival on Saturday January 31 in Adelaide. Tickets on sale HERE…