The Rocketboys’ sound reflects the Texas landscape from which they hail: vast, yet sparse, desolate, yet rich and abundant. Often eschewing familiar lyrical themes of romance and love for songs of brotherhood, family, life, and death, The Rocketboys’ catalog chronicles the band’s journey throughout its often-tumultuous existence.

Elyse: How did you guys come up with the band name “The Rocketboys”?
The Rocket Boys: I was watching the movie October Sky. At one point a newspaper came up on screen with the headline “Homer Hickam and his Rocket Boys…” and I thought to myself that would be a great band name. When we played our first show, the venue asked for one, so we said Homer Hiccolm and The Rocketboys. After a while too many people kept asking which one of us was Homer, so we decided to shorten it to simply The Rocketboys.

E: What made you guys want to be in a band?
TRB: The great thing about music is that it has the power to inspire and to make people feel alive. It certainly inspires us! I think for a lot of musicians, there isn’t really a clear answer as to why you do what you do. It’s just something you have to do. You write songs because you need to write them, not because you think anybody needs to hear them.

Elyse: From previous shows you played, which was your ultimate favorite to play?
TRB: It’s hard to pick a favorite. We’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of great venues, a lot of great festivals and share the stage with some of the most talented people I’ve ever met. Getting to play the Austin City Limits Music Festival was a cool one.

E: How did the name Left | Right for your latest EP get chosen?
TRB: It comes from the song “Loud and Clear.” The lyrics say “keep your head down/I won’t look left/I won’t look right.”

E: What is your overall message of your EP?
TRB: We just want to write songs about real life; whether it be trying to find your own voice, working hard or looking past the dark present into a brighter future.

E: When you guys have a night off from a show, do you get to explore the state you’re in?
TRB: Yeah, definitely. A lot of times the neighborhoods where venues tend to be all kind of start to look the same so it’s nice to see what else is around and what makes each city unique, like “Bobby’s Burger Palace” in Pennsylvania or “The Thing” in Arizona.

E: What is it like for you guys to get to travel the world and tour?
TRB: There’s nothing better than driving around the country with your four best friends playing music. One of the best parts is getting to meet the people that support your band. We’ve gotten to know a lot of really great people over the years.

E: What can we expect from you guys in 2015?
TRB: We just released the Left | Right EP on Black Magnetic Records and can’t wait to start playing these new songs for people.  We started the “Left | Right Tour” on Jan. 21 in New Orleans then head up the East Coast for a bunch of dates.  We have the SXSW Music Festival in March then more touring. The EP has been doing really great overseas too so we hope to hit Europe and Asia before the end of the year. And we just had a song on Glee which was super exciting. Hopefully we’ll have even more opportunities like that as well.

Make sure you keep your ears open for new music from these guys, they have true talent and a great sound.