Holy Rolling Empire has been together just six years, but some of the members have been friends most of their lives.
"These guys are like brothers and they'll stay that way forever," said lead vocalist Orin Shochat.
Shochat and Dave Mertz (the drummer) met in sixth grade at Cross Middle School and were then introduced to Bryan Moran (bassist) and Noah Horton (guitarist) - all members of Canyon Del Oro's class of 2002. The fifth member, guitarist Ian Carstensen moved to Tucson from Iowa after high school.
"You're creating art with your best friends; it's an experience that you share with that person and it's not like anything else you do in your life, and it makes you really tight with those people," Shochat said, explaining the longevity of their relationship.
Holy Rolling Empire - using upbeat, melodically driven psychedelic rock with the grooviness of '60s and '70s music and powerful lead and background vocals - formed in 2005 as The Crowd, but after discovering a band in California with the same name changed to Holy Rolling Empire in 2009.
It released its first album, "Gigantis," with Burning House Records in March 2009, followed by the seven-track EP, "Noise Will be Noise," last June.
Last year the band played a showcase at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas, followed by an 80-show tour that finished up at Plush on New Year's Eve. It's known for playing tight, high-energy, light flashing, face-melting shows.
But it hasn't always been that way.
Freshman year at CDO, Shochat and Mertz were part of the metal band Thorsh, which included Cooper Gillan and Darren Simoes, the future bassist for The Bled.
The band auditioned for the school music festival, Dorado Stock, with only two complete songs.
"We really didn't think we'd make it," Shochat said. "But during the audition, Dave started rolling around on the floor and going nuts."
The band made it into what was a packed 1999 lineup of CDO music, including bands from juniors Mike Pedicone and Noah Harmon.
"The fact that there were that many musicians at CDO that they could even do a Dorado Stock says a lot about the scene back then," Shochat said. "Something about CDO showed me how exciting it was to play live. I was hooked from that point on."
Mertz sang and played guitar (until he broke his arm and Simoes' services were needed) in Thorsh while Shochat played drums - the reverse of what they do in Holy Rolling Empire.
The band was together throughout high school, and like most of those CDO bands, gathered a decent following.
Kathy Wooldridge, founder and owner of Skrappy's Youth Collective, remembers the glory days of Thorsh.
"They use to pack them in," she said. "Especially for a local, unsigned band. About 200 to 300 people would come when they played. That's what national bands bring."
The group split after high school and Shochat started playing drums in the melodic rock group Our Cure the Rocketship with Moran, Horton and Simoes.
The group toured through Oregon, Washington, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Nevada and New Mexico but split in 2005 when Simoes left to tour with the Bled.
Shochat and Horton lived together at the time and started writing music. Mertz moved to Denver but visited Tucson frequently.
"I was visiting and Orin showed me some of the songs him and Noah were working on," Mertz said. "I originally told him, if you need a tour drummer, let me know. And then on New Year's Eve I was supposed to fly back to Denver, but I never got on the plane."
Mertz started sleeping on a cot at Shochat and Horton's house, and Moran and Carstensen completed what is Holy Rolling Empire.
Roles switched again. Shochat is now lead vocalist and plays guitar, synthesizer and keyboard.
The band's connectedness is apparent throughout its music and especially the harmonies.
Carstensen has played the cello, piano and guitar since he was 8 years old, and with other bands, but this is the first melodically driven project he's been part of.
"Honestly, the singing was a big part of it," he said. "It brought me out and now I do a lot of singing. And we've started doing three-part harmonies."
Mertz added, "The communication is beyond what I could get with anyone else. We understand in the same terms."
Band members are writing new material for an album that, if everything goes right, will come out late summer or early fall.
"I have no choice but to keep doing it," said Shochat who also works at Bison Witches Bar & Deli on Fourth Avenue. "It's been so long that I can't imagine myself doing anything else. And I have CDO to thank for it."
