Hold Onto Your Walker: Roosevelt's Back In Town!
originally published September 26, 2001
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Roosevelt (named for the U.S. presidents, not the likable guy who danced and hung out at the Georgia Theatre) kicked up in Athens in late 1989. Bassist John Crain and guitarist Daniel Priutt were longhaired university students who had already put a year or so into the prog-rock trio I.S.S. (or "Independent Skyleague Section") with drummer Isaac McCalla. The band broke up in late '89. After a stint on bass with Old Scratch and on drums with The Killbillys and Put The Strange Damsel To Work, bespectacled drummer (now Flagpole music editor) Ballard Lesemann completed the lineup in January, 1990.
Roosevelt independently released its vinyl-only full-length titled Shingle in 1991 and extensively toured the Southeast behind it. In 1992, the band recorded a vinyl-only, four-song EP titled Person and contributed three songs to the seven-band compilation album Fuel: Seven bands From Athens, Ga.. Both the EP and the comp came out on the fledgling local indie Self Rising Records.
This week, Roosevelt will reunite for the first time since its amicable split in '93 for a special "CD Release" show and will release a 17-song "best of" on compact disc titled 1990 1993 (Dust Bunny). The collection is culled from studio sessions recorded by David Barbe, Robbie Collins, Harper Hug and Rick Fowler. The album also includes live tracks recorded by Pattiy Torno at the Squashpile club in Asheville, NC, and by George Vest at the 40 Watt Club when it was located where the Caledonia Lounge now stands.
All three members of Roosevelt agreed to speak (if somewhat sarcastically) to Flagpole after their first rehearsal in eight years:
Flagpole: What style of music or "sound" was Roosevelt going for when the band formed, and did that sound have much in common with what was happening in the Athens music scene at the time?
John Crain: As far as sound goes, we were really just simply looking for the best sounds that would come out of our crappy amps. The style of music kinda just came naturally as a result of that in an effort to cover it up. And, yes, we did have a lot in common with other bands at that time. I think just about everybody but Mombo Fury was playing out of crappy amps...
Daniel Pruitt: We were originally going for a very quiet, subdued, peaceful and almost "silent" sound, but somewhere between practice space, bar and gig, it just got louder, faster, and more violent. I blame the Globe.
Ballard Lesemann: I was just happy to be playing with guys who could count to five or seven over and over without getting angry.
FP: In the old Classic City Live, writer Liz Ireland described the band as part of a "funk-metal" scene alongside Hayride, Thornyhold and others. Was this accurate?
JC: Almost accurate, but I don't think that we were quite deserving of such a distinguished title. Maybe "flunk-metal" or "funk-meatheads."
DP: Liz was great, and for the most part, I feel like she was always right on the money. But in this case, she just missed the mark. I personally felt that bands like us and Hayride were really more a part of the "love metal" scene evolving at the time. We just happened to be accompanied by a peculiar and often unpleasant "funk" due to bad hygiene among musicians. So you can understand why she was confused.
BL: Tags like those foreshadowed the awful stuff of today.
FP: Describe the music scene in Athens in the early '90s.
JC: The scene was pretty diverse. There were some very strong and exciting bands performing out. There were quite a few that sucked so bad you wanted to kick someone on your way out of the club to somehow make you feel a little better about paying the cover. I think R.E.M. was quite an inspiration for most bands at that time, and that was the problem. They inspired some folks that had no business playing out in public... like us, for instance.
BL: I think back then the clubs were more open-ended and not so worried about specifics. The R.E.M. wannabes were pretty much to the wayside and bands that felt compelled to play their own weird ideas kept sprouting up. The coolest bands were the ones who had the least in common with anything recognizable. We certainly never strolled around town with Bolo ties, baggy tuxedo shirts and raincoats on. Actually, we never strolled around town much at all.
FP: How did the material that ended up on the Fuel compilation and the Person EP differ from that early material that ended up on the debut album?
JC: The Fuel and Person tracks directly reflected our age. We were starting to get old and lazy and didn't want to play quite as fast as we had in our earlier days. Now, we're having our mid-life crises and we want to play Shingle material again. This is an attainable alternative to going out and buying a convertible of some sort, like so many other poor aging men.
DP: I think those recordings were different most likely because we hired other musicians to make the recordings. It just seemed easier.
BL: We were clueless about every aspect of the music biz when we recorded Shingle. Clueless, but full of spirit.
FP: What were some of the most frustrating things about being in Roosevelt?
JC: Listening to Ballard's warped views on life and watching Daniel nod in accordance with him. I felt so alone.
DP: Ballard's late afternoon prayer vigils. Looking back though, they probably helped...
BL: The constant feeling of embarrassment and naiveté. And dealing the shitheads who ran the record presses and booked the out-of-town clubs.
FP: What were some of the most rewarding things about being in Roosevelt?
JC: The 10 bucks in my pocket at the end of the night. And sometimes free Pabst Blue Ribbon!
DP: Financial security. And the chicks, good God the chicks! Oh, wait a minute, that wasn't us, that was Hayride.
BL: Yeah, right.
FP: A lot was said and written in the local and national press about Roosevelt's "instrumental prowess." What was all that hoopla about?
JC: Whoever said that and wrote that... they're liars.
DP: I think that was a misprint. It was actually "instrumental cowardice" if I remember correctly.
BL: Hey, these guys had their eyes open and knew where the notes were on the fretboards, so...
FP: How will you know that this upcoming reunion show at The Caledonia Lounge was a success?
JC: Free Pabst Blue Ribbon and very minimal heckling from the crowd.
DP: If my girdle doesn't come unhinged.
BL: If Ceiling Fan is smiling at the end of the night.
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