Upbeat indie pop group to play Conundrum in final tour stop Friday
Making it into the music industry has never been easy. There will always be bumps in the road as bands tries to make names for themselves and prove they have what it takes to survive in the music scene.
The Rocketboys of Austin, Texas, saw members leave just as they were about to ride the highway to success. What could have meant the end for the group turned out to be a trial for frontman Brandon Kinder, keyboardist Justin Wiseman and bassist Josh Campbell to overcome.
“Ultimately, we knew that we didn’t want to stop and we knew that we could keep going if we just kept at it,” Kinder said.
The band formed in Abilene, Texas, as a sextet among schoolmates at Abilene Christian University in 2005. After graduating in 2009, the band relocated to Austin and began to take touring more seriously with the release of its first full-length album “20,000 Ghosts.” The band began to bring its dynamic, melodic sound and upbeat indie-pop style to the music industry.
“We all really appreciate the ability create something that is just as powerful when it’s super loud as when it’s quieter as well, when it can pack just as much of a punch in a moment of softness,” Wiseman said.
But as the bandmates started to enjoy their success, they learned the hard way that success never comes without difficulties. After the release of the first album, the act nearly saw its end when half of the founding members left for multiple reasons. Drummer Phillip Ellis was the first to leave, while guitarists Mitch Holt and Daniel Wheeler soon followed to spend more time with family.
“A lot of great things were happening while we were touring, but then the guys split, and everything was starting to fall apart for a bit,” Kinder said. “Since then, the rest of us have been trying to find our stride again.”
With these three remaining members, the band’s hard times continued with difficulty scheduling shows and even more difficulty finding bands that would perform with them.
“We were still mildly active with just the three of us, but it took us a really long time to take the next step and to write the next album,” Wiseman said.
Both Wiseman and Kinder believed the band’s survival, despite the departure of half of its members, made them stronger. The trials served as inspiration for their second full-length album “Build Anyway.”
With “Build Anyway,” a metaphorical title, the band continues to provide the same pop melodies that have helped them earn a place in indie rock.
Most of the songs in the album center on the departures of the former band members and the feelings that developed as a result.
“Essentially, what the album came to be was a story of overcoming, when something falls apart and putting it back together,” Wiseman said. “Lyrically, that’s what the entire album is about.”
The departures also changed the band’s songwriting process. In the past, the songwriting was done in a democratic fashion with everyone in the same room working on the song together.
Without a drummer, the band lacked the personnel to continue the same process while striving to find a way to proceed what they accomplished in the past.
“Just the challenge itself and how the album came to be was our inspiration for writing it,” Wiseman said.
The band managed to gain more members and became a five-piece after the recent inclusion of guitarists Kyle Samuels and drummer Josh Rodgers.
Their show at the Conundrum Music Hall tonight is the Rocketboys’ last stop on the road, and the band hopes to finish with a bang.