KEY POINTS:
Standing in the penthouse of Auckland's Hyatt Hotel, Lukas Rossi looks down on Vector Arena - where his band Rockstar Supernova are set to play in March next year - and announces he'd like to play on the roof. He may be new to the fame game, but Rossi is clearly no stranger to rock 'n' roll. He talks to nzherald.co.nz about his Rockstar adventure.
What were you doing before the Rockstar competition?
I was playing in a band called the Rise Electric, just working hard trying to get where I am today. We disbanded during the time auditions were on, which was perfect timing. It's kind of meant to be, you know? I just took the chance and now I'm here.
Did you have a back up plan in case you didn't win?
I don't believe in plan B. If you have plan B it means you're not too enthused by plan A or you have doubts with it.
So you really expected to win?
I think everyone should have expected to win or else they shouldn't have been at the audition. I was always confident. Not arrogant, there's a fine line between the two and I don't cross that. But you have to believe in what you're doing and be confident. As soon as you let you're guard down, someone's going to take your place.
After you won, how much input did you get into the new album?
I wrote five songs on the album, a lot of melodies and lyrics and that. Half the record was done, only because of time constraints and the process of the audition. I already have some material for the second record.
What musical influences did you bring to the group, what were you into before the competition?
I'm into a lot of music. I'm into beats - I love hip hop. Amos Lee, Jeff Buckley, Ben Harper. And I love a lot of the heavier stuff, old school death metal and things. I bring Lukas into the band, same as Gilby brings Gilby and so on.
You've lashed out at people for calling you a cliche. What is the cliche?
I've read some articles about the classic, spiky haired guy, the make up, whatever. I've been doing this s**t before the cliche was invented man. I got kicked out of school for being who I am. I went to a Catholic all boys school. I'd rather go to bed at the end of the day knowing that I'm true to myself, than wake up and go, 'who am I going to be today?' just to try and make everyone else happy.
Back to your time on the show and in the mansion, what was that like?
It was tedious... You feel like a basket case after a while. I learned a lot about how fragile we are, especially under the circumstances of an audition. It's hard, you've just got to close your eyes, feel around in the dark and hope for the best.
Things seemed to get pretty tense, how did you deal with that?
After the first couple days s**t happened, I was like 'I'm not here to business with other people's business'. Let them do what they want. Sometimes I would find myself getting into it and then I'd step back and go, 'okay, I'm not auditioning to be people's friend here, I'm auditioning to get in a band.'
Do you think that helped you win the competition? Do you think the band watched that behind-the-scenes footage?
Definitely. I'm sure they watched it all. You have to tour with this person and you don't want to have some nut case. That's the last thing you want. There's a lot of fans out there relying on us to bring a rock show and the last thing I want to do is let them down.
Your tour kicks off on New Years Eve, are you anticipating some old fashioned rock 'n' roll debauchery?
I'm sure there'll be some midgets and crazy s**t going on... I can't tell you about the live show, it's a surprise. But it's going to be off-the-wall.
