Words: Darci Jackson
Photo: Barnaby Fairley
As we sat downstairs in Manchester University’s Student’s Union on a cloudy yet mild afternoon, Rosellas were the perfect picture of nothing short of tranquillity. Drew Selby (lead vocals, guitar) and Ollie Appleby (bass) described their biggest hometown show at Academy 2 that evening as ‘natural.’
“Without sounding arrogant, it’s not intimidating and it’s not surprising,’ said Selby.
But he also carries on with how gig days leave him feeling a sense of unease, but Dizzy Magazine was none the wiser to this:
“Until the moment I walk out onto the stage, I can't fully enjoy my day. I'm always thinking, like, have I brought everything, is my guitar going to be in tune, is the merch set up, you know.”
Rosellas are well versed in Manchester’s gig circuit, having played all the ‘must-do’ venues on their way to playing Academy 2 such as Gulliver’s, Band on the Wall and Academy 3. They also recently played the O2 Apollo alongside James and Star Sailor for Music Feeds, a charity aiming to tackle food poverty.
“We walked out on that stage and we didn't feel out of place. It felt like comfortable. It felt right. We were like, Fuck, this is where we're meant to be. We meant to be doing this for our own gigs,” said Selby, with Appleby adding:
“They've played every stage that we want to play. It gives us an avenue to follow in their footsteps.”
Taking elements from shoegaze, rock and psychedelia and bundling it up into what we know as Rosellas, the band cite artists like Pink Floyd, The War on Drugs and The Verve as their influences.
“We share a lot of common ground with the likes of The Smiths, Noel Gallagher, Michael Head, Ian Brown as a lyricist, Richard Ashcroft as a lyricist. You know, like Northwest music royalty, if you want to put it that way.
“We want to sit in the middle ground between, like psychedelic rock and shoegazey elements and like indie rock that you can tap your foot to and hear on the radio.
“We don't want to be a pop rock band, and we don't want to just write A side hits, and, you know, Radio One hits, because it's not what we're like as songwriters and musicians but then again, we don't want to write 10 versions of Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” said Selby.
As we spoke about bands they’d seen at Academy 2 themselves, Selby began to reminisce about his time working at the AO Arena on the bar and gave some well versed advice.
“I think when we headline the [AO Arena] I'm gonna say, be nice to the people on the bar. You don't have to leave a tip because the pints are seven quid, but just don't be a dickhead.”
Amen to that.
Rosellas’ covers of popular songs (everyone should go and check out their cover of Billie Eilish’s BIRDS OF A FEATHER!) is where they really get to showcase their talent, putting a Rosellas kind of spin on pretty much everything. But they’re still unsure on whether they’ve found who they are yet.
“I don't think we have found our quintessential sound. I think we are yet to find it. I think we're on the way, but I don't think a band does find it within their infancy years.
“I think in a live gig, a full band headline live gig, that's where people can really hear the Rosellas sound,” said Selby.
Rosellas carry an air of grit and determination about them, making us think they’re not going to stop until they’re headlining the AO Arena and everyone is running around with Rosellas fever.
“More gigs, bigger gigs, better gigs,” Appleby tells us when asked what we can expect from them.
“Well, every band would sit here and say big things wouldn’t they. Just graft man.
“We’ve written more, we've had more meetings with people, we've recorded more, we've rehearsed more, and I guess next year, the flood gates are going to open on all that,” added Selby.
An exciting time to be a Rosellas fan for sure. And if you don’t already know, then get to know.
You can find all of Rosellas' music here.