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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Eureka! It's a Confession!


G'day,
Saw on Youtube a fan confession for Rooney and it got me thinking about why I'm a fan of Brandon, Louis, Ned, Taylor, and Robert. I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and moved to America in the year 2000 (was almost 11 at the time). Was dealing with a bit of a culture shock, dealing with a different dialect of the English language, learning new slang, adjusting to the fact i don't have to wear uniforms to school anymore. Started feeling incredibly homesick and regretting even coming to America in the first place. In 2001, The Princess Diaries came out. Will admit, became smitten with Robert Schwartzman (blame those stupid tweenager fads) and imdb-ed him. Found out that he was in Rooney and ended up buying the album when it came out. See my parents allowed me into their perfect musical world and I grew up listening to Rooney's influences such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Tom Petty, Rolling Stones, Everly Brothers, etc. It was immediately love at first hear with the self-titled album and was an integral part of my adjustment to the American lifestyle. The laid-back Californian attitude felt, in a sense, home. I grew up in a suburb of Sydney that had a complete beach bum ambience and this CD allowed me to hold on to that lifestyle instead of the new one I could be adjusting to: claustrophobic mountains, blistering cold, and the arrogant snow bunnies. The music of Rooney was my personal stepping stone to this huge transition and for that I have been and always will be thankful to the band. Of course, I've bought the other two CDs (Calling the World and Eureka) as well as the EP (Wild One) because the music continues its magic to this Land of Opportunity. Now you're probably wondering have I met the guys? Yes! In fact, twice! The first time was December of 2009 (You can read the review of the concert below), and it was inspiring. Was a tad starstruck but it subsided and it was nice to have a conversation with them. The second time I met them was about 2 weeks ago. I volunteered to help sell merchandise for them (with their merchandise personnel, Miranda) and even baked them a cake (Stars and Stripes Baby!). After all the help they've given me through their music, I felt it only right to give back (do NOT mistake this with the feeling of obligation, that wasn't it at all, pure appreciation). Each member of the band really impressed me with their approachability and how engrossed they are in their music. It's great to know that some artists still stand strongly behind their music instead of putting out a record and forgetting about it. Another fact about this band that is wonderful is that they write their own material and the music that accompanies the lyrics. It's not like the mainstream sh#t you can get nowadays where the "artist" has some washed up songwriter write their material for them and has the music producer tell them how it should sound in order to gain the most profit.... Anyway, just wanted to share my confession and to inspire other music lovers out there to seriously check out Rooney and their newest album, Eureka!

My favourite songs from each album:

Rooney: If It Were Up to Me, Popstars
Calling The World: Paralyzed, I Should've Been After You
Wild One: Suckceed, Wild One
Eureka: The Hunch, Not In My House, Go On, Into The Blue
Also loving their old-school stuff like: Hey, Misery, Meltdown, The Floor


Cheers for the music Ned, Louis, Taylor, Robert, and Brandon. You all will have my continuing support in Rooney and future projects!

Peace and Love.