Roses Are Red
by Stella Kim/photos by Jeff Marini

LINKS:

trustkill page

myspace page

Roses Are Red, an alternative rock band from Rochester, New York, is something of a novelty these days. The singer can actually sing in addition to being able to scream, and their lyrics are emotional yet at the same time heartfelt and sincere, and on top of that, intelligent. These boys wear their hearts on their sleeves. By that alone, they beat the run-of-the-mill emo bands that saturate the market nowadays by a mile and some more, not to mention their ability to write catchy yet powerful songs. I had an opportunity to catch Roses Are Red live last year when they opened for Bullet For My Valentine as a part of Trustkill Takeover tour. I had never heard of them prior to attending the concert, so I had presumed that they would have a certain sound most bands on Trustkill have. I was very wrong, and I was happy to be so. Their sound is a delicious mix of melodic rock, punk, and hardcore, and will certainly appeal to a broad range of rock fans if given a chance. Like I mentioned above, the singer has the chops required, and the guitar sound is thick and rich -- another characteristic that’s unfortunately hard to find in newer bands these days.

Here is the interview I did with Vincent Minervino, the singer of Roses Are Red.

(Editor's note: This interview was obviously done prior to Mike and Shaun leaving the band. Enjoy.)
STELLA KIM: Give me a brief introduction of you and your band.

VINCENT MINERVINO: Well, my name is Vincent, and I am the singer in Roses Are Red. We are a rock band based out of Rochester, NY and are signed with Trustkill Records.

SK: What are you guys up to?

VM: Right now we're at the very end of our holiday touring break. At the end of each year we take a couple months off to be with our families and friends ‘cause we don't really get to see them much during the year. We are about to head out on "The Glitz N' The Glamour Tour" with our friends Rookie Of The Year, Four Letter Lie, and Scenes From A Movie. It's a full U.S tour. We're very excited about it.

 

 

 

 
SK: How did you decide on your band name?

VM: It's just sort of a familiar saying. Everyone knows the poem. It's a child's poem. It sort of represents innocence and naivety when it comes to love and friendship, something we all go through and eventually grow out of, and it can be painful at times, but it's a part of growing up.

SK: Give me a brief version of the band's history.

VM: We started out in the summer of 2002. We recorded a demo pretty soon after forming and booked some short tours. In between touring, we just kept writing and refining. In the spring of 2003, we recorded our first full length called Handshakes And Heartbreaks. A couple friends helped us release it and we again took that on countless self-booked tours. I guess our work ethic caught the eye of a few labels and we decided to sign with Trustkill in the spring of 2004.
Since then we've released 2 albums - Conversations in 2004 and What Became Of Me in 2006.

 

 

  

 

 

 

SK: What are some of your personal influences and influences as a band?

VM: I grew up listening to a lot of 90's alternative rock. Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Counting Crows are all big influences on me musically. We all listen to different stuff. Some people are really into jazz, others are really into classic rock. We take influence from everywhere.

 

SK: Tell me about the second album. Some fans seem to think that it is "overprocessed" and "commercial" compared to Conversations. What do you think about that?

VM: I think exactly the opposite, honestly. As far as production value goes, it is far LESS produced that Conversations. We used far less digital editing and more natural tones for this album. We wanted it to be something we could really duplicate live. As far as the commercial appeal goes, I think we definitely grew up as people and as songwriters on What Became Of Me. The lyrics are far more personal and the music is less "in your face" with more focus on melody and vibe. If that makes it more commercial, then so be it. But it's definitely not something we did consciously. We just write songs we like.

 

SK: Where is Roses Are Red going from here musically? Are you writing songs for the next release?

VM: It's hard to say. What Became Of Me has only been out for a few months and we've been busy touring on it. We have some material we have started working on for a future release, but it's hard to say exactly where we're going. There will definitely be an evolution. Some current fans will like it, others won't. It's the nature of the beast. But our music will always be honest and we'll always write songs that we love.

SK: Do labels (emo, pop punk, etc.) annoy you or do you embrace them?

VM: They don't annoy me at all. People need to label things, and sometimes we get caught up in that, and stereotyped. It happens, but it's not something I worry about.

 

 

 

 

 

SK: If you could have your own super group (a la the VH1 reality show, you can pick whomever you want) who would you have in your band?

VM: Hmmm. I'd sing and play guitar. I'd have Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters on other guitar and vocals, Jimmy Chamberlain from Smashing Pumpkins on drums Robert DeLeo from STP on bass. I'd be the weakest link, but that's cool!

SK: In one sentence: why should the world pay attention to Roses Are Red?

VM: I'd rather have someone listen to one song and decide if you find anything worthwhile in our music. Don't take my word for it!

SK: Future plans?

VM: We'll be touring for most of 2007 in support of What Became Of Me, hopefully making it back to the UK, and making it to Australia and Japan as well. We'll see where we are r as far as new material and go from there. We're not going to rush another album. We really believe in What Became Of Me and are going to spend a lot of time on the road bringing it to people.

SK: Final words?

VM: Thank you very much for the interview. Our new album What Became Of Me is in stores now. So check that out if you like. And hopefully we'll see everyone on the road.