The Corduroy Blue on the Debut Album, Inspirations, and Instincts
by Tiara Grace
The Corduroy Blue is a pop-rock band composed of two Atlanta-based brothers, Atticus & Luke Roness. Their self-titled debut album is available to stream Nov. 11. Their most recent release, Her Majesty’ is currently available to stream right now. Read on to learn more about where The Corduroy Blue started, how the band plans to expand their presence, and the songs that speaks the most to both Georgia and New York.
EU: Who is The Corduroy Blue? How did you two brothers come together to create this band? Humble beginnings?
AR: Yeah. Well, we're still in the humble part of the beginning [laughs], but we've been doing it for a couple of years, and we were in a different band a while back. We're brothers and we just had an affinity for 70s, 80s, 90s music. There's a statistic out right now that says, like sixty percent of the most streamed music, is cataloged music, which means it's been out like it's not new and a lot of that has to do with older music. So, me being a lover of that, there's obviously a market for it. I kind of wanted to just be a band that you don't have to go to the past, you can look forward to the future and get some of that, but in a very new way. We do a lot of very modern production. We want it to sound really clean, pristine so just combining those two worlds has kind of been our thing. Since COVID, we released the first single under The Corduroy Blue. We saw success there locally and regionally that we hadn't seen before and we’ve just been kind of riding it. And after playing, you know, almost a hundred shows under this name, we really felt like people were like the demand was there for a record. And um, the songs we've been playing. People seem to really resonate with it. So yeah, that'll [the album] come out, November 11th.
EU: So I see in here that you take, like you said, inspiration from major rock and roll legends. I saw on your website, The Clash, Bowie, The Beatles. Could you talk a bit about what parts of their sounds interested both of you and how their work kind of played into creating your own?
AR: Yeah, totally. Well, I definitely think that The Beatles are like, it's definitely not where it ends, but it's definitely for me where it starts just there. Like just any kind of alternative folk, any indie rock. I mean, you can trace it back to, you know. I think people who say they don't like The Beatles, I understand that it was made 60 years ago, so I understand if some of that's not going to translate or some of those things are dated. I mean, I love all of it, but I can understand why somebody would say that. You have to respect the fact that people writing their own songs as a band, consistently, people using techniques in production and overdubbing and just the overall sound, like, wouldn't exist without them. I take inspiration from them there, but also literally melodically. I just don't think there was any band that was just as innovative for the time with their melodies.
They're still timeless, obviously. I mean, 26 million monthly listeners on a platform that has very little to do with the real success that they had, just astounding to me. I love the bands like I mentioned, “The Clash” in there, and Bowie, that's more from there's some things in there musically, but just their whole vibe. Those two artists in particular just didn't care what people labeled them as. They just continued to break boundaries. Something with this record is…we've been told a lot of times and we've gotten some different attention from different people. A lot of times people are hesitant with us because they don't know what we are. Like, every song is different. Every sound is a little, you know, not like the next. The [upcoming] album doesn't really help that. It's only more of that which I like, and I get that from those artists. ‘Radiohead’ is another one where they just sort of were told to be in a box and they just did the opposite and I'm not naive enough to think that we're in the same association as those bands, but just to gain inspiration and say, like, you know, I just get bored of writing the same thing over and over. And this record is really just like kind of a mix of all my favorite artists and genres in the pop, rock, rock and roll sphere. So I think a lot about their boldness. ‘The Clash’ made this album called “London Calling”, which is a top five album for me and the album, they were a straight punk band that went regularly.
Reggae, ska and pop and people were, like, real punk heads who were kind of, like, upset by it. But, I mean, it inspired so many bands like “Sublime” and “The Police” to do what they did. So I'm trying to think if there’s any more. I mean, I'm really into ‘Oasis’ and ‘Supergrass' ' and here all that you have you Fueeges, Simon & Garfunkell. All of that is on this record. So, yeah, just take little pieces of everybody.
EU: Cool. And between the two of you, is your songwriting process kind of siloed off or do you guys kind of just brainstorm ideas together and see what sounds and feels good?
AR: Yeah, well, for the most part, since we're in the age of, like, a lot of people are creating on the computer and they're making things from that perspective. I wish I was better at that. I'm a musician. Like, I play guitar and keys and bass. So it all starts very much from that. And also, I think we don't really tend to jam out when we're writing. And I think that's why the songs don't have crazy parts as much as it is. Like. Just a hooky melody because I'm always starting from that place of like. I was taught. Like. A great song is a great song if you can strip it back of all the production and all the stuff and.
The song that it's bare bones you and an instrument is just as good. So, I'm from that school of thought. I always start a song from that perspective. I think it helps with crafting a really hooky melody and all the other stuff at the end just aids to it and helps it and serve the song. And so, yeah, just full of thought. And most of the writing is me. My brother does sing a song on the record and you'll know it when you hear it, it's very different. It's very fun and kind of like rockabilly and that's, like, his style. I wrote the music and he wrote the words, and that was really fun. That was more collaborative but for the most part, I have a basis of a song and come to him and he tells me what I should keep, what I should throw out, what I should move around, and then we just get in the studio together and just kind of chop our parts up.
EU: That sounds really great! So I listened to “Bye Bye Love”. I loved it. I can totally see myself blasting this out of my car. And I saw it was released this past summer, but even in the fall, this is going to be great.
AR: Love that song. That's awesome.
EU: What was the inspiration behind writing that? I watched the [music] video on YouTube, and I really liked it!
AR: Oh, yeah. Well, that's awesome. That song is the oldest song on the album. I wrote that [song] when I was 17 years old and it just kind of was a part of the old band, that song. There's just something about it. I just thought the melody was good and I knew there was potential so I threw away all the old songs pretty much, except for that one. I just thought there was something to it, and it ended up being the lead single on our upcoming album. So it just shows how I think just staying power that song has, and the producers and mixing engineers in the studio we use really helped that song come to life. I think we have the little reggae part in there, and there's just so many cool aspects of that song. I mean, that song was written with our ex family and my good friend. Her name is Auburn, and we co-wrote that together lyrically. It was just a simple, fun time in my life, and I think that song reflects that. No job, no responsibility, none of that. So I think it was just a good time in my life, and I think that song reflects that carefreeness.
EU: Yeah, I really liked it. Honestly, I grew up and wasn't really into rock, but as I got older, I kind of appreciated it more, and even finding songs that I can kind of resonate with, even if I'm not fully like, “It doesn't reflect my story.” Especially for audiences to hear and to know that you wrote this a long time ago and it's still so relevant.
AR: Totally. I think that is cool. It still means something to me. I think I wasn't even writing about a specific time in my life, but for some reason, it still resonates so that’s really cool that you also think that.
EU: I know you guys are from the Atlanta area, and I saw that you guys do a lot of performances in Atlanta, obviously, and Alabama. So, what do you think makes you guys stand out in that area and, like, your experience being performing there?
AR: Well, that's an awesome question, first of all. I'd say the main reason is because nobody really sounds like we do in general, I think but especially here it's very hip hop and very thrash, like heavy punk-based. So we stick out like a sore thumb. Like it's very melodic, very harmony, very, 70s sort of hippy pop rock and so it sticks out a lot, especially in Atlanta. In Athens and in Nashville, we fit in more, but here it's just fun because we still feel respected. I think a lot of those people still respect us because we have chops and we have writing skills. Even the heavy metal heads are like jamming out to the ballads, which I think is cool, but I think just in general, our sound just helps us stick out and I think us being brothers. I would like to think, I don't know if you've seen any of the videos, there's not a ton of videos of us playing live. I like to think I'm a pretty good performer and my brother is a good performer and, you know, I just think that it all kind of stands out. We get a lot that it feels like from a time before but suited for the time now. So I like that whole sort of cohesion of those two areas coming together. I just think that the sound is very unique and that nobody's really doing it. I think people are touching on it and doing different things. I know a lot of bands that are very old school-inspired that are a little weird and a little wacky and I love those bands, but a lot of the general public isn't ready for that sort of palette. I feel like we do a good middle ground of introducing that but also making it to where you could hear it on the radio.
EU: And kind of like jumping off of that. Do you feel like because you have such a specific sound when it comes to marketing or social media, the greater industry, do you feel like it's been kind to you or is there still kind of a struggle to kind of work to gain that larger audience?
AR: Well, I think in general it's a struggle for anybody. I've noticed that even the big artists have to promote themselves in this day and age. You have to put the guns out and spend the money and do the right kind of promotion. Doesn't matter how big you are at this point. Like, everybody needs it. I'm a huge fan of “The 1975” and their records came out today and they killed it on this promotional run. They did reels and videos. They're huge, but they still had to do it to get the proper support. Especially a band like that who I think is working against the tide of people wanting to hear their old stuff again. They're trying to reintroduce their new stuff and I think they just really did it well this time. Anyways. I bring that up because it's a struggle for anybody. I feel like from a promotional standpoint, we've got a really great creative team and people seem to really resonate with our promotionals and again, right now we're in the era where nostalgia really sells. You post an old 70s aesthetic kind of thing and people are just like eating it up. So I think that bodes well for us because our sound is just sort of nostalgic in a way. It's definitely been a challenge and stuff like this I've been working on and just trying to get our name and our brand out to different people. In this area, I think we're doing really well and people seem to know who I am and know who we are. That's a really cool thing, for sure.
EU: That's awesome. Yeah. So let's talk about the album a little bit more in depth. Do you have a specific track that you want people to resonate with or even you yourself like you resonate with and you want people to know about?
AR: Yeah, totally. Well, we've got the next single, “Her Majesty”, coming out November 4. It's the final single and we thought long and hard about it like, “Do I want to do a third single? It's like the week before the album. I don't know if it will have a proper push. I want to give these other singles time to breathe” and a couple of things that I thought of. Everybody's attention span on the Internet is so small, it's like a meme only lasts a few hours and then we're on to the next thing. So I think that works in the favor of releasing a lot of music. You could release a song and you have hype for like two weeks and then people are ready for more, which I think is cool. It can feel a little defeating. Like you just put a ton of time and work into this and people are already ready for the new thing but with an album roll out, working in my favor and that way we just released “Dreams and Nightmares, which I think is maybe my favorite single, very Prince-inspired and I really wanted to ride that one hard and it seems like people are really enjoying the last two, “Bye, Bye Love” as well.
I kind of was just going to do those two because we've already got two other ones that we released prior that will be on the record. That's four singles and I think I just had to decide what is the qualification for making the song a single and you could say radio play or marketability. For me, I think I decided if people didn't listen to the album and they only saw, like, the single, what are the songs that I want to make sure they hear? “Her Majesty” was at the top of the list. It means a lot to me. None of these songs would exist without that song. I wrote this when I was 19, and it was just kind of like the breakthrough moment for me. We were a very indie pop band before, and when we re-branded and changed our name, this song was kind of the reason for that. I wrote this, and it just clicked. The music I was listening to is finally the music I was making, which is a cool moment.
Every other song we've released, really, since then, like, “Bye Bye Love” or anything on the album, I kind of owe to this song because this song really helped me become my own as a writer. It's about the cycle of love, and I split the song into four acts. The first chorus is about the longing of love. It's just about two star crossed lovers who weren't meant to be, became and Act Two is “The Dream”. They get together, they fall in love. Act three is a demise, life happens, things go downhill from there, and they depart. And Act 4 is a return. Not in the sense of you think they get together, but she ends up going with somebody else.
But I think at the end, there's this kind of a mutual agreement that they still love each other. That's still a beautiful thing, even if they don't end up getting together anyways, I just think that that song is so beautiful, and the story is really cool. And I don't mean this to be conceded at all. I was trying to make it like this, but I listen to “Bohemian Rhapsody” by ‘Queen’, and it has that sort of epic dive to it, and it's nowhere near the level of that song, but that was what I was trying to do. I just want to make sure people hear that song and the heart behind that song. If I'm remembered for any song, I think I wanted to do that one. So sorry to get all digging deep on it.
EU: No, that's perfect! I definitely wanted to know, especially because this is such a big album, I definitely feel like hearing you talk about which song kind of helped you kind of rebrand, especially because you have a different band, I really liked learning about them. I'm sure other people would love to learn about that as well.
AR: Yeah, it'll be really cool. I hope that story comes across, because sometimes when you're writing a song, it can be hard for that kind of stuff to come across. I'll probably make a video about it, but I just hope that the message of that song comes across. I'm glad that you dug it.
EU: Yeah, definitely. And I know since you guys are based in the South and you said, like, Nashville, you kind of have that vibe. If you guys came up here to New York, to the East Coast, is there a song that maybe people would like? I feel like people on the East Coast, when it comes to rock, especially, I definitely have friends that are obsessed with rock and they'll go to any rock show in New York. Is there a song on the album that could be for New York?
AR: First of all, I think it's important to know that me and my brother were actually born there, in New York.
EU: Oh, cool!
AR: We were born there, and I was there for a few years, and that's a second home to me. Like, we go there all the time. So I would love to play there. That's a goal. That's a thing we're looking at next year to do a little East Coast run and go up there and play. When I think of New York, I kind of think of the whole, like, there's glamor and there's grit and there's all these in between emotions. There's a song. I think “Give Me Love”, the first song on the album, is very gritty, and I think it's very rock and roll and I think you're into rock music, which I think a lot of people in New York are, that'll be a really cool song. There's a song called “Nature of the Game”. That's the second track on the record, and it's super disco, like 70s, 80s and when I think of skating in New York, and I think of just the sleekness of it, I think of “Saturday Night Fever” that sort of like I could totally see myself walking down the street of New York for that song.
I'd say I think it'd be awesome if you guys, like, made a little New York playlist or made a little song for New York in the interview. And just “The Nature of the Game”, I think it'd be cool. Yeah, that'd be awesome. And also because I think that's also “Nature of the Game”, that title just feels so New York to me. Like, things are going to happen. It's just the nature of the game. So that's really cool. Yeah, that would be my answer. My answer for, like, our state and in Georgia would be “The Death of Me”. It's very rockabilly, very southern. So I thought it was cool to go back to our roots on that a little bit, but it's not even very country. My favorite country is, like, when, rock bands from Britain would try and do country songs because it feels kind of, like, off-putting a little because that's not their country or culture at all but they tried it. It turned out awesome. We kind of honestly did that more than anything but yes, “Nature of the Game” for New York.
EU: I love to hear that. So, I kind of want to close by asking you, what do you want your fans, or even new listeners, once they read this interview, to grab from your album? What do you want them to feel? How do you want them to feel?
AR: Yeah, that's a great question. I want you to feel I think that there's sometimes, I think in this culture, in the same age, like, everybody seems to put on a front, put on an aesthetic and maybe hide their true self because it's not cool or cliche or haste or whatever, but this album is extremely vulnerable and I'm extremely innocent on this record. I'm extremely happy and some of these emotions aren't necessarily cool or super interesting, but I just like that this album is a really good representation of my life.
I had a pretty good upbringing, and all this material is from [ages] 18 to 20, when I wrote it, pretty much. I feel like it's just a really good representation. We all have shit happen to us, but at the end of the day, I feel like the majority of us, we have jobs and we have friends and we eat food and we drink water and we breathe air, and it's, like, very mundane. And I feel like the song glamorizes the mundane in a cool way, like this record does. It makes it cool, it makes it fun, but just listen to it and enjoy those emotions, those sad emotions, those happy emotions. Just let yourself feel it all, because I'm giving 120% on it. Let yourself feel that passion and let it come through in your own life. And it's not stupid. It's not weird to be passionate about something. It's not weird to try hard. I think some of those things can be looked at as uncool, to be vulnerable. That's I think, what I would say, it's not uncool to be vulnerable. This album is very vulnerable. I think it's really, like my heart on tape.
I think that's what I want people to get out of it, to be vulnerable with it, with me along for it. It's a long album, with 13 tracks. I want for people to just go with the flow and enjoy it. I don't expect everybody to like every song on it because it's all so different, but I expect everybody to have a song: “This is my song on this record. I might not even listen to the album ever again, but I'm going to wear this song out.” Just to be open to new music and to be vulnerable and I think you’ll be very happy with how you feel.
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