Album Notes

Roster McCabe is your favorite little brother. They all tease and poke fun, but they know how to turn around any lousy day, and make it right.

As they sat in the studio, munching on slices of Little Caesar's pizza and sipping grenades of Mickey's, they cracked jokes and pushed playful insults at one another. Michael Daum perused a copy of "How to be a Rock Musician" for the amusement of Alex Steele and Drew Preiner. But within minutes, the three visionaries of the band were working over lyrics. Lyrics that are genuinely happy and hopeful, not cheesy and fake.

Roster McCabe finished recording "The Rhythm/The Elements" in just five days at Winterland Studios with well-respected engineer Brian Johnson.

The new album is grown-up. It looks like Roster McCabe, it feels like Roster McCabe, but it tastes like the artists they look up to, and it smells like the changes they've been through since they released their EP, "Contradicting Gravity," last year.

"This album is a lot more lively and full," said Alex Steele, lead singer and keyboard player. "The creative process was more thorough."

"The Rhythm/The Elements" is ripe with poppy, tight riffs and laced with deep, feel-good grooves. The artists they look up to are heard clearly in a few songs. "The Traveler" sounds like a mix of the reggae beats of Sublime and Matisyahu. "Take Me Higher" has the dynamics of The String Cheese Incident, with a latin breakdown thrown in for good measure.

Other songs are singular to the Roster McCabe sound. "Night Phoenix," an instrumental track, could be the opening credits to Oceans 14. "Southern Shore," with its acoustic sound, closes the album with the rolling sounds of the beach, and all of us in Minnesota could always use a little more beach.

Roster McCabe's jazzy tunes chill and smooth out all the wrinkles of a bad day. Then, as soon as everything is clear as glass, you're drawn to the dance floor with the funk they send riddling through your body.

"We want to make a serious connection," said Michael Daum, on lead guitar. "We want to do for everyone else what our favorite artists' did for us in our hard times."

Three years ago, Daum, Steele and Drew Preiner started jamming with friends (and beer) at The Steak Knife and at frat parties.

"This started out as a fun thing to do on a Wednesday night at the Steak Knife. We would get drunk and play with our friends," Daum said. "We got such a good response that we wanted more."

As the band matured and restructured, they became what is now known as Roster McCabe. It was only six months ago that this six piece band formed into what they are today. Jason Parvey plays soulfully on his sax, while lead singer Steele, taps away on his keyboard. Preiner's vocal backups and rhythm guitar connects Daum's John Mayer-esque riffs and Scott Muellenberg's raw, bouncy bass. Sassan Scott Zaker patters and pounds his drums to bring dancers to the floor.

They've rocked stages at The Fine Line, The Varsity Theatre, Bunkers, The Cabooze, and Northrup Auditorium. They've played with the Nathan Miller Band, Ari Herstand, and This World Fair. Earlier this year, they opened for alternative acoustic-pop band, Guster. In recent months, they've served as the house band at Sally's Saloon and Eatery on Thursdays.

While they still have that drink-and-play-with-friends mentality, there's more.

"We're not just background music anymore." Steele said. "As a larger band, we're driving in more emotion and we're more effective at it."

Looking forward, Roster McCabe plans to keep moving people and making friends.

"We want everyone to get up and dance," Preiner said. "We want to make friends, not fans. I'd much rather make a personal connection with you than to just be added to your collection."

~By Tatum Fjerstad