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ROTO
Powerpop / Alternative / Classic Rock

New CD:" Summer Home" out at CDBaby.com/roto



New York, New York
United States

Profile Views:  10454




Last Login:  7/10/2009
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   ROTO: General Info
Member Since4/1/2006
Band Members ..
InfluencesElton John, Tim Buckley, Joao Gilberto, David Crosby, Harry Nilsson, The Beatles, Elvis Costello, XTC, Gram Parsons, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Page, John McLaughlin, Paul Westerberg, Marc Bolan, Joan Armatrading, Roy Harper. . . .
Sounds LikeMy generation, the pre-Slackers, those born between 63 and 66. I come from the same rock-to-folk-to-pop place as many of my superior (and in some cases, sadly departed) contemporaries: Jeff Buckley, Elliot Smith, Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain, David Garza, Ben Harper, David Poe, Duncan Shiek, Jesse Harris, and others. . . .
Type of LabelUnsigned


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Jun 8 2009 9:00P
The Living Room New York, New York

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   About ROTO
ROTO: Summer Home


It’s tempting to describe guitarist, pianist and songwriter James Rotondi as a “journeyman” musician, due to his lengthy stints with the French group Air, Mike Patton’s Mr. Bungle, jazz-hop pioneers The Grassy Knoll, and other groundbreaking bands. Still, the Brooklyn-based performer would insist that the title of his first solo album, Summer Home, aptly suggests the sense of homecoming that the record represents; a laid-back, free-spirited musical home base, rooted in power-pop, psychedelic folk and jazz-rock, that he’s never really left.

“This is the record I’ve been carrying around in my head and in notebooks and on dirty cassette tapes for the last several years, while on the road with other bands,” says Rotondi (better known by the nickname “Roto,” given to him during his West Coast years by fellow players from outfits like Bungle, Garaj Mahal and Critters Buggin’). “The title Summer Home, on one level, speaks to that place you go where you leave the working world behind, and rediscover all the things that you connected with as a kid.”

For Roto, those touchstones include his older sister’s vinyl copies of CSNY’s Déjà Vu and the Beatles’ Revolver; his big brother’s Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin records; and his Mom’s penchant for Astrud Gilberto, French crooners like Gilbert Becaud, and the smokier side of John Coltrane. Those sounds, and beyond, are distilled on Summer Home into a smoky, bracing and heady—but still warming—musical tonic that Roto ironically likens to his favorite single-malt scotch: “Like a glass of Oban, the album should ideally wake up your palate, be smooth and warm in your gut, and go right to your head!”

While the album boasts some head-buzzing synths and trippy guitar textures, it’s Roto’s thoughtful and multi-layered lyrics that provide the most cerebral thrills. The title track, for instance, is less an homage to the sunny American Dream than it is a critique of wealth’s insulating effects: “I don’t want to know about those good citizens/And their sad innocence,” declares the song’s narrator. “Just let me cynical, even clinical/In my indifference/It’s just good common sense.” (Rotondi brings a similar kind of satiric bite to his regular column for The Huffington Post, and his many past articles and reviews for Spin, Guitar Player, The Boston Phoenix and other magazines and blogs.)

The Harry Nilsson-inspired track “Chasing My Shadow,” says Roto, deals with “the uncomfortable process of discovering your inner jerk.” “Salvation came and went/I moved a little too slow,” he sings. “My soul was heaven-sent/Sent me chasing my shadow.” But there’s poignancy as well. In “When the Talkies Come,” Roto creates a metaphoric love-gone-wrong tale set in 1920s Hollywood: “When the cameras had come and gone/The sets were struck and the dailies were scattered on the cutting room floor/I declared our contract void, and left my favorite star/To find her fortune on the boulevard.”

With a stunning cast of musicians fleshing out these pop novelettes—including keyboardist Didi Gutman (Brazilian Girls, Bebel Gilberto), drummer Shawn Pelton (Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan), guitarist Joe Gore (Tom Waits, Tracy Chapman), and acoustic bassist Jeff Eyrich (Tim Buckley, Kelly Flint)—Summer Home is more than just the sunny sum of its musical parts. Produced by Roto with engineer Steve Rossiter at Axis Sound in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, it’s a collection of urban—even urbane—folk tales in which romanticism and sarcasm happily coexist, and where the French chanson of “Collette” and the analog art-rock of “The Fullness of Time,” the power-pop of “Congratulations” and the pop-tropicalia of “Baby, You’re the Man,” seem entirely of a piece.

Welcome to your new Summer Home. Have some taffy.

For information and booking, check www.sonicbids.com/roto, myspace.com/rotovybe or write to: rotovybe@earthlink.net



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ROTO has 343 friends.
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ROTO's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 43 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Jess





May 23 2009 6:19 PM

Heybabay!
Liss





May 5 2009 2:05 AM

"One man down in the May day parade..."
Jess





Apr 21 2009 11:46 PM

I really like Collette.
Why are there no shows posted?
Kristen


Online Now!


Apr 14 2009 6:24 PM

Well hello there happy feet :) How are you?
Andy VanDette





Apr 1 2009 12:11 AM

RE:Natonal Underground gig....The Rain, the Cover $$, the 2 drink minimum (don't these people know we're in a recession??).... Good thing YOU ROCKED IT, or Ida been pissed. Can't wait to see your next set, but lets try the Mercury Lounge..
Roots Connection





Mar 19 2009 12:38 AM

Hi ROTO
WE ARE NOW ONLINE WITH OURS CDS.
THIS IS THE SIGNAL THAT THE LIFE GOES ON.
WE WANT TO GO ON...

AND SO IN THE MEMORY OF A FRIEND THAT WE'LL NEVER FORGET HERE WE ARE:

ROOTS CONNECTION "ANIMYSTIC"
OUR SECOND LP .
(PHISICALLY ONLY IN ITALY FROM THE 1TH OF APRIL 2009).
IT'S ENRICO MICHELETTI LAST WILL.



ROOTS CONNECTION - 2003
OUR FIRST ALBUM.
IT'S A MEETING BETWEEN DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND DIFFERENT KIND OF MUSIC.



THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
KEEP THE BLUES ALIVE!
GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
Liss





Jan 24 2009 1:14 PM

Nasum blockage? OH NO! Feel better ... and a word to the wise... tea, tea, and more tea (lemon, honey, w/ a shot of something at night) I'll be waiting for an update you.
Liss





Jan 23 2009 8:55 PM

You block-head

;-)
Ruby James





Dec 31 2008 3:32 AM

just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy new year.....

xo
ruby
Lizette &





Dec 27 2008 4:23 PM

Thank U kindly for Ur invitation!

Have a BRILLIANT day!

Lizette &

Lizette%20%26Quantcast



Lizette%20%26
<img src="http://pixel. quantserve. com/pixel/p-05---xoNhTXVc. gif" .."display: none" border="0&
Liss





Dec 24 2008 6:28 PM

Buon Natale SIG Rotondi

Cheers,
-m
Ruby James





Dec 20 2008 12:11 AM

hi there, i just wanted to drop by and thank you for being my friend on myspace.....i hope that you enjoyed your visit to my page and that you have great plans for the holidays......if you get a chance leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite song is...

xo
ruby
Marika Magarotto





Dec 19 2008 7:10 AM

Hello;)
Liss





Dec 16 2008 8:27 PM

The CD has arrived, I repeat doth CD hath arrivethed! Little guy is spinning as we speak...

Kudos,
Lissa
Roots Connection





Dec 13 2008 2:09 PM

WE ARE VERY SAD...
WE DON'T HAVE WORDS TO SAY ANYMORE...
OUR SINGER AND DOBRO PLAYER ENRICO MICHELETTI
IS DEAD.
GOODBYE ENRICO
KEEP THE BLUES ALIVE WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!!
Trances Arc





Aug 13 2008 8:06 PM

thanks for your insight yesterday. Hope your vacation is treating you right.
-b
Trances Arc





Aug 10 2008 7:46 PM

oh, and by the way.... your solo stuff sounds incredible!
Trances Arc





Aug 10 2008 7:45 PM

missed you last night dude. Hope your show went well and that you guys have a safe trip out west.
see you soon bro
brad
Julianne Lassard





Jun 30 2008 3:01 AM

Hello from Las Vegas! Thanks for accepting my friend request. "Baby You're the Man" is enthralling. Beautiful changes and phrasing. It's the type of track that entices one into buying an entire album.
Namaste,
Julianne
Liss





May 10 2008 2:42 AM

Can YOU dig it? Oh yeah, ... Awesome!
ikeda toshitaka





May 9 2008 4:01 AM

Great music, and thanks for the add.

respect from japan
The Cringe





May 5 2008 4:15 PM

We all await with bated breath for the release of your new album!!
Calico Soul





Apr 21 2008 3:43 PM

Sir Roto! Just a quick hello from Berlin ... Come on over - lots going on, tons o' cats o'er here.
How are the chops? PEACE, -Todd Calico
MorF





Apr 3 2008 7:27 AM








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CD SOON!!!

Kevin Bowers





Apr 2 2008 4:22 PM

this is fantastic! thank you for checking out my music & being my friend. hope to see you at a show sometime & stay in touch.
your friend, kevin bowers
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