Skip to main content

INTERVIEW: The Rocket Dolls (UK)




Brighton rock trio have just unleashed their sophomore album 'DeaDHeaD' which is going down a storm with rock fans and press alike and they have quickly established themselves as a rising rock band to look out for and as a result, they have secured festival appearances this summer at Ramblin’Man Fair, Wildfire Festival and more. The band are currently on their UK tour supporting the album so I caught up with vocalist/guitarist Nikki Smash to discuss this, the new album and more...

Can you tell us about your formation?


We all met in college and all shared the same drive, passion about being in a Riff/Grunge Band outfit and when we formed Indie was huge and we hated it and almost wanted to get rid of it, haha! We were all session musicians and weren’t enjoying that so we decided to make the plunge and started the band!



How did you come up with your band name?

I was watching MTV2 or MTV rocks really late at night one of those I’m not going to sleep tonight, nights. Ricky Rocket from Poison was on a red carpet with a load of models everywhere as they do and was saying “These are my rocket dolls baby” all that type of thing and it just pricked my ears up and I thought “The Rocket Dolls, sounds like a quality band name”.



You have a strong grunge sound mixed in with other genres, what are your main musical influences?

I’m (Nikki) are influenced from Nirvana, Big Wreck, Thornley, Bush, Soundgarden, Stereophonics. Benji is influenced from Blues legends like ‘Bernard Purdie’ and Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Killing Joke, Paradise Lost, Nine Inch Nails. Joe is influenced from bands like Reuben, Mastodon, Nothing More, While She Sleeps. We are also influenced by each other and sports personalities like Anthony Joshua, Jenson Button and anyone who is proving things wrong and no matter what getting back up winning, succeeding. It is inspirational.



Your second album ‘DeaDHeaD’ which is brilliant by the way, is out on April 6th, what can fans expect from it? 


Firstly, thank you that means a lot. It’s extremely personal but very relatable pretty much everyone who has heard has said how powerful the subject matter is and how its already helping them through their daily struggles with depression, anxiety. That is amazing and hopefully the message and subject can help more!



Can you tell us about the writing and recording process for the album?

I wrote the record pretty quickly, when I was going through a few things as was Benji its sounds cliché however but it just all came together and when we went back into the studio with ‘Mark Roberts’ the process was rewarding and again it just all came together it took time as we went through a few member changes in the bass department which meant myself (Nikki) and Mark Roberts had to re-record all the bass.



What are the main lyrical themes running through the album and how did you arrive at the album title? 


It’s all about depression, anxiety with a few hints of revenge! I guess I’ve become a rock n roll cliché with the revenge haha but again it just kinda poured out as I was going through a lot as was Benji and the track ‘DeaDHeaD’ just semmed to be the most complete song on there and it just felt right to call it that.



How do you think it compares to your debut album ‘Eyes’?

Honestly, we don’t. We are completely different band in terms of age, needs and wants of the world personal lives and now we have ‘Joe Constable’ in the band (joined December 2016) the band finally feels complete and apart from the odd track on there ‘Eyes’ is very far away sonically, subjectively and emotionally from ‘DeaDHeaD’.

You are heading out on a UK tour to promote the new album this month (April), how excited are you for this and what are your live shows like for those that have never seen you before?


Interesting you ask this because we have for the first time completely changed how we play live and reworked the whole set around making the songs off ‘DeaDHeaD’ sound the best, biggest they could possibly be and man we are so excited people are in for a surprise!



What new songs are you looking forward to playing most and why?

None of This is Right, Drowning, The Last Thing On My Mind, for the diversity and different feel we’ve never played anything like Drowning or The Last Thing On My Mind live before so it’s a new experience for us too! We are super stoked to play them all though!



What else do you have planned for the rest of the year?

We are playing Ramblin’Man Fair, Wildfire Festival and hopefully announcing some other sweet shows later in the year, maybe jump over to Europe too… we are writing already for the next record which we plan to start recording November! No messing about with us now!



Anything else you would like to share or add?

Thank you to everyone who is/has getting behind us and our new record ‘DeaDHeaD’ and buying the new merch sharing us on social media and downloading and streaming our songs. We are extremely grateful for you all and thank the universe every day to be able to be ‘The Rocket Dolls’. Thank you for taking the time to interview us, it means a lot!


Check out their latest video for the title track 'DeaDHeaD' below:





For more on The Rocket Dolls:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY Guitarist Marc Rizzo, Set To Release Rotation March 30th Via Combat Records

SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY guitarist Marc Rizzo has set the release date for his new LP ROTATION, in stores March 30th via Combat Records/EMP LABEL GROUP/AMPED in North America, and COMBAT/SPV in Europe. ROTATION is the 4th solo release for Rizzo, following 2004’s COLOSSAL MYOPIA, 2006’s THE ULTIMATE DEVOTION (both released by legendary shred label SHRAPNEL), and the independently released 2010 LP LEGIONNAIRE. Produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Hatebreed, Soulfly, Rob Zombie, Chimaira), and featuring cover art by Melody Myers (Escape The Fate), ROTATION is a blistering showcase of Rizzo’s pummeling eclectic diversity, showcased on album tracks including “Spectral Intensities”, “Thrash Boogie”, and title track “Rotation”, combining Rizzo’s penchant for pummeling, low-end riffs, with thrash-intensive leads and heavy Latin flavor. Check out an album teaser featuring “Spectral Intensities” below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4pU91aaGeY Originally a member of New Jersey lat

DEVILDRIVER Reveals Part One of New “Outlaws ‘Til The End” Interview Series

Globally renowned, chart-topping band DEVILDRIVER recently announced the upcoming release of their highly-anticipated full-length album of outlaw country-gone-metal anthems, Outlaws 'Til The End. The monstrous collection of savage metal interpretations will be released via Napalm Records on July 6, 2018, and pre-orders are available now in multiple formats via http://smarturl.it/OutlawsTilTheEnd-NPR with more format options coming soon. This week, DEVILDRIVER is pleased to reveal the first of several segments of a new interview commentary series supporting the release of Outlaws 'Til The End. The first segment, titled "Intro to Outlaw Country", features members of DEVILDRIVER as well as album guests Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Lee Ving of Fear, Hank3, Wednesday 13, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory and Brock Lindow of 36 Crazyfists discussing their personal introductions to the outlaw country genre and how it has influenced them as musicians. In the video, Faf

CHELSEA Announce First Batch Of ‘Mission Impossible’ Tour Dates

Punk legends CHELSEA have announced the first set of dates on their ’Mission Impossible‘ tour, starting at the Undercover Festival in Margate on April 14, 2018. 14/04/2018 UK- Margate, Undercover Festival 20/04/2018 UK- Coventry, Arches 21/04/2018 UK- Preston, Continental 16/06/2018 D-Stuttgart, Goldmarks 17/06/2018 CH-Bern, Rössli 18/06/2018 I-Torino, Blah Blah 19/06/2018 I-Bologna, Freakout Club 20/06/2018 I-Milano, Ligera 22/06/2018 CZ-Písek, Podčarou 23/06/2018 CZ-Ostrava, MC Barák 24/06/2018 SK-Kosice, Collosseum 25/06/2018 PL-Warsaw, Poglos 26/06/2018 PL-Wroclaw, D.K. Luksus 27/06/2018 CZ-Teplice, Knak Club 28/06/2018 D-Dresden, Chemiefabrik 29/06/2018 D-Berlin, Cassiopeia 30/06/2018 D-Düsseldorf, The Tube 13/07/2018 UK- Brighton, Prince Albert 14/07/2018 UK- London, Underworld The bands long awaited and highly anticipated new album ’Mission Impossible‘ was released on Westworld Recordings in October 2017. Undercover Festival takes place at Dreamland, Margate on Apri

Back On Earth Release NEW EP & Music Video

  Back on Earth hit the scene again with melancholic yet lyrically edge cutting "Brand New Day", title track of the brand new EP, featuring Richmond based Telltale, who's had previous support from Pop Punk's Not Dead on Spotify. With "Brand New Day", Back On Earth are going to cut it straight after a few years writing music and are set to gain fans all over the world. The track, which is a follow up to "Heroes" and "Somebody Else", is set to anticipate the new EP which was released on November 20th. Check out the video below: Tracklist 1 - Brand New Day feat. Telltale 2 - Back Home 3 - Until Tonight 4 - Somebody Else 5 - Heroes 6 - Until Tonight (Acoustic) https://www.facebook.com/wearebackonearth https://wearebackonearth.com/

SMALL TOWN TITANS' Viral Bluesy, Hard Rock "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" Topping 2020 Christmas Playlists

  York, PA heavy rock band Small Town Titans' incredible rendition of the classic "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" is fast becoming a Christmas standard! Showcasing the trio's bluesy, heavy influence and front-man Phil Freeman's phenomenal range, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” went viral in a matter of days in November, 2018, leading to charting on various Billboard charts including Holiday Digital Song Sales, Rock Digital Song Sales, Emerging Artists, while reaching #5 on the Next Big Sound chart. The song also reached #2 on the iTunes Rock charts, only being surpassed by Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. So, if you're ready to throw off 2020 and get into the Christmas spirit, add this exceptional cover to your playlist! "Our cover of this classic is a gift that keeps on giving for us and we're grateful for an era where songs are easily available to be covered. It's all thanks to Ben's (guitar player) insistence on making more content and our m

SETTLE YOUR SCORES' New LP 'Retrofit' Out Now via Mutant League Records + The New Video "Broken Heart Scenario"

  Cincinnati, OH pop-punks Settle Your Scores have released their new album "Retrofit" via Mutant League Records. The band is also debuting a nostalgic new video for the track "Broken Heart Scenario." Vocalist Christian Fisher says, "The Broken Heart Scenario video is living proof that it was never a phase. We wanted to capture the visual elements of 2005 emo music videos accurately, but with a humorous twist. This video is a salute to all the elder-emos out there. Stay true, and lay your eyeliner on thick."   Check out the video for "Broken Heart Scenario" below: Stream/Buy 'Retrofit' Here: https://orcd.co/retrofit "Retrofit" vinyl includes a limited 12" vinyl pressing + multiple apparel designs which each reference tracks from the album. Vinyl Pressing info: Blue Splatter: 150 Blue Marble: 350 'Retrofit' reunites the five-piece with producer Nick Ingram at Capital House Studio (Hawthorne Heights), who previously