Roost jams out with diverse style

Drummer and guitarist seeking other players to form serious band. Inquire within.

That was the gist of the Internet message board post that Bert McDonald and Jeff Cutler read last spring. The guitarist and bass player, respectively, had been playing together since age 10, when they hung out after school at Messalonskee Middle School and played Nirvana covers. Now both 22 and students at the University of Maine, they wanted to do something serious.

They met up with the authors of the e-mail, Aaron Mollah and Paul Stratton, and two weeks later the four were members of the newly named Roost, and had some original songs already written. A few weeks after that, they placed second at a battle of the bands at UMaine. Now they play every Thursday at the Blues Caf? in Orono, and are opening for Reid Genauer and Assembly of Dust, a major roots-rock band, at Ushuaia next month. Easy-peasy, huh?

“We knew we wanted to do something bigger. We wanted to focus on music and be serious,” said McDonald. “We can’t expect things to happen overnight, but we are definitely striving for bigger and better things. Opening for Reid Genauer within a year is huge. To be able to share a stage with him is amazing. He’s not Led Zeppelin, but it’s still really cool.”

Fortunately, when you’ve got talent, a work ethic and venues to play in, it’s usually fairly easy. With a growing fan base in the Greater Bangor region, Roost is happy to simply play lots of gigs in the area for now. Judging from the throngs of smiley-faced, dancing hippies at most of their shows, you’d probably classify them a jam band.

“Honestly, we kind of cringe when we hear someone call us a jam band,” said McDonald. “I have no shame in saying that I like a lot of jam bands, but we all come from very diverse background, musically.”

Stratton, a 25-year-old Hampden native, attended the University of Maine at Augusta and studied guitar in the school’s renowned jazz and contemporary music program. After that, he studied sound engineering at the New England School of Communications. Mollah, a 29-year-old longtime drummer originally from California, has played in bands all his life, and counts groups like the Pixies and Sunny Day Real Estate as favorites. Both are now settled in Orono.

“We have three different writers for the band. I write some more straightforward roots rock kind of songs,” said McDonald. “Paul seems like he has a funky, jazz thing built right into his fingers. It’s very unique. But Jeff is very blues-influenced. So we’re all over the place.”

It’s that diversity of influences that sets them apart from the typical college jam band. And it’s here that I have to admit to something that makes me look bad, but makes them look really good.

I recently caught a Roost gig at the Blues Caf?, where the band played mostly originals and one well-timed Doobie Brothers cover to a packed house. Toward the end of the night they launched into a reggae-tinged song with an incredible sing-along chorus. I thought to myself, “This must be another cover. I don’t recognize this song, but it’s excellent. Can these guys, who’ve barely been together a year, have written this?”

“Nope, that was us. It’s called ‘Breakdown’,” said McDonald. “We only try to play one cover a night.”

Oh me of little faith. But, I am very, very happy to be proved wrong, because it’s just one more great band coming out of eastern Maine.

Roost will play Saturday at the Blues Caf? in Orono. The band also plays a weekly gig at the Blues Caf? every Thursday. For information, visit www.roostjam.com. If your band is playing somewhere in the area, tell Emily about it by emailing her at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.