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| New Band Up North 17: JJ Rosa | New Band Up North 17: JJ Rosa |
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| Hailing proudly from 'sunny Stockport', JJ Rosa is making some funkadelic hip pop soul that'll get you dancing, grooving and wanting to dress up like Prince. The soulful voice of Jessica Rose Hancock, aka JJ Rosa, screams out sexiness and attitude and is as powerful as the late Amy Winehouse. The catchy melodies and riffs Rosa and her band are making are full of energy and hark back to the old school days of soul and funk. You may have heard of The Jessie Rose Trip a few years back. Well, after a few changes and a rebrand the group is now known as JJ Rosa. One reason being not wanting to be 'just another Jessie!', but we'll get onto that later. | Hailing proudly from 'sunny Stockport', JJ Rosa is making some funkadelic hip pop soul that'll get you dancing, grooving and wanting to dress up like Prince. The soulful voice of Jessica Rose Hancock, aka JJ Rosa, screams out sexiness and attitude and is as powerful as the late Amy Winehouse. The catchy melodies and riffs Rosa and her band are making are full of energy and hark back to the old school days of soul and funk. You may have heard of The Jessie Rose Trip a few years back. Well, after a few changes and a rebrand the group is now known as JJ Rosa. One reason being not wanting to be 'just another Jessie!', but we'll get onto that later. |
| In the new format, Jessica Rose Hancock now plays with drummer Jimmy Wood and bassist Marky Lewis. The trio are signed with S-Curve Records (Universal) over in the States and are represented by Warner Bros Records here in the UK. They're set to release their first EP very soon, which they recorded live, about two weeks ago, at Manchester's Deaf Institute, one of Rosa's favourite venues. | In the new format, Jessica Rose Hancock now plays with drummer Jimmy Wood and bassist Marky Lewis. The trio are signed with S-Curve Records (Universal) over in the States and are represented by Warner Bros Records here in the UK. They're set to release their first EP very soon, which they recorded live, about two weeks ago, at Manchester's Deaf Institute, one of Rosa's favourite venues. |
Urge to play guitar better than the boys | Urge to play guitar better than the boys |
| It's clear from our conversation that Rosa lives and breathes music. She's obsessed with many great musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone and The Doors. Growing up with her mum listening to Motown records and her dad playing Led Zeppelin might explain things. She started playing piano when she was 7, went through the grades, did a bit of dancing and drama too but after a while the tomboy inside her burst out. | It's clear from our conversation that Rosa lives and breathes music. She's obsessed with many great musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone and The Doors. Growing up with her mum listening to Motown records and her dad playing Led Zeppelin might explain things. She started playing piano when she was 7, went through the grades, did a bit of dancing and drama too but after a while the tomboy inside her burst out. |
| With a huge urge as a teenager to play football with the guys and play guitar better than them, a rebellious side took over. This girl wanted to rock out and rock out good. The approach was very much DIY and jumping in at the deep end, teaching herself to play electric guitar from scratch. As she says: | With a huge urge as a teenager to play football with the guys and play guitar better than them, a rebellious side took over. This girl wanted to rock out and rock out good. The approach was very much DIY and jumping in at the deep end, teaching herself to play electric guitar from scratch. As she says: |
| I thought 'you know what, a girl can do this just as well'. It was mad because I never thought guitar would become my main thing and that I'd fall in love with it and take it to the extreme. | I thought 'you know what, a girl can do this just as well'. It was mad because I never thought guitar would become my main thing and that I'd fall in love with it and take it to the extreme. |
| One song that really tips its hat to Prince is Step Aside. After listening to the track I thought it definitely had a riff from Kiss in. Scrambling over to YouTube I soon discovered I was right. So I put the question to Rosa. 'Is there a nod to Prince in there?' | One song that really tips its hat to Prince is Step Aside. After listening to the track I thought it definitely had a riff from Kiss in. Scrambling over to YouTube I soon discovered I was right. So I put the question to Rosa. 'Is there a nod to Prince in there?' |
| "Haha! Absolutely! Just a tiny weeny bit. I love Prince. At first when I'd written the song it didn't have that in there but when we were jamming in rehearsal... we thought 'wow this is really Princey let's properly sell out on that.' It's so nice to have a bit of nostalgia because people hear it and you can't help but go 'that's like Prince and I love it!'" | "Haha! Absolutely! Just a tiny weeny bit. I love Prince. At first when I'd written the song it didn't have that in there but when we were jamming in rehearsal... we thought 'wow this is really Princey let's properly sell out on that.' It's so nice to have a bit of nostalgia because people hear it and you can't help but go 'that's like Prince and I love it!'" |
| The sound of the 80s is something Rosa has always been into, especially when it comes to playing her beloved guitar. She likes anything that's got a few "sleazy" riffs in there but also loves soulful grooves. "As a guitarist I think you have to be able to venture into funk otherwise I don't think you've lived!" | The sound of the 80s is something Rosa has always been into, especially when it comes to playing her beloved guitar. She likes anything that's got a few "sleazy" riffs in there but also loves soulful grooves. "As a guitarist I think you have to be able to venture into funk otherwise I don't think you've lived!" |
| It's obvious when you watch Rosa on stage that she gets really into her guitar solos and flirts with the strings and sometimes the crowd. Moving around the stage with such style and swagger she's greeted by adoring fans, particularly in her home surroundings. "Playing in Manchester is really special. The crowd are amazingly supportive and genuinely into the music. I came off stage [two weeks ago] really emotional. It was incredible." Performing live is clearly important to the band, as their first EP will be a live one. They want to capture the energy of their live shows rather than producing a polished product. | It's obvious when you watch Rosa on stage that she gets really into her guitar solos and flirts with the strings and sometimes the crowd. Moving around the stage with such style and swagger she's greeted by adoring fans, particularly in her home surroundings. "Playing in Manchester is really special. The crowd are amazingly supportive and genuinely into the music. I came off stage [two weeks ago] really emotional. It was incredible." Performing live is clearly important to the band, as their first EP will be a live one. They want to capture the energy of their live shows rather than producing a polished product. |
| "I could not bear...being another Jessie" | "I could not bear...being another Jessie" |
| Rosa has such passion and determination to produce music that's "timeless". But underneath this confidence to become great is a girl that fears the worse about releasing music into the world: "I'm just not going to look or read anything!" She does know however "you've got to be really thick skinned" to get on. This preparation has even meant a change of name. Why? "I could not bear to enter this industry being another Jessie. I know that sounds ridiculous but people will automatically pop me in a category of the 'Jessies' and I don't think that's right. I want to be different." Is the change of name anything to with J-J-J-J-J Jessie J? | Rosa has such passion and determination to produce music that's "timeless". But underneath this confidence to become great is a girl that fears the worse about releasing music into the world: "I'm just not going to look or read anything!" She does know however "you've got to be really thick skinned" to get on. This preparation has even meant a change of name. Why? "I could not bear to enter this industry being another Jessie. I know that sounds ridiculous but people will automatically pop me in a category of the 'Jessies' and I don't think that's right. I want to be different." Is the change of name anything to with J-J-J-J-J Jessie J? |
| "It didn't help to be honest... I'm not saying I'm intimidated or scared. But I don't want to be pigeon-holed or compared." Despite Jessie J's face not popping into my mind at all while I was listening to JJ Rosa, it's clearly something that would have been a big concern if she were still calling herself Jessie. But since doing it "it's been a really big weight off my shoulders. It's a fresh start in a way." | "It didn't help to be honest... I'm not saying I'm intimidated or scared. But I don't want to be pigeon-holed or compared." Despite Jessie J's face not popping into my mind at all while I was listening to JJ Rosa, it's clearly something that would have been a big concern if she were still calling herself Jessie. But since doing it "it's been a really big weight off my shoulders. It's a fresh start in a way." |
| The band's debut album promises to have elements of hip hop, nostalgic funk and rock, nods to both Hendrix and Prince and soul running all the way through. Rosa also wants to get a gospel choir on the record, something that would complicate her voice very well. She hopes Redemption, a song she wrote after Amy Winehouse's death, will make it on to the album and if it does that's the one she can hear gospel on. JJ Rosa also hopes "if we make it, touch wood," the band could "pave the way for a slightly different sound coming out of Manchester." | The band's debut album promises to have elements of hip hop, nostalgic funk and rock, nods to both Hendrix and Prince and soul running all the way through. Rosa also wants to get a gospel choir on the record, something that would complicate her voice very well. She hopes Redemption, a song she wrote after Amy Winehouse's death, will make it on to the album and if it does that's the one she can hear gospel on. JJ Rosa also hopes "if we make it, touch wood," the band could "pave the way for a slightly different sound coming out of Manchester." |
| Emily Brinnand is a freelance journalist, radio presenter and producer. You can listen to her show Mixtape every Tuesday evening at 6pm on Sheffield Live! 93.2FM or follow her on Twitter @EmilyBrinnand | Emily Brinnand is a freelance journalist, radio presenter and producer. You can listen to her show Mixtape every Tuesday evening at 6pm on Sheffield Live! 93.2FM or follow her on Twitter @EmilyBrinnand |
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