MASTEDONIA

The Showbuzz

*From The San Diego Union-Tribune - July 3, 2008*

Rooney hopes to restart buzz behind the band
by Len Righi

Ned Brower is feeling both elated and a bit perplexed.

The drummer-vocalist and his mates in the pop-rock quintet Rooney have spent a couple of days in Los Angeles shooting videos for �Are You Afraid?� and �I Should Have Been After You,� tracks on 2007's �Calling the World.�

The disc's sleek, insistent single, �When Did Your Heart Go Missing,� has whetted appetites overseas for Rooney's crafty, at times subversive, power pop. �Heart� hit No. 1 in Germany and went Top 10 in England, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe.

In the States, Rooney is still plugging away, touring behind the release, including a stop at the San Diego House of Blues on Wednesday. The band, which includes vocalist-guitarist Robert Schwartzman, keyboardist Louie Stephens, guitarist-vocalist Taylor Locke and bassist Matthew Winter, is hoping to revive the buzz generated by the songs �I'm Shakin',� �Blueside� and �If It Were Up to Me� from 2003's self-titled debut and a 2004 appearance on �The OC.�

�We always wanted to be big in Europe, and now it's coming true bigtime,� says Brower, who is traveling by car to Jacksonville, Fla., from Austin, Texas. �But now, it seems Europe has surpassed the American market for us.

�It's hard for us to find a home,� he adds. �We're too light for rock radio, and pop radio is hip-hop and dance music. We're not some eccentric indie thing. Sometimes, it feels like we're living in the wrong period.�

Brower, who at age 31 is the graybeard of the group, may be onto something. �Calling the World� is sprinkled with nods to Queen, ELO, 10cc, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, among others. Still, the music surrounding Schwartzman's seemingly winsome tales of romantic obsession and self-loathing sneaks is classic, not retro.

The video for �Are You Afraid?� was prompted by reaction to the song in Germany. One of �Calling the World's� darker, edgier tracks, �Afraid?� suggests what a Toto tune might sound like if played by ELO.

�Ironically, we cut that at (the late Toto drummer) Jeff Porcaro's house,� says Brower. �He had a studio in his home, and that's where we recorded most of 'Calling the World.' We all like Toto, and he was a phenomenal drummer.�

The video for �I Should Have Been After You,� the most prominent Queen-influenced track, was made because of the response to the song in England and Europe.

�It's scary to do Queen (-style music) because it is so complex,� says Brower. �But Robert had it in the back of his mind to do something really dramatic. And even though he brought it to us as a home demo with a chintzy drum machine, I said right away, 'That song is a killer.' �

Brower notes that �After You� was inspired in part by Rooney's contribution to the 2005 �Killer Queen� tribute CD, �Death on Two Legs.�

�Everyone just loved it,� says Brower of Rooney's rendition of the song Queen used to open its 1975 album �A Night at the Opera.�

�It was Freddie Mercury writing about the slimy record company people around him (specifically Queen's ex-manager). We were kind of getting beat up at that time, so to do it was cathartic.�