theaussieword.com special interview with The Royce Twins.
How and where did it all begin for you? What drew your interest to the music industry?
Gabriel: We grew up in a musical family and it just grew from there.
Michael: Our older brothers and sisters were always listening to music so we kind of followed them when I think about it.
What motivates or influences you in your quest to make great music?
Gabriel: For me it’s about writing songs and one day I want to stand infront of a crowd and have everyone sing my lyrics to me while we play
Michael: Live performances are the best, you get instant audience feedback and it’s great to get people onto a dance floor
What are some of your biggest goals you hope to accomplish?
Gabriel: More radio airplay both here and overseas as well as a full time music career
Michael: Full time music – playing and performing and one day I’d like to do a music production course to learn that craft too.
What can we expect from you in the coming months? Any plans to tour?
Gabriel: At the moment we’re stuck in isolation like everyone else, we had however been playing every Friday night at the Arcadia Hotel in Southbank before Corona hit us all.
Michael: We’re now doing live gigs on our facebook page, check them out, you can see the one’s we’ve done in the page feed. It’s great reading through the comments and song requests.
Tell us a bit about your latest release and how would you best describe your music?
Gabriel: Black Lace is a step away from the ballads and soft rock we’ve released so far. It explores feelings of lust, love and power in relationships.
Michael: It’s got great lyric hooks like ‘Why does everything bad for me feel so good’ and a ripping guitar solo.
Give us an insight into your creative process. What gets you writing songs?
Gabriel: For me it starts with a lyric hook and it has to be about something I care about about. It just doesn’t work when you try to manufacture something that’s not real.
Michael: For me it starts with a guitar rift, Gabriel’s better with words than me.
Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
Gabriel: Most of the songs are really personal or from real life experiences.
Michael: Love songs are about relationships we’ve had, and so are the break up songs lol.
Success, what is the secret to it?
Gabriel: Enjoying the journey.
Michael: Following your own path
What has been your biggest career highlight so far?
Gabriel: Probably making it to the semi-finals of the international song writing competition a few times
Michael: Playing gigs all over the place and have people like and stream our music from 77 countries. Even though our following isn’t huge, we’ve got genuine supporters.
Which stars of the music industry do you find inspiring?
Gabriel: We really listen to a wide variety of stuff
Michael: You have to admire Ed Sheeran though, anyone who can fill Wembley stadium with a one man show on guitar must be doing something right.
Are there any new projects in the pipeline?
Gabriel: Always writing new stuff and some isolation gigs on facebook. Come join us there.
Michael: We are dying to get back to live gigs, we’ve got bookings we can’t play right now and it’s killing me! Gabriel’s gone a bit crazy too. He’s dyed his hair blonde.
The music industry is constantly changing, where do you see yourself a few years?
Gabriel: Maybe signed to a label
Michael: Yes a label relationship provided it gave us more opportunities is where we might be.
What is your favourite and least favourite part about this line of work and why?
Gabriel: My least favourite is the long driving to some gigs and also working full time as a personal trainer. If we have loads of gigs we are working 7 days a week. My favourite part of the week is actually playing at those gigs so the drive is worth it. Lol.
Michael: My favourite part would be the live gigs too. I love getting people out of their seats onto a dance floor. Once they know we’re there to help them have fun, they’re into it.
Name a few of your favourite Australian artists.
Gabriel: John Farnham for his old stuff, Matt Corby for his incredible voice and our sisters band Hiatus Kaiyote.
Michael: Pete Murray, he’s probably one of the best for me on guitar. Keith Urban has also made a great name for himself internationally in the country scene.
The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what does it mean to you in getting your records out into the public eye.
Gabriel: it’s important to keep people engaged by recording and performing new music. Recording is important because over a few EP’s or albums you can really evolve as a musician and are able to reflect on the journey.
Michael: I think social media is great opportunity for emerging musicians, if people like what you do, they can find you from anywhere.
How will you continue appealing to the international market?
Gabriel: I hopefully write songs that people can relate to. Maybe being able to explore new ideas without changing our harmonies and unique sound too much along the way.
Do you collaborate with others?
We would like to collaborate but have been mainly playing as a duo. But we’re open to working with others should the right fit come along.
Who is on your wish-list?
If we were to do collaboration it would be hopefully with an Aussie like Keith Urban. Lol. Keith are you there? Haha. We’re open to working with anyone with good music skills and kill ideas.
What advice do you give for other artists wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Gabriel: It’s important to write your own songs and practice them. There’s nothing worse than forgetting lyrics to your own songs live because it does happen!
Michael: Forget the hype about the industry. The reality is there’s a lot of travel and being your own roadie when you’re starting out. Also record your music to the best quality you can afford to before releasing it.
A message for your fans. How do you best interact and respond with your followers and fans?
Michael: We try to upload new content when we can and recently have been doing live shows which is a great way to stay in front of large audiences and have people really interact. Please follow us and give us a shout out on facebook.
Any last words?
Thanks so much for having us. Everyone stay safe during Covid-19.
Website: http://www.theroycetwins.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/the-royce-twins
Twitter: Gabriel: twitter.com/TheRoyceTwins
Twitter: Michael: twitter.com/RoyceTwins
Instagram: instagram.com/the_royce_twins