Interview: Jolly Rox (Written)

Jolly Rox are hard rock band with glam influences from Florence, Italy. With new releases and tours planned, we get to know them a little better in this interview.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

Hello and Thank you for having us here! Well I guess the for me like all the people of my age, the one that were lucky enough to being kids or teenager around the 80’s and 90’s, we grew up in an extremely vibrant and exciting era for music. Beck then there was a lot of things going around from NWOBHM to trash metal to glam and grunge so it was pretty easy to find something that can represent and excites you musically.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

That is a difficult question to answer. We take pride in saying (and showing) that we are not bound to a single clique. We lay our roots in the glam metal scene of the sunset boulevard but we embrace so many contamination and influences that is really difficult to point out a specific genre. We take many elements including a strong use of electronic and put them together to create the vibes and sounds tipical of Jolly Rox. Maybe someone will say that we are boosting ourselves but in fact we play something that was not here before.

3. What’s currently keeping you busy? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

Currently we are busy working on 2 more singles and video to be released before summer and a European tour in October. Also we constantly work on new material and ideas that can bring us and our project onward. Also new dates for the summer will be announced soon.

4. What is about this current period that is particularly exciting for you?

Well we are living in a strange period that for many reason is similar to the ’20 and for many reason it’s a dark period but after the darkness always comes the sun so we keep a positive vibe and being together and working every day to build something is pretty exciting!

5. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you.

As everybody know making a band a reality can be a challenge sometimes. Different heads thinks in different ways but today we have a very strong line up. We all have a very professional attitude but at the same time we are friends and we love spending time with each other and this make thing more efficient and fun at the same time. Being in this band is very important to me, it feels like having an extra family.

6. Making music and being creative can be a very positive experience and can be very good for the mind. In what way has making music had a positive impact on your mental health?

Having the chance to be in a creative environment is always good for mental health. Creativity helps us to get in touch with our deeper self and bring outside our deepest feelings and emotions. Also being involved in a creative project helps you to set goals ahead of you, it helps you to focus your energy toward something that you feel is bigger and very important. As the saying goes “if you have a destination even the desert is a path” so what can be better than this for mental health?

7. It can also be incredibly challenging, more so in the modern times. What have been some challenging aspects of making music and how have you overcome them?

The most challenging aspect of making music is being heard. Today we live in a time where there is really too much information going around, everyone can publish tracks or even full album of Spotify, so to stand out is really difficult. We overcome this with a very intense live show, something that goes beyond music and quickly builds a bond with the audience. Also we are very active on social, we love being in touch with our fans and keeping a true and strong connection with them.

8. How do you handle the online aspects of being in a band? Having to put out content constantly, promoting across several different social media platforms, and having your success measured in likes and follows?

Being on line and having a strong social profile is important today. We pride ourself of having a fourth “non playing” member of the band (Erika) that is our crucial point in keeping our social up and running. Measuring your success by likes and follow is a dangerous game, is a bit like measuring you success by the amount of money you make, so we rather measure our success by the level of real engagement of our follower that not always can be measured in likes and follow.

9. How do you make this part of things enjoyable, and fulfilling, for yourself?

Making music and playing is just a small part of the process so if you keep a light and playful attitude toward all the other “duties” including the social you make it more enjoyable.

10. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help you?

Come and see us playing live, follow us on our socials and if you like have a look at our merc because at the end of the day making music is expensive and merchandise is something that really helps us in financing and fueling our project!

11. Outside of music, what do you like to do to relax?

I love to workout, ride my bike and spend time with my friends and family.

12. Where can people find you?

Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify