Rookie of the Year: Interview with Ryan & Mike, Sept. '09 (One Eleven Records)

DOWNLOAD: Rookie of the Year - "Feels Like New" (MP3)

Last month, Rookie of the Year was in town for a show at The Studio at Webster Hall. I had the chance to sit down and talk with lead singer Ryan Dunson and guitarist Mike Kamerman before the show about the evolution of the band, the current tour, and plans for the future.

BrooklynRocks: Let's start with the show tonight. How far into the current tour are you?

Ryan: This part is ending - we have two more shows left. We have been out for about two months this time around and we have been out on tour pretty much non-stop for the last five years. Over this time, I've probably been home for about eight months.

BrooklynRocks: Where is home for you?

Ryan: I live in Fayetteville, North Carolina and Mike lives in Freehold/Marlboro, New Jersey.

BrooklynRocks: So Mike was the one from (New Jersey power-pop band) All Right Reserved?

Ryan: They were a big New Jersey band and really good. That is how I met Mike...I was doing Rookie solo and had my van and trailer stolen in Columbus, OH so I had to fly home. I was friends with Mike and this other band and they had a tour coming up so I agreed to go out with them for two weeks if they let me ride with them. So I was out on the road with them for about a month, become friends with Mike and then his band broke up. I snagged Mike when they disbanded.

BrooklynRocks: Now are you and Mike the only 'formal' member of Rookie?

Ryan: Me and Mike have been in the band since the beginning. There was only one other guy who was in the band since the beginning and that was our bass player who left about six months ago. We have never had a permanent drummer since our first one who left right before our record came out. We have always had people like good friends fill in for a while while they are out of school or aren't busy at the time and they will end up playing 6 - 7 months with us before going back to their other commitments.

BrooklynRocks: How did you go from a solo project into the full band?

Ryan: I started solo and started writing full band songs that I couldn't perform live so I got friends join and help out. We put out a five-song EP on vice verse virtue Records that they made 800 copies of or something like that. The label that I was on was based in Cleveland, TN and they ran all the school events at Lee University and all of the shows in Cleveland and Chattanooga so I got to open for all of the bands every time there was a show. I played all the time and would sell these EPs for $2.00 so I got rid of all them super-fast. The label made another batch of 1,000 copies and I probably gave away half of this next batch of CDs at shows and to other bands.

Mike: There aren't that many EPs out there so it is kind of cool when someone comes up with one after the show - especially if they have had it since that time period. It is cool to see that people are still coming back.

BrooklynRocks: What's the audience on the tour look like?

Ryan: The audience is fairly mixed; we draw young, we draw a lot of college kids but we draw an older crowd too.

Mike: Some of the kids are bringing their parents who end up getting into the music. Our stuff is melodic and acoustic based so they seem to connect with it. We listen to a lot of older stuff so it is probably a comparable experience.

BrooklynRocks: Now I read that you guys are doing an acoustic EP...

Ryan: Yeah - we go into the studio in a week. We will be there for two and one-half weeks recording. We are recording at Marigolds and Monsters Studio in Atlanta where we did our Sweet Attention record.

BrooklynRocks: What are your plans for the next year or so? What do you want to do?

Ryan: We are going put out this acoustic EP and really push it. One thing we have lacked is not pushing so hard on the internet because we have been touring so much. We are going to take October and November and work on building out our internet presence.

Mike: We are going to tour less and focus more on promoting the tours that we do. Music is in such a different state now - when we first started it was like tour, tour, tour because that is how you got your name out. Now you can get your name out to the same number of people on the internet if you get the right exposure.

BrooklynRocks: With you guys driving between stops on this tour, what do you listen to in the van?

Ryan: I have my iPod and listen to a bit of everything. I've been listening to M83...I was disappointed with the new Imogen Heap.

Mike: I listen to a lot of 90's music like Smashing Pumpkins and Bush. I like the new Nada Surf album a real lot; it is a different sound from their hits from the 90's. The new Superdrag album is good too.

BrooklynRocks: What do you want people to know about you?

Ryan: Give us a listen - we like writing music, performing and letting people know who we are.

Mike: Give us a chance and come out and see what we are all about. We really don't have a huge message that we are trying to get out there. We just want to try and write music that holds a special place in people's hearts. Those are the songs that I still listen to that bring you back to a time and a feeling.

Here are Rookie of the Year's upcoming tour dates:
Oct. 31, 2009, 7:00PM, Crocodile Rock Halloween Bash, Allentown, PA
Nov. 08, 2009, 5:30PM, The Social (w/ In Passing), Orlando, FL
Nov. 11, 2009, 6:30PM, Jack Rabbits (w/ Shut up and deal), Jacksonville, FL
Nov. 12, 2009, 7:00PM, New Brookland Tavern (w/ In Passing), Columbia, SC
Nov. 13, 2009, 6:45PM, Tremont Music Hall Casbah (w/ In Passing), Charlotte, NC
Nov. 14, 2009, 7:00PM, Halligans (w/ Meet The Sky and In Passing), Charelston, SC
Nov. 15, 2009, 8:00PM, Greene Street Club (w/ In Passing), Greensboro, NC

Links:
Rookie of the Year's MySpace Profile

BrooklynRocks Interview with Brad Fischetti from LFO (Summer Girls)

DOWNLOAD: LFO - "Life Is Good" (MP3)

LFO (best known for their 1999 #1 chart hit ‘Summer Girls’) has reunited after a seven year hiatus and just finished up a cross-country tour with Rookie of the Year, Go Crash Audio and Kiernan McMullan.

I had the chance to catch up with Brad Fischetti while the band was traveling down the southern part of the East Coast.

BrooklynRocks: What’s been going on with LFO over the last few years? It seems like the last time I remember hearing about the band was 2001 – 02.

Brad: In 2002, we took a hiatus. At that point in time, we were several months into the promotion of our second record (Life Is Good). The second album was successful but not like the first – shortly after its release 9/11 happened, Napster came about and people were getting music for free. For a variety of reasons, the band just couldn’t stay working together. We worked together for so many years and it was time for a break.

I started making plans for a record label (111 Records) which I still own today. Devin spent five years holed up in his apartment reading, writing and recording music. Devin came out of this an extraordinary musician. I put out his solo disc, Devin Lima and the Cadbury Diesel, on my label. Rich was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after our break and was given a 50%/50% chance to live. He was given chemo and went into remission. The leukemia came back and Rich was given a stem cell transplant, after which he started the Rich Cronin Hope Foundation to help bring awareness to stem cell treatments. Shortly after that, he went into remission again. A further complication happened though - on a routine hospital visit, medication was administered incorrectly which caused Rich to have a stroke. He wasn’t expected to live and, if he did, he would be a vegetable. The hospital tried an experimental treatment and Rich woke up but he is still feeling the after-effects of the stroke. It takes every ounce of energy he has to get on stage but he is passionate and dedicated to making this reunion work.

Last year, I approached the guys about the concept of a reunion. The timing seemed right in both our lives and with the music. Our original plans were to put together a couple new songs and go out on the road. It has come together so well, God willing, we will continue this comeback with more touring.

BrooklynRocks: I saw that your new single “Summer of My Life” is streaming on your MySpace profile. Are there other new songs that you are putting in the set?

Brad: We have two new songs “Summer of My Life” and “Hey Radio” in the set. Devin also performs one of his solo songs called “Hanging with You” and Rich performs his solo song “Story of My Life”, which is a powerful song that recaps the last ten years of his life.

BrooklynRocks: When you look back into the 90’s/early 2000, do you ever shake your head and say “I can’t believe I wore that or did that?”

Brad: (Brad laughs) A lot – specifically in video footage that came from 1996 – 98. I can’t believe some of the things we wore but guess it was kind of cool at the time. We also didn’t have creative control at that time and were following the direction of the record company. If you look back at the career of just about anybody who has had some success, everybody has something wacky in their early days. Kid Rock’s first album was laughable and he is a mega-star now.

BrooklynRocks: I know that you have only played one date so far (The Masquerade in Atlanta) but what sort of crowd are you drawing?

Brad: Probably 15 – 35 years old with the majority of the crowd in their mid-20’s.

BrooklynRocks: Did I read correctly that you are doing meet-and-greets with everyone who buys a ticket?

Brad: We are trying to give people an experience. We are trying to play smaller places that give as many people who are interested the opportunity to come to the show. I think there is tremendous impact that you can have in meeting people personally. I know this is the case for me – I ran into a baseball player once in a chance meeting and I’ll never forget that. We are trying to make our shows ‘An Evening with LFO’ rather than ‘come see our show, drive an hour each way and then go home’. We have VIP passes where you essentially get to spend the whole day with us. At the Atlanta show, I had a couple fans tell me it was the best night they ever had. We’re not touring to make money and bring home a check but rather to rebuild the LFO ‘brand’, reconnect with the fans and have some fun.

BrooklynRocks: What was it likely in 1999/2000, headlining large auditoriums and playing with Britney?

Brad: One of the coolest tours we did was this tour of amphitheatres with Nickelodeon. We were playing to 5,000 – 25,000 a night. I have some extraordinary video footage from those days. Our fans continue have such passion.

BrooklynRocks: Thanks for the time today. As a wrap-up is there anything that you want people to know about you, the band, the shows?

Brad: Check us out on our social networking sites – we are very active and always try to respond to people. We are on MySpace, Twitter and we have been posting some YouTube “shout out” videos to try and respond to all of the tweets that we have been getting.

Links:
LFO’s MySpace Profile