About the Artist
The Rosenbergs - Meet The Band - Band Bio Search the Internet for info on The Rosenbergs and youll come across hundreds of articles summarizing a history of bold career moves, the most famous being their rejecting an offer to appear on the much-hyped (and now defunct) Farmclub television show. They then teamed up with Robert Fripps label, DGM, to pave the way for artists everywhere to start taking back ownership of their masters. A few months later, while the rest of the music industry was waging war against Napster, The Rosenbergs took another controversial step by teaming with the infamous file-sharing service for tour sponsorship and a "buy one, get one free" promotion for their sophomore release Mission: You. That one pissed off a retailer or two. Over the years, the plucky DIY New York-based band has endured management, label and lineup changes, and self-financed tours on both sides of the Atlantic.
"I think some folks view us as troublemakers," muses David Fagin, the groups chief songwriter and lead vocalist. "But believe it or not, were just a nice bunch of guys who love to make music
but dont piss us off," he laughs. "Were really not into all the hoopla." All of which begs the question: How have The Rosenbergs managed to survive in an industry where its almost impossible to cash in without selling out? The answer can be found on their Force MP debut Department Store Girl, an invigorating album of irresistibly catchy guitar pop bright enough to part the clouds. Bursting with hummable hooks, terrific melodies and sharp wordplay, delivered by Fagins intoxicatingly tuneful voice, the album is everything youd expect from the band Entertainment Weekly once praised for its "infectious songs and head-bobbing choruses."
"People that have never heard the band expect us to be some kind of political group, like U2 or Midnight Oil," says the vocalist. "Then they listen to our songs, which are basically boy-laments-girl pop tunes and theyre like, huh? But thats what we do." And they do it well. Fagin leaves the leftist rants against cultural imperialism to his contemporaries; hes more interested in tackling the politics of love with musical valentines ("Birds of a Feather") and mea culpas ("Blue Skies"). In between, he struggles with stagnation ("Holding Pattern") and imagines a world where Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas make the streets safe and look good while doing so ("Crockett & Tubbs"). In the title track, Fagin pays tribute to fabulous retail chicks everywhere. "Theyre the ones who are trying to be famous from a department store," he chuckles. "You know the typethey think theyre the J.Lo of J.C. Penney. When they go out on Friday night, they think Access Hollywood is following them around. Theyre cute."
Department Store Girl is the result of a new collaboration with their current label Force MP Entertainment. "Were pretty lucky," says Fagin. "We actually have an A&R guy who likes music." The record is the follow-up to 2001s critically acclaimed Mission: You, which drew rave reviews from The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Q Magazine, Spin, NME, and many more. Songs off the album have been prominently featured in a host of television shows on FOX, CBS, NBC, WB, MTV, ESPN, the Howard Stern show, as well as in numerous retail stores and on airlines throughout the country. The band toured endlessly in support, sharing stages with everyone from No Doubt and Stone Temple Pilots to Duncan Sheik and the Strokes. Its been an eventful couple of years for the lads: They appeared on The Stern Show with rock legend Gene Simmons of Kiss, got shot at by a freeway sniper while en route to a gig in Washington, and found themselves on the wrong end of several shotguns when 50 Utah State Troopers barnstormed their motel to bust up the stolen car ring hiding in the room next door. "All in a days work," says Fagin. Considering everything The Rosenbergs have been through, i
Product Description
The new pop-masterpiece from the critically acclaimed band, The Rosenbergs.