Rock N’ Rose
The Shea Rose sound is funk, soul and rock and roll. Rose’s sultry voice over a roaring guitar creates a musical blend of alternative rock, r&b and deep funk. As Shea Rose puts the gears into motion for her new EP Rock n’ Rose, this new artist bridges a fresh style with a familiar sound, creating a platform so cutting edge it's hard not to take notice.
“I know that I am not the face people are used to seeing when hearing my sound,” said Shea Rose. The songstress is rare in today’s music scene; her blend of rock and soul is somewhat absent in mainstream music. Standing out as a breath of fresh air amongst her musical peers, Rose was able to use the absence to push her musical growth.
“I am a black woman singing rock music, but I think that it is something that has always been in black music,” said Rose “I could look back at some of the performances from artists like Ray Charles, James Brown and Little Richard. These artists really planted the seeds for rock music.”
Rose recalls when she was discovering her sound, a time when she took what she lacked and turned it into her greatest strengths. It was also through this journey of discovery that Rose was introduced to a whole new musical genre.
“Many of the artists that I was inspired by I didn’t sound like, artists like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. I could sing their songs, but I didn’t feel like my voice had the same timbre and tone. So part of me trying to find my voice looked into other music and the other music that I started listening to was classic and alternative rock.”
Rose discovered artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin; she used influences from these artists to allow her voice to deliver stories through her music. These were stories with no embellishments, just straightforward and raw, something rock music is known for. It wasn’t long before her passion for music motivated her to branch out. She joined different bands that allowed her to travel and develop her knack for performing.
Coincidentally, her road to establishing herself led Rose to enrollment at Berklee College of Music. With very few musicians considering college as a contingency, Rose saw it as a golden opportunity.
“I just felt like something was missing. I felt like there was a lot of natural ability that I was given and born with but in order for me to tap into it in the depths that I want, Berklee was the door for that.”
Rose used the performing art school, which lists notable alums such as John Mayer and Natalie Maines, to acquire knowledge on the academic and technical aspects of her craft.
“It helped build my musical toolbox. Being at Berklee has completely transformed my life. It has helped me figure out who I am and what I want to do and say as a musician.”
As a musician, Rose is very liberated and empowering. On tracks like “Rock n’ Rose”, Rose takes the listener on a groove theory revealing her sensual, intelligent and edgy style; on the track, she chants “Rock n’ rose is a feeling/flip it how you want/can’t put it in a box”. These lyrics embody all of what Shea Rose stands for. Her uplifting content, her femine touch blended with rock allows for her material to stand on its own and outside of that box, making it something that resonates and can be felt.
“There are so many ways my creative process goes down,” says Rose “I just sit down in front of the piano or I’ll pick up a guitar and I’ll start strumming chords and then a melody will come, other times it would come from lyrics that I have in my head and then I’ll try to place the lyrics inside the chord structure. Sometimes someone would give me a beat or a track and then ask, ‘can you write to this’?”
It was Rose’s music that grabbed the attention of the legendary Cindy Blackman.
“I recorded a project in Italy with Cindy Blackman, who used to be the drummer for Lenny Kravitz. She is definitely a rock drummer, who’s edgy and funky.”
Rose first caught the attention of Blackman when she was asked to be the opening performer for Berklee’s Women in Rock concert event. The event celebrated African-American women in rock music. Blackman, who was also performing at the event, was really captivated by Rose. She approached Rose and discussed working with her on a future project.
“Initially I thought that she wanted me to sing on her projects, it turns out she wanted to produce my album. She has a production team in Italy, so they flew me out to Naples to record the album.”
With Blackman as one of her mentors, Rose describes the experience as inspirational.
“It was a lot of hard work for a short amount of time,” said Rose, “I think that getting out of America and getting out of my comfort zone was a big thing. It made me stronger as a person, it made me open to cultures and ways of living and looking at life in multiple ways”
Though the newcomer may have already worked with vets like Cindy Blackman, she knows she still has a long way to go and so much more to accomplish. Her project in Italy sparked even more motivation, as she’s back in the states putting the finishing touches on her independent EP Rock n’ Rose, which is very different from the project she worked on in Italy.
“The inspiration from this album comes from everyday life, if I go out and I hear some live music or if I listen to some old Donny Hathaway.”
Either way, it sounds like this songstress digs into her “musical toolbox” for this EP. Rock ‘n Rose will be a compilation of songs that provide the platform for Rose’s own introduction to the world as a recording artist. This very same platform will allow Rose to blossom into bigger and better things throughout her musical career.
“The sound that I have right now is a building block. I see a lot of evolution in terms of where I’m going to go vocally,” said Rose. “I really believe that now that I understand my voice, obtained all this knowledge, and I see myself performing the songs of those I listened to growing up.”
“I see myself doing everything that I love at some point. I want to get out into the world. I have so many ideas and I don’t think it will stop at my music, my creative process will continue to flourish in many directions.”
The world can’t wait to see what Shea Rose has in store.
For more on Shea Rose her and her upcoming perfromances visit her MySpace page.
DA
