Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with Bastion Rose
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
When I was a very young child, I would ride around in my dad’s pickup truck listening to the radio station, Q95, which broadcasts from Indianapolis, Indiana, US. That’s were I got my love of bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was an education! I’ll never forget the first time I heard the intro of Iron Man. That was it for me.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I picked up the guitar for the first time when I was 10 years old. After about 3 years, I had a decent grip on the basics and began experimenting with my own riffs. A couple of years later, I was given a BOSS BR864 8 track digital multitrack recorder for Christmas. My dad and grandparents pooled their money to get it for me. It gave me my first chance to create layered guitar parts as well as bass parts, drum patterns, etc. This is when I first began singing and writing lyrics as well. I was addicted…and I still am.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
The band’s name, Bastion Rose, is a symbol of strength, while a rose represents beauty and fragility—capturing the core theme of finding resilience and meaning in the face of life’s hardships. This concept was forged from a series of difficult personal experiences, including the loss of both of my parents and a battle with cancer that threatened my ability to sing and play guitar. The music became my solace, a way to process grief and transform pain into art.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I have been asked that many times and I always think it’s a tough question to answer. I would begin by saying that it is hard rock. Big guitar, big drums, soaring vocal melodies. It’s cinematic and potent. Emotional. A writer from SPIN Magazine recently described us as an “appealing blend of Bad Company and A Perfect Circle.” That was a new one…but I really liked hearing that!
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
You MUST be true to yourself. Writing just for an audience is for sales people, not for artists. If you write from the truth that is in your soul, you grow as a person, and your work will resonate with the people it is supposed to resonate with.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
My loop pedal actually has always been a crucial tool in my writing process. It’s more organic than sitting down at your computer and working in ProTools. I work in ProTools a lot too, but it is important to me stay open and organic in the writing process. The loop pedal helps me discover melodies and essentially jam with myself.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
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How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I have had to overcome a lot in my life. My childhood wasn’t full of safety and love by any means, and I’ve experienced a lot of loss. Both my parents died suddenly a few years ago, and I have fought, and beaten, a cancer diagnosis. My artistic approach is directly informed by hardship, and rising above it. My music is dark, but optimistic. It is intended to be a shot in the arm for the listener that gives them power…like it gives me.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Courage in the face of adversity, and the knowing that good things can still come even when it seems that darkness is everywhere. Keep breathing. Keep moving forward.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
For me, music is like a gateway to a deeper reality. It’s a conduit to true things that live just beneath the surface. It can give you a glimpse into things that have remained hidden in your heart, and set you free of hidden chains.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I think Sonic Temple or Welcome to Rockville would be great for Bastion Rose. We would be thrilled to be invited to any festival where the music was a good match. And when I reach into the depths of dreams I barely dare to say out loud… I want to open for Metallica.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
I think Tony Iommi or Tom Morello would be incredible to collaborate with. They both are masters of the RIFF. For me, everything starts with the riff, and they both have given the world so much of the absolute best rock music that has ever been created.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube. You can listen anywhere you get your music. Our LinkTree will get you wherever you want to go!
https://linktr.ee/bastionrose
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
In no uncertain terms, Bastion Rose wants to bloom. It wants to grow toward the stadium lights and tour the world. We want you to think of Bastion Rose when you think of great bands like Metallica and Tool and Led Zeppelin.
That said, writing and recording are always the number one priority. We have so much music in the pipeline and are eager to share it with our fans. Touring must support that and not detract from it, and I want to build a team that includes a booking manager that shares our vision for our future.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Honesty and authenticity are at the basis of Bastion Rose’s music. We make music that pours naturally from ourselves. We are not aiming at a specific audience. The audience will come if the music is pure, and that is evidenced in our growing and passionate following. You can’t imagine how grateful I am to our fans. I wake up to messages from people every day from all over the world that have just discovered our music and love it, and I have to tell you, it really makes me feel great.
