Tough times don’t last, but gritty bands do. Van troubles come and go but these guys are sticking around for the long haul in music.
A little Colorado Springs band is experiencing the highs and broken van lows of being a touring band trying to make a name for themselves. Nathan Alexander (vocals), Matty Wardlaw (drums), and Jaime Nelson (guitar) make up the uniquely named Roots Like Mountains. They have been busy going out recently with the likes of I Set My Friends On Fire!, Alteras, and Adventurer, and shortly with The Bunny The Bear.
In a recent conversation, the band discussed topics like their new video, their old cover, and a few other things you’ll just have to dive into to find out for yourself. If you see the guys live, have something you’d like to comment on with this interview, or even just want to hint to us who to stalk until they talk to us next… hit our Facebook or Twitter feeds and let us know your thoughts.
NRR: Thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions for National Rock Review. What’s been going on with the band, Roots Like Mountains, so far in 2016?
Roots Like Mountains: Roots Like Mountains has been hard at work re-crafting and tightening our sound. We are in the works of a new album and released a single from the record “Dead Man” on Jul 14, 2016! Be sure to catch the video and grab a copy of the single off of iTunes.
NRR: Let me start off by asking about the tour you’re currently out on. My apologies for not being able to see you in person when you hit the World Famous Frankie’s Inner-city stage recently. Who are you out with, how many more dates are left, and how has the experience treated you guys so far?
Roots Like Mountains: We are currently on tour with I Set My Friends On Fire! We have about two weeks left with them then we move on to a short headline tour after which is our final summer run with our friends The Bunny The Bear.
Touring has been great! We have had a blast and are meeting so many of our incredible fans! we are floored by the support that each city has shown us.
NRR: Give me the history on the band. How’d you first get together and who all is in the band because it seems to me there might have been a recent roster change for you guys?
Roots Like Mountains: The band started in my one bedroom apartment a few years back. We began what would Roots Like Mountains as you know us today because we were inspired by the dedication and genuine love for music and listeners that our favorite bands had at the time. We just welcomed a new guitarist into our family and we could not be more proud and excited to call Jaime family.
“We are excited to release the first single off of our forthcoming record. “Dead Man” is a culmination of our thoughts, fears, and questions. It dives into the mind of a man who has lost everything being “trapped in his skin.” Psychosis… We hope “Dead Man” will spark like thoughts and push our fans to start asking questions. To dig deeper into the “why” instead on just taking what you have been told at face value. This is just the beginning!” ~ Nathan
NRR: Explain to me what aggressive rock is, and how does that describe the band’s sound?
Roots Like Mountains: “Aggressive Rock” is all about emotion and the intensity felt by the listener or the viewer of the music or live show. We get crazy and we have unexpected moments in our music that continually keep the “Aggressive” vibe.
NRR: On your Facebook page, it was mentioned last month about filming a video. What can you share about the video and where can someone check it out?
Roots Like Mountains: We did! We shot a music video for our new single “Dead Man,” that came out on Jul 14, 2016, in New York at the Rolling Hills Insane Asylum. We cannot wait for you to see what we have been up to!
NRR: RLM has gotten some attention for your “The Heart Wants What It Wants” (Selena Gomez) cover. Did someone lose a bet or how did you guys pick that song?
Roots Like Mountains: (Laughing), we did that cover a little over a year ago. We had decided we wanted to do a pop cover and a friend of ours suggested the Gomez track. We were a little puzzled on how to pull it off well, but we made it happen and the reception of it was incredible.
NRR: This one goes with the last question a little bit. There seems to be two camps on making it within music. It’s all original material vs. Original and/or non original music for the two positions of this point of contention. In a perfect world, where would you guys fall?
Roots Like Mountains: I believe we fit comfortably in the middle. It is tough to find your own voice in all of the noise without taking some sort of influence from others but being able to take the influence and craft it into something new is where we come in.
NRR: For a band in the contemporary setting of today’s music industry, how important is staying on top of your online presence and engaging your fans through it?
Roots Like Mountains: In today’s world online presence and social media engagement is a must! With out it you are already sinking. Point blank, online presence is one of, if not the quickest and most checked form of communication between you and your fans.
NRR: With the raise of stories about bus/van/trailer theft rising, as a smaller band have you had to deal with that yet in any way or have you found a good system for the band to avoid it so far?
Roots Like Mountains: We have. We don’t pull a trailer at all. We pack our gear in the trunk space of the van and have someone near or in the van at nearly all times.
NRR: Just out of curiosity, with some big named bands doing crowd funding campaigns for recent drops, would there be a possibility of RLM doing something like that for a new album down the road?
Roots Like Mountains: Absolutely, we would definitely consider crowd funding a record later down the road but he haven’t found the need for such a medium just yet.
NRR: I’ll hand over the somewhat dubious National Rock Review microphone, don’t mind the faint smell of tequila on it, is there anything you’d like to plug or mention before Thirsty Thursday starts here at the cantina?
Roots Like Mountains: Keep up with us on all social media and track us on Bandsintown so you never miss one of our shows in your hometown.
