Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
What has Rose Carleo been up to lately? OR How Rose Carleo Band Turned Pain into Hope
Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musician
Rose Carleo captivates listeners with her powerful story of musical destiny, beginning at age 13 when her mother dared her to sing on stage. That pivotal moment launched a lifelong journey through Australia's vibrant rock scene, culminating in the formation of the Rose Carleo Band, known for their blues-infused rock sound and electrifying performances.
The band's new single "Daisy's Song" marks a significant departure from their typically harder rock style. This deeply moving ballad emerged from a place of raw vulnerability when a friend shared his struggles with depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. Rose and her husband Mick transformed these painful experiences into a song of hope and resilience. As Rose poignantly shares, "It's a song about hope, about reaching out... there's a real power in asking for help. It shouldn't be looked at as a weakness."
What makes this release particularly special is its thoughtful presentation. The artwork features a semicolon – a symbol that a person's story isn't over, just pausing before continuing. This powerful visual metaphor reinforces the song's message that even in our darkest moments, we can find connection and meaning by reaching out to others.
Looking ahead, the Rose Carleo Band has exciting plans for fans across Australia and beyond. Their forthcoming album will feature predominantly rock-driven anthems alongside "Daisy's Song" and one other ballad, showcasing their versatility as musicians.
In a nostalgic nod to music's golden era, they'll be releasing the album on vinyl – potentially in a striking blue that matches the single's artwork. With tour dates coming up across Australia and a trip to Japan scheduled for April, Rose's authentic voice and message continue to reach new audiences.
Listen to "Daisy's Song" on all major streaming platforms and follow Rose Carleo Band on social media or at rosecarlioband.com for upcoming tour dates.
Experience the power of music that not only rocks but also heals and connects.
What has Rose Carleo been up to lately? Let's find out!
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
That Radio Chick Cheryl Lee here. Welcome to the Still Rocking it podcast, where we'll have music news, reviews and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians and artists. Today we speak to a wonderful rock chick, Rose Carleo. With roots deep in Australia's rich rock heritage, Rose Carleo Band has long been known for its powerhouse sound, dynamic live shows and frontwoman Rose Carleo's commanding vocal presence. Blending blues-infused rock with heartfelt storytelling, the band has built a loyal following and a reputation for authenticity and energy. While their music typically leans into hard and heavy rock and roll, their new single, Daisy's Song, makes a bold and deeply personal shift in tone, one that shines a light on vulnerability, resilience and the power of human connection. Meet Rose. She's lovely To catch up on podcasts from other favourite artists. Simply go to that radio, chickickcomau. Welcome into the Zoom room today. Rose Carleo from the.
Rose Carleo:Rose Carleo Band. Thank you for joining us today Rose. Thank you for having me, cheryl. It's great to be here finally.
Cheryl Lee:I hear you've just come back from a lovely stay at your in-laws in beautiful Tasmania.
Rose Carleo:I have. Yes, I spent a few days in Hobart catching up with family. It's been amazing, beautiful, beautiful part of the world. I'm not sure if you've been there, but it's very stunning, lovely.
Cheryl Lee:You're back home now.
Rose Carleo:Where's home? Home is the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, in Springwood.
Cheryl Lee:Lovely, and the rest of the band are they?
Rose Carleo:there as well. My husband, mick and guitar player and Rose Carleo family live in the Blue Mountains. The band Shady is closer to Sydney and Bill lives up the coast a little bit.
Cheryl Lee:But you're all over that way-ish. Yes, beautiful part of Australia, all righty. So we've got some exciting news to talk about, a brand new song, and perhaps we could go backwards a little bit before we go forwards and ask a little bit about you, rose. So when did you realise that music was your passion and music was your thing?
Rose Carleo:Yeah, when I was pretty young, when I was in sort of primary school, high school, I loved to, you know, have a bit of a sing around the house and things like that. Mum loved country music and I mean, I grew up listening to a lot of different music because of my siblings with different genres, but mum loved country music and I had a love for it. I still have a love for it, the storytelling and everything in it. So one night my mum took me to see a local band. She started a couple of country music clubs, a I think she was just a big music lover B.
Rose Carleo:She loved that community and I'm the same. I me, the music community. So I'd done my homework. That night I was 13, I was allowed to go. The band actually called me up on stage to sing an old song. Not that I'd ever said I want to get up on the stage, but it was more of a. They knew I loved to sing and love to you know, watch and everything. So I looked across at the table at mum and I said no way am I getting up there?
Rose Carleo:and I can still see her face. She looked at me across the table and she said I dare you, oh never dare a daughter challenge accepted. So so I got up on stage and sang the song and continued to harass all the local bands probably for the next 10 years. I was like a sponge, I think. Just you know, taking it all in and watching the process and asking questions. I was 13 and then I had my first band when I was about 16 or 17.
Cheryl Lee:Good on you, mum, getting you up there that first time. And you're right, you know the music community. Music just brings everybody together, doesn't it?
Rose Carleo:It does, yeah, it does.
Cheryl Lee:I hear that your mum took you to see one of my faves because, of course, being South Australian and my vintage, you've got to be a Cold Chisel fan, absolutely. You were off to see Mossy with Mum.
Rose Carleo:So she passed when I was 19, unfortunately, but I think I was around about 18 and we both loved Cold Chisel. We both loved Ian Moss. Tucker's daughter had just come out and it was on repeat. I'm surprised I didn't wear a hole in the vinyl. And so we went to a pub in Perth City. She was having a good week that week she was in a fair bit of pain with the cancer. But anyway she said, no, we're going to go. So we went to see Ian Moss. Great support band was on. So we sat through there and I said I'm just going to go to the toilet. So I went to the bathroom, came back and then she was talking to the guys in the support band saying, oh, my daughter thinks you're great, my daughter's a musician. I was like, oh my Lord, what have you done? So that was quite funny. So, yeah, had a bit of a chat with them. Yeah, mossy came on and that was a really great memory to have with her and she really enjoyed it.
Cheryl Lee:Yeah, oh, bless you, mum. You clearly got your love of music from her.
Rose Carleo:I did, I absolutely did yeah.
Cheryl Lee:And how many siblings have you got?
Rose Carleo:Well, I have a brother in Perth and I have two that have unfortunately passed away my sister last year and my other brother about four years ago.
Cheryl Lee:Were you all musical bros, or are you the?
Rose Carleo:No, I'm the black sheep. You're the talented one. I'm the youngest. My siblings're the talented one. I'm the youngest. My siblings loved music and loved playing music. My sister actually had quite a natural singing voice, but never did anything with it, unfortunately. But yeah, it was just me that was the glutton for punishment and just kept going.
Cheryl Lee:Was there ever a plan B, rose, if, like, the music thing hadn't panned out for you? Not really, no, did you pick one A, b?
Rose Carleo:and C. I think about that over the years and I mean, look, I do do a little bit of admin work and bits and pieces and you know I've done a certificate in event management. I love planning events, which is really it's gigs that I've been doing all these years. I don't think I ever thought there would be another plan. You know, whether it be just playing local gigs for the rest of my life or moving across the country or whatever, it was just always music for me. You are listening to Still Rocking it. The podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Cheryl Lee:Let's have that Ian Moss song, shall we? That Rose and her beautiful mother would have heard when they went to see Mossy together, tucker's daughter. And then we're back to find out how rose met her rock star husband, and all about a brand new song. Tell us the story. How did you and your hubby meet? Did you meet across the gig dance floor and meet and live happily ever after? No, not a rock and roll love story.
Rose Carleo:Well, it kind of is. So I'm from Perth originally and in the mid-90s mixed from well from Darwin, but grew up in Tassie and him and his wife had come over to live in Perth and then we ended up in the same band. We were bandmates, so that was no problem. I was with my husband, he was with his wife. We shared, you know, geeks together. They ended up going back to Tasmania to start their family.
Rose Carleo:Fast forward to 2012, where we were back in touch. I saw a picture of this great guitar he had on. He just bought his Les Paul. I love guitars and you know you sort of hear of each other through the grapevine over the years. He bought a couple of my albums and previous albums and things. We just started chatting about guitars and about gigs and how we were both going, and I was living in New South Wales at that time so I'd moved from Perth to Brisbane to Sydney. He was still in Hobart and we just got chatting and things grew from there. We both happened to be single and yeah, and it just grew and we did long distance for a little while, yeah, and then Mick moved up here.
Cheryl Lee:You play some original music, you play some covers. Yep, there's a new song and it's called Daisy Song. It's a really poignant song. It's got a bit of a story behind it and a really good message, hasn't it?
Rose Carleo:Thank you, yeah, it does so. Back during COVID one of Mick's mates, darren his name is Darren Booth and his nickname is Daisy, hence the title was going through a real hard time, poured his heart out to Mick on a page and he was going through anxiety and depression and alcoholism and just not feeling great, so he sent these lyrics to Mick.
Rose Carleo:It was more in a poem form. Mixer read them and went, wow, okay, and rewrote some and sort of repositioned them, wrote the music, and I was just like what is this song? This is amazing. And then I helped him, we wrote the melody together, demoed it up and then just let it sit for a little bit. It sort of cured. I guess Sometimes songs need to breathe for a little bit, I think, and mature Like fine wine, yes, and develop. It's a song about hope. It's about reaching out. It's about, I guess, looking into yourself and saying, yeah, things haven't always been great or I don't feel like I've ever had it together, but I'm really trying, you know, and I think there's a real power in asking for help. It shouldn't be looked at as a weakness, because we've lost way too many people, some close to us, some that we don't know. But it doesn't matter, it's just it's got to stop, I think.
Cheryl Lee:Absolutely, and it's really good to like. Putting words and messages into a song are a fabulous way of sharing the message. I think it's a lot more prevalent than we realize. I think there's more people who have had an issue with being a bit depressed or down and need to rely on others. If you haven't, you're one of the lucky few, I think.
Rose Carleo:Absolutely, and I know personally I have. I have quite a few times and I think, because it's not a visual thing like a broken arm or a broken leg, you know, people don't realise and sometimes it's hard to explain as well. So, having him put his heart out on his sleeve, us connecting with it and just really trying to get the message across and feeling it, I was quite teary actually doing some of the takes. I bet yeah really resonated.
Cheryl Lee:Um, hopefully it'll resonate with everyone else you know, one person listens to it and it gives them, you know, a reason to talk to someone or to get up the next day. Your job is done, done right.
Rose Carleo:Absolutely, it is for sure.
Cheryl Lee:Still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. Let's hear that song now, daisy's Song by the Rose Carleo Band, and then we're back to hear a little bit about the tour.
Rose Carleo:It does. So it's got the semicolon on the front of the daisy our artwork guy Glenn. The semicolon signifies like it's not the end. It might just be a blip in the road or a little speed hump, but it's not the end and it doesn't have to be the end. We thought we'd pop that in there and hopefully a few people might go oh, what's that? You know? Read that message.
Cheryl Lee:I love it and it's a beautiful picture.
Rose Carleo:Thank you.
Cheryl Lee:And a beautiful colour.
Rose Carleo:Blue's beautiful and it is that colour, I think, for the song and, yeah, it really worked well. Yeah, great choice.
Cheryl Lee:To get a copy of the single. Could they go to the website?
Rose Carleo:all the usual places, usual platforms. You know your Spotify, your Apple. However you stream your music. We are looking at possibly putting out a physical copy of it and it, of course, will be on the album that's forthcoming. So all the usual suspects, or you can go to yeah, rosecarliobandcom.
Cheryl Lee:When you say physical copy, do you mean vinyl?
Rose Carleo:Well, that's out the bag. Definitely for the album, we're going to look at doing some vinyl copies, so I'm a little bit excited about that. So we'll do a run and see how that goes. I just remember my childhood, you know, reading the covers and reading the stories and looking at the pictures, and I think it's something special to be said with going back to some vinyl. Absolutely Old school these days you should make it that beautiful blue. That's what I was thinking.
Cheryl Lee:That's a scoop. You heard it first here, everybody. Blue vinyl watch this space.
Rose Carleo:Yeah, that's a great idea. I'll make sure you're on the credits, cheryl. Thanks.
Cheryl Lee:Do I get paid?
Rose Carleo:We'll talk about that.
Cheryl Lee:We'll get your people to speak to my people, Something like that, While we're talking scoops. That is the first single on an album right.
Rose Carleo:Actually, we've released two others, but they were a little while back. However, they will be on the album. We released a version of ACDC's Hello Ain't a Bad Place to Be, and we released a song called Line Em Up, a song about good times and let's line them up at the bar at the end of a gig. I guess technically it's the third single and there'll be a few more singles coming out.
Cheryl Lee:So the rest of the album correct me if I'm wrong is a little bit rockier, and this is like. Every album needs a good ballad.
Rose Carleo:This probably is. Oh actually, no, there is one other ballad on there and the rest of it is quite rocky and quite sort of riff driven yeah, and a couple of the songs are a bit anthemic. Actually, I would say as well. We love a good anthem.
Cheryl Lee:You know two ballads are better than one. Yeah, absolutely, I'm really looking forward to that. No-transcript Kick-ass woman, frankel person Yay, thank you.
Rose Carleo:It's funny. When we started the band eight or nine years ago, I said to the boys, what will we call it? And Mick said well, rose Carleo Band. I'm like yeah, but you guys are in it too. They're like, so I'm like okay. So now, if they don't do what they're told, I'm like my name's on the poker. No, it's definitely a very. Everyone has a say in things and yeah, definitely.
Cheryl Lee:It's a democracy, is it?
Rose Carleo:It is you are listening to Still Rocking it. The podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Cheryl Lee:Well, you don't have to convince me very hard to play a great Akadaka cover. And here it is, the Rose Carleo Band with Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be and then we're back to say goodbye to Rose
Rose Carleo:Yeah, on the website or on our Facebook page. So, rosecarliobandcom, we've got some New South Wales dates coming up. I'm working on some South Australian dates, either at the end of the year or beginning of next year Victoria and Perth, and then we're going to Japan in April. Oh my goodness, this is ath, and then we're going to Japan in April.
Cheryl Lee:Oh my goodness, it's a bit exciting. But you're coming to Adelaide first.
Rose Carleo:Yes, I'm definitely making inquiries as we speak. You heard it here.
Cheryl Lee:That's right. There's another scoop you guys haven't played in Adelaide before, right, no?
Rose Carleo:I've been to Adelaide. I have not played in Adelaide. Bill and Shady might have, but Mick and I haven't. Yeah.
Cheryl Lee:I'll see you down the front, wherever it is that you play. I hope so. Yeah, so you should be. Welcome you to our beautiful town. Now. Who have you got with you in the band.
Rose Carleo:So myself, mick Adkins on guitar, songwriting and producing and all that stuff he does, Mick O'Shea on drums and we now have Bill Kirvan on bass. So Steve King was with us for eight years. He rejoined Rose Tattoo last year and we've got Bill in now, who's played with Mick O'Shea in many outfits, including Dragon and Swanee, and it's really good. The show must go on, I guess, and you know, I think it's great that King is back with the Tats.
Cheryl Lee:We're all still a family, you know that's. The story is, the tats are touring at the moment and and bringing in like all their old members that have been in in in the past. But apparently I was interviewing gary and green the other day and next year, 50 years, apparently. That's it allegedly.
Rose Carleo:I wonder, will it? Will it be? I mean, there's no doubt, like you've said, you know they deserve a rest as well, but will it be the end?
Cheryl Lee:Probably not. No, you can't keep a good rocker down.
Rose Carleo:Yeah, I mean, I'm just guessing, of course, surmising, but who knows what will happen, and good on them.
Cheryl Lee:I think he alluded to maybe no more big tours, but you know little gigs at pubs and you know right back to the grassroots of when you know they used to play to 10 people.
Rose Carleo:Yeah, that would be great, except there'll be a lot more. But yeah, the venues for sure. Yeah, that'd be really cool.
Cheryl Lee:Which one of your band members played with Swanee?
Rose Carleo:Miko Shea and Bill Kirvan.
Cheryl Lee:I was back in Adelaide a couple of weekends ago and played with Dave Gleeson from the Screaming Jets.
Rose Carleo:Oh, kevin Borrish here, kevin Borish here. It was amazing, that would have been incredible. I did see that advertised actually.
Cheryl Lee:Yeah, One show only in the whole of Australia. We were very lucky.
Rose Carleo:That is very cool.
Cheryl Lee:All the best with the album, with the tour. Thanks.
Rose Carleo:Cheryl.
Cheryl Lee:For coming and spending a bit of time in the Zoom room With us, and we look forward to Seeing you down the front. I'll be the blonde.
Rose Carleo:Thank you so much for your time as well. We really appreciate it.
Cheryl Lee:Love your work, you too. Thanks, cheryl and Amina, I'll see you in.
Rose Carleo:Adelaide. Oh good, I know, Otherwise I'll hunt you down.
Cheryl Lee:Still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. Well, I'm going to leave you with their belter Line Em Up, rose.