Many thanks to you for dropping by and letting your curiousity drag you to this humble corner of the world wide web. Below you'll find yourself being introduced to a band that fuse soul into their raw rock'n'roll approach to music, and it's well worth a listen. We here at Rockulus Maximus are smitten with this band, and they go by the name of 68-75...
 
 
 
GARY: Is your band name a reference to the years "68-75" and if so, why that particular era?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: Yes. That era produced so much of the music that we admire - the music we're moved by. It just seems like the music of that era, Rock, Soul, Jazz, Folk, Country...music in general, just seemed to have more substance or weight to it.
 
 
GARY: Who is in the band at the moment, and how did you meet each other?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: Steve McPeeks on bass, Eric Young on drums, Andrew on guitar and Suzanne on vocals. We (Suzanne and Andrew) met several years ago in a rehearsal warehouse. Our influences and approach to song writing clicked right away. Steve came recommended to us from a former band mate and Eric through Steve.
 
 
GARY: Being an independent artist gives you the luxury of expressing yourself in any way you wish, but what advantages would there be if you signed with a record label?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: Not being signed we can only really guess. The biggest advantage would seem to be tied to the distribution of physical media, CDs, Vinyl, DVDs, etc. We would also assume there would be some advantage in touring and promotion.
 
 
GARY: Your band used to be called "Sanctified", why the change of name?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: When we started back to work in 2012 we were trying to think beyond the scope of the market we're in. We wanted a fresh start with a new name that would give some indication of our approach and translate clearly to whomever might listen to us, no matter where they might be. That was our hope, at least. Ha.
 
 
GARY: With two E.P.s sharing the analogue approach of recording and oozing soul in the performances, do you feel in hindsight that you captured what you wanted in those releases?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: Thank you. We're a rock band. Still, we're pleased you can hear the soul in what we're doing. That's really what we're trying to capture. Regarding the EPs, the first recording was all analog and for the second we used some tricks to try to make the digital recording have more of an analog warmth. Both Dan Dixon, who engineered the 2012 recording and Colin Leonard who mastered both records seemed to really understand what we were trying to accomplish.
 
 
GARY: Your band hail from Atlanta, Georgia. How much of Atlanta, Georgia has influenced your music and style?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: Well, yes and no. On one hand, we live in a city with a lot of cool musical history. Everyone from Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, B.B. King, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Ike and Tina, James Brown, Ray Charles played a club here called the Royal Peacock. The Allman Brothers, Wet Willie, Mother's Finest, The Georgia Satellites were all fixtures musically in Atlanta at one point. Even Steve Marriott lived in Atlanta for a bit. On the other hand, Atlanta is really more about Hip Hop and Indie music right now - which is cool, but not what we're trying do at all. We're actually more influenced by American Soul and British Rock of the late 60s and 70s than anything going on in Atlanta today. We're sort of swimming against the tide.


 
GARY: Which artists or bands would you ideally support on a tour and why?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: We admire and feel some connection with bands and artists like: Rival Sons, Black Keys, Alabama Shakes, Vintage Trouble, London Souls, The Dirt Bombs, Stonerider, Mount Carmel, Steepwater Band, Charles Bradley, Beth Hart, Heartless Bastards, Saint Jude, Buffalo Killers, Graveyard, Lee Fields, The Temperance Movement - just to name a few.
 
 
GARY: What approach do 68-75 take when it comes to songwriting?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: We're just trying to create the type music that we would want to listen to - music that makes us feel something. 
 
 
GARY: There is understandably mounting interest in what your band has released thus far, can you share anything regarding any future releases like whether it might be an E.P. or a full length album?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: We've been working on writing new songs. We've already got three recorded and we'd like to record another nine or ten songs this Spring. Once we have about 12 or 13 songs recorded and mixed, we'll listen and pick the best songs and sequence. We're not sure if it will be an EP or an LP. So, however many songs we have recorded that we feel really good about, that's how many we'll release. 

 
 
GARY: If anyone reading this wishes to follow your progress and keep upto date with you, where would you recommend they visit online?
SUZANNE & ANDREW: We'd like to invite everyone to please check us out on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/6875rocks
A warm and hearty thanks to Suzanne and Andrew for their time tackling these questions. You heard them, they've invited you to check out their Facebook profile!  ;O)