Stream the new album by Rogue Wave - "Delusions of Grand Fur" released today, April 29th on Easy Sound Recordings!
If you like what you hear, you can order physical copies HERE and digital copies HERE.
Read on for a recent conversation with Rogue Wave frontman Zach Rogue with Radio Milwaukee, and stream the full album!
Thirteen years after the release of "Out of the Shadow," Rogue Wave returns with their sixth studio album, "Delusions of Grand Fur." Zach Rogue and longtime bandmate and drummer Pat Spurgeon have worked with various producers over the years, but have struck out on their own for the first time -- recording and producing the entire LP themselves.
The complete creative control has added a fresh and powerful energy to the release. From experimental percussion played on old office equipment to electronic elements, Rogue recently chatted with Radio Milwaukee on hip-hop inspiration for "Delusions of Grand Fur," the insecurities of songwriting and the process of recording the new album.
Stream the full album below the interview:
How did you get into music?
It started when I was an adolescent. I would go into a dark place of fear, frustration and isolation and I found that music helped me feel balanced. I had this place to go in my mind that made me feel like I could cope, a coping mechanism. Rather than something medicinal or some drug, music kept me somewhat sane.
I got the bug to write around 4th or 5th grade. I didn’t realize until I was out of college that I was actually doing songwriting. I didn’t think I was actually writing songs, because I worshiped bands. I was obsessed. My walls were covered in posters of R.E.M. and the Cure and the Smiths. I was so enamored with bands, I so badly wanted to live in their world that when I was writing, I didn’t realize I was writing music. It wasn’t until much later when I was recording on a 4-track that “oh, that was the creative process.” You can actually take it from where it is in your mind and express it in the recorded format. I know that sounds ridiculously obvious at this stage when I say it, but it was always just what I would think about when I was sad.
I wish when I was younger, I let it come out a little bit but I didn’t have that sense of self-awareness.
Did you feel you weren't worthy of making music? How did you actually start recording?
Yeah, oh my god. When we signed with Sub Pop, our first tour was opening for the Shins. That was a band I was into, I really, really liked their music a lot. We were playing festivals and meeting people in bands. I will say, it was actually kind of hard for me. I felt like I was in someone else’s life.
Rogue Wave wasn’t really ready yet to tour, we needed more time to learn how to play live. We were thrust into a situation that felt premature.
Emotionally, I just felt like I wasn’t worthy of being in the presence of all these people I respected so much. I didn’t feel like I was part of the club.
Were you were afraid you were a hack, or were you feeling humble?
Absolutely I felt like a hack. Like I got in on some sort of technicality. It still feels that way. I come across people all the time, even our own guitar player Jon, or our drummer Pat, I feel like, “those guys are actual musicians.” We had Mike Deni from Geographer come and harmonize and the record and I was like, “Dude, that guy is an actual singer.” He knows technique, born with this beautiful voice he’s crafted and honed into this amazing instrument.
I think most musicians have insecurity. Maybe John Lennon was a self-proclaimed genius, but most of us are operating on some level of insecurity. I find comfort in that.
