Photos & story by Shannon Shumaker

Aaron Rothe could easily be considered a veteran of the Colorado music scene. With over twelve years of writing, recording, playing and touring in local and nationally successful bands under his belt, it comes as no surprise that he knows what he wants out of his music. It has to be meaningful, it should be fun and most of all, it need to be challenging. At least, that’s apparent as we discuss his newest project, MOVES while tucked away in a booth at a small dive bar in downtown Denver.

Rothe’s story starts like many other musicians – he was always interested in music, but it wasn’t until he was in high school and heard Something Corporate for the first time that his entire perception of what a band could and couldn’t be changed. Since then, he has found his center around a piano, regardless of what kind of music he is playing at the time . Twelve years in the making, and that hasn’t changed one bit. So what has changed? Over a decade down the line, he finally has the means to accomplish the goals that he set for himself when a career in music was simply just a dream. But, in order to fully understand Denver alt/pop project, MOVES, you need to go back to the beginning

MOVES was born on accident, but that’s how all meaningful projects begin. This one is especially unique though, because the beginning of MOVES also marked Rothe’s departure from rising Denver band, 888. The trio, originally comprised of Rothe and his former bandmates, Danny Stills and Danny Cooper quickly broke into the local music scene with their Critical Mistakes EP in 2016, and over the last few years have found success touring across the country with artists such as The Rocket Summer and Missio, but as Rothe puts it, success certainly doesn’t equal happiness. For fans, his split from the band seemed sudden, even Rothe is quick to mention that, but in some ways, it was a long time coming.

“…the last thing that I want to be is miserable doing the one thing that I love.”

The subject is something that we need to tackle in order to discuss how his new project came to be, but that doesn’t mean that it’s an easy one to discuss. “I was prepared for this question when I came in here and now I’m blanking,” he admits. “Ultimately, I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing in that band. There were other things I wanted to pursue that I couldn’t and it started to really wear on me, and it just felt more wrong staying in that, and the last thing that I want to be is miserable doing the one thing that I love.”

“It was a hard choice, but also the easiest choice ever. It proves to be the right choice, seriously every day” he continues, “Those guys are like brothers ultimately, I’ve known them forever, but there just wasn’t a place for me in it anymore.”

When Rothe left 888, he wasn’t quite sure where to find his place, but he did know one thing: he didn’t want to quit music. Although he didn’t know what he wanted to write or pursue, he knew that he just needed to keep playing, writing and working, and eventually something would fall into place. For MOVES, that meant digging deep into old music and previous projects and finding something that clicked.

“It kind of came out of nowhere” Rothe explains, “I left 888 at the end of October and I didn’t want to stop making music, so I kind of just scrambled… I had some ideas and some songs and stuff I had written over the years, and I put some together last minute like, ‘Okay, that’s a weight off of my shoulders, I’m out of that, what’s next?’”

Next, Rothe began to work with Chase Martinez and Mason Maxwell on MOVES’ first single, “Constant Symphony.” The track started out like much of Rothe’s music, with a simple piano melody that went through quite a few transformations before turning into the massive, twinkling track that can be heard now.

“They [Martinez and Maxwell] live in Nashville and I was doing it remotely from here, sending files back and forth, trying to figure out what I wanted it to sound like, and I was like a crazy person for like a month, just pacing around my apartment, trying different ideas,” Rothe says with a smile, “It came together in the nick of time, so I didn’t really think about it that much. Well I did think about it a lot, but I didn’t go into it like, ‘This is what I want it to sound like.’ I had no idea, because I wasn’t really expecting to leave 888. It was all at once, and I’m still figuring it out now, as I’m writing for it.”

Like the start of MOVES, the release of “Constant Symphony” was simply meant to be, as well – Rothe completed the track just in time to submit it for local radio station Channel 93.3’s Hometown For The Holidays competition, which resulted in one hell of a debut. Since then, Rothe has been hard at work planning the next step and figuring things out along the way. After all, MOVES is uncharted territory for the former keyboardist now thrust into the position of frontman, but it’s a welcome challenge.

“Challenging myself and staying motivated to keep growing and learning is probably the biggest thing that I focus on now.”

“I’m finally at a point where I feel comfortable enough to try new things and walk into a different situation, walk into a studio and sit down and play with some people I’ve never played with,” he explains, “I couldn’t do that ten years ago. Challenging myself and staying motivated to keep growing and learning is probably the biggest thing that I focus on now.”

So how does MOVES challenge Rothe? For starters, he’s front and center in this project, taking over the role of both central songwriter and vocalist. “It’s entirely different,” he explains, “I’ve always put out solo stuff, just kind of for fun, it was just another outlet, and this one I’m taking more seriously. It’s such a role change, because I’m used to just playing keys and helping compose the music for songs. But now, actually singing, fronting something, and figuring that out is an entirely different style of just performing and writing and being creative. You’d think with all the stage experience, it would be easy, but when I’ve been rehearsing I’m like, ‘Oh wow, this is entirely different. I’ve gotta figure out how to do this.’”

MOVES allows Rothe to explore his musical range more than ever before, as well. As a solo project, it opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to sound and songwriting while also giving him the chance to collaborate with artists that he would have never been able to work with otherwise. In a way, Rothe’s goals when he first began writing and playing music haven’t changed much. At the end of the day, as long as he’s excited about what he’s doing, that’s all that matters. Now, he simply has the means to accomplish those goals.

“I’ve been doing it long enough that I’ve learned of all these different outlets that I can be creative and play, whether it’s composing for film or TV, songwriting with other people or working on my own project,” he says, “There are so many outlets now, so I’m excited to be exploring those more.”

With such a strong start and high hopes for the future, one can’t help but wonder what’s next for MOVES, but it comes as no surprise that Rothe is already hard at work on the next step. Following “Constant Symphony,” he hopes to continue releasing new music as it’s written rather than keeping fans waiting for more.

“I want to release as soon as possible. I think that’s important, especially these days with the way that music is listened to and consumed,” he expresses, “There’s no way I could see myself disappearing for a year to go make an album. That is career suicide. If at the end of the day, I want to put [songs] together and call it an EP or an album, then that’s fine. But right now I’m just focused on putting out songs and starting to play live.”

So what can listeners expect from MOVES? Just about anything, actually. That’s the best part about this project, and Rothe agrees. With a plethora of local Colorado artists to collaborate with, there’s no telling what he has up his sleeve next. When I mention live performances, Rothe is excited about the possibility of creating a revolving door of other musicians to write and play live with, “I wanna do a lot of collaborations. There’s a lot of brilliant people here that I would love to work with, and that’s how the best things happen, when two people from two different worlds get together and it works.”

For someone who has been almost everywhere musically, from his start in Denver post-hardcore band, Drop Dead, Gorgeous and a stint in the pop-rock world with 888, to playing with Sonny Moore (Skrillex, From First To Last) and composing for film and TV, it might come as a surprise to some that Rothe’s roots dig deep into the local music scene. If you’re a fellow musician though, you’ll certainly understand. Right now, Rothe has his sights set on the Denver music scene: the community where he first got his bearings and began playing music, and the scene that he still finds himself shaped by every single day. MOVES is simply his current vehicle that’ll allow him to continue fostering a strong community of musicians while writing music that he’s truly passionate about. As Rothe puts it, he’s not going to be involved in something unless his heart is fully in it. That’s about as meaningful as it gets.

With new music coming soon and massive goals for both himself and the Denver music scene, one thing’s for certain: 2018 is going to be one hell of a year for MOVES. To quote Rothe: “It could go anywhere.”

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