Exclusive Interview with Rourke

Artist Spotlight: Rourke

Rourke took inspiration for the song from a number of sources, including a 1987 acoustic concert by Guns ‘N Roses at the famed NYC rock club CBGB’s, and Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.”

In this exclusive Q&A, Rourke opens up about the stories behind the music, lessons learned along the way, and what keeps their passion alive.

Outverge: Who are your biggest musical influences?

Rourke: The Beatles, Springsteen, Guns n Roses, Wilco, Joe Strummer.

Outverge: What non-musical influences (books, movies, art, etc.) inspire your work?

Rourke: Real stories and real people provide the subject matter, like Walter Scott being shot in the back "run Walter, run" on my song "The White's In Your Eyes" and Michelle Obama's powerful words "when they go low, we go high" directly inspired the song "Rise", as well as the chorus "when they go low, we rise".

Outverge: Is there a particular song or album that has significantly influenced your career?

Rourke: A 1980's acoustic show by Guns n Roses at CBGB's was the initial spark that got me into the studio to record acoustic versions of songs I intended to record with electric guitars.   As the recording progressed, I eventually added electric guitars and a full band, but the original "acoustic" templates are there on a few of the finished songs, like "It's No Me" and "The White's In Your Eyes".

Outverge: How do your personal experiences shape your music?

Rourke: I've always been socio-politically aware and an activist for underdog communities.  My co-producer urged me not to go socio-political with my album, but I stuck to my instincts and took a chance.  My background in film also influences my lyrics by adding references to favorite films in the lyrics, like on my song "Between the Lines"... "parallax views, parallax views..." which is a nod to an Alan Pakula film from the 70's "The Parallax View".

Outverge: Have your influences changed over the years?

Rourke: Yes!  They changed over the course of recording this album, which took eight years.  When I started, I thought my sound would be heavily hard rock (Guns n Roses).... but the more I wrote, the more I leaned on traditional rock, like Springsteen and The Beatles.  The Guns N ' Roses influences are very present, but overall I would describe my sound as 70s Springsteen meets 80s Guns N ' Roses.

Outverge: How do you incorporate your cultural background into your music?

Rourke: I grew up in L.A, West Hollywood precisely.  I attended Fairfax High, so growing up, my culture was very diverse.  This diversity is present in various ways... such as adding a variation on Richie Valens' "La Bamba" motif to my Star Spangled Banner, to show solidarity with Latinos who have been terrorized in the first and second terms.   

Outverge: What role does nature or your environment play in your songwriting?

Rourke: Not much.  When song ideas come to me, they just come, regardless of what I'm doing, whether it's walking the dogs or working at my computer at 6 am.  I just record the ideas on my smartphone and work on them later.

Outverge: When did you first realize you wanted to be a musician?

Rourke: I started playing guitar when I was twelve, but didn't really have the patience to spend hours upon hours doing scales, and at 13 I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker, so my teen years were spent in movie theaters watching art films and reading film theory by Bazin and the Cahiers du Cinema... but I always kept guitars around as a release.  I turned back to music in 2016 when I was caught up in the political climate surrounding the presidential primaries.  Debating people online was not very productive because I spent more time debating facts with people than actual policies, even people on my own side of the aisle.  So I started putting my views on issues into songs and hired a songwriting coach to develop my songwriting skills.

Outverge: What was the first song you ever wrote, and what inspired it?

Rourke: The first song I ever wrote with full lyrics and all music parts is a ballad about a long-distance relationship I once had.  I didn't include it on my album "Starstruck" because it didn't fit the theme of the album.  If I do a 2nd album, it will be on there for sure.

Outverge: How did you get started in the music industry?

Rourke: Luckily, I went to junior high and high school with Rami Jaffee from the Foo Fighters, so he's been coaching me from the beginning, and he also plays on every song on the album.