Rising Music Star Rocom of California rock group Throwlight On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Eden Gold
Make your art for yourself, not for a specific audience. Knowing your audience is essential, but getting distracted by what people may or may not like will always result in mediocre music. Make the music you want to hear, and it will find its audience.
As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Rocom of California rock group Throwlight.
Southern California-based Rapper and Producer Rocom has been making music independently since 2005. Heavily influenced by the indie rock sounds of the 90s and early 2000s, Rocom brings that aesthetic to his beat-making. His sound ranges from Boom-Bap to mellow and atmospheric. Lyrically, he is known as the true originator of Emo-Rap.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up as the only kid of South Asian descent in a small town in South Orange County, CA. It was a sea of white people and mega-churches. That kind of environment can force any kid(like me) to feel like an outsider. But, the friends I made in my neighborhood gave me some of the best memories of my childhood. With nearly no immediate family around beyond my parents and brother, I found an extended family in my friends. Some of my favorite memories growing up are trips to VHS rental stores, arcades at the mall, comic shops down the street, and endless pool parties.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?
I was around musicians my entire childhood. My dad put on shows for artists traveling to the ‘States from Kolkata, India. When they came into town they would stay at our house, which felt annoying and invasive at the time, haha. But, being around all of those instruments and gear left its mark. A world-class guitarist once visited and showed me an E-minor chord on the guitar. “Its easy! You only need to hold these two strings right here.” I bought a guitar the next week and fell in love with the punk/indie music scene in the early 2000s. At college, I met Ross G, an emcee who would be my gateway into the world of underground hip-hop. I fell in love again. Once Ross G and I started our Emo-Rap duo, Closed Heart Surgery, I haven’t stopped producing and making music since.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Becoming friends with the Rap group Atmosphere recently was an unexpected one. The entire Rhymesayers, DefJux, and MidWest rap scene influenced my lyrical style in the early 2000s. Slug of Atmosphere, specifically. I grew up attending Atmosphere concerts, and one day, a few years ago, I noticed that Atmosphere had started following my Instagram. I thought it had to be a mistake. But, as I posted my stupid TikTok videos of myself every other day or so, Atmosphere would like and comment on those posts. It was out of nowhere, haha. Slug didn’t even know I made Rap music; he thought I was a comedian and began following me. We eventually got the chance to really sit down and hang out at a show they played in San Diego in 2021. We talked for hours about art, music, and life. It was surreal for me to sit down with one of my greatest inspirations, and now, years later, we have become good friends. I like that our friendship is based outside of music. Slug is just a very inspiring person with so much love to give. One day, we were joking about “collabs” and how often artists blindly seek to collaborate. Without a beat, Slug said if I ever wanted to collaborate on a song to not hesitate to ask. I was floored. I was intimidated and sat on the offer for a couple of years. But, once I started making music with my new band, Throwlight, the perfect track came about where I could hear Slug’s voice over it. That song will debut on our upcoming full-length album. I’m so proud of that song and cannot wait to share it with the world.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
An Emcee name is forever, haha. Back in 2005 when I first picked my name “Rocom” it was inspired by what my friend and I called Romantic Comedies for short. The term “Romcom” wasn’t really used back then. Thank god it wasn’t because then I would have to go by Emcee Romcom, and I don’t think I could have kept making music with that stuck to my profile, haha.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My best friend Sanjay from college. We hosted a radio show together that played Pop-Punk and Underground Hip-Hop, which would eventually inspire the music of Closed Heart Surgery. I remember listening to a track he was playing on air and telling him, “this music doesn’t sound too complex, I think you and I can make something just as good as this.” A week later, Sanjay presented me with a beat and told me we should write lyrics to it. He had obsessed over what I had told him. He couldn’t stop thinking about us making our own music. He is the only reason I ever started writing and recording my music. I owe my entire rap career to him.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
My new band Throwlight is some of the best songwriting I’ve done in my career. I’ve been in bands before, but being the vocalist for a project that marries the sounds of Metal and Rap music has been so much fun. Throwlight will shake the music world, or at least a handful of car stereos and headphones, haha.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Seeing yourself in the entertainment you consume is essential. It inspires people to say, “I can do that too.” For myself, growing up in a nearly all-white community as a person of South Asian descent, I didn’t see myself anywhere on TV or the radio. We had Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle), The guitarist from Sum 41, and maybe the Bassist from No Doubt. That was it. Three dudes tops. In the past few years, I see South Asians represented in so much media. It’s beautiful. I cannot imagine how inspiring that would have been to myself growing up. I’m glad there are kids out there growing up with it now.
As a successful music star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?
Firs, creating songs during the MySpace era of music was a special time. There were no algorithms or hoops to jump through. You put out music, and a massive community was immediately there and ready to listen. I don’t think we’ll ever see something like that again. Once that bubble burst for independent artists, it was hard to connect to a community and get new songs heard that quickly. It was a demoralizing time for so many songmakers. The motivation for me to keep making music came from the process of doing the work. It wasn’t ever about the audience; it was about putting something new into the world that I was proud of and going through the process of creating that art. Making music is meditative, it’s healing. With that as the focus, there aren’t many obstacles left to overcome.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1 . Make your art for yourself, not for a specific audience. Knowing your audience is essential, but getting distracted by what people may or may not like will always result in mediocre music. Make the music you want to hear, and it will find its audience.
2 . Surround yourself with like-minded people who have similar goals and drive. “Show me your closest friends, and I will show you your future” resonates with me so much. Being around a community of people who don’t have the passion or skills to get to where you want to go is a dream killer. Choose your friends wisely and hold them close. They will build your dreams with you.
3 . Don’t ever “pay to play”. Selling tickets to friends and family to make some random person money is not the way to build a music career. Find venues and spaces that will accept your music without a caveat.
4 . Learn about the business side of music as much as the artistic side of it. To have a career in the arts, you have to be equally skilled in selling that art. The most skilled artists can fall flat because they never learned to market or sell their work correctly.
5 . Read and stay up to date with technology. As daunting as it can be, there are tools out there that will always help you get to where you want to go. As my friend’s dad likes to say, “take care of your tools, and they will take care of you.”
Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?
As a Rapper and lyricist, I usually write to a beat. The music comes first; once the beat is solid, the vocals have the heavy task of elevating that music to be catchy and meaningful. That’s how I approach Rap music, but making Metal with Throwlight has been no different. Chris, Kevin, and King of Somewhere create riffs and parts for our songs while I arrange them on the timeline as I would any Hip-Hop beat, constructing the playground for me to eventually put vocals over. I rarely seek collaborations, but a band is a constant collaboration. The key to making that work, for me, has been to always put the song first, over ego. It’s not about what I want to contribute to the song; it’s about evaluating what a song needs to be great and letting that emotion lead the way.
Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?
Though it’s more common these days, the marriage of emo and rap genres ushered in my initial fan base. Indie and pop punk bands of the early 2000s connected with such a massive audience as a kid, and I wanted to bring those levels of emotions into one of my favorite genres, hip-hop.
How do you connect with your audience?
Lyrically, I try to be as honest as possible. It’s either that or make them laugh, haha. Even on stage, the time we get in between songs is the most sacred moment to connect to new fans. Being honest in those tiny moments can really hit home with any audience.
With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?
I keep the people I love around, make them a part of the machine I’m building, and integrate it all in. Some people choose to separate the different parts of their lives. I’m always trying to crisscross and marry them all together. It’s never a choice between one thing or another because doing any of it is constant self-care.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Music makes people feel less alone. I learned that in my early years of making sad songs. A song that hits someone hard can pull that person into feeling connected to a complete stranger. So many people go through emotions and feelings and think they are in it alone. Once they know another person is going through the exact same things, it creates community and takes away some of the pain. It’s a really magical thing in art.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Alex, Chloe, Tim, Jen, or maybe Andy? Let me know if you need any of their tags. My close friends are my favorite people to spend time with. Breakfast with any of them is worth so much more than an awkward meal with a famous stranger, haha.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
@rocom and @throwlightofficial are on Instagram and are great places to start. If anyone is interested in me as an artist, they can support my creations on rocomtoys.com and yesterdays.com; its where my non-music-related work lives.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold.
