Artist Profile: Broke City of Salt Lake City Indie Scene
SLC Band is Rich in Songs, an Interview with Robb, Drummer for Broke City
Apr 29, 2009
Broke City drummer Rob 's voice on the phone sounds as crisp as the Rocky Mountain air, his scenery as he and his band mate's drive back home.
Home is Salt Lake City to this alternative rock trio that sounds like Kean, but offers several more layers and more engaging lyrics.
"[Broke City] really started as Joel and I as an acoustic duo," Rob said. "Joel had this crazy, Frankenstein-like guitar and we just played local shows. He would sleep on my couch, it seemed fitting that we would use 'broke' in our name because of our situation. "
As Broke City embarks on its spring 2009 tour, visiting predominantly West Coast venues, engaging its audience and garnering new fans through an increase song output - an interesting take on a society newly embracing such sites as Twitter.
"We want to record new music on the road, and when we return and constantly provide new songs - not wait until a new record," he said. The goal is to release one new album every six months, all the while putting out new music from the road.
Broke City's debut effort "Love is Never Enough" in 2004, and have since generously produced worthy follow-ups including 2006's "The Answer." Released through Maverick Records, "The Answer", features 13-tracks of solid rock songs that move this band to a new level-one beyond contemporary Emo rock.
Song Writing
The band works as a team to create each song, but Joel is often the starting point.
"Most of the time the writing process is Joel at his computer," Rob said. "He'll send me a copy with a rough drum cut. We try to structure it down."
Melting the styles and influences of each band member is challenging, but the results speak loudly.
"We all have very diverse backgrounds," Rob said. "Brad's heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails. Joel is really into the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'm really into Howard Jones and Dave Matthews Band."
Robb said that the band's current writing is producing a different vibe.
"I like them all - lately we've been messing around with electronic type of stuff - lately that's been really fun. It's got a Queen-Jellyfish vibe to it," he said.
Musical Roots
Besides the influence of the Dave Matthews Band on Rob, his musical journey also stems from his older brother-also a drummer.
"His drum set was in my room," Rob laughs, adding that he grew up in Idaho, but moved to Salt Lake City nearly a decade ago. "I would love just watching him practice."
As he explored drum styles, Carter Beauford, of the Dave Matthews Band, became an increasingly strong presence in the budding artist's world.
"I watched every video and wanted to be able to sing drum lines like him," he said. "He was a huge influence on me.
"I don't even know what I would be doing if it weren't for music."
Broke City
Broke City has two main websites: www.brokecity.com and www.myspace.com/brokecity. To date, Broke City has released "Love is Never Enough" (2004), "This Could Be Your Life" (2005) and "The Answer" (2006). After Maverick Records closed, Broke City continues to push its artistic limits. In December 2008, Broke City was named Best Unsigned Band in the USA by The Global Battle of the Bands.
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