When I first heard “Nowhere else to go” by Tampa, FL natives Rohna all I could think about was how insane the song is going to sound live. The opening guitars hit so hard, it's hard not to think about the pit you could open at a Rohna show, specifically at the Crowbar in Tampa, Florida. The music video goes along with the song perfectly, as a Florida local it’s super fun and nostalgic to see all of the fun locations featured, from the St. Petersburg pier, to Riverwalk in Tampa, and even the Magic Castle hotel in Orlando. They really hit the nail on the head with the locations they chose. The song is about wanting to escape mundane life but coming to terms with the reality that there really is “Nowhere else to go”, it’s a message that rings true for just about anyone these days. Rohna captures the feeling of escapism perfectly, being able to put on a song you love and escape to a different world, it’s a beautiful feeling that is hard to replicate. “Nowhere else to go” is the first single off the bands upcoming EP, “Daybreak Vol. 1”, set to come out this year. This single shows a promising future of more incredible releases from the Tampa indie rockers. I talked to the band about the new single + music video, here's what they had to say.
What inspired the lyrics for “Nowhere else to go” ?
The lyrics for Nowhere Else To Go were inspired by a time period in Nick’s life where he found himself constantly working without being able to make time for himself. Despite being exhausted at the end of the day he would still stay up late at night just so he could have moments of peace to himself.
How would you describe yourselves as a band to someone who has never listened to your music before?
I would say we are a loud alternative indie rock band that pulls influences from different styles of rock music to make it our own. All we really care to focus on as a band is playing shows, writing music we love, and building a cool community of friends and fans around our art.
How do you think the Tampa music scene has influenced your sound as a band?
I think the biggest influence that the Tampa Bay music scene has had on our band is the large diversity of music that we have been exposed to growing up going to shows. From hardcore shows at Transitions Art Gallery, to indie house shows, to jazz jams at the bends, all of those experiences and people that we have met have influenced the music that we listen to and therefore shaped our sound over time. We have always enjoyed being involved in different music scenes in the bay area and I think that has given us a unique perspective on paving our own way in the Tampa scene.
The music video focuses on road-tripping around to various places in Florida, do you have a favorite city to visit? Did anything crazy happen on your road trip?
During the video shoot we visited St. Augustine and that was a cool city to see with a lot of history and in some parts felt like an old Florida beach town. Aside from the video shoot we always love visiting Miami to hangout and play shows down there.
There were certainly some highlights during our road trip for the video as well. One of the spots that we went to was a cave system in Brooksville where we had to carry all of our instruments and camera gear 2 miles from the parking lot and down into the caves. We also wanted to find some abandoned spots to film in. One of them was an abandoned mattress factory near Cocoa beach that sadly didn’t make it into the video. We drove super far to get there and when we showed up there was a group of “renovators” that were in the building. They got hostile with us so we decided to leave before the guy that looked like Hulk Hogan’s personal trainer could get too close. Another highlight from the trip was when we planned to film at a pedestrian bridge near Clearwater. When we showed up, there just happened to be a marathon happening so we decided to perform and film anyway, which made for some funny shots of marathon runners making it in the video.
The song is about wanting to get away from mundane life. If you were to “get away” right now, where would you go?
Aside from just being able to go on a nice two week vacation we would all probably “get away” by being able to go on a full US tour with a band that we look up to.
Are there any specific artists that inspire your sound? Who is your dream artist to play with?
Some specific artists that inspire our sound are Citizen, Turnstile, Title Fight, Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes, The Marias, Tame Impala, From Indian Lakes, Pink Floyd, Hrvrd, and many more.
Some of our dream artists to play with would probably be Tame Impala, Turnover, and Harry Styles.
What can we expect from Rohna in the future?
There is a lot that we have planned for the next year. We have tours in the works, some shows opening for larger bands, and Playground Fest in August which is going to be huge for us. We also have a full album worth of music that we will be putting out over the next year as two separate volumes.
Check out the new single “Nowhere Else To Go” as well as the music video to go along with it Here.
Rohna:
Emma Hintz:
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