ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET

By Jim Nelson, A Taste Of Triple A 

The Album
Tree City

The Track
"Spanish Teeth"

The Label
New Line Records

Liner Notes
The first time Ben Trokan and Steve Mercado wrote together, they were supposedly trying to indulge their inner Zeppelin, but alas their inner Beatles held its breath until it scored a substantial piece of the puzzle for itself. The resulting sound has been described as '80s-inspired post-post-punk. So, what would that sound like, exactly? Green Day? Jimmy Eat World? Weezer? Actually, the name Franz Ferdinand comes up most often when people try to compare the New York-based Robbers On High Street to someone familiar. Then again, listen to their very first single, the piano ditty “Spanish Teeth,” and you’ll certainly think of Ben Folds and maybe even Five For Fighting (with horns, without the falsetto).

“I think a big thing that helped us,” Trokan mentions in the band’s bio, “was that I took piano lessons at school and started writing songs on piano. I think that helped awaken my writing and take the songs to some places that they wouldn’t have gone if they’d all been written on guitar.”

Trokan and Mercado have been friends since God knows when up in Poughkeepsie, but it wasn’t until Trokan moved away that they started playing music in earnest together. After high school, Mercado, a guitarist, stayed close to home, while Trokan, who sang and played guitar and keys, relocated 75 miles down the Hudson River to New York City and hooked up with drummer Tomer Danan. While that was going on down in New York, Mercado was reconnecting with old chum Jeremy Phillips, who happened to play bass. Let’s see, if you’re keeping score with us at home, you’ll notice that we now have a bassist and guitarist in Poughkeepsie, and a frontman and drummer duo down in the Big Apple. From there it only takes a wireless chat or two to get the boys in Poughkeepsie to head south, and Robbers On High Street—the name comes from an early lyric—hit the New York club scene in the summer of 2002. Less than three years later, they’ve done an EP, recently released their debut CD, Tree City, played SXSW and will appear on World Café this week.

Rolling Stone calls Tree City a “smart rock debut,” and we’ll add that it’s quite fun, as well. If you’re going to Philly for the annual gathering that was once known as “Louisville,” you can see for yourself. And make sure you get them to play “Spanish Teeth,” “Love Underground” and “Amanda Green.”

Site
www.robbersonhighstreet.com

On
KCRW Santa Monica-Los Angeles
KCMP (The Current) Minneapolis
WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ (Drive 105) Minneapolis
WTMD Towsen-Baltimore
WRNR Annapolis/Baltimore
KEXP Seattle
WFPK Louisville

Press
“A smart rock debut…that churns out swaggering, citycentric ballads bolstered by wry, whip-smart lyrics and piano-driven melodies."
—Rolling Stone

“Heart-on-sleeve pop that straddles the line between John Lennon’s “Imagine” and the Rolling Stones' “Sympathy For The Devil.”
—Alternative Press (4 out of 5 stars)

Performances/Tour
The band will performing at the upcoming NON-COMMvention, Saturday night, May 21st in Philadelphia.

5/20 NYC, Webster Hall
5/22 Philadelphia, Trocadero 
5/23 Boston, Avalon Ballroom 
5/24 Northampton, Pearl Street
5/25 Lancaster, Chameleon
5/26 Cincinnati, Bogart’s
5/27 Cleveland, Beachland Ballroom
5/30 Detroit, State Theater, 89X Birthday Bash
5/31 Milwaukee, The Rave at Eagles Auditorium
6/1 Minneapolis, Quest
6/7 Boston, Bank of America Pavilion, WFNX BMP Festival
6/10 San Francisco, Cafe Du Nord
6/11 San Francisco, Hotel Utah
6/13 Los Angeles, The Avalon
6/15 Anaheim, House of Blues
6/17 Tempe, Marquee Theatre
6/18 Las Vegas, House of Blues
6/20 Denver, Ogden Theatre
6/21 Salt Lake City, Club Sound

Retail
Tree City is now in stores.

Contact
Kevin Kertes, New Line Records