Rotary Downs
Encyclopedia
Rotary Downs is an Indie Rock
band from New Orleans, Louisiana
. The band is made up of vocalist and guitarist
James Maarler, guitarist
Chris Colombo, keyboardist
and trumpeter
Michael Girardot, bassist
Jason Rhein, and drummer
Zack Smith.
's Big Easy Music Awards. NPR
's Morning Edition
considers them "outsider artists
" and characterized their 2007 album Chained To The Chariot as "a stunning collection of psychedelic art-pop songs that play like brilliant mash-ups of Neutral Milk Hotel
and Odelay
-era Beck
".
Chained To The Chariot was recorded in the months preceding and following Hurricane Katrina
's devastation of New Orleans, as described in a feature on Current TV
. Some of the band's recorded work on the album was damaged by the flood, but later salvaged. In the wake of the disaster, band members described a sense of increased artistic collaboration and cross-pollination in the music scene in New Orleans.
On March 9, 2010, Rotary Downs released Cracked Maps & Blue Reports, described by Filter
magazine
as "perfectly New Orleanian: both high and low, in and out, joyous and mournful."
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. The band is made up of vocalist and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
James Maarler, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Chris Colombo, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and trumpeter
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
Michael Girardot, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jason Rhein, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Zack Smith.
History
Rotary Downs is a two time winner of the "Best Rock Band" category at Gambit WeeklyGambit Weekly
Gambit is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based free alternative weekly newspaper that was established in 1981 as Gambit Weekly. Gambit features reporting about local politics, news, food and drink, arts, music, film, events, environmental issues and other topics, as well as listings...
's Big Easy Music Awards. NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
considers them "outsider artists
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
" and characterized their 2007 album Chained To The Chariot as "a stunning collection of psychedelic art-pop songs that play like brilliant mash-ups of Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
and Odelay
Odelay
Odelay is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records.After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution"...
-era Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
".
Chained To The Chariot was recorded in the months preceding and following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
's devastation of New Orleans, as described in a feature on Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....
. Some of the band's recorded work on the album was damaged by the flood, but later salvaged. In the wake of the disaster, band members described a sense of increased artistic collaboration and cross-pollination in the music scene in New Orleans.
On March 9, 2010, Rotary Downs released Cracked Maps & Blue Reports, described by Filter
Filter (magazine)
FILTER, the publication that promises us that "Good music will prevail," is a seasonal American music and off-beat entertainment magazine. It features commentary and photos of up-and-coming musicians and filmmakers ranging from actors to writer-directors...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
as "perfectly New Orleanian: both high and low, in and out, joyous and mournful."
Discography
- Rotary Downs (2002)
- Long After The Thrill (2003)
- Quitters (EP) (2004)
- Chained To The Chariot (2006)
- Cracked Maps & Blue Reports (2010)