Following on from the recent success of their album ‘No Gas Lost Roads’, self-dubbed ‘Sound of Nashville’ band Stuart Rolfe & The Daylight Stealers have continued to share their unique wave of musical versatility through their brand new thought-provoking single “What Happens When”.
Stuart has kindly taken the time to speak with Fierce & Fabulous Revolution about the inspiration behind his latest single, along with discovering more of how this musical concept came together. You can check out what he had to say below.
Hey Stuart, thank you for this interview. Can you start by telling the readers a little bit about yourself?
Stuart: I was born in a small village called Colerne in the base of the Cotswolds. Growing up in the Hotel trade, lead me to train as a chef and hotelier. However music was always calling me. I worked on the session circuit for many years and after having to deal with Leukaemia in 2009 and a stroke in 2014 I decided that it was time to start living and pursue my dreams. I had been on many audition listings, and the C2C list came, getting to perform with the Greats, Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill. After this the door flew open and I was in Nashville working with Sony Nashville and BMLG. But something was missing, it was me, I was missing. My music the sound from within. So in Feb 2020 I decided to leave BMLG to start my own song writing journey, and here I am.
How did the concept of Stuart Rolfe & The Daylight Stealers come together?
Stuart: Stuart Rolfe and the Daylight Stealers is made up of unique and very talented musicians, all of which I am very humble to work with. Without the guys I would not be able to do this. The name Daylight Stealers came about after many nights on the stage and realising I was getting to sleep in the early hours of the morning to awake late afternoon to get ready to perform again. So the name Daylight Stealers was born, as that is exactly what the stage was doing stealing the daylight hours.
How would you describe your musical style to someone unfamiliar with your music?
Stuart: Eclectic – It takes a little bit of traditional country, modern country, Rock and soul. If you mix it all up this is what you get. The best way to describe is the Big sound era of the 90’s when everyone was doing stadium and arena tours. Remembering that the volume does go to 11.
You are about to release the new single “What Happens When”. How did the idea for this song come together?
Stuart: The idea for the song came from watching the BBC news. Seeing their graphics of the virus on the video wall changing colour from blue to red whilst rotating, stuck in my mind. Also hearing that people were moaning that the UK hadn’t met its target with climate control whilst facing the realities of a world-wide pandemic.
When I got to the chorus, I found a bizarre situation whilst sat in the doctors waiting room. Everyone had a mask on, you could see some smiles in the laughter lines by the eyes, yet you could not see the smile. Faces were taken away by the mask. And people stopped making eye contact as if to think that that was also unsafe.
That’s when the question appeared ‘What Happens When’
How would you compare the creative process behind this song to previous releases?
Stuart: The creative process for this song started about 3.00am in the morning, we call it the club, many song writers seem to suffer the same fate. Waking with lyrics pouring out. There is two versions of the song an acoustic and full band version. The process for the full band version was organic, the guys in the band are absolutely fantastic. Although I wrote the lyrics, we all played our part in writing the song. Ideas just kept coming and they worked. It’s almost as if we were in tune.
What does this song personally mean to you?
Stuart: The song means a lot to me after losing some great friends and colleagues to covid, I feel the song and its words.
If listeners could take anything away from this song, what would you like it to be?
Stuart: The song relates to things that are still happening. You’re not alone, we are all in this together. There is no crying over spilt milk, lets join, unite and conquer. So, we can all get on and enjoy living once again. Ask yourself that question ‘What happens when?’
Finally, is there a message that you would like to share with the readers of Fierce & Fabulous Revolution?
Stuart: I am very humble to be amongst people who enjoy music. To each and every one of you out there, Thank you. Thank you for supporting me and the band and all the musicians and performers. Without you we have no one to tell our stories and odes too.
You can check out “What Happens When” on Spotify below.
Stuart Rolfe: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram.
Fierce & Fabulous Revolution 