Bursting forth from the ‘Forest City’ of London, Ontario in 2016, Rose Cora Perry & The Untold Truth is a powerful and compelling 1990’s inspired alternative rock band that combines exceptional melodies, hauntingly beautiful harmonies with the gritty energy and crunching riffs for a potent and memorable musical experience.
Comprised of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Rose Cora Perry, long-time collaborator, Tyler Randall (drums/lead guitar) and touring bassist Emma Hefkey, the band has been a regular on the southwestern Ontario rock scene over the past three years. The trio has garnered a reputation for showmanship and professionalism that has allowed the talented trio to open for the likes of Smash Mouth, Platinum Blonde and Rik Emmett, as well as having an opportunity to play a show at the legendary Whisky A-Go-Go in L.A. and make significant touring headway throughout portions of the United States.
Perry has an extensive career as a professional musician and songwriter, previously best known for fronting the grunge act Anti-Hero, as well as releasing a handful of solo material. Re-dedicating herself to rock music, she put together a touring band, and has re-recorded a number of her previous solo work for an upcoming EP Other Side of the Story. Singles and videos from the sessions will be released in the lead up to a fall launch.
The forthcoming EP was recorded primarily at SLR Studios in Windsor, Ontario with some harmony and guitar overdub tracks laid down at the Sugar Shack in London, all under the watchful eye of producer Kevin O’Leary (Walk Off The Earth, The Trews, Billy Talent). Comprised of five songs, including the debut single/video Easy Prey, the material is actually made up of revamped compositions Perry released on a couple of her previous solo records, amped up for a rock band, giving fans a real taste of what a live show by Rose Cora Perry & The Truth Untold would be like.
“I did a solo album that I released in 2016 and it was written very much in the singer-songwriter vein, so it was acoustically driven with some really pretty piano ballads. When I decided I wanted to go on tour, I wanted to form a rock band, because my spirit just very much aligns with fronting a rock band. I am more comfortable and it’s what I enjoy doing. Although the music that I wrote and recorded originally was in a lighter vein, I thought maybe there is a way to reinterpret it for live purposes because I would like to get back into the rock demographic,” she explained, adding that the first song/video to be released from this imaginative re-imagining process was Easy Prey.
“It’s kind of a social commentary and we wanted to release it now because of what’s going on with a lot of things in politics and society in general. The message of the song is to not be easy prey; don’t fall for everything that’s presented to you as the truth or the only way of looking at things. Have a mind of your own, have a thought of your own, make up your mind as to what you think is right and what makes sense to you. I think with social media especially it’s really unfortunate how easy it is to become surrounded by a bunch of ‘yes’ people because everything is programmed by algorithms: you only see things that are consistent with your own views, which I think is extremely problematic because it creates even more defined niches, and not in a good way.
“And that in itself is going to breed things like discrimination and prejudice and racism and all those awful things that we should not be encouraging in society. On top of that is the anonymity factor of being on the internet and thinking you can just rip somebody and that it’s not going to affect them on a personal level. The video itself is a commentary on social media and cell phone addiction and how its really, in my opinion, degrading real connections with people and real relationships. The song’s message is to not fall victim to these ideals, to have a moral backbone and don’t become a sheep; don’t become a conformist. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you should and just because you are told something doesn’t mean it’s the truth.”
There is a tone of personal empowerment, inner strength and resiliency that permeates all of Perry’s songs, even ones that may seem to have a darker tone. She believes that her disciplined Catholic education, but also the example of two very hard working, entrepreneurial and supportive parents helped her gain the kind of confidence in herself and her craft that has allowed for the development of a true sense of calling and dedication for her chosen vocation.
“Coming from a pretty strict family and the kind of upbringing I had I figured out who I was kind of early in life and who I wanted to be. I did have struggles with bullies and self esteem and whatnot, but through it all I always kind of knew who I wanted to be, and who I aspired to be, and I had a really great family in terms of understanding and supporting me, even if it didn’t always make sense to them. So, I feel very blessed and grateful for that. It’s allowed me to be confident in who I am. I feel firm in my foundations of who I am as a person and what I want to do with my life. And music to me is a really powerful outlet for doing and expressing that kind of thing,” Perry explained.
“My parents raised me to have a strong sense of self and a strong sense of will, even if the rest of the world didn’t get it. And I wish that more people could find that within themselves. I find it very sad when people don’t have a good support system around them and are not in a good place to be able to cope, because I know life is confusing and hard and we all have our burdens to bear. And something that is really important to me is to try and be inspirational to other people, to let them know that if they are going through shit to not worry because they can get through it. That’s what I try to do in my day to day life, and especially through my music.”
Both of Perry’s parents are entrepreneurs, with her mom owning and running a personal fitness business and her dad an insurance business. She learned early on to treat even something as creative and esoteric as music with a level head, especially on the practical business side of the profession. This approach is one that could also be seen as a beacon for other musicians trying to work their way through the sometimes complicated and dehumanizing morass of the music industry.
“A huge percentage of musicians are non-business people and I don’t blame them for not knowing how to navigate these things. I think it’s really unfortunate that there is this expectation that they can’t just focus on their art. The industry is far more about navigating the business side than talent, that goes without saying. I had my upbringing, but I also learned a lot along the way and have the bumps and bruises to prove it,” she said.
“I grew up in a household seeing really hard working, strong-willed peopled so I think I have a big of that plus the talent and passion for making music. I am very appreciative and grateful that I had that upbringing because it causes me to look at things differently perhaps than other musicians who get so caught up in the skewed artistic view that they don’t understand that, yeah , you might be a fantastic band, but the booker doesn’t care how great the music is, they care about putting bodies in their bar and selling beer. It’s not the same agenda and that’s been the mistake of a lot of bands since the dawn of time thinking it is.
“I love what I do, and I work hard at it and I do take a businesslike approach to the business side, because that’s how I learned to exist and to succeed. But I don’t have any delusions that I am going to turn into an overnight sensation. That expression itself just grates on my ears because it is such a falsehood. There is no such thing as somebody going from complete anonymity to just breaking instantaneously without some sort of backstory. I am just grateful for the incredible opportunities that I have been able to have, and I am grateful for the unfortunate experiences that I have had too because they taught me a lot of lessons and they’ve also helped to strengthen my character and make me think about my career and life in general differently.”
Passion for creating and performing has been a part of Perry’s makeup from the first time she went onstage at age four at the Aeolian Hall in London singing a piece from a Broadway show. Initially wanting to be stage actor and performer, she embarked on more classical music and vocal training, citing Andrew Lloyd Weber protégé Sarah Brightman and Celtic songstress Loreena McKennitt as inspirations. While at a talent show where she performed Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera at 15, Perry was approached by another teenaged female musician who wanted to form a rock band. And the rest, as they say, is history, as the dreams of the Great White Way of Broadway transitioned to rock and roll reality
“It was so completely different from the confines of classical training that I had experienced that I really had no idea how to express attitude and animosity and everything that makes rock and roll so great. But when I did figure it out it was like, wow, this totally makes sense in terms of my mantra. I get it, and I get the passion and the power of this form of art and it was so cool to see how people responded to the first songs I ever wrote and how powerful and meaningful it was to them and that was pretty much it, I haven’t looked back since,” she said.
With a sound reminiscent of the best of 1990s alternative rock, along the lines of one of her favourite bands Veruca Salt, the music created by Rose Cora Perry & The Truth Untold, also features the sort of lyrical depth, soaring vocals and insistent melodies crafted by another of her major idols – Alanis Morissette.
“Like any girl in Canada growing up in the 1990s I got obsessed with Jagged Little Pill because it was one of the greatest rock albums ever written and, my goodness can that woman sing. She is a phenomenal songwriter and so insightful with her lyrics, I still think she is incredible. Hearing that album inspired me a lot because she has so much power and so much range, but she also knows to display dynamics really, really well, just like a classical singer – showing that you can be soft and loud and really taking people on a journey in terms of dynamics. Seeing that applied to the rock vein is really cool. She definitely demonstrates more of a classical style and proper technique than I would say the average rock singer does, so her particular style really appealed to me,” Perry said.
Three videos in total will be released in anticipation of Other Side of the Story coming out sometime in the fall. Perry said the band is working on getting bookings for the summer festival season and hopes to perform throughout Ontario and parts of the US throughout the year.
For more information on Rose Cora Perry & The Truth Untold, visit http://www.rosecoraperry.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
