Good morning everyone and welcome to another Music Monday. Today I am featuring Whiskey Rider which is the new Single from Rooks.
“ROOKS is a 3 piece rock band which formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in July 2018. The band features Jay Bowcott on guitar and vocals, Darryl Swart on drums and and Brent Rossall on bass. Their sound is unapologetic guitar rock, drawing influences from bands like Thin Lizzy, The Rolling Stones and The Black Keys.”
I first discovered Rooks through Jay’s twitch stream and he quickly become one of my favourite streamers. His down to earth nature and fantastic guitar playing makes his streams very easy to watch. He has helped introduce me to lots of new music, not just Rooks, which I have really enjoyed as I always love discovering new music.
Jay was kind enough to answer some questions for me and you can find his answers in the post below.
You can follow Jay and Rooks on social media by clicking the links below.
Rooks Music:
Rooks Music has a very classic rock feel to it and their songs are very easy to get stuck in your head. I drive my husband mad by singing bits of their song Fire when I first heard it as it was so good! Their latest single is whiskey Rider which I’ve featured below but I’m also a huge fan of their song Fire so have included the video for that below too.
Interview with Jay Bowcott:
Tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a full time musician from Calgary / Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. I love folk music and outlaw country, it’s always been a fixation of mine since I was in my teens. It’s my life long goal to make a record that is a staple in people’s record collections. I’m still working on it! 🙂
What first got you into music?
My parents had some good pals that made them mix tapes when I was kid. They’d put things like, Neil Young, Dylan, The Byrds, Blue Rodeo, Tom Petty and Dire Straits on there.. So they sent me on a good path from a really early age. I’m grateful for that influence.
Who inspired you to make music?
Three big important letters. MOM. My mom was a big help, she used to encourage me to sing constantly and had me singing for the neighbours and my parents pals regularly.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I write about my life generally. I love folk and pop blues and bluegrass.. So it all comes out now and then. My songwriting as a result can be rather random genre wise because of the range of influences I draw from. I don’t like to be put in a box with it.
What is your creative process like?
I have a few different approaches when I’m writing. One of them is just to blindly start playing chords and making a song from nothing. The other approach is looking up performances from random artists I love and only listen to 1 or 2 chords of a song and then build on the direction that “intro” of a song was taking me. It’s crazy to see how different my song ends up than the song I was building from. There’s so many approaches to writing I’ve found over the years. Another approach is to write poetry and then build music overtop of the words.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo or Willie Nelson.. (one can dream)If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?WILCO! ❤️
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Thank you! I don’t think I realized how important external validation is, but the pandemic really proved to me that just loving music isn’t enough. Without others listening I would have absolutely no drive or inspiration. I work with the people who are listening. They’re my muse. So it’s a big resounding THANK YOU.
What is the most useless talent you have?
MarkioKart champion over here..
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Surprisingly I don’t.. that’s when I rest the vocal chords haha.. I just listen to the water.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I’d be dead. Not to be morbid or anything, but music is the most positive thing in my life and is my depression medication. The industry itself is a burden, but the music is a powerful antidepressant.
Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
Performed all over Canada. My favourite venue is the Medicine Hat Esplanade. Beautiful 750 person theatre. Love it. And MIKEY’S ON 12TH in Calgary Alberta.. They’ve been really great to me over the years. My band ROOKS is doing some Stampede stuff in Calgary but Canada is still coming out of the COVID situation so it’s a slow resurgence in the gig department.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
Twitch is a genius medium in my opinion. It’s really something. I have a hard time comprehending whether I like what the internet has done or hate it.. hahaha.. There’s just so many changes so fast. It’s a huge learning curve, but as streaming evolves I’m learning to love gigging within that medium. Right now there’s a lot of hoops to jump to have a good setup, but it’s bound to get easier, and it generates a great community.
What is your favourite song to perform?
All of them. Just LOVE playing.. but if I HAD to pick one.. I’d say it’s my song Ghosts.. or as far as covers go.. probably “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” by Bob Dylan.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
RIP: Tom Petty, John Prine, Tony Rice.
ALIVE: Jeff Tweedy, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler.
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
I don’t rock the boat that often.. haha
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Being comfortable means you’re making no progress… and the days when your guitar sounds the worst are the days you should practice the hardest. You make the most progress when you fight you brains desire to give up.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Get rid of the big wigs and keep it about the art. The people who control art that aren’t artists are the biggest problem.
What’s next for you?
Taking it one day at a time. It’s about the journey and not the destination. 🙂
Thanks for answering my questions Jay!
Music Monday Playlist:
You can now listen to Rooks and all other previously featured Music Monday artists on a special playlist linked below. Alternatively you can listen to the songs in Jays Twitch playlist which his lovely mod Criss has out together which I’ve also linked below.
Over The Rainbow Blog 