Interview with Roseburg: Zach Knell and Keith Lambson

Roseburg is a band that has stood out to the staff in the way their music comes across to us as listeners.  The attention to detail and the focus on rhythms that are easy to listen to with lyrics that are hard-hitting and relatable, make them ones to watch.  The band formed in Roseburg, Oregon, a fitting name to honor where they had all met.  The band is comprised of Zach Knell (vocals/guitar), Samuel Sheppard (piano/guitar), Keith Lambson (drums), and Soren Buchert (bass).  We spoke to Zach and Keith about their journey so far and what is to come in the new decade of 2020.  The band will be dropping their debut album tomorrow February 18th, so be sure to take a listen!
 
WCBG: Please introduce yourselves, tell us what instrument you play, and if you could be any utensil in the kitchen what would you be and why?
Zach:  I’m Zach, the lead singer of Roseburg, I play guitar.  I would be a saltshaker since it would probably get the most use.
Keith:  I’m Keith, I play drums and I would be a knife for obvious reasons.
 
WCBG: How did you pick you respective instruments?
Zach: We all started with the piano; I recommend it for someone just getting into music.  It’s a great tool to visually see music and guitar was a good next step.  Guitar is an instrument played in an actual band; growing up the bands I liked established this sort of sound.  American Idiot by Green Day, Blink-182, and My Chemical Romance are these pop-punk emo bands that I loved listening to.  Guitar seemed like the most logical choice.
Keith: I also started on piano, in 6th grade we had the option of band or choir and I realized I couldn’t sing so I joined band.  I played the xylophone since it was the most similar to the piano and progressed more to drums.  I haven’t looked back since.
 
WCBG: What music are you currently listening to?
Zach:  21 Pilots—personally, they’re a big influence for me.  They’re the perfect blend of pop radio with a grungy suburban America sound.
Keith: JID and Coldplay.
Zach: I do listen to what’s on the charts to stay young.  It’s a good balance of what I’m passionate about.  We recently made a playlist on our Spotify of artists that inspired our album Righteous Punk. [You can listen to that playlist here]

WCBG: Describe your sound in three words.
Roseburg: Grungy, polished, and radio friendly.
Zach: It’s the summery happy jams overcast with grunge.  We talk about heavier topics in an accessible way.  We want to write to that random kid in the Midwest that maybe doesn’t have a lot of friends.  Our music is to make people feel safe and understood.  The overall message is hope, things will get better.
 
WCBG: What is your opinion of releasing an artist’s unreleased music after they’ve passed away?  Should it be released or should it not?
Keith: I spoke to someone about this recently.  I think it depends on the situation.  Like, Mac [Miller]’s album, Circles.  The producer knew Mac wanted it to be heard and completed.
Zach: Sometimes it is charming.  I think the people who know them and know what they wanted, like if they want it released it’s a different story.  Let music run its course in history.
 
WCBG: What is one thing you would change about the industry as it is today?
Zach:  I might be in the minority in this, but I don’t like how many artists are out there.  I think the easy access has cheapened music.  It is so easy to release and promote music and anyone should be able to do so but they should stand behind it.  Less people to compete with leads to more thought put into the process.  A lot of musicians out there make music just to make it.  Music should be recorded to be listened to.
 
WCBG: What is your opinion of streaming services like Spotify
Keith: Music curation is great.  I am a true believer in the algorithms where a listener theoretically wants to listen to something.  Recorded music is a young industry and paid music is even younger.  The standard should be the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago.
Zach: There’s also an increased interest in vinyl and owning physical copies.  I own vinyl records of my favorite bands.  I think we should let the industry and music run its course.
 
WCBG: What is your favorite album in your personal collection?
Keith: I have four copies of Steely Dan’s Aja
Zach: Trench by 21 Pilots
 
WCBG: What do you do when you’re not writing music?
Zach: Music consumes my life right now.  I was very active with sports when I was younger like soccer, basketball, and tennis.  I’ve been watching Bates Motel on Netflix too.

All I wanna do is be good

WCBG: What was the writing process for Righteous Punk like?
Roseburg: We started this about a year and a half ago.  The idea of what’s on the album came beforehand, once we knew the concept it was easy to be consistent with the themes and symbols of what we wanted to tell.  It’s about looking at the world and understanding the different situations the archetype, the righteous punk, is experiencing.  It was a nice experience since we made it independently.
 
WCBG: What’s your favorite part of a song you’ve written?  It can be a lyric, a guitar riff, a drum cadence, etc.
Keith: The drum fills in “Indie Baby.”  My favorite lyric would have to be off “Be Good.”  It kinda sparked the theme for the album.
Zach: The guitar riff on “RIP.”  All of the songs remind me of specific times in my life.  The fears, problems, and happiness of being a young adult is expressed on this album.  It isn’t a linear album; the same character encounters different themes and the listener can take shape and relate to these moments.
 
WCBG: What’s your favorite venue that you’ve played in?
Roseburg: This art museum in Utah.  We plated an art after dark event, and it was super cool.
 
WCBG: You’re going on a road trip, what three songs are on your playlist?
“Amerika” by Young the Giant
“Bored to Death” by Blink-182
“Ride” by 21 Pilots
 
WCBG: What are your plans for 2020?
Roseburg: Go on a full tour, we have a Kickstarter going, if you donate, you’ll receive some merch from us and dropping the album.
 
Check out the album here
If you’d like to donate click here
Follow Roseburg on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter