Jack Firneno, the Wire
That the first 30 seconds of the Cold Roses’ debut album could get you rock and roll Bingo on the right card is pretty cool. What’s even better is that it actually rocks.
“Got No Lovin’ ” kicks off the 11-track No Silence in the City with what sounds like a big Allman Brothers finish. Then the horns throw in the troubadour swagger Springsteen cooked up on tracks like “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” over an early Sabbath shuffle, before making way for a filtered, Jack White-inspired vocal.
But the swing is strong and the swagger steps just right. This ain’t coiffed retro or a sterile genre exercise. It’s the real deal. Roll down the windows and turn it up, already.
“There wasn’t any conscious thing, like we’re gonna sound like this or we’re gonna be this kind of band or music,” explained guitarist, singer and bandleader Rob Clancy. “It just kind of evolved in and of itself.”
That’s the trick, it seems, to making music that can seem this familiar sound fresh. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to drag your six-piece band, complete with horns, into the renowned Miner Street Studios in Philadelphia to track the album live.
That, and a lot of patience.
After a few years of fits and starts, Cold Roses is now running smooth and strong. Along with No Silence in the City and a new single in April, they’ve been named WMMR’s Band of the Month twice and last month played the MMRBQ festival at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden.
“It was a warming experience, the crowd and the fans,” said Clancy. “There was an instant connection right when we walked out.”
Earlier this year, they headlined a packed house at Bourbon and Branch in
Philadelphia for the first Philly Free Show Friday installment, which also turned out to be the day Ben E. King died. The band had the entire room swaying to a rousing rendition of “Stand By Me” that they learned almost on the spot.
“We literally just went up to the green room and taught ourselves to play it right before we went on,” Clancy recalled.
They’ll play the Hollystock Festival in Mount Holly, New Jersey, this summer along with regular shows in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey. A weeklong tour in July is also in the works.
And, this Saturday, Cold Roses is returning to Triumph Brewing Company in New Hope. The show’s somewhat close to home for Clancy, who grew up in Yardley before settling into South Philadelphia.
It was while he was living in Bucks some five years ago the band got its start. That was way before the packed rooms, singalong crowds and bumping into Slash and Stone Temple Pilots in the buffet line backstage at the Susquehanna.
In 2010, Cold Roses was just Clancy, who’d been through his share of bands by then and was ready to form his own group for the first time.
“I just wanted to make music with good players and that was kind of it,” he said of his decision to be a bandleader. “I wanted to be able to do things in a band that I wasn’t able to do previously.”
Early incarnations included old friends and new finds, and gigs where Clancy said they played to “pretty much just the bartender… but at least it was something.”
Things began to break their way when bassist Brandon Porter became the band’s permanent bass player. “It just kind of clicked,” said Clancy. “He was the first person we tried out and we’ve been playing music ever since.”
The same could be said of the horn section, a last-minute addition right before the band played a show for WMMR after being named the radio station’s artist of the month for the first time.
The band had already expanded its palate with keyboardist Alex Ayala, who brought a jazz background to the mix. And, after some rotation, RM Webb became the official drummer — no easy feat, as Clancy says he’s especially particular about who’s behind the kit.
When it came to adding trumpet player Rick Rein and saxophonist Tom Petracarro, however, Clancy was banking on his love of ’60s Motown and Stax/Volt soul to lead him in the right direction.
It did.
“We threw them into the mix to see what would happen, added this completely new dimension to the band,” he said.
That was almost three years ago, and the band’s been going strong ever since.
“It didn’t really, really become Cold Roses until the six of us got together,” said Clancy. “Everything up till that point was just me, Brandon, RM and Alex playing music together.”
And, fans can expect plenty more music from the sextet. They’re already looking to follow up April’s single, “Tired of Losing You,” with a new single over the summer, and to just keep on playing wherever and whenever they can, to whoever wants to listen.
“There’s nothing like new people, or people in general, being interested in your music,” explained Clancy. “It’s what keeps you going, when people appreciate the music you’re making and connect with what you’re doing.”
The Cold Roses are playing at Triumph Brewery, 400 Union Square in New Hope, on Saturday, May 30. For information, visit www.coldrosesband.com.
