Blue Rose Rocket
Band
BLUE ROSE ROCKET
VOCAL/LEAD GUITAR: CHARLEY SKI
BASS: CHEZ
DRUMS: NIKI
Hi,
Charley Ski here. I have been asked to write about the band so here goes.
Blue Rose Rocket started about two years ago. My 12 year old son Chez talked me into getting back in to playing rock guitar after giving it up about 16 yrs ago. He had been playing a little acoustic guitar for a few years.Then about two and a half years ago I bought him a rock guitar and a little amp from Walmart for about $100. We were going thru some rough times and was all I could afford. It was made by a company called First Act and it is truly an amazing little guitar." Forever is a Short Time" off our "No Mans Land" album was recorded with this First Act guitar. My main guitar is an old hot rod custom Fender strat.
Anyhow getting back to my story, Chez plugged in the Rock guitar and was having some difficulty. So I said let me show you and I cranked every dial up to 10. I don't know who started smiling first but the notes were soaring and I was back in a Magical place I had left many years ago. When I handed the guitar back to my smiling son I started explaining that a real rock guitar was like my sopped up Harley you got to know how to handle it or it can get away from you and then its crash and burn. We both started laughing again then Chez got a serious look on his face and said,"what are you doing?" I was puzzled by his question. Then he said it again "what are you doing? You sound like those guys you have me listen to.You should be in a band." I told him no one really likes that kind of Rock anymore. Woodstock was along time ago. It was different then. I use to go to the Fillmore East and see bands like Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, James Gang, Johnny Winter, Led Zepplin, Mountain, Steppenwolf, Creedance, Janis Joplin, Jeff Beck. Hell I can't remember them all. It was magic back then. Oh it was crazy but there was a magic floating around that I don't see or hear anymore. Anyhow I'm too old.
The weeks past and my son kept on bothering me to show him another then another lick. It got to the point I was stretching the strings every day. My fingers were loosening up and my son picked up everything I showed him. He made me very proud and happy at a time when smiles were few.
You see our family was going thru some hard times. There was truly a cloud of despair and sadness over our home. Then out of the gloom my son would ask me to show him something on the guitar and the clouds would drift away for a little while. I didn't realize it at the time but I was going there more and more for solice. To a magical place where I could be free from the madness.
Well my son kept asking me to start a band so I said if you play bass. He agreed. So we started recording, hired studio drummer Glenn Kingsland to do the drum tracks and four months later 'No Mans Land" was being mixed down.
It was release a few months later after mastering. I was never really happy with my voice or the mix. Drop some of the high EQ and it will sound a lot better. It is quite raw like some early " Who, Beck, or Blue Cheer".
My 15 year old daughter Niki created the name of the band. She based it on that I am basically a blues guitarist and we play hard rock with a little sweet perfume. You see in the beginning "Blue Rose Rocket" had my daughter Niki on keyboard. Some early recordings had her playing on keyboard. It sounded good but wasn't what we were after.
Once the Album came out we decided we needed a drummer so we could tour that summer. Glenn was not available so we started to audition drummers. Most thought we were nuts. our songs were too long or whatever. One drummer left his kit for weeks and never came back until I called him to pick it up. While it was sitting there in our music studio I told Niki to sit behind the drums and hit the snare to give us a beat to jam on. She did and after about two weeks of sitting behind the drums me and Chez knew who our drummer was. I bought her a kit and Blue Rose Rocket started performing live the summer of 06 and haven't stopped since. From Biker bars, Poker runs, benefits, town parades, festivals , colleges, grand openings and album promotional's the response has been overwhelmingly encouraging. My son keeps saying" I thought you said no likes this kind of rock anymore." Obviously I was happily wrong. Check out the live videos on our webpage recorded on a little Sony handycam.
Well another album is on the way. the song "Thunderhead " which you hear when you enter the website. Is a new song with Niki on drums. The song was a recorded live demo to help get us gigs but it came out so well and had that magic. So we rerecorded, mixed and mastered it with extra vocals that were somehow edited out of the original mix. Basically that's how we sound live.
Time and time again audiences come up and say they cannot believe the sound from just a band of three people. Others look over the equipment for some kind of lip sunk set up.
In an age where a recorded track can be changed, speed up, slowed down, modulated to another key, sample and stolen. I suppose it is hard to believe three musician can get up on stage with bare minimum of equipment , hard work , love and with a little magic show what a real hard rock power trio can do.
So what in store for the future? We are a live band and love to play. The more gigs the better. Studio work is fine and writing music is what we do. We have enough material for three albums but the road, the stage and playing for people that's where it is at for us. Spreading the magic.
Blue Rose Rocket has landed so get on board and take a ride.
Charley Ski
(BRR)
