In Conversation With Rocky Bottom

Rocky Bottom Show is a solo project from Nashville-based musician Rocky Bottom. His music is reflective of both Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello, with Nashville grit and grime thrown in. His music contains a theatrical and circus twist and showmanship, with a macabre storytelling element.

His other band Hell Tupet is a punk- rock theatrical experience with the band members playing the parts of a macabre menagerie led by a frontman who is eerily similar to drag legend Barry Humphries character Bert Schnick from Rocky Horror’s sequel Shock Treatment.

Both musical projects are unlike anything you have heard or seen before, and their carefully constructed and genius music are destined for the stage as a fully-fledged macabre musical. 

How did you both get involved with music?

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet: Me (Rocky) and John met like what we were like, probably 11 years old. And I think punk rock, we're both very into that because all the older kids I think were into it, We started listening to it and then it kind of just became like a scene, where we'd go to all the shows together and started our first band, and it was kind of like punk-ska kind of stuff.

Rocky Bottom Show is your solo project, but your band together Hell Tupet is your band together. So how did you get involved with both? 

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet: The Rocky Bottom Show I made up right before I moved to Nashville in 2015, and I heard John Prine and started getting into like, singer-songwriter stuff and that's what put the idea in my head, I was living in Florida at the time. And it put the idea in my head like to move to Nashville and write songs. I was really into lyrics and especially writing songs like John Prine.

And I was like, I'm going to make up a name and I moved to Nashville and start doing that. And then not long after, John moves to Nashville and we created Hell Tupet!  Hell Tupet was like punk rock or rock'n'roll, but it didn't feel like what I was doing at the time, and it felt like it should have its own project. 

What genre would you put Rocky Bottom Show and Hell Tupet in?  I know sometimes some artists believe that their music transcend genres, which is really awesome, but if you had to sort of find a genre to put those two projects in, what genre would they fit in?

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet: I think I just call it rock'n'roll, but there's so many different influences in it.  We grew up listening to a lot of pop punk type of stuff. You could hear a little bit of that. We like a lot of regular old rock and roll. And we love punk rock. There are tons of influences in both projects!

What I love about both of the projects is that I feel like its all performance art. You all take on stage personas when performing, like Rocky Bottom is a circus type ring leader, while Hell Tupet has a macabre style with Rocky paying homage to Barry Humphries’ Bert Schnick from The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s sequel Shock Treatment. It’s unlike anything I have seen in modern music! It is all very theatrical. 

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet: I think with Rocky Bottom, it's naturally theatrical because with us, it is going to be theatrical because we are just goofy characters. But were inspired by a multitude of different musical genres, and movies such as Rocky Horror and Shock Treatment and mob movies dump it all out and let it out there and have fun. We are very theatrical!

I feel like there's a storyline that goes through all of you all's music, both the Rocky Bottom Show and Hell Tupet, and I feel like there is a sort of horror, punk, and horror rock element such as in your songs Scary Movies, Motel Hell, Brain Sick Love, Little Screen, and Cocaine Mary. I feel like there's sort of like a horror element that's really prevalent in both of those projects.

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet: It’s all about ejecting what we are inspired by! Horror films, comics, goofy and silly song titles and premises, etc. 

This question for both of y'all. Where does your inspiration come in terms of writing music? Does it come from a story that you create in your head, hence a reflection back to the theatrics? 

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet:  I find myself like speaking in tongues over like a melody that I compose. And then a phrase comes out and then I'd find myself turning that phrase into a line. It takes me the longest to finish, but if it starts with like a phrase and a melody, and those two come at the same time, those are the ones that tend to be like, alright like this is going to be pretty done soon! I'm (John) not a writer at all.

It's really Rocky doing all the writing but we are. We're together now. I think we'll try to work on songs together now and see how we're going to play it all as a band. But really, Rocky is doing the writing and coming up with the melodies and lyrics and stories. And I love to be there to watch it grow and I hope he always keeps asking that if I think it sucks or not and I'll always tell him.

I love you all's music, and it really inspires me. It reminds me of the cult musicals I love like Rocky Horror and Shock Treatment, Phantom of the Paradise, Rock and Rule, etc.  I think your music would be amazing in your own musical! It’s that theatrical. 

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet:  I think so. The album that we are about to put out is definitely like a whole story. I think it should have been a musical. But like, since I can't, I don't really have the budget to make a musical right now. I just got to put it out. But there's a whole story. And we are excited for people to hear it! 

Are there any new music or any new projects in the works? Any new albums, any new singles? I know you just released the new single Machine Man for Rocky Bottom. But what about the rest of your projects? 

Rocky Bottom Show/Hell Tupet: There's a lot of unreleased stuff on both sides that needs to be released . Because it's at the point where that stuff's done and we got new stuff on both sides that also is being done now. So we're kind of backed up on both ends!  So we will need to set a date for the stuff to release.

I don't think we talked about a solid one. I'm going to put out another single under Rocky Bottom.  It is called Strangers Of Love . Also, I will be releasing a remastered and remixed version of Scary Movies! We are indecisive perfectionists.  So we will release new music when we think it's perfect for the fans!

Article By James Reeves