All members of Rocky Loves Emily originate from the Metro Detroit area. When Singer Brandon Ellis was on tour with his former band he met drummer, Pete Kalinowski on a freezing winter day in Minnesota. When Ellis' band disbanded 2 months later he decided to start a new project. He caught wind that Kaliowski's band had gone on hiatus so he asked Kalinowski to jam and see what they could vibe out together. Ellis brought his brother and former band mate, Ryan along to play bass. The trio enjoyed the session thoroughly and immediately started brainstorming. Under the moniquer "Animals" the three began to search for a keyboardist to complete the sound. Brandon had met pianist Steve Hull at a local Michigan show years ago and had since then always been impressed by Hull's talent. nervous but excited Brandon called Hull to see if he was available for a project. Hull agreed to meet and try out for the group. the Ellis brothers and Kalinowski were blown away by Hull's talent and all around good vibe. The group became a four piece and started to write music. Unfortunately, soon it was brought to their attention that the name "animals" had been copyrighted so they were forced to change their name. After months of racking their brains for a proper name for the group (going through names such as: "channels" and "volumes") it wasnt until a sunny day at a cafe in Clarkston that the four came across their future band name on accident. Brandon was joking around about old 90's movies the guys had grown up on and mentioned his personal favorite, The 3 Ninjas!. Immediately Pete began chanting ROCKY LOVES EMILY!, ROCKY LOVES EMILY! Laughing the group remembered the classic scene in the movie where Rocky (the oldest brother of three) was made fun of by his younger brothers for having a crush on his childhood friend, Emily. Hull blurted out, thats it... Thats our band name. It didnt take much for the other three to agree. That evening they made a myspace and saved the "url".

The four added band member, Brandon Verkerke to the lineup in the fall of 08 (still before ever playing a show) to round out the guitar section of the band. They began writing and molding their sound with influences such as The Maine, Forever the Sickest Kids and Third Eye Blind. Set to record in Winter the group geared up and put the finishing touches on 3 songs. The day the 5 were set to record in December Verkerke decided to leave the group. Caught off guard, Brandon Ellis had to record all the guitar parts on the record. 2 Weeks later and record complete, the guys were set to release the songs on their myspace. A week before they released they added guitarist Sean Kick to the lineup. The band released the songs on January 31st 2009 and charted over 100,000 plays in its first two months. Still just an online band the guys decided it was time to leave the practice space and actually play a show. The five played their first show on March 28th 2009 at Skateland West in Westland, MI. The turnout was remarkable bringing over 150 to their first show. The online marketing continued to pay off as the group began booking more and more. It wasnt until a show in May that something interested happened that would change the band for good. At the time Brandon played guitar and sang. He was playing a show in Pontiac at the Eagle theater when his Amp lost power. not knowing what to do he set his guitar down and finished the song with the mic in hand. After that experience and response from fans the group knew brandon was meant to sing without playing guitar. "the experience was sort of surreal." says Ellis, "i was forced to simply sing in the mic... i wasnt just gonna stand there so i jumped and moved around... it was the most fun i had ever had playing music." The guys knew immediately they needed to add another guitarist so that Ellis could sing. After many tryouts, the groups lightguy offered to lend a hand. "we had no idea how good andrew was at guitar" says Ellis, "he had always been so content running lights and never spoke up about it lol He was truly a Godsend" Andrew Stevens joined the group as the final piece in July of 2009 and since then the groups shape hasnt changed. The 6 Piece continue to play and tour all over the nation. "most of us have put school on pause in order to pursue our dreams and i beileve it is the best decision we made." says Ellis. "as long as people keep supporting us and allowing us to live this way we'll never stop" The group have sold over 3,000 copies of their debut EP "What What What" and have been named Alternative Press Magazines "Hometown Heroes" of 2010. The future for these 6 young souls looks bright. Keep an eye out for Rocky Loves Emily