Plan comes together for Rock's six exiles

Rock of Travolta

The 'post-rock' instrumental six-piece headlined a showcase by Oxford label Truck Records at the Zodiac, alongside Meanwhile Back in Communist Russia, Lapsus Linguae and 65 Days of Static.

After years as a mainstay of the Oxford scene, 'The Rock' are now based in London, while bass player Phill Honey is soaking up the sea air in ultra-hip Brighton.

The past two years have certainly been an incredible time for the band who went from playing for 30 people in a cow shed in Steventon, to performing in front of more than 25,000 at Radiohead's South Park bash, last year.

The show was certainly a highpoint for the band, but as Phill explained to eMail, having no singer has meant the band having to work twice as hard to get the recognition they deserve.

He said: "We have to put more into our live performances than some other bands, as we haven't got a front person to get people's attention.

"With not having a vocalist we have to look at different angles, and rely on vocal samples rather than having a singer."

He added: "We all carry the band, and are more of a unit than a band focused on just one person."

But why have they not bowed to pressure and recruited a singing frontman? "We have all been playing in bands for years," he explained.

"When we had singers we were continuously being told to turn the guitars down, which was frustrating. We thought that by not having a singer we could be louder -- and we don't want our music spoiled by some singer wailing over the top."

But he admitted there were drawbacks in breaking with tradition. "Some people say there isn't a commercial side, and people in the industry seem reluctant to take a risk as there are no instrumental bands in the charts -- even though those people that come to the gigs say it's the best thing they've seen for years.

"We could play anywhere in the world as there are no language barriers; infact there is no language!"

Anyone who has seen Phill, Handsome Dave, Ros, Deadly Dave, Jon and Stumpy Joe in action, can't have failed to have been struck by how much the guys seem to love what they do.

"We really enjoy it," said Phill. "We spent so long getting the band ready, what's the point of being scared or not enjoying it?"

And it is that sense of fun that led to the band's less than conventional name.

According to legend, it was the result of a mis-hearing and too much booze. Phill said: "We wanted a name that was really 'rock', and after a few hours of drinking in the pub, someone came up with the name Mineral -- which was rubbish.

"I thought of the biggest rock I could think of, which was the Rock of Gibraltar, but Dave the guitarist misheard me and started laughing."

Yet, despite a perpetual fear of being sued by the Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction star, the name has stuck.

This Saturday's gig is being billed by Truck as a label showcase, and a taste of what is on offer at their fortnightly live Trailerpark club nights at the Cellar. But while TROT are a key member of the Truck family -- along with Goldrush and Fonda 500 -- they are in the enviable position of running their own label, Juggernaut -- a Truck offshoot.

And it is Juggernaut that has given the boys the artistic freedom to do their own thing. As Phill explained: "It is good as we have complete control over what we do. We record when we want, use the artwork we want, and no-one tells us to change things.

"However, running a label costs a lot of money -- and at the minute we have £3 left in our bank account."

But they are looking forward to returning to their old stomping ground.

"We have always loved playing the Zodiac," said Phill. "Everytime we play there it is really good.

"There is usually three-or-four hundred people who are really into it. And it is good that local bands are able to sell the place out. A few years ago you wouldn't have been able to do that."

One of those fans is Radiohead drummer Phil Selway, whose support saw the guys elevated to superstar status on that famous July afternoon in South Park.

"When we got a phone call saying we had got it, we were really surprised," said Phill.

"We were on at 1pm, and thought there would be hardly anyone there. But there were 25,000 people in the park as soon as it opened.

"To get that much reaction was incredible. It was a good day.

"The next day we played The Windmill pub in Brixton in front of 30 people, which brought us back down to earth."

Of course, Phill also has an alternative account of why his band was picked for the prestigious Radiohead support slot.

"We started spreading the word that we had pictures of Thom Yorke in compromising positions with different celebrities," he joked.

But even if they don't make a career out of blackmail, TROT seem unstoppable, and are busy making friends in all the right places. Fans include John Peel, who picked one of the band's tunes for his Festive 50, and Steve Lamacq, who took an instant liking to their single I Love It When a Plan Comes Together.

But the band still seem content to do things in their own sweet time.

"We have no set plan of what we want to do," said Phill. "We never said we wanted to sound like this or that, and don't have any expectations. We just make the music we want -- and it is working really well."

By Tim Hughes - published in eMAIL in the Oxford Mail on October 25