Meet Enrique Rosell | Musician in Stillblue

We had the good fortune of connecting with Enrique Rosell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Enrique, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When we were starting the band, there was a few things we were thinking about when first talking to potential members and a few things I always made sure to clear up with different people who called the number on our flyer. 1. We are looking for people who are dedicated and want to play music professionally. We want people who are serious musicians and are willing to put the work in to make this happen

2. We are a collaborative band. We want to write music together and bounce ideas off of each other even when its hard. We will not be giving any members notes or chords to play and that it. We want to be able to make new music together and collaborate on all aspects of the band identity

3. We are totally ok with members having side projects and pursuing other musical aspirations. Most of our band has other musical aspirations, but we also want to make sure adequate time is put into this project

4. We are looking for people we could be friends with. We dont want this to be a transaction, we want to build this together and go on this ride with people we love and can talk to about everyday life things. We want to form relationships with these people and have fun together.

We are lucky that after 3 years of trial and error we found those people. Especially the people that fit under #4. I’m happy we are friends more than anything.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We think that our sound is kind of different than most things you’d hear from the Miami indie-rock community. We usually get people thinking we’re a band from the Carolinas or the mid-west. I think one of the things I love the most about our band and people always point out is the lapsteel guitar. Danny plays the lapsteel and the keys and it really adds a very folky and melodic element to the band.

Getting to where we are today was not easy at all. We are not where we want to be just yet, but I’m happy that we’ve finally found the members of the band that work together and are my friends. It took 3 years and about 4 different iterations of this band to make things work. I’m so happy to be where we are with the members we have. It feels weird to look back and think about the people we considered for bass/drums before Diego and Yamil. It feels wrong because they are so perfect in the band and have really completed the puzzle. Can’t imagine anyone besides them, but getting here was tough. Many nights making phone calls, putting up flyers, and trying to move the band forward during the pandemic.

We’ve learned along the way that things happen at their own pace and when they are meant to happen. We learned that we can take our time and make music we are proud of. We’ve learned that collaborating can be hard sometimes but it’s the best thing in the world. We’ve learned to trust eachother and be there for eachother. We’ve learned that the chemistry we have as a band is one of the most important things we have.

I want people to know that the music they hear, the posts they read, and they stories they hear at shows are all 100% us. Eveything about this band is very authentically us. This is a life-long dream of all of ours and we are taking this very seriously. Ever since we all started playing instruments we all wanted to be in a serious band who are truly trying to tour and make music that makes people feel something, and it feels good to finally be here and heading towards that goal.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Gramps, Danny’s garage, the hialeah woods near Danny’s house, Denny’s, My house to eat peruvian food with my parents, Pitman photo supply, Sushi runner in Sunset Mall

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We are all very inspired by Pinegrove and folk/emo roots. Pinegrove has always been a binding force between the five of us and we were all going to go up to Orlando to see the concert together in February until it got cancelled. I met Evan (lead singer) one time in 2018, and we spoke for a while about the journey to find a band and to become a touring musician, but what sticks with me most is what we spoke about in regards to lyrics. We talked about being as honest as possible no matter what. Not trying to overcomplicate things but being honest. I always think about that when I write lyrics and often times some of my favorite lyrics are the ones that convey complex human emotions in the simplest terms.

We also want to give a shoutout to Rebecca Friedman! She’s Enrique’s boss and a huge supporter of the band. She’s always helping us out, connecting us to venues, buying merch, and she even let us play a house show at her house a few weeks ago. She bought pizza and let us being like 70 people to her backyard. She’s the best and we love her.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stillblueband/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stillblue_band?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stillbluetheband/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXd3QGfqh6fnW9dBDnwpMQ

Other: https://stillbluetheband.bandcamp.com/merch Can buy merch here^

Image Credits
Steph Estrada and Andrea Sofia R. Matos