Prior to the release of their latest EP Secrets Don't Make Friends, out now, pop-rock band Rocky Loves Emily stopped by the J-14 offices. Lead vocalist Brandon James Ellis and guitarist Andrew Stevens gave us the inside scoop on their new record, the story behind Brandon's favorite track, and the busy year they have in store for 2012.
J-14: Your new album Secrets Don't Make Friends is set for release on April 24. What's the album all about? Is there a common theme to the songs?
Brandon Ellis: Well, the entire album is quite literally about Justin Bieber and his sweet purple shoes -- specifically his shoe laces. We just found a lot of inspiration by his choice of footwear and created an album based around it... Ok, I'm just kidding! It's really just a bunch of songs we wrote the past year, but we didn't intend them to have a common theme really. That said, the album does talk a lot about relationships and a few difficult things I had to go through the past couple years. So, I guess that is a common theme in some sense. I hope everyone digs it and can relate to the songs in some way!
J-14: How did you decide on the album title?
Brandon: I was driving with our producer Matt Grabe in Arizona, where we recorded the album, and he was asked us what we wanted to call the CD. It hadn't dawned on us before that moment that we actually hadn't thought about a name yet. I randomly said, "Secret's don't make friends!" out loud. He was like, "That's dope." Cool story?