The Sit Down with Antonio Larosa
Vancouver based Antonio Larosa is an artist who fuses the grit of blues, the soul of vintage rock, and the heart of classic country storytelling. Having recently won the Roots Artist of the Year Award at the British Columbia Country Music Awards; Antonio is keeping up momentum by releasing his new track Tried and True this week – a track that was inspired by his relationship with his wife. We caught up with Antonio this week to find out more.
Hi Antonio.
Hey Ian, how are you?
Not bad, yourself?
Good, can you hear me okay?
I can hear you perfectly fine. Where are you, dare I ask?
I'm in Alaska right now on a cruise ship! I have a gig on the ship and the internet isn't very good so I had to find a spot over here to make this happen.
Thank you so much for taking the time and finding signal! I really appreciate it.
Well, thank you. Thanks for having me on here.
How have you managed to find yourself doing a show on a cruise ship? Although I must say I am a little jealous!
Oh man, it's a long story. I mean, it's something that I do. I've been at music since 2016 and I was in a group doing something completely different from what I do now. I was a bit younger and we started doing some cruise ship gigs and then I kind of developed my own country, rock and blues show with some of my music and some hits from the past. I live in Vancouver, so it's quite an easy thing for me because there's lots of cruises that leave from there, so it’s just become something I do!
I guess Alaska is quite common to you then?
Yes, it’s kind of like a colder British Columbia.
I guess we get a bit more daylight at this time of year up in Alaska!
Oh yeah, it's crazy. It doesn't get dark till like 11 p.m.
Are you going to be back in Vancouver in time for Friday because the new track is coming out.
Yes, the boat arrives Friday morning so hopefully I'll have some better internet to deal with that.
Are you looking forward to Tried and True being out?
Yeah, I'm super proud of the song and I'm proud of the direction that I've been taking my new music and it feels so much more me and just less controlled. It’s just a bit more expressing myself and a lot of the influences that I've had throughout my life musically and growing up. That is really coming into my music and it's this full circle moment for me. So yeah, I'm really excited and I love playing the songs that I've just written and recorded live so much and that for me is such a big, big deal. You can get into a writing session with people sometimes and they're there to help and it's great, and sometimes the song goes in a direction where it's a good song but it doesn't necessarily feel like you're as attached to it and I don't feel that way at all with this new batch of songs so I'm really happy about it.
Do you feel like it's been a bit of an awakening then getting this batch of songs and making it the sound you want?
Yeah, I think so and I feel like it's like it's been a process. Being an artist and trying to figure out who you are and where you fit and what you like to do and a lot of people are always trying to maybe sway you in a certain way or trying to help you out and they're only trying to help, but it takes some time to really figure that out and kind of see where you land and I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm definitely getting closer to that feeling, so I'm really excited.
Hi Antonio.
Hey Ian, how are you?
Not bad, yourself?
Good, can you hear me okay?
I can hear you perfectly fine. Where are you, dare I ask?
I'm in Alaska right now on a cruise ship! I have a gig on the ship and the internet isn't very good so I had to find a spot over here to make this happen.
Thank you so much for taking the time and finding signal! I really appreciate it.
Well, thank you. Thanks for having me on here.
How have you managed to find yourself doing a show on a cruise ship? Although I must say I am a little jealous!
Oh man, it's a long story. I mean, it's something that I do. I've been at music since 2016 and I was in a group doing something completely different from what I do now. I was a bit younger and we started doing some cruise ship gigs and then I kind of developed my own country, rock and blues show with some of my music and some hits from the past. I live in Vancouver, so it's quite an easy thing for me because there's lots of cruises that leave from there, so it’s just become something I do!
I guess Alaska is quite common to you then?
Yes, it’s kind of like a colder British Columbia.
I guess we get a bit more daylight at this time of year up in Alaska!
Oh yeah, it's crazy. It doesn't get dark till like 11 p.m.
Are you going to be back in Vancouver in time for Friday because the new track is coming out.
Yes, the boat arrives Friday morning so hopefully I'll have some better internet to deal with that.
Are you looking forward to Tried and True being out?
Yeah, I'm super proud of the song and I'm proud of the direction that I've been taking my new music and it feels so much more me and just less controlled. It’s just a bit more expressing myself and a lot of the influences that I've had throughout my life musically and growing up. That is really coming into my music and it's this full circle moment for me. So yeah, I'm really excited and I love playing the songs that I've just written and recorded live so much and that for me is such a big, big deal. You can get into a writing session with people sometimes and they're there to help and it's great, and sometimes the song goes in a direction where it's a good song but it doesn't necessarily feel like you're as attached to it and I don't feel that way at all with this new batch of songs so I'm really happy about it.
Do you feel like it's been a bit of an awakening then getting this batch of songs and making it the sound you want?
Yeah, I think so and I feel like it's like it's been a process. Being an artist and trying to figure out who you are and where you fit and what you like to do and a lot of people are always trying to maybe sway you in a certain way or trying to help you out and they're only trying to help, but it takes some time to really figure that out and kind of see where you land and I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm definitely getting closer to that feeling, so I'm really excited.
Have you used this week and recent shows to try out a few of these tracks, obviously knowing that people aren't necessarily there for your specifically?
Oh yeah, well we were on tour for a couple weeks with Kyle McKearney and we got to try a lot of the songs out. The response was just really great and I'm just super happy about that and a few of the songs I’ve been playing here on the boat too which is nice.
How were those kind of shows with Kyle?
Oh, they were awesome. It was a great thing to do for us as a band too, it's what we should be doing, it's what we want to be doing and when you get to do a show every single night, there's no shortcut. That is literally the way to do it and when you do that, you get so tight, the songs just start to breathe some new air. By the end of the last show, we just felt so like, oh man, this is over now, it's just getting so good and so right, so after that we just talked and we're wanting to hit the road like crazy after this because it was just too much fun and it's just so good for the band.
They've got the bug now too to keep going for the rest of the year.
Oh yeah, and I think we all really enjoy the rep right now too. Some artists will use other musicians to go into the studio with and I've done that in the past but in the last like three years, I've had a core group of musicians that have been playing with me through all the festivals and shows and everything that we've been doing. It's been really nice to play with the same group of people, so I took this group of people into the studio with me and wrote a lot of the songs with them as well. Everyone's kind of a bit more married to the material and I think it just is really nice and it just shows up on the stage too.
Do you think that is making it transfer from the studio to live set better by having that same group of people around?
Totally, and it's just such a good feeling, especially when you know that the person that you're playing with knows the material and you all know where you're going with the material, it's just so much more fun. It's not always the case sometimes, in terms of people have schedules and lives and stuff like that, like I'm alone on this boat, I'm not with my band, so, and they're doing some other stuff at home, but I love being with them.
From the shows with Kyle, I guess you've already got a bit of a crossover of a fan base anyway, based on your sounds, but was it quite good to introduce yourself completely to some of the fans who didn't really know you and now you can kind of pick up on those fans further away from Vancouver?
Yeah, I mean the main thing that we kept hearing was, oh my god, you guys are such a great fit and the show was such a nice fit together. Even just watching Kyle and his band every night was just like spectacular as they're so tight, especially as they're a seven-piece band, so there's a lot to pick up and learn from watching them every night! I feel like it was great to introduce ourselves to his fan base, I'm forever grateful that we were asked to come on tour and do that, it was really great.
It does seem to be a thing with Canadian artists, that so many keep close to their home roots and want to support each other on these tours.
Yeah, and hopefully we can do some more. The main objective for me in the next year or so is to just to get on the road with whoever is willing to have me and spread the music around. It just feels like the best way to get it going, as I feel the live show for us is where we really thrive and I'm going to try and do that the next year or so.
I guess the BCCMA awards are going to help that, gives you a bit of a leverage in your corner after winning Roots Artist of the Year a few weeks back
Yeah, that was great! We were actually on tour with Kyle while that happened, so I didn't actually get a chance to accept the award, but Kyle's manager was actually at the award, so I said, listen, you gave me this opportunity, so I think you're going to have to accept the award for me. He basically went up there and said he was the reason I wasn’t there and it's quite funny apparently!
Is that quite reassuring to have got that recognition in what is now such a broad category?
It is. I received that award also in 2023 and I feel like I actually felt more inclined to do what I want to do and to make the music that I really feel like is boundless in a sense in that the has so much influence that I grabbed from. I love so many different types of music, and I feel like that word Roots and Americana and country rock is kind of where that all lies, but because I received that award, I guess I just had the spark to be like, okay, people clearly believe in what I'm doing and they recognise that. It really was a great feeling to just keep pursuing ahead and continue with that path and the direction that I was trying to go with.
Do you focus on award shows kind of thing or do you accept it as a bonus of the job?
I think anyone's lying if they don't say that they're not happy to get an award! I mean, it's a nice thing if people are recognising you, right? I don't really focus on it too much, but being recognised by your peers is a really amazing feeling. Everybody's in that same business, and it's quite a competitive business, and it can be a little bit cutthroat when people kind of band together and say, you know, you should be recognised for what you're doing. It's a great feeling, but I don't try to pay attention to it too much.
Is there room on the shelf for a CCMA award though one day?
Yeah, I mean, that's hopefully up one day, that is the next thing on the list. I think once this record's finished, I think maybe that's something I'm going to try and apply for, but I feel like I need to spread the word a little bit more with the music, and maybe people will kind of take note of what I'm up to.
Oh yeah, well we were on tour for a couple weeks with Kyle McKearney and we got to try a lot of the songs out. The response was just really great and I'm just super happy about that and a few of the songs I’ve been playing here on the boat too which is nice.
How were those kind of shows with Kyle?
Oh, they were awesome. It was a great thing to do for us as a band too, it's what we should be doing, it's what we want to be doing and when you get to do a show every single night, there's no shortcut. That is literally the way to do it and when you do that, you get so tight, the songs just start to breathe some new air. By the end of the last show, we just felt so like, oh man, this is over now, it's just getting so good and so right, so after that we just talked and we're wanting to hit the road like crazy after this because it was just too much fun and it's just so good for the band.
They've got the bug now too to keep going for the rest of the year.
Oh yeah, and I think we all really enjoy the rep right now too. Some artists will use other musicians to go into the studio with and I've done that in the past but in the last like three years, I've had a core group of musicians that have been playing with me through all the festivals and shows and everything that we've been doing. It's been really nice to play with the same group of people, so I took this group of people into the studio with me and wrote a lot of the songs with them as well. Everyone's kind of a bit more married to the material and I think it just is really nice and it just shows up on the stage too.
Do you think that is making it transfer from the studio to live set better by having that same group of people around?
Totally, and it's just such a good feeling, especially when you know that the person that you're playing with knows the material and you all know where you're going with the material, it's just so much more fun. It's not always the case sometimes, in terms of people have schedules and lives and stuff like that, like I'm alone on this boat, I'm not with my band, so, and they're doing some other stuff at home, but I love being with them.
From the shows with Kyle, I guess you've already got a bit of a crossover of a fan base anyway, based on your sounds, but was it quite good to introduce yourself completely to some of the fans who didn't really know you and now you can kind of pick up on those fans further away from Vancouver?
Yeah, I mean the main thing that we kept hearing was, oh my god, you guys are such a great fit and the show was such a nice fit together. Even just watching Kyle and his band every night was just like spectacular as they're so tight, especially as they're a seven-piece band, so there's a lot to pick up and learn from watching them every night! I feel like it was great to introduce ourselves to his fan base, I'm forever grateful that we were asked to come on tour and do that, it was really great.
It does seem to be a thing with Canadian artists, that so many keep close to their home roots and want to support each other on these tours.
Yeah, and hopefully we can do some more. The main objective for me in the next year or so is to just to get on the road with whoever is willing to have me and spread the music around. It just feels like the best way to get it going, as I feel the live show for us is where we really thrive and I'm going to try and do that the next year or so.
I guess the BCCMA awards are going to help that, gives you a bit of a leverage in your corner after winning Roots Artist of the Year a few weeks back
Yeah, that was great! We were actually on tour with Kyle while that happened, so I didn't actually get a chance to accept the award, but Kyle's manager was actually at the award, so I said, listen, you gave me this opportunity, so I think you're going to have to accept the award for me. He basically went up there and said he was the reason I wasn’t there and it's quite funny apparently!
Is that quite reassuring to have got that recognition in what is now such a broad category?
It is. I received that award also in 2023 and I feel like I actually felt more inclined to do what I want to do and to make the music that I really feel like is boundless in a sense in that the has so much influence that I grabbed from. I love so many different types of music, and I feel like that word Roots and Americana and country rock is kind of where that all lies, but because I received that award, I guess I just had the spark to be like, okay, people clearly believe in what I'm doing and they recognise that. It really was a great feeling to just keep pursuing ahead and continue with that path and the direction that I was trying to go with.
Do you focus on award shows kind of thing or do you accept it as a bonus of the job?
I think anyone's lying if they don't say that they're not happy to get an award! I mean, it's a nice thing if people are recognising you, right? I don't really focus on it too much, but being recognised by your peers is a really amazing feeling. Everybody's in that same business, and it's quite a competitive business, and it can be a little bit cutthroat when people kind of band together and say, you know, you should be recognised for what you're doing. It's a great feeling, but I don't try to pay attention to it too much.
Is there room on the shelf for a CCMA award though one day?
Yeah, I mean, that's hopefully up one day, that is the next thing on the list. I think once this record's finished, I think maybe that's something I'm going to try and apply for, but I feel like I need to spread the word a little bit more with the music, and maybe people will kind of take note of what I'm up to.
The Roots and Americana scene is obviously starting to really kind of catch up and take on our country scene here with a few specific events for the genre across the country and artist headline shows at bigger venues.
Yeah, I think there is a bit of a boom with that kind of music, and I think that maybe where that comes from is that people are really striving to look for something a bit more real. I think that that kind of music is notoriously raw and real, and there's not a lot of frill behind it. There's live instrumentation, live vocals, maybe imperfect vocals, you know, nothing tuned or something like that, so I think people maybe might be in that shift right now when it comes to music and searching for that. I think it's where I fit too, and I think it's kind of where I've always fit, and I just feel good.
Now you’ve found that path you want to be on, does it help you move into music and concert cycles?
It feels good. It's funny, because I look back on when I released, I guess, the first song that really kind of defined me as an artist back in 2019. I put a song out called Hard Days, and that's when I was just working on tunes, writing stuff, and hadn't put anything out really, ever. I put the song out and I didn't even know what genre it was. I just kind of wrote the song and went and produced it with my producer. Then Spotify told me, hey, this is a country song, so I was like, okay, I guess that would make sense. I mean, I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison and all these different kind of early rockabilly, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, that kind of stuff. I guess it kind of just came but it was hard for me to determine myself as a country artist because at the time I felt like what country was being referred to was very much pop! It was hard for me to have that label. I was like, oh, is that correct? My name is Antonio La Rosa! Not very country. Most people just think I'm Mexican, but I'm actually Italian!
With the roots genre, it has such a wide audience too
Totally. I think so and I think it can draw a large group of people as there's something in it for everybody, which is really great about it.
Yeah, I think there is a bit of a boom with that kind of music, and I think that maybe where that comes from is that people are really striving to look for something a bit more real. I think that that kind of music is notoriously raw and real, and there's not a lot of frill behind it. There's live instrumentation, live vocals, maybe imperfect vocals, you know, nothing tuned or something like that, so I think people maybe might be in that shift right now when it comes to music and searching for that. I think it's where I fit too, and I think it's kind of where I've always fit, and I just feel good.
Now you’ve found that path you want to be on, does it help you move into music and concert cycles?
It feels good. It's funny, because I look back on when I released, I guess, the first song that really kind of defined me as an artist back in 2019. I put a song out called Hard Days, and that's when I was just working on tunes, writing stuff, and hadn't put anything out really, ever. I put the song out and I didn't even know what genre it was. I just kind of wrote the song and went and produced it with my producer. Then Spotify told me, hey, this is a country song, so I was like, okay, I guess that would make sense. I mean, I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison and all these different kind of early rockabilly, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, that kind of stuff. I guess it kind of just came but it was hard for me to determine myself as a country artist because at the time I felt like what country was being referred to was very much pop! It was hard for me to have that label. I was like, oh, is that correct? My name is Antonio La Rosa! Not very country. Most people just think I'm Mexican, but I'm actually Italian!
With the roots genre, it has such a wide audience too
Totally. I think so and I think it can draw a large group of people as there's something in it for everybody, which is really great about it.
Are you now just waiting for Friday to get kind of out there and see what that overall take of the new track is?
Yeah. I've done this a few times now, and when you're waiting for a release, I try not to think about it too much, because I feel like your expectations might take advantage of that whole kind of thing. I try to have low expectations as to what people are going to think and I try and get surprised. Also, I'm quite busy. I'm my own manager. I'm my own agent. I'm everything myself right now. I'm also a father of a two year old girl. I’ve got my hands full! So, I'm very excited to release a song. I'm more so proud than anything. I feel like what I'm putting forward is a very good example of what kind of artist I want to be and what people are expecting from me in the future. So that's, that's great.
Do you stay up late Thursday night, waiting to kind of see it, make sure it's all online and everything's working?
Absolutely. Yeah, I do that. I guess you're going to be able to listen to it before I will!
Good luck for the release and the rest of your time on the boat before Friday. I’ve been listening to the track and am loving it.
That's wonderful to hear. There's a lot of different influence in that song. It's definitely leaning more so on the bluesy side of things and I'm a big fan of the Rolling Stones and Bo Diddley and that kind of era of music as well. So that's a bit of a hint to all that, you know.
Roll on Friday and hopefully next time we chat it’ll be in London.
Thanks for having me on here. It's nice chatting with you and I appreciate it. I can't wait to send you some more stuff. Take it easy.
Yeah. I've done this a few times now, and when you're waiting for a release, I try not to think about it too much, because I feel like your expectations might take advantage of that whole kind of thing. I try to have low expectations as to what people are going to think and I try and get surprised. Also, I'm quite busy. I'm my own manager. I'm my own agent. I'm everything myself right now. I'm also a father of a two year old girl. I’ve got my hands full! So, I'm very excited to release a song. I'm more so proud than anything. I feel like what I'm putting forward is a very good example of what kind of artist I want to be and what people are expecting from me in the future. So that's, that's great.
Do you stay up late Thursday night, waiting to kind of see it, make sure it's all online and everything's working?
Absolutely. Yeah, I do that. I guess you're going to be able to listen to it before I will!
Good luck for the release and the rest of your time on the boat before Friday. I’ve been listening to the track and am loving it.
That's wonderful to hear. There's a lot of different influence in that song. It's definitely leaning more so on the bluesy side of things and I'm a big fan of the Rolling Stones and Bo Diddley and that kind of era of music as well. So that's a bit of a hint to all that, you know.
Roll on Friday and hopefully next time we chat it’ll be in London.
Thanks for having me on here. It's nice chatting with you and I appreciate it. I can't wait to send you some more stuff. Take it easy.
