Posts Tagged ‘Rooney band’

Matt has decided to leave Rooney to focus on becoming a doctor.
While we’re sad that he’s leaving, we wish him all the best

Thank for everything Matt.

Head on over to Rooney-band.com and read his letter.

This interview with Rooney reveals that Rooney’s new album will be called Eureka Kinda fitting if you ask me
(in case you didn’t know, Eureka means something along the lines of “having found it”, it being what you’re looking for)

Interview:
Rooney Steps Back, Regroups For Future

By GARY GRAFF
Of the Oakland Press
 

 It’s been a busy time of transition for Rooney.

The Los Angeles rock quintet left its record company, Interscope, after it wound down touring for its 2008 sophomore album “Calling the World.” Then, it started working on a third album that frontman Robert Schwartzman says “wasn’t exactly the record we wanted to make,” so the group took “a step back” before starting over again in March.

That album, titled “Eureka,” was recently finished, and Schwartzman — the son of actress Talia Shire, brother of actor/musician Jason Schwartzman and nephew of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola — says Rooney was ready to get out on the road after a long stretch of studio time.

“We’ve been working a lot, recording, and we feel like we haven’t been able to get out and play for our fans,” Schwartzman, 26, says. “We want to get new music out, but we also want to be able to play shows.

“It’s nice for people to get something new from us and come to the shows. It makes it more of an event for us and our fans.”

“Eureka” isn’t due out until next year and will most likely be released independently by the band. To tide fans over, Rooney has put together a four-song EP, “Wild One,” culled from those recording sessions and featuring songs that didn’t make the final cut — but that Schwartzman says are hardly castoffs.

“The record is really diverse, and it shows a lot of different sides to our band and what we can do,” explains Schwartzman, who’s had several acting roles and was a guest vocalist on Demi Lovato’s “Party.” “We recorded 20 or so songs and we kept going back and taking a break and listening to what we had, reapproaching the record with new material.

“As we looked at the big list of songs, some of them didn’t fit together, but they were still great songs. We didn’t want to throw them away, and we saw that we could make a great EP as a piece of work on its own and get people ready for the album, too. That way it won’t feel like such a long time between albums.”

 Credit : GoAndDoMichigan.com

Thanks to Miranda for the link

Wow, there’s quite a few things happening these days… yay

Ned

First of all CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah & Ned. Emmett Andrew Brower has been born and he looks adorable

Ned tweeted this picture from his twitter

 Ned’s been busy, he also attended the 2010 NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA, where you could catch him at the Ludwig booth

Here’s some pictures from Ludwig-Musser Drums and Percussion’s facebook

 Taylor

Taylor has been hanging out with Bleu, recording a song called Boston.

You can read more about that here :)

Flickr

Rooney is now on Flickr. See the latest pictures as they get uploaded and join the group to share your own pictures

 Robert

Robert has been talking to D.A. from Chester French. Personally I’d love to see them do something together, or at least have D.A telling Robert/Rooney a little about how to promote themselves and keep fans happy
Robert also tweeted about recording a song with Joe Jonas…
For all these juicy updates, follow Robert on Twitter

WikiName

Miranda from the Rooney street team (and Rooney-band.com) found this little thing the other day, and I found it really funny ;P

HISTORY

Rumor has it, Ed Rooney, an avid adversary of the ironically titled band, Rooney, is on the hunt for the five men who form the rock group. Apparently, the high school principal has left his Shermer home in hopes of reaching Los Angeles by the end of the week. Rooney (the principal, not the band) has been known to destroy a good time, or try to anyway. The band has declined to comment. In related news, Ferris Bueller has won the lottery.

Meanwhile, a pack of friendly guys with loose sleeves and bell-bottoms relax by a swimming pool. Never has a band been so unquestionably dutiful to a hometown. Or a home state, for that matter. Before a sun-kissed throng of Marissa Cooper’s and Summer Roberts’, with the grizzly bear flag flapping in the bonfire breeze, these guys, together known as Rooney, let the whole world know just how much they love California.

And, boy, is John Hughes insulted.

A diehard for his own home state, Hughes worked hard to convert the nation’s adolescents, in the prime of their angst, to the ear-muffed joys of the Windy City through the innocently sensual bite of Molly Ringwald’s bottom lip. (A smart man, that Hughes.) But now he scoffs at the L.A. based group that does nothing but rob this already regressing generation of what is really out there, beyond the bleached blonde shores of Southern California, to a place where sixteenth birthdays are often forgotten, where beautiful women are technologically created, and where Buzz eats all the cheese pizza. The band neglects a little place called Illinois… all in the name of a legendary 80s character.

Uniting under the mustached title of ‘Ed Rooney’ in 1999, Robert Schwartzman, Louie Stephens, Taylor Locke, Ned Brower, and Matthew Winter quickly dropped the first name, opting for a more Ferrisian effect with plain old ‘Rooney’ (hence the lack of propriety in the absence of Ed and/or “Mr.”) As harsh-weathered fans of the classic 1986 hit Italic textFerris Bueller’s Day OffItalic text, the rebellious group identified themselves in salutatory ode to the man who, in essence, made Ferris Bueller’s day off the exhilarating ride that it was.

A surprise this was not to most followers. Schwartzman, the animated lead singer and former actor, is a multi-gifted descendent of The Royal Coppolas. Nephew of Vito Corleone’s written voice, son of the shy face behind “Yo, Adrian!”, cousin of the founder of Bill Murray’s translation, brother of Max freaking Fischer; one had to only assume that his next project would somehow correlate to his insane tie to cinematic brilliance. Robert, as well as his less-genetically-privileged bandmates, often express their fervent passion for The Arts in general; whether be it music, film, sketching, or literature.

However, Rooney has established their respectable foundation based on the fact that they adore Southern California, albeit amidst a plethora of high-pitched squeals and pigtails. Such a reputation has caused many skeptics, John Hughes included, to wonder “Why not ‘Wayne‘, ‘Hasselhoff’, ‘Schwarzenegger’?”

“Why,” asks Hughes, “must you sabotage my homeland, my craft, my Ed Rooney?”

They laugh in response, their growing hair blowing out the convertible windows on a drive down Pacific Coast Highway. “Because,” they say in harmonic unison, “we’re on the trip of our lives under a California sun, and he’s still trying to catch us.”

You can find it here

Rooney goes ‘Wild’ (sort of)

Guitarist Taylor Locke wants to talk about his band’s new tour…not his famous exes

By Wade Tatangelo

Special to Metromix

Just wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas. Hope you’re spending it with your loved ones )

Rooney Drummer Pays Tribute to Fallen Mentor Carter Albrecht

By Darryl Smyers

Published on December 16, 2009 at 1:12pm

Ten years ago, Ned Brower was attending SMU when he formed a band called The Cosmetics with one Carter Albrecht. Now the drummer for the Los Angeles power pop band Rooney, Brower has recently paid tribute to his sadly deceased, Dallas-based mentor.

“The title track of our new EP is about Carter,” says Brower from a Rooney tour stop in Minneapolis. “He was both my musical mentor and a great friend of mine.”

The EP Brower speaks about is called Wild One, the third release from Rooney, a spunky quintet that has existed on the periphery of success for several years.

Often compared to bands such as The Cars, Jellyfish and Blur, Rooney (named after the principal in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) parlays its craft at the shiny end of the power pop spectrum. Sweet little songs like “I’m Shakin’,” “I’m a Terrible Person” and “When Did Your Heart Go Missing” have found their way onto commercials and various nighttime dramas.

Yet even a high profile slot opening for the Jonas Brothers in 2008 hasn’t made Rooney a household name.

Brower is hoping this new EP can help the band reach a different level of popularity while at the same time let people know how much Albrecht meant to him.

“I truly feel that Carter was one of the greatest artists,” says Brower. “I wish more people would get to hear his music. If our record sends people his direction, that would be a great thing.”

Interestingly, the song “Wild One” is the only cut on the new EP written and sung by Brower. Seems the drummer (who handles backing vocal duties for Rooney) has been mulling over paying tribute to his mentor ever since he found out about Albrecht’s death while on tour in Europe a few days after the tragedy.

“We were in England and it was just devastating,” admits Brower. “Carter wrote me a really nice note about our record just a few days before he died, and he floored me with how kind he could be.”

The song “Wild One” is Brower’s reaction to Albrecht’s death, but there is nothing morose about the cut. Over a playful beat, Brower muses thoughtfully about the irony of seeing Albrecht’s name in the news as a result of his death instead of his talent. “You were the toast of the town, but you were already in the ground,” sings Brower, before asking, “Why’d you have to be the wild one?”

Brower says he still thinks about Albrecht every day and wishes his friend and mentor was around to hear what his college buddy has accomplished.

“Carter was a true genius,” says Brower. “Writing the song for him was one way that I could fight the sad reality that I wasn’t going to hear anymore of his music.”

CREDIT : Dallas Observer

By ANDREW DANSBY Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Dec. 16, 2009, 2:15PM

Rooney grew up quickly. The Los Angeles band came together when its members were teens. A debut album followed a few years later, and then another recording. And now, with 10 years and two albums behind it, Rooney is striking out on its own.

“We’re still a young band,” drummer Ned Brower says, “but we started out really young. But we’re in a weird, cool place right now. I feel we’re only starting to approach our peak zone, and we already have all this experience.”

Not bad for a band who started with a frivolous name. Initially Robert Schwartzman and two now-departed members picked Ed Rooney as a handle, the name of the principal in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Those band members left, and Schwartzman began to assemble a new band of high school students.

“Early on we knew we needed to drop the Ed,” Brower says. “It started as a joke, but quickly we became not-a-joke band. There was a time we thought about changing it completely.”

Brower says KISS’ Gene Simmons had a lot of ideas.

“He told us Rooney wasn’t something you could touch or hold onto. He said, ‘Your band name should be a thing.’ He suggested Stuff. He said, ‘You can have that one for free on me.’ ”

Rooney did not become Stuff, and the band — Schwartzman, Brower, guitarist Taylor Locke, bassist Matthew Winter and keyboardist Louie Stephens — put out a self-titled debut full of punchy power pop in 2003.

A second album,Calling the World, came out two years ago. The band has been writing and recording much since then, which resulted in an EP called Wild One that Rooney is selling on tour. It’s part of an extended set of recordings that will also include a new album in the spring.

After just two records Rooney severed ties with its label, so the band can shop around the new recording.

“When we started the band we handled things on our own,” Brower says. “And even with the label we’ve always done a lot of the work. We just have a little more control over the content now. We’re excited to take back the responsibility for what we do. We wanted to be back in the trenches.”

The band benefits from having established a brand in its 10 years. A group that built a grass-roots following in Los Angeles now has a six-figure following across the country. They’ve been savvy about seizing opportunities like appearing on The O.C. years ago and taking an opening slot for the Jonas Brothers on a 2008 tour.

“We’ve played just about everywhere from little clubs to sold-out arenas,” Brower says. “We’ve had a pretty diverse touring thing going, which might be because we don’t fit in anywhere.”

Though rock and pop are often diced into subgenres, Rooney doesn’t lend itself to such. “Anyone who’s seen us live knows it’s just five guys with guitars and mics and (expletive) playing rock music,” Brower says. “We’ve always known what kind of music we want to make, hip pop stuff rooted in classic rock and pop.”

Which is what they’ll be doing at the Meridian on Friday. Some new material will find its way into the set as a bit of a teaser for a 2010 that will find the band touring tirelessly.

“This tour is about going out and playing for the core audience,” Brower says. “Next year is the big yearlong anniversary campaign.”

CREDIT : Houston Chronicle

THE INSIDER: ROBERT SCHWARTZMAN

Is the Rooney front man the next Robert Palmer?

Like Clark Kent (or Hannah Montana, for that matter), the musician Robert Schwartzman leads a bit of a double life. 

For some, the California native is a singer and composer for Rooney, an indie rock band that surfs between the Beach Boys’ lithium chords and the Strokes’ fuck-it-all lyrics.  For others, he’s a teen heartthrob who kissed Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries, to the jealous groans of a million tenth grade girls.

Now the musician throws a wrench in his own identity crisis with a new mission called Solo Bob.  The project is a series of synth-rock songs and hallucinogenic videos, all circling a character that Robert says, “I used to pretend to be in my bedroom late at night.”

For fans of Mr. Schwartzman’s musical skills, that sounds like a welcome dive into experimental rock ‘n roll.  For the screaming, crying girls we witnessed at Rooney’s Webster Hall concert on Friday night, the simple phrase “in my bedroom” should be enough to hook them, too.

Robert / Bob / OMG-that-cute-guy phoned us from his tour bus in Cleveland Ohio to explain himself.

Good morning!  How’s your tour going?  We’ve all just woken up on our tour bus in Cleveland Ohio. It’s the Rooney tour.  It is gray outside, like, really gray, and um, I think we’re between some buildings.  Usually the bus parks in some random part of town, so we get a really good view of the backs of buildings, air vents, air conditioning.  It’s a new kind of tourism.

What’s different about this tour?  We’re playing our new EP songs! And we got out of our label, so there’s a new sense of freedom.  Being independent has given us a new sense of excitement, and why we’re doing this, and why we’re going to keep doing it.

On the NYLON tour, the Plastiscines’ food of choice was french fries.  What’s yours?  Cereal and rolled up turkey slices! Those can go a long way.  But this is our 8th year on the road, so we get fed by fans, too.  They’re always really good about bringing us cookies.

Do your fans know about Solo Bob?  Um, mostly my friends who call me Bob.  But I don’t refer to myself as Bob unless I’m blogging about Solo Bob, because I think supporting The Bob, it’s a separate thing.

The Bob?  Is that like your version of Sasha Fierce?  Maybe? To me, Bob is character, and it’s also a very specific energy… In high school, I made demos all the time and I’d say into the mic, “This recording was brought to you by Solo Bob!” Those songs always became Rooney songs, because I hadn’t found myself yet, and the music I wanted to make wasn’t just music, it was a character.  Then in 2007 I started to write songs that felt different than what should be in my band.

How will we meet Solo Bob?  In videos.  It’s my goal to have a video for every Solo Bob song.  I’m pulling in all these young directors and exciting people to work with me.  For example, my cousin Roman Coppola is a movie director, a video director, and a commercial director, and he’s always really liked the sound of this project, so we’ve started to collaborate.

Um, details?  Well, I love Robert Palmer, the way he carries himself in his videos, and the way the girls carry themselves, and the airbrushed record covers.  So I showed his videos to Roman, and then we used a green screen with a different outfit for every shot… It’s a visual project as much as it’s a musical project.

When can we buy a Solo Bob record?  Not sure yet, most likely after the Rooney album cycle is over – our new album comes out in Spring 2010! 

Your birthday is coming up – on Christmas Eve.  Does that suck?  Yeah it’s kinda hard – I mean, it’s not hard when you compare it to real things in this world, but I mean, nobody’s ever around for my birthday, and I like togetherness.  I like family time and friend time and I don’t get that on my birthday because it’s this big holiday and… yeah, wow, okay, I’m a little bitter.  But I bought a fake Christmas-slash-birthday tree!  I will go on the record right now, I have the greatest fake tree ever. Nice shape, nice build, comes apart easily.  It’s awesome.
–FARAN KRENTCIL

Watch Solo Bob’s first video and download the MP3 “Victim” for free at SoloBob.com

CREDIT : NYLONMAG.COM

I know, I know… I’ve been horrible at updating and I’m kinda out of excuses… But it is the busiest month at work and I’ve had a lot going on.

First of all…. No more soundcheck at the Rooney shows.
The band has run into some venue restrictions, and has been forced to cancel the open soundchecks.
They are however, still doing the meet & greet if you buy a Wild One EP

There’s a few new video diaries in case you’ve missed them :