The Mississippi based band Rosco Bandana proudly describes itself as “the product of teenage rebellion and its consequences; of lost love, false starts and most of all lasting friendships.”
It’s a time honored and familiar story; a group of kids, their lives consumed by music, take a chance and follow their dream. And sometimes, against all odds, it pays off.
The seven piece group emerged when principle songwriter Jason Sanford-at the time revolting against his strict Christian upbringing (another familiar tale)-wandered into a tobacco store in Gulfport to buy a pack of smokes. “I struck up a conversation with the kid working behind the counter,” he recalls. “He was like this real cool, hip, indie sort of character, and throughout our conversations he turned me onto the music of people like Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, Iron and Wine, Neutral Milk Hotel. That’s kind of how it all started.”
His parents were understandably wary of encouraging their son’s growing interest. “They wanted to keep me in this tiny bubble,” Sanford explains. But as any parent of a rebellious teen (and are there any other type?) will attest, such efforts are futile. Sanford would stay up into the late hours learning a few guitar chords and writing down his ideas. The recent and painful breakup of a relationship (from Emily Sholes, and remember that name) provided ample material for songs. At roughly the same time, Barry Pribyl Jr., a childhood friend of Sanford’s, had just moved back to Mississippi.
Through a series of serendipitous events the two reconnected, and the seeds for the band were planted. Pribyl “was more into metal” but took up Sanford’s invitation to visit an open mic night. “So Jason is up there playing this honky-tonk stuff… I remember thinking, ‘What the hell is this?’” But the best friendships are built on compromise and the more the two played together, the more a specific sound started to emerge-one that merged the ragged bar-rock attitude of bands like Uncle Tupelo with a few mild nods toward the iconoclastic end of contemporary country ala Jamey Johnson and Hank III.
Their core in place, Pribyl and Sanford began looking to expand their lineup. “Jason started an open mic night at a wine bar,” Pribyl said. “From there, we’d invite 10 or 15 people to come with us out to this abandoned house and we’d just jam, and it was from those sessions that we handpicked the people we wanted.”
In the kind of romantic twist all great rock stories require, one of them was Jason’s old flame Emily Sholes. Another was Jennifer Flint, whose fiery vocals serve as a blistering counterbalance to Sanford’s down-home croon. “Jason and I first met in 2006,” says Flint. “He was with one of his first bands, and I honestly just fell in love with the way he wrote.”
Encouraged by friends and family, the still unnamed group enrolled in (and handily won) a Battle of the Bands contest sponsored by Hard Rock. And in a story almost too good to be true they soon found themselves flying out to Los Angeles to work on their debut.
With acclaimed producer Greg Collins (U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers) controlling the boards Time to Begin was born (look for a full review in next month’s Rapid River). With rootsy gospel tinged songs co-written by the band, and a rousing cover of Blur’s “Tender,” one reviewer has declared the album “hip-swivels like something off Exile on Main Street.”
“It might sound cliché,” Pribyl says, “but we’re just these humble, solid, down-to-earth Mississippi people who have had an incredible run of good luck. And when we play live, you can just see in our faces the joy of music.”
“I hope people get something honest out of our music,” adds Sanford. “I hope they’re able to feel something, and to empathize with it when they hear the lyrics.” He pauses, becoming momentarily philosophical. “You know, life and death is in the power of the tongue. And I want to put out music that’s going to heal people.”
To sample a few of the band’s songs go to www.roscobandana.com.
If You Go: Rosco Bandana, Friday, August 8, 2014, at the New Mountain Asheville, 38 North French Broad Avenue in downtown Asheville. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. and tickets are priced at $12 for this ages 18 and older show. For more information visit the venues’ website at www.newmountainavl.com.