The Roach Brothers Are:
Terry Rouch- Guitars, Vocals.
James Rouch- Drums,Guitars, Vocals.
Karl Corts- Lead Guitar, Vocals.
Rick Maxwell- Bass, Vocals.
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The Roach Brothers Official Bio: The Roach Brothers Are: Terry Rouch- Guitars, Vocals. James Rouch- Drums,Guitars, Vocals. Karl Corts- Lead Guitar, Vocals. Rick Maxwell- Bass, Vocals. |
With a recording career spanning thirty years, their own fabulous
studio housed in a barn on their spread in rural Indiana, and
impeccable indie
creds, (including thousands of hours of their own material,
recording and
playing on Jack Logan's debut, "Bulk," as well as his
1996 masterpiece, "Mood
Elevator," extensive touring, and numerous radio themes and
jingles) Indiana
farmboys/rockers The Roach Brothers are way past due for the
recent exposure
they've been receiving from The Today Show, college radio, music
journalists,
and industry insiders. Lead singer Terry Rouch recalls recording
his first few
songs "through an empty paper towel roll" just to get
"that freaky sound, man!"
and being inspired to learn to play guitar after hearing the
first cranky riffs
of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" on a crackly AM radio
station. Younger Roach
Jamie mastered the board and began recording as soon as he could
see over the
controls, and together the two have amassed an amazing cache of
honest, home-spun
rock and roll songs.
Boasting an astonishingly eclectic array of influences,
including The
Stooges, James Brown, The Kinks, The Stones, Hank Williams, and
Frank Zappa,
the Roach Brothers confound any stereotypes or preconceptions of
what music
made on a farm hundreds of miles from major radio stations or
rock clubs might
sound like. Though they labored in relative obscurity until Logan
and Twin/Tone
Records co-founder Peter Jesperson (The Replacements, Soul
Asylum, Logan, etc)
began touting their work in the mid-90's, the brothers did manage
to release
one impossible to find slab of vinyl, The Atomic Bums, (with
their other
brothers, Tim and Steve) which featured Jack, Kelly Keniepp, and
showcased some
early Roach-Logan collaborations, including "Gimme A
Room." 1999 saw the
release of their first official album, "Big Load," on
Kelly, Nikki, and Jack's
freshly formed baby indie label, Backburner. The album became an
instant
college radio fave, with the track "Small Suitcase"
hitting the CMJ charts and
garnering them fans across the Midwest. A brief tour that summer
saw the band
playing stages from Indiana to Minnesota, including the infamous
Seventh Street
Entry room at Minneapolis' First Avenue, the world-reknowned
stage of The Turf
Club in St. Paul, and several live acoustic performances on
radio.
This year, The Roaches have expanded ranks, (as roaches are
wont to
do) and are working with axeman extraordinaire Karl Corts (whose
incredible
background includes stints with Bo Diddley, Betty Wright, John
Lee Hooker,
Harry Casey of KC And The Sunshine Band, and The Fabulous
Thunderbirds) and
twenty year veteran bassist Rick Maxwell. Their latest offering,
"Take Flight,"
is one both the band and Backburner are especially proud of.
Consisting of a
few older tunes and a healthy dose of new ones, the album boasts
some of the
strongest material the siblings have written to date. Songs about
cars, girls,
bad cars, bad luck, bad girls, love, hot cars, and good girls
gone bad are
nothing new, but Terry and the boys put their own special,
commercially
untainted spin on the subjects, creating a wonderful potpourri of
rough-hewn
pop riffs, booty-bumpin' bottom ends, sublime harmonies, and
witty wordplay.
The post-ironic musings of "Together Or Alone" and the
heartbreaking, age-ist
ballad "Laughin' Out Loud" are already making inroads
on college radio, and The
Roach Brothers are set to embark on their second mini-tour in
support of the
record. Take a minute out of your busy, modern-day stress-fest,
crack the top
on your favorite beverage, and slap this disc in. Now close your
eyes and
imagine you're sitting alone in the warm sun on a rocker outside
a rustic barn in the middle of nowhere. Hear those fuzzy guitars,
down-to-earth vocals, and soul-soothing grooves?
Ahhh....that's The Roach Brothers, baby.
Tom Hallett
DISCOGRAPHY AND APPEARANCES:
1986: The Atomic Bums, "Zero Degrees" Vinyl only, out
of print. Mile 9 Records.
1994: Jack Logan, "Bulk" Medium Cool Records
1996: Jack Logan & Liquor Cabinet: "Mood Elevator"
Medium Cool Records.
1999: The Roach Brothers, "Big Load" Backburner Records
2000: The Roach Brothers, "Take Flight" Backburner
Records
1996: "The Today Show" on ABC-TV.
1997-Present: Radio K, Minneapolis, Mn. KUMM, Morris, Mn, KSMM,
Chaska, Mn.
send your order
to:
Backburner Records
Mail Order
Department
PO Box 1212
Winder,GA.30680
or
e-mail us !!!