Gulfport, Mississippi, septet is off to quite a beginning, winning Hard Rock Battle of the Bands and releasing debut album
Thursday, September 27, the Rock Shop, 294 Fourth Ave., 718-230-5740, $10, 8:00
Friday, September 28, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St., 212-260-4700, $10-$12, 6:30
www.roscobandana.com
Americana folk rockers Rosco Bandana introduce themselves with a shot of brash, bold honky tonkin’ on “Time to Begin,” the title track of their just-released, same-named debut album. Singers Jason Sanford, Jennifer Flint, and Emily Sholes trade vocals while the rest of the band plays hot grooves behind them, coming together to declare over and over, “Yes, it’s time to begin.” Indeed, it’s quite a beginning for the seven-member Gulfport, Mississippi, group, whose first record also includes the country-blues “Woe Is Me,” the infectious story-song “Radio Band Singer,” the ballad “Long Way Down,” the jaunty “Tangled Up,” and the foot-stompin’ “Black ’Ol Water” (which features a curiously placed apostrophe). Formed by childhood friends Sanford and drummer Barry Pribyl Jr. along with Sanford’s former girlfriend Sholes, the band added Flint, Josh Smith, Jackson Weldon, and Patrick Mooney at wine-bar open mic sessions. Rosco Bandana will be at the Rock Shop in Brooklyn on September 27 with Sasha Pearl and Mail the Horse and at Mercury Lounge on September 28 with Arit and Food Will Win the War. Sanford recently discussed the group and its origins in our latest twi-ny talk.
twi-ny: You’re the first band signed to Hard Rock Records. How did that come about?
Rosco Bandana: We won the Hard Rock Rising Battle of the Bands, and they decided they wanted us to be the first band on the label. They saw something in us that they found promising.
twi-ny: Are you worried about being labeled as a corporate rock band?
Rosco Bandana: No, we will always stay true to our roots.
twi-ny: There are seven members of your group, including three singers. What are the songwriting and recording processes like?
Rosco Bandana: Jason writes the songs. The recording process was a learning experience in which we grew tremendously. Greg Collins is the first professional producer we have worked with.
twi-ny: On your Facebook page, you mention that one of your influences is “other people’s music.” What “other people’s music” have you been inspired by?
Rosco Bandana: Elliott Smith, Wilco, Fleet Foxes, Fleetwood Mac, Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, John Harper, Luther Dickinson.
twi-ny: You’re going to be in Brooklyn on September 27 and the Lower East Side on September 28. What kind of expectations do you have for these NYC shows?
Rosco Bandana: We expect a good response, since new York is notorious for launching newer, uprising bands.
twi-ny: Dare we ask where the name came from?
Rosco Bandana: We wanted something symbolic of America. That’s where we got Bandana. We got Rosco from a Midlake song [“Roscoe”].