The music of Rocketface isn't easily compartmentalized, it's a total experience, one best consumed whole.
The first thing that hits is the jaw-dropping voice of Joseph Janisse. Soaring, otherworldly, occasionally snarling, and larded with emotion, Janisse sounds like a choirboy with bad habits and heavy issues. But that voice is merely part of the equation.
Janisse is also Rocketface's drummer. That's him, on his riser, in the middle of the stage at a gig. Alongside guitarist Ray Zilli and rhythmic co-conspirator, bassist David Markham, Janisse gives Rocketface something most bands would kill for: a unique angle on top of inventive songwriting and awesome musicianship.
"We're into great music," Janisse says. "We don't want to be a band where it's all style over substance.
"Strawberry Fields Forever is a good example of what we're going for," Janisse continues, referencing the Beatles' classic hit. "It's an extremely strange recording but it's a song you can still sing. It's not something you listen to just because you think it's cool. You actually like it for all its strangeness."
"Nine times out of 10 today if you're listening to the radio and the singer isn't singing, you have no idea who the band is," Zilli adds, expanding on Rocketface's modus operandi. "We try to avoid that, and I think we do."
Serious sonic freight is likewise evident in Rocketface songs like Pack of Lies, Lit, and Death Never Dies, the latter a crunching guitar-propelled scorcher that lurches between anthemic chorus and jagged melody line.
Not surprisingly, Rocketface's atmospheric, multi-hued sound intrigued noted producer Matt Dematteo, whose dossier includes work with Big Wreck, Danko Jones, and Hawksley Workman.
Yet despite stylistic bells and whistles, the three members of Rocketface insist their songwriting is strictly organic, the happy (though seldom easy) byproduct of endless jamming, tweaking, polishing, and perfecting.
"With all our music," Zilli explains, "We jam for hours creating an atmosphere and then suddenly out of the air will come a riff like Pack of Lies. Days later while listening back to it we agreed to develop it further."
"Songs start that way," Janisse says, adding that their status as a trio gives them a distinctive dynamic as players. "But songs reach a point where there's a sense of craft and we all agree on it."
"Right," confirms Markham. "Joseph will sing over an idea and then we'll jam on it more to continue the organic growth, and it goes from there."
The band's innate rapport is almost a given: the three have written and played together off and on since their high school days in Windsor, Ontario, where the menacing power of Motor City rock and soul seems to exist in the ether.
What has kept the band vital and constantly seeking new sonic challenges is an unwavering belief that rocKetface has something meaningful to say and an inimitable way to say it.
"As songwriters, we feel a measure of growth every day. Every day," says Janisse. "If you like music with a psychedelic edge, but that's also totally modern, well, that's what we're about."
Lit
Rocketface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
doesn't mean a thing
doesn't mean you're living in a beautiful dream
bird has flown in the air
when you go to reach for it
but you reach and you know
you're gonna succed
when you gonna
i think you better
i really think you better see the sun lit
when you breath in the air
do you really care
do you care or is it just simply the air
how you been with the boys
do you think it's gonna be alright
when you fight, do you think it's gonna be right
just let your mind slip away
The lyrics in Rocketface's "Lit" seem to encourage listeners to take a break from the stress of everyday life and embrace the beauty around them. The song is clearly addressing someone who may be feeling overwhelmed, as evidenced by the line "what you got in your head / doesn't mean a thing / doesn't mean you're living in a beautiful dream." The singer is suggesting that this person needs to let go of their worries and enjoy the world.
The bird metaphor suggests that sometimes things, like ideas or opportunities, are within reach but we're too afraid to take a chance. However, the singer has faith that the listener will succeed in whatever they reach for. The song also seems to have a theme of being present in the moment, as indicated by the questions "when you breath in the air / do you really care / do you care or is it just simply the air" and "how you been with the boys / do you think it's gonna be alright / when you fight, do you think it's gonna be right". It's like the singer is urging the listener to appreciate the small things in life and not get too caught up in other people's expectations.
In the final line, "just let your mind slip away," it seems like the singer is encouraging a state of mindfulness or meditation. By letting go of anxieties and simply being in the moment, the listener can find peace and joy. Overall, "Lit" is a song that encourages self-care and living life to the fullest.
Line by Line Meaning
what you got in your head
Rocketface is questioning the thoughts and ideas that the listener carries in their mind.
doesn't mean a thing
The thoughts and ideas that the listener carries in their mind have no significant impact in the real world.
doesn't mean you're living in a beautiful dream
Having thoughts and ideas in your head does not guarantee that you are living in a great reality.
bird has flown in the air
The opportunity or desire for something has already passed, like a bird that has flown away.
when you go to reach for it
Despite the opportunity being gone, the listener still tries to reach for it.
but you reach and you know
The listener is confident that they will succeed in reaching their desired opportunity.
you're gonna succed
Rocketface is reassuring the listener that they will indeed achieve their goal.
when you gonna
Rocketface asks the listener about when they will take action.
are you ever gonna take a day trip
The question asked in the previous line is referring to the listener taking a day trip, which may represent taking a break from the daily routine.
i think you better
Rocketface believes that it's in the listener's best interest to take a break and enjoy life.
i really think you better see the sun lit
Rocketface is emphasizing the importance of the listener taking time to enjoy the beauty of the world around them by seeing the sunlight.
when you breath in the air
Rocketface is asking the listener about their connection to their environment.
do you really care
Rocketface questions whether the listener truly cares about their surroundings.
do you care or is it just simply the air
Rocketface asks whether the listener's concern for their surroundings is genuine or if they are simply breathing air without appreciation.
how you been with the boys
Rocketface is asking the listener about their relationships and interactions with their friends and male peers.
do you think it's gonna be alright
Rocketface is inquiring whether the listener is confident that their social connections will remain or improve.
when you fight, do you think it's gonna be right
Rocketface is questioning whether the listener believes that fighting with their friends will lead to positive outcomes.
just let your mind slip away
Rocketface suggests that the listener should stop stressing themselves out and relax their mind.
Contributed by Mackenzie M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.