Getting to Know… Rozu | Interview

For our 19^th Interview in our ‘Getting to Know…’ series, Tim Graham, frontman of Rozu, ‘drops the scoop’ about the post hardcore foursome.

Ah, the time has come for the very first interview of 2019! The focal point of our 19^th interview on The Musical Hype in our ‘Getting to Know…’ series is Denver, Colorado post-hardcore band, Rozu, comprised of Tim Graham (vocals), David Sundine (guitar), Henry Navarre (bass), and Brian Robertson (drums).  What does the name Rozu mean? Apparently, it’s a Japanese word for rose – pretty cool right? Without further ado, frontman Tim Graham drops the scoop about this hard rocking collective.

Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype (BF): Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with Rozu, what would you say makes this band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Tim Graham, Rozu (TG): The thing that truly makes us unique is our diversity of writing. A lot of artists almost have formulas to their music and then when they change their sound old fans tend to [be] upset by it. We don’t want to have that formula and we want to be true to ourselves and write how we are feeling in that moment.

BF: Cool. Music fans love solo artists and bands to be ‘true to self.’  Moving on, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Rozu form and what were some of the goals or the visions the band had early on?

TG: The band started off with me (Tim) and DJ [David] getting together and writing a few ideas here and there. We had played in a previous band together and have a unique chemistry when it comes to writing, we had felt we didn’t quite accomplish what we set out to do with our old project, so we really searched for the right guys. Enter Brian and Henry! We wanted this band to be the band for us and hopefully get us this dream career. We all are just on the same page and we all kind of mapped out the next two years for stuff we wanted to accomplish. We just want to write music for us and take our show to the road.

BF: Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

TG: Only being together for a year our goals are still the same. It is nice because we just set little milestones here and there and timeframes to accomplish them. The goal is the same and we just keep checking off the milestones to ultimately reach that goal then move on to phase 2.

BF: Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?  

TG: We draw a lot of influence from Underoath, Saosin, and, The Plot in You. All three of these groups have done so much for this genre of music and the “scene” and in some way or another keep that drive and determination within us to keep the ideas coming.

BF: Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.  

TG: With an older project we were in Canada and another member of the band actually dislocated his shoulder climbing the roof during our set. It was the first time in Canada for us and literally this little half torn down house was the venue and it was just kind of a party so when he did that, there was a lot of laughing, some panic, and a fun trip to the hospital in the middle of nowhere.

BF: Wow, sounds like quite the experience! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

TG: Aw this one is tough. My favorite song we’ve recorded is this single called “Rue” which we’ll be releasing a little later on. The song really just came together in a day and is a super, old-school, post hardcore song – I love it. It is very special talking about a chapter in my life which I just have recently closed and it has an amazing guest spot on it from a vocalist I have looked up to for many years. I absolutely cannot wait to play that song live and release it for that matter.

BF: Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you Time, or the other members of Rozu? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

TG: As a matter of fact, DJ, our guitarist only has one ear which is always a fun story, he was born that way, but we try to convince people a bear clawed it off. Other than that, our drummer Brian is an extremely talented fellow and has done some plays and musicals.

BF: Closing this thing out, what is Rozu currently working on or promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

TG: Well, we are currently writing another EP when we already have one and an album on the way so that is pretty rad that we have all this content to work with. Other than that, we are releasing a new song January 15, 2019, titled “Anchor,” with our first music video as well so be sure to check it out. Along with those we are booking a couple tours right now for late spring and summer and can’t wait to play more shows in different cities.

BF: Thank you so much Tim for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck to Rozu moving forward. 

Rozu Socials and such: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify

Photo Credit: Rozu, Brent Faulkner