Brisbane-based band The Rockefeller Frequency create energetic indie-rock music fueled by anxiety, loud guitars, and an uneasy sense of impending doom. They combine influences from musical artists such as Nirvana and The Strokes as well as writers such as George Orwell. The band have recently returned after a hiatus of several years.

Having time off was rewarding for the four piece, supplying them with many rich life experiences as well as subject matter for their debut album, Chemicals. New single, “Good Apples” follows in the footsteps of previous singles “The Rift” and “Sheep and The Wolf”. It’s the third track to be lifted from the debut record, which was released in March.

“The new single ‘Good Apples’ is a redemptive tale that starts in a very dark place, with a protagonist that has basically given up on everything. He contemplates his endless mistakes and somehow figures out how his life could be worth living, and actively seeks it out. It’s not all bad in the end, which helps in relaying these types of stories. It’s positive, but you have to work through a lot of garbage to get there, just like real life.”
– Joshua Eckersley (vocals)

With a true punk rock ethos, the songs recording process took place in the band’s own Basement Studios in Brisbane, and was engineered and produced by the band also along with the bulk of their newly released debut album. “The beauty of doing it yourself,” says Joshua Eckersley, ”is you can take your time, and try some really weird shit, and you don’t have to answer to anyone or worry about money. You just create art, go about your day, then do it again.”

The Rockefeller Frequency are Joshua Eckersley (vocals), Jacob Mann (drums), Tim Corcoran (guitar) and Michael Russell (bass).

The debut album, Chemicals, is out now.  To celebrate its release, we chat with vocalist, Joshua Eckersley about The Rockefeller Frequency’s past, present and future…

What does the band name mean to you?

It’s a reference to having so much control and power that you stop being human. 

Where is the band based?

Brisbane, Australia

How long have you been together?

About 10 years.

What style of music do you play?

Energetic indie-rock, with screaming vocals and loud guitars. 

Give us the story of the band’s formation.

We all grew up in Lismore, NSW. We’ve been friends for years, playing in different bands, breaking up, moving on, coming back together, endlessly. We have a strong connection between us though, and when we all got back together to start this project, it was pure gold right from the start, and we all knew it. 

Tell us about your influences.

We love heaps of different stuff. Not always hard rock bands, but yes a lot of the time it is hard rock bands. Bands like Refused, At the Drive in, Violent Soho, The Strokes, Wombats, Nirvana, The Smiths. 

Tell us about your latest release.

Our debut album ‘Chemicals’ is something we’ve worked on for a couple of years now, having written and recorded the entire thing ourselves. We’ve taken a real DIY path, not relying on any outside contingency to make it happen. It’s an upbeat rock ‘n’ roll record, with lots of dark themes, catchy hooks and killer guitar riffs.

What are your goals for the band’s future?

Now that we’ve finished our first album, we all just want to do another one. It’s been a greatly satisfying journey and we’ve all been really happy with the outcome. And now that we know what we’re doing, we want to do it again, but harder, faster, louder, all that shit. I can’t wait! 

If you could share the stage with any other band or artist, who would you chose?

Violent Soho. Such a great Aussie band. They’ve consistently delivered the goods for a number of years now and they’ve really led the pack of the latest wave of killer Aussie rock bands. They’re from Brisbane too, so that would make it a bit easier for us to make it to the stage on time, cause we know the roads pretty well.

What can you tell us about your live shows?  

I’m a little biased but I think our live shows are top notch. We don’t like to disappoint anyone, let alone ourselves, and we certainly don’t want to be back stage, contemplating our future after a horrendous show. We want to kill every time, so we rehearse, we get tight, and we rock. Simple.

What do you think sets you apart from other bands?

We have been working on our sound for a long time. We know what we like and we don’t settle for less. We just work really hard on sounding good, and it’s got to be catchy, it’s got to have hooks. There is too much middle road out there, and that’s not something we want to do. 

Explain why you think a new listener should give your music a go.

Mostly for entertainment. It’s good stuff. We know it. So should you.

What has been your biggest achievement as a band, so far?

The new album ‘Chemicals’ for sure. We’ve worked hard on it and it sounds great. We’re super proud of it. We’ve done heaps of good stuff over the years, but this album is by far the best. 

What else do you hope to achieve?

Hopefully not die any time soon and achieve more of everything.

 Where can fans find you online?

https://www.instagram.com/therockefellerfrequency/ 

https://www.facebook.com/therockefellerfreq/

https://soundcloud.com/therockefellerfrequency