Words by Eden Jezierski
Interview conducted by Liz Swezey
Photos by Liz Swezey
The House On Cliff is a rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts living in a pop influenced world. These four college friends consist of Charles, Chad, Marc and Will who have all made a pact to recreate the genre of music that was loved for so long by so many. Mixing all the favored elements of rock music and thriving off inspirational artists such as Led Zeppelin and ACDC, THOC will be the band of 2015 to bring back rock and roll.
BTS: Were going to talk about being a rock band in a very pop influenced world and get to know The House On Cliff a little bit. Who are your rock inspirations?
Chad: My first impression on music was Elvis Presley, my parents got me into Elvis and from then I was hooked. I love Led Zepplin. Led Zepplin is the reason I’m in this band right now, and I love Bruce Springsteen. My dad listened to a lot of Bruce, and yeah those are my three really main rock influences.
Will: Yeah big Zepplin fan. Guns ‘N Roses is my all time favorite though. Also a large admirer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rage Against the Machine.
Charles: I grew up on Queen, Zepplin, and ACDC, yeah those three probably.
Marc: My dad raised me in music on The Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen. But when I listened to my own stuff it was Led Zepplin, Jimmy Hendrix, ACDC. When I got to high school it was bands like Muse.
BTS:When you go to iTunes Top 40 is filled with artists like Taylor Swift and Megan Trainor, its full of super pop music. To get to rock music you have to specifically select the genre “Rock” and you’ll see artists like Journey, ACDC, and The Eagles. So what do you think it is about pop music being so popular in the twenty-first century?
Chad: I personally think that music kind of changes, it shifts, every generation. Were living in a pop generation. 20 years ago we were living in a punk generation. Years before that it was a really electric pop, before that was disco, and R&B, so music shifts and changes and right now we are definitely living in a pop world. When you see artists like the Foo Fighters coming out with a new album, and the Arctic Monkeys are a great band helping rock music today. Jack White also is another person that’s helping rock music today. The thing about that today is although pop is more popular, rock is always alive. It is always relevant. I see a future where it’s going to be rock on in the top 40s.
Will: It takes just one band, aka our band, to just flip things upside down. Turn them over and bring rock and roll back where it belongs which is really center stage. Look for that in the future thanks to us.
BTS: There are bands like Fall Out Boy and Imagine Dragons that are super rock based but they fall between the lines of pop rock or punk rock. What’s your opinion on that?
Marc: We really don’t complain about it. I personally am really open to that. I don’t know. I think that people are starting, like pop has always been on top, but I feel like people are not sick of it but they want bands that are more diverse. There’s a lot of upcoming bands that are a bit more old school that are starting to emerge. There’s also another thing that I noticed that Rock has always been an appropriate style. All generations has had it. Even if it’s not the most popular it’s always something that stands out. That’s really all that matters to us.
BTS: Where are you headed in the future with your music and can you speak a little on your EP? Are you looking to make a full album?
Chad: Yeah I think the next step we want to take is make a full album. We’re currently starting to write new music and starting to work on more songs to make a full-length album. But we worked really really hard on the EP and were really proud of what we’ve done with the EP and it was a great start for the band. It was a great first release for this band.
Will: It’s gonna be great.
BTS: You also mentioned that you were moving out West?
Chad Yeah were moving to LA at the beginning of the year. That’ll be pretty exciting.
Marc: Yeah it’s super exciting. We’ve all been there before but last weekend we were there and it was my first time. It was excellent.
BTS: Lastly how did you guys all end up on the east coast?
Marc: College. We met at college. We met at Berklee.
BTS: Have any of you boys graduated?
THOC: Nahhh nahhh.
BTS: So goals for 2015 — move out west and write new music?
THOC: And just to be busy. Always be busy. Tour. We want to be on the road more then we are in LA. Get out there. Give music to the people who deserve it. Our goal is to really not even be in LA unless we’re recording an album. But until then we want to, since we’re just starting, we need to tour. We all dropped school for it so it’s our life now.
For more information about The House on Cliff, check out all of their links below:
- GTK: PJ Harding - June 16, 2023
- Big Time Rush is Just Getting Started - February 13, 2023
- 2023 GRAMMYs: The Nominees - November 15, 2022
