Mood Area 52

Bio:

Michael Roderick founded Mood Area 52 in 1998 as a Piazzola inspired neo-tango ensemble. Since then the group has incorporated Golden Age Tango material, lounge, electronica, Eastern European influences, polyglot vocal material, Waitsian cabaret tunes, chanson, and original compositions about love, loss, genetic mutations, daring women in petticoats, and the ill-hatched crimes of ambitious charlatans into their self-styled Chamber Americana repertoire. The Band performs acoustically as a duo with Michael Roderick and cellist Amy Danziger, and expands into a quintet, combining the talents of accordionist and vocalist Michael Roderick, cellist Amy Danziger, guitarist Billy Barnett, bassists Dorian Crow and Jeremiah Harris, and drummer James West. Mood Area 52 also features various Oregon musicians including Erin Williams on saw, Dustin Lanker, Mckenzie Stubbert, Dan Schmidt, Sylvain Duplant, Dylan DeRobertis, Anthony Dyer, Derek Trost, Kee Zublin Adam Wendt, David Roderick, Cosmos Corbin, Marietta Bonaventure, Kelly Leguizamon, and Richard Johnson, adding horns, strings, drums, and additional vocals. Mood Area 52 has performed with Naim Amor, Chuck Palhnuik, The Damo Suzuki Network, Rasputina, The Tin Hat Trio, Slowpoke, Amy Denio, Devotchka, David Lindley, and many other national acts. They perform in venues ranging from clubs to festival stages to old folks homes, accompanying burlesque troops and providing original soundtracks to golden age films. Mood Area 52 has written and performed original soundtracks to F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu", Marks' distopian sci-fi classic "La Jette", Sunset Boulevard, numerous Buster Keaton shorts, and several independent films. Mood Area 52's composition "Furniture Migration" will be used in an upcoming animated short by acclaimed Spanish animated film director Ricard Gras, and Music from their most recent album "Guevara's Ghost" will be used in an upcoming documentary on the life of Che Guevara called "Imagen del Hombre Nuevo." "Occluded Pets" was recently purchased for use in an Argentine television program thanks to Rumblefish, who has helped market many of Mood Area 52's songs. For commercial licensing, please contact Whitney Jones at Rumblefish whitney@rumblefish.com Send booking questions and any other questions to Michael Roderick through this website. Mood Area 52 is available to play milongas and has connections with the Eugene, Portland, and San Francisco tango community. Their music and interviews have been featured on Argentine public Radio and on the Buenos Aires station Dos por Quatro. Roderick and Cosmos’ collaboration, "Guevara’s Ghost", a fusion of tango, lounge, and glitchy trip-hop beats, is now available through Rocketboy Arts along with their previous releases "Mood Area 52" and "Nine Fancy Tangos."

Member Since:

December 23, 2005

Members:

The Band performs acoustically as a duo with Michael Roderick and cellist Amy Danziger, and expands into a quintet, combining the talents of accordionist and vocalist Michael Roderick, cellist Amy Danziger, guitarist Billy Barnett, bassists Dorian Crow and Jeremiah Harris, and drummer James West. Mood Area 52 also features various Oregon musicians including Erin Williams on saw, Dustin Lanker, Mckenzie Stubbert, Dan Schmidt, Sylvain Duplant, Dylan DeRobertis, Anthony Dyer, Derek Trost, Kee Zublin Adam Wendt, David Roderick, Cosmos Corbin, Marietta Bonaventure, Kelly Leguizamon, and Richard Johnson, adding horns, strings, drums, and additional vocals.

Influences:

Surrealist art, Buster Keaton, malfunctioning appliances, accidental art, unexpected setbacks, sad books, happy food, 19th century narratives of maritime cannibalism, antiquarian garbage, 15-ton sentences, ornate, impractical machines, awkward humor, Danny Elfman.

Sounds Like:

Chamber Americana

Record Label:

Rocketboy Arts