EMQ’s With Rockin’ Engine
EMQ’s With Rockin’ Engine
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Heavy Metal band, Rockin’ Engine. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Guitarist, Steve O Leff, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hi there! I’m Steve O Leff, vocalist and guitarist for Rockin’ Engine. Although we first started as a cover band in 2015, we officially formed as a band in 2018 when we wrote our first demo album “Midnight Road Rage”. After two years of building a rather good reputation among the musicians and radio stations in the Ottawa (Canada) region, we decided to write our first EP, “The Wretched And The Damned”, which showcased a heavier version of our band. Right after the pandemic in 2022, we started recording our latest EP, “Altered By Evil” with Dark Moon Productions, and we are absolutely proud of our hard work throughout the production. To this day, we truly believe this album will pave our way toward bigger things.
How did you come up with your band name?
In all honesty, I think it’s a stupid name haha! We came up with this name when we first started as a cover band. We were more hard rock oriented at the time and we were looking for something catchy that reflected what we loved most: anything with an engine that can leave a mark on the pavement, and hard-hitting rock and roll! As we evolved towards a way heavier sound throughout the years, the name has become quite misleading at first glance, but as one of our friends said to us once: the name of your band has the reverse Ghost effect. You expect Steel Panther but you get Whitechapel (which is nonsense but we found it hilarious haha). We have talked about changing our band name a few times, I guess we’re still debating if it would be favourable in the long run.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
All members are from the Ottawa/Gatineau region in Canada. I can honestly say that all musicians here are considered family and many of us have created solid bonds throughout the years. We helped each other in good times and bad times, which only proves our music community is absolutely amazing and strong. Nobody is competing here, we’re all here to help each other rise (well, as far as I know at least). As for the live music scene in general, our region is pretty tough to break through. Don’t get me wrong, our audience is outstanding and very supportive, but being a very bureaucratic city, it’s often a hit-or-miss situation, regardless of the bands playing. I often say: If you can make it in Ottawa, you can make it anywhere!
What is your latest release?
Our latest EP, “Altered By Evil”, consists of 6 horror-themed and hard-hitting songs. This album is a tribute to everything we love about horror movies and serial killer documentaries. There’s a fascination behind the love of the macabre and the grotesque that we wanted to explore with our lyrics and expose different nuances of some classic works of art. With this album, we’re bringing the audience into a fantasy world of monsters and evil spirits, with a dash of historical elements that make the listening experience even more interesting.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Oh, that’s a tough one! As a kid, I was listening to so many artists like Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, Motley Crüe, Van Halen, and so on. The classics! I would say that Zakk Wylde was probably my biggest influence as a young guitarist, even though I learned a lot through Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. As I got older, I got into the harder stuff which greatly influenced my writing process. Marylin Manson was pretty relevant at the time and opened the door for me to explore other genres. I would say, as a vocalist, Corey Taylor is one of my greatest influences. Whether it’s in Slipknot or Stone Sour, the guy delivers a hell of a performance.
What first got you into music?
When I was a kid, I was always attracted to musical instruments when I went somewhere else, I didn’t have any instruments handy at home. When I was around 12 years old, my older brother (from another mother, literally) was visiting my father and bringing all his music gear. He had so much stuff I had never seen before, it was quite an impressive collection for his age (he was 17 at the time). But it’s really when I watched him rehearse for hours, playing a wide variety of hard rock and metal songs from Van Halen to Iron Maiden, that I knew in my soul that I was made to play music! That same weekend, my brother showed me a few tricks and chords to learn, that’s when everything started and I never stopped enjoying it.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
There are so many, but I’ll go with my top 3 for now. Three bands that I have followed and listened to over and over again are Trivium, Gojira, and Killswitch Engage. Their music is just so well written and they always find ways to evolve without changing too much. Musically, they’ve all been a huge influence in our writing. It’s heavy and punchy, with incredible drumming, and the bass just rumbles in the best way possible. The range of vocal techniques in these bands is just amazing, and very inspiring. Another vocalist I would dream to work with is Corey Taylor of course. His energy is simply contagious!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Although there are so many killer festivals nowadays, I have to say Wacken Open Air is on top of my list. This festival has been around for a very long time featuring the best hard rock and metal music around the world. The people in Germany have an insatiable appetite for these music genres and their energy during this festival is absolutely insane! Performing there would definitely be a dream come true.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
A few years back in one of our early shows during summertime, we were playing to a packed house. At some point while I was singing, I received something quite damp right in the face: it was a sweaty bra! While everyone was laughing, I picked it up and hung it on my mic stand to finish the show and invited the owner of the bra to meet me after. To this day, the bra still hangs in my closet!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Thank you, thank you, and thank you! The genuine love and support we receive from our fans is just mind-blowing. There’s no better feeling in the world than having people come up to you after a show and tell you how much they loved your music, it makes all our hard work absolutely worth it and it motivates us to push ourselves even more. Without our fans, we wouldn’t be where we are now in our musical adventure, so THANK YOU!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I would have to say, Eddie Van Halen. He was such an amazing musician all around and he revolutionized guitar playing and craftsmanship. To this day, he still inspires guitarists throughout the world to push the limits of guitar wizardry and I really wish I could’ve seen him perform live before he passed away.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Being able to create and express your thoughts and feelings, and bringing to life your wildest fantasies in an artistic matter, is an absolute privilege. There’s just a therapeutic aspect to writing and performing your music that no drug or medication can ever achieve. That feeling in your gut when your music transpires through your audience, and the adrenaline rush in your entire body when performing, are the most satisfying feelings in the world! On the other hand, being an independent band requires a lot of work besides writing music. Managing all the social media platforms, promoting our music, and planning shows, while remaining relevant and interesting to our supporters, can be quite time-consuming and overwhelming. I guess it’s something we’ll have to work on in the near future.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Royalties on streaming platforms are simply ridiculous! People nowadays don’t buy physical copies of their favourite bands as much as they used to, and it’s understandable given the commodity of streaming platforms that offer all the music you want in a split second. However, at a fraction of a penny per stream, it’s impossible for a musician to make a decent living only from that. It’s expensive enough to professionally produce an album, musicians should be able to expand their creativity without worrying how to make ends meet. In the end, the rich exploit the poor to become richer, and the poor continue to struggle to chase their dream. It’s a sad story really.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
There are so many, but in the past two years, I would have to say that “Fortitude” from Gojira is an album I can’t get tired of listening to from start to finish. The production sounds absolutely massive and the music is amazingly captivating. This album tells a wonderful story from one song to another, exposing the realities of the world we live in. Definitely, an album to listen to!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
For me, it’s definitely vinyl! I have an amazing Rega RP40 turntable with a Line Magnetic power amplifier and high-end stereo speakers. The listening experience is just magical! The warmth and sound quality through this system is just something I never heard through other platforms. When I put vinyl on, I simply feel the need to sit down, have a drink and analyze the entire album. Regardless of genre, it’s always a satisfying experience to truly understand the story behind an album.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
I have a few top favourite shows to mention, like opening for Yngwie Malmsteen to a sold-out venue and warming up the crowd for Death Angel, that was insane! The one that really hit me the most was opening for one of my guitar heroes, Tony MacAlpine. I remember watching this incredible musician on a DVD, going toe-to-toe with Steve Vai with his incredible talents. When we were asked to play this gig in our hometown, I just couldn’t believe it! When the time came, Tony actually took the time to talk with us, take a few pictures, and he even thanked us for our show. That was an incredible feeling I will never forget.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well, music is definitely not my main source of income, at least for now! I’m actually a certified electrician and have been working in that field for over 20 years. I even spent five years teaching this in an adult trade school. I’m now running a business which takes a lot of my time obviously, but I make time for my passion which is music. If I wasn’t doing any of that, I would most likely be a chef. I love cooking, especially BBQ and smoking meat. I love watching people eat my food and enjoy themselves, I take pride in the food I make!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Well, for a dinner party, I would most likely invite Wes Craven and Stanley Kubrick (if they were alive of course), John Carpenter, Rob Zombie and Tom Savini. I would love to pick their brains about movie direction, production and the elaborate conception of real special effects, over a few glasses of wine and scotch. I’ve always been fascinated by all the hard work and preparation it takes to shoot one single movie, let alone box office hits, without the use of digital effects. That’s exactly why we built everything from scratch ourselves for the production of our music videos; no corners were cut! As for the after party… I would definitely hook up with the guys from Steel Panther. We partied with them once, and that’s all I’m gonna say on the subject haha!
What’s next for the band?
Now that our new music has been released, we want to focus on playing live as much as possible. Writing music and shooting videos is a lot of fun, but it’s sometimes a long process that kind of disconnects us from our fans. We love performing and seeing everyone in the pit, that’s our paycheque right there! However, we have a few plans up our sleeves for the future, including a full-length album and maybe producing a short film. I’m currently searching for partners and funding sources to start the planning process of the film, and it’s obviously going to be horror oriented. Other than that, we’ll see what life brings us along the way.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Our main platforms for promoting purposes are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These platforms are all very unique and reach a different audience, so with all combined, it’s actually quite efficient. We also have a Bandcamp page and most definitely a YouTube channel. Although I’m not a huge fan of Spotify, we do have a Spotify account that we use quite often to promote our music on social media since so many people are using this streaming platform.
Bandcamp – https://rockinengine.bandcamp.com/music
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rockinengineofficial/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rockinengine/?hl=en
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rockin_Engine
Youtube – https://youtube.com/@RockinEngine
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/2t981sILvRjiJ77UA1tbOp?si=EJPW8no3Sgu-DOTRRfFRZg
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Well since they all describe the same piece of bread, it would depend on where you are from in the UK. I guess an oven bottom is more of my type!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who helped us with our latest album. Dark Moon Productions and Light Is Art Studio for music and music video production, Asher Media Relations for an outstanding job promoting our release, all the media outlets for the amazing reviews and support throughout the process, and most importantly, thank you to all our fans who keep supporting us in every way they can. Without all of this, none of this would be possible!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.