www.facebook.com/rometheruins
From: Bartlett, IL
Sounds like: Pop/Punk/Metal
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Rome The Ruins” and is there any meaning behind it?
We all began music at different points in our lives, some from early childhood and others just from high school. Though we all came together about a year ago when our drummer, Shane, reached out to his friends in search of people who could come together and create something unique. Our sound is a mixture of our individual tastes; while a few enjoy the harder sounds of metal and hard rock, other's like ambient pop, and punk. Our name came from a lyric from one of our favorite songs.
2. What do you want listeners to take away from your music?
Our music aims to be an escape. Whenever you are in a situation in your life that has you down, or feeling trapped, we want to be the band that you plug in to in order to find a way out of that for a little while.
3. How would you describe your music to the average listener?
Our music is an upbeat combination of funk rhythms, punk and rock riffs, and pop melodies. It ranges from metal influenced driving anthems, to acoustic ballads with catchy hooks.
4. What can people expect from your live show?
People can expect an energetic performance, with danceable beats and plenty of opportunities to sing along.
5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
We'd love to tour with Fall Out Boy, Rise Against, and Slash. Though there are many, many, more we'd love to tour with, and only picking three was quite the challenge.
6. Any crazy show stories?
We were playing a local show outdoors, and a group of our fans were sitting on a picnic table off to the side of the stage. Tay, our vocalist, was talking to them after the show, and our guitarist Mike decided he wanted to join them. With four people already sitting on top of the table, he lept onto it, and caused the whole thing to collapse beneath them. Luckily, there weren't any injuries aside from Mike's pride.
7. What’s your take on the current state of pop/punk and metal?
Other than Mike, who is a bit elitist when it comes to metal, and isn't all that exposed to the pop/punk sound, the rest of us love how diverse the genre is becoming. A band that started having one sound, can explore all facets of the genre, and redefine their sound on every album. It's something we like to do ourselves. Creating the same music over and over again is destined to lose it's charm, but acts that can make something new, and combine influences are worth listening to. No band should be pigeonholed into one sound, when tastes change, and music develops. It's all about the creative flow.
8. What’s the current music scene like there in the Illinois both locally and state wide?
There's a lot of untapped talent here, which is actually pretty sad. There once was a time when if you wanted to discover new music, you had to go to a local show to find it. Experience it first hand, where as nowadays you can go online and find new stuff to listen to. It's unfortunate for bands who don't have much online exposure, and they often get stuck in the basement.
9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
We all know it's wrong, but we all know it happens. (If you're poor, you're poor.)
10. What’s next for Rome The Ruins?
We plan on promoting our EP "X(Ten) Seconds Left" on our upcoming shows. While playing out, we already have a handful of new songs in our back pocket that we're finalizing before adding them to our live show.
11. Any shoutouts?
Rachna Joshi, our photographer, and Martynas Matutis, who helped us exponentially during our writing process.
