Bedroom rockers turned internet sensations: Filthy Rocks are blowing crowds away!

Touring the country, performing their own hits and sharing their inspirations are some of the dreams that local rock band Filthy Rocks hope to achieve.

With humble beginnings of recording out of their lead guitarist’s spare room, these rockers have worked hard to perform at gigs and locations such as the Thirsty Crow and the Flow Festival while continuing to promote their band.

Now, after going viral on TikTok and releasing two singles on Spotify and Apple Music, the sky is the limit for trio Ryan Pickering, John Fletcher and Connor Hodges.

It has been hard work for them, however, as just a year ago aspiring guitarist Ryan and drummer John initially struggled to find a third member and bassist for their band.

Between bass players who couldn’t play the bass, members who moved on too quickly and some who just weren’t a great fit, Filthy Rocks just wasn’t complete.

Despite the challenges, Ryan and John finally landed on Connor.

“I started out as a jazz player,” Connor explained.

“I never really saw myself listening to rock or grunge, but then I met Ryan and John, and since then we haven’t really looked back.”

John said: “Initially, I thought Connor was 30 years old, so we were a bit nervous to chat with him but I’m glad we did because we’ve been killing it ever since.”

Connor and Ryan, 19, and John, 18, inspired by iconic rock banks such as Foo Fighters, Motorhead and The Rolling Stones, write and record their music out of Ryan’s spare room and are passionate about performing their own music to crowds.

“The name Filthy Rocks came from The Rolling Stones,” Ryan said.

“We were thinking how can we be like them, a band we enjoy, but also be our own thing, then John came up with the idea of Filthy Rocks and it stuck from there.”

Filthy Rocks have released two singles, Undecided and Walk Your Way, which the trio created by working on their own instruments’ sounds before putting it all together in one song.

“Ryan normally comes to Connor and me with some lyrics or a riff and from there we will work individually to see what sounds best with the riff,” John said.

“Once we have got something we all think sounds awesome, we put it together and record it.

“We post regularly on our Instagram and TikTok of us just rocking out and making content. One of the videos we put up had over 1.7 million views, which is nuts. There were people saying how they enjoy our music, it was so awesome to see.”

Despite their viral status, the band pride themselves on being able to perform their own music.

“We aren’t a cover band, although we don’t mind performing other bands’ songs. We feel like we are doing our best when we are producing and performing music we have written,” Ryan said.

“There is no better feeling than being at a gig and having people singing back your own lyrics, there is nothing else like it.

“It has been hard to try and book gigs with original music, but that’s what we are most passionate about and we want to pursue that as much as we can.”

John added: “We have played at the Wagga Showgrounds and Tilly’s, which has been great, but I feel like the time I first felt like we were making a name for ourselves was when we performed at the Mater Dei year 12 formal last year.

“There were people singing back and at one point crowd surfing, it was so cool. There weren’t a lot of people there but because it was so small and compact, it felt like a mosh pit.”

The band plan to broaden their horizons by travelling to Canberra and Sydney and continuing to pursue their music career.

“We want to continue making music and growing professionally,” Ryan said.

”We are planning on recording a new song, called Breathing Holes, in a proper studio and we can’t wait to get that going.

“We aren’t in it for money though, we just love playing music, performing and writing songs. If there is someone out there who enjoys our music, whether that be two people or two million, we’d be more than happy to keep doing what we are doing.”

Check out Filthy Rock’s Instagram and TikTok @filthy_rocks.