Before Rooney headlined Lincoln Hall on Thursday, Feb. 10, the DePaulia conducted an e-mail interview with the band’s front man, Robert Schwartzman, to hear his thoughts on Rooney’s musical evolution, fan base, future and more.The DePaulia: What is it like for Rooney to play in Chicago? What have come to associate with Chicago crowds?
Robert Schwartzman: I love playing Chicago. We’re always greeted with a warm welcome and enthusiastic audience. It’s been consistently great for us. I hear that from other artists as well, so there’s something in the air in Chicago, something I like very much. Great venues, food, history, etc. I guess I just feel at home playing for a Chicago crowd, so it’s comfort that I associate with it.
DP: Is this tour the tour to promote “Eureka?” Have you toured nationally for all of your albums?
RS: We tour around every album release. Even during our dry period, 2004-2007, we managed to keep touring without an album out. We have a great fan base, active and supportive of us. “Eureka” came out last summer and we toured our butts off all summer and into the fall. This is our 2011 tour to support “Eureka” and our new single, “Not In My House.”
DP: You’ve played with a huge variety of bands. What kind of experience have you gathered from that? Did playing with any group in particular mean more for you guys than another?
RS: Our touring history is very diverse, everything from cool alternative artists to super big-time pop artists. We’ve always tried to mix it up since our music appeals to all kinds of music fans. It’s great to see how artists interact with their audience, stage banter, things that pump people up.what works, what doesn’t work. And in all of that, finding your own voice, your own style, what makes sense for you. I’ve tried different things over the years and now I’ve settled into my show.
DP: You guys have also contributed to soundtracks, TV, movies, video games, commercials, how do you think Rooney is able to cross over into so many different outlets? What does that say about the band?
RS: We’ve been fortunate to have our songs used in other media to help promote our band. It’s all just promotion, trying to be heard. Radio is hard these days, especially for Rooney, so we and most artists need commercials, movies, and TV shows to use our music. I think people just find us, however they do, and they absorb our music. There’s no right or wrong way to get our music out there, we just go with the flow and keep our options open. We try to be as open to new things that come our way as possible.
DP: Describe the evolution of Rooney from its inception in ’99 and first album in ’03 to today.
RS: We started off as a high school band. No pressure, just after school fun. Writing songs to play shows, I always took it very seriously, always wanted to wow people with music and put on great shows. I still take everything very seriously and want to turn heads. That hasn’t changed. We just grew up, as you can imagine over the last 11 years. Finding our flow, what works for us as a band and individually. We made “Eureka” in my home studio and released it on our own label. That’s a big change for us coming from the old major label system. But it’s more appropriate for Rooney and for us and how we operate.
DP: What have you noticed about your fan base throughout Rooney’s career?
RS: Our fan base has changed, grown with us, and we’ve made new fans. I really don’t know how to describe our fan base, very mixed, which I suppose is a result of our diverse touring history. We just make the music we love and hope it stands and appeals to people. Can’t really worry too much about who are fans are, just have to be thankful that we have fans. Some people have left us over the years, outgrown us or whatever you or they or I want to call it. It’s not a good feeling to return to a market and to see that a particular fan (a face we remember) didn’t show up.or hasn’t shown up for years. I think you if you like a band, you like a band. If you desert them for some particular reason, than you were never really a fan of the music. Love for music shouldn’t be conditional.
DP: Do you consider your musical career a success? What constitutes success in this industry?
RS: Looking at where most bands are at, the big picture, I’d say we succeeded. However, when you look at bigger artists, then you feel like a failure. There are bands we came up with that are on top of the world and it’s hard to know that we may have reached that place ourselves. I don’t know. It’s all relative. You start to question things, moves we made, singles choices, video ideas, photos, tours, etc. Everyone needs something to blame when things aren’t going their way. But in all of that, I feel very lucky to be in Rooney, to have been on this journey. I believe you have to let things happen and leave it up to fate, destiny. It all happens for a reason and you gotta go with the flow.
DP: What do you have planned to happen or what would you like to happen for you guys next?
RS: Not sure. We have this winter tour, the “Not In My House” Tour 2011. It’s pretty cold right now, so just trying to stay warm and healthy to finish out this tour. We have another headline tour in April for a few weeks, then hopefully some festivals and back to Germany. Everyone has outside projects, so that is becoming more of a priority lately.