If you attended the Spring Concert this year, you almost certainly saw Rove, who opened with an energetic set for Walk the Moon. Rove is a homegrown alternative band from San Jose—a duo of talented brothers including Jason Chiorean, a sophomore at SCU and his brother Bobby, a fourth-year student at San Jose State. Their fusion of folk, rock and pop transcends genre, and their debut EP, Ex Nihilo, is a dynamic mix of smooth vocals, mellow acoustic work, and boot-tapping melodies. We sat down with Jason to get an inside look at SCU’s new up-and-coming band.
When and how did you and your brother get your musical start?
Bobby and I both got started playing the piano at a young age. In middle school, we both picked up the guitar and started singing. By high school, we were writing and performing our own songs, and music started to become more than just a hobby to us. After high school, we decided to form Rove and really give music a shot.
Are there any particular positives or negatives of the Bay Area’s music scene?
To be honest, there aren’t that many great venues in the San Jose/ Santa Clara area, but we’ve played at Santana Row, San Pedro Square and a few local coffee shops. We’re trying to start playing more in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, which both have pretty lively music scenes. Probably the most successful gigs we’ve had so far have been at SCU. We played a few times at “Love Jones,” which helped get us some decent exposure, and then opening for Walk the Moon at the Spring Concert was obviously huge for us. We’re starting to plan our summer schedule now, but so far we’ll be playing at De Anza community college on June 6th and also at the San Jose 4th of July Parade.
From where do you draw inspiration?
Bobby and I draw inspiration from tons of different artists. When we write songs, we try to make them as unique and diverse as possible. We don’t want to fall into just one genre or have people compare us to just one artist, because our goal is to have our music reach as many people as possible. That being said, I’d say our two biggest musical influences are Coldplay and John Mayer, but we’ve definitely drawn inspiration from Radiohead, Ed Sheeran, Mumford & Sons, Walk the Moon, Imagine Dragons, Young the Giant and countless other artists.
Why is your album entitled Ex Nihilo?
I first heard the phrase in church in reference to Genesis 1, which talks about God creating the Heavens and the earth. “Ex Nihilo” means “out of nothing,” which made perfect sense for the name of our first album, because before this album we had no media presence, no material for people to listen to and basically nothing to show for ourselves. Also, we didn’t have nearly enough money between the 2 of us to record a high quality EP, but we were able to raise $10,000 through donations on Kickstarter.com to record and produce this album professionally, which was incredible. This album literally came “out of nothing,” which made “Ex Nihilo” the perfect title.
What is the songwriting process between you and your brother?
Usually the way it goes is that one of us will write a song, bring it to the other for notes and feedback, and together we’ll decide whether it’s good or not. Once we’ve decided that it’s a good song, we’ll work together to add the finishing touches on lyrics, arrangement, etc. We usually only collaborate once the majority of the song is done. For me personally, it varies between what comes first, as far as lyrics or the music. Sometimes I’ll have an idea that I really want to write about, and I’ll write the music to fit that specific theme. Other times I’ll pick up my guitar and write some catchy music and then go back and add lyrics based on the overall feel of the music.
What are your aspirations for Rove’s future?
Our dream is to be able to make this into a living, to have Rove be a household name and spread our music across the world. The most likely way for that to happen is to get signed to a big label. So, for now we’re going to just keep doing our thing: writing, recording, playing gigs, just doing everything to get our music out there. We’re going to keep chasing our dream day-in and day-out and hope that it leads somewhere.
Make sure to check out Rove’s ablum Ex Nihilo on iTunes!