For Immediate Release April 11, 2014

Relix Magazine - Live Acoustic Performance for Americana/Folk/Roots Rockers Roosevelt Dime

Performer Magazine Exclusive Video Premiere, CMT Edge

Exclusive Album Preview, Enthusiastic CD Reviews & Tour Features Run

“One of the first breakthrough independent albums of 2014”

Americana/folk/roots rockers Roosevelt Dime continue to generate attention for their acclaimed album ‘Full Head of Steam,’ and recently visited the offices of Relix Magazine for a live, acoustic performance:

RELIX MAGAZINE – Live Acoustic Performance Click to watch: http://www.relix.com/media/video/roosevelt_dime_oh_to_be

The CD, which has been described as “one of the first breakthrough independent albums of 2014,” was released last month, and the band is current on a U.S. tour (upcoming dates and recent tour preview interviews are below). Listen to streaming samples of the “infectious” collection, here: https://soundcloud.com/rooseveltdimemusic/sets/full-head-of-steam-album Other key placements include a Performer Magazine Exclusive Video Premiere, a CMT Edge Exclusive Album Preview, and rave reviews describing the new CD as having a “sense of effervescent motion, of constant but thrilling change.”

Hippo Press Weekly New Hampshire tour preview feature 4/10/2014, by Michael Witthaus http://www.hippopress.com/read-article/melting-pot-music

Melting-pot music Depending on the song, Roosevelt Dime is a throwback to another era — Leon Redbone meets Squirrel Nut Zippers — or something else altogether. The rootsy quartet does

Band-inflected Americana on “Calvary” and zydeco on “Cocaine Habit Blues” — the latter samples the Grateful Dead’s “Casey Jones.” A highlight of the just released Full Head of Steam is “Now There’s You,” a sizzling slice of Motown served up with soulful horns. Guitarist and banjo player Andrew Green met bassist/songwriter Eben Pariser at Oberlin College; the two started Roosevelt Dime after graduation. Initially, the group busked acoustically in New York City, incorporating brass and multiple harmonies partly to rise above the din. “Horns are really loud — they get people’s attention,” Green explained. “We were performing in parks and subways, and these were New Yorkers on their way home from work. If you can get them to stop, maybe even dance or tap their foot, you are really onto something.” Green grew up listening to hard rock and found his way to roots music through the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou? He cites John Hartford as a key influence. “He did everything,” Green said. “Singing, playing, soft-shoeing — an all around entertainer who could tell a joke or a story.” Green also admires Ray Charles, Otis Redding and James Brown. Each member of Roosevelt Dime brings a unique perspective. Green is a New York native, Pariser hails from Maine; horn player Seth Paris and drummer Tony Montalbano are both West Coast transplants. “We are … taking the elements of old-time music and incorporating it with soul, R&B, rock and Dixieland jazz,” Green said. “We’re not so much trying to be the guys of classic American folk tradition. We just really enjoy combining different genres to ... come up with something on our own.” They describe their music as “Kings County Steamboat Soul” — a nod to the New Orleans music so integral to its sound, and a reference to the band’s home base of Brooklyn. Their live shows are kinetic and energetic. “It’s a rustic, almost guerrilla reggae style of playing … it is a challenge to make it all gel together and program a set that feels cohesive,” Green said. The result is a melting pot of honky tonk, bluegrass, American Beauty-era Dead and Stax/Volt soul. “We expect a lot from an audience … to hear some of those influences and make their own interpretations,” Green said. “We don’t try to dumb it down for people. We treat them with respect and we are not afraid to cover a lot of ground.” The upcoming appearance at Nashua’s Simple Gifts Coffee House is the band’s first trip to New Hampshire; it’s also a release party for the new record, the band’s third studio effort. Recorded live, it updates several staples from Roosevelt Dime’s regular set list, including an eponymous theme song initially written to coincide with 2009’s Steamboat Soul. “We wanted to do something big and special for the release show, we were green at that point — no touring, no following,” said Green about the woe-is-me blues tune. “We thought we were getting good … to throw our hat in the ring, we had this idea — you need an opening song.” Another gem updated for the new album is “Down On Your Luck,” refashioned as a duet between Pariser and Molly Venter, who are now engaged and perform frequently as a duo. The other two members of Venter’s band Red Molly sing backup on the track. “We really enjoyed collaborating with them,” Green said. “They are such phenomenal singers; they can make themselves fit in any kind of context.” As seen in the April 10, 2014 issue of the Hippo.

 MAINE TODAY Tour preview interview feature - 3/2014, by Lucky Clark (see next page for article)

BROOKLYN-BASED QUARTET—ROOSEVELT DIME—HAS A MAINE CONNECTION, A BRAND NEW ALBUM… AND THEY’RE COMING BACK TO THE UCCPA ON MARCH 7TH

    For the Brooklyn-based quartet known as Roosevelt Dime—made up of Andrew Green (banjo, guitar, lead vocals), Tony Montalbano (drums, backing vocals), Seth Paris (clarinet, saxophones, backing vocals) and Eben Pariser (bass, bucket bass, lead vocals)—defining their sound is a tad difficult…they call it Steamboat Soul and it is very present on their newest CD entitled “Full Head of Steam” (a playful take on the old phrase, “full steam ahead,” by the way). They will be coming to the Unity College Centre for the Performing Arts in Unity on March 7th (for more information, folks can go online to the college’s website www.uccpa.unity.edu) and to that end, I chatted with Eben Pariser when he phoned from the road in Western Massachusetts on his way home after visiting family in Connecticut. Q: Now, as I was setting this interview up I was told that there was a Maine connection with you, correct? PARISER: Yeah, I was born in Rockport and then lived in Lincolnville all the way up through high school…I attended Camden-Rockport High School. Q: Does Roosevelt Dime get up this way often? PARISER: We’ve been coming about once a year—sometimes twice a year—for pretty much the past three or four years. Q: Where do you perform—down in Portland? PARISER: Well, the first gigs we did were actually in my hometown in Camden at the Snow Bowl—we did the Harvest Hootenanny for the first two years—and we’d come and do some of the smaller clubs in Portland. We’ve done the Unity PAC {sic} twice, so this is going to be our third time there. Q: Now, what album number is “Full Head of Steam”? PARISER: It is our third studio record—we did release a live album in there, too. Q: I had the feeling that you guys had a couple out before this one because it is so tight and confident—you know what I mean? PARISER: Yes, I do. The sound that we started crafting back in 2009, I guess, has really coalesced—this is the first time we feel like we’ve really captured the very essence of what we do, so if it’s translating that way, that makes me happy. Q: One of the aspects of the music you created on this album really appeals to me: the fact that there is a variety of sounds and styles present…I mean, more than once I heard a bit of a Little Feat-esque vibe in there, too. PARISER: Well, some of our favorite bands include The Band, Ray Charles, and Motown music; and the banjo is a big part of our sound, too, and that was heavily influenced by of course Earl Scruggs and that whole traditional bluegrass stuff, but also by John Hartford. I like to think when it comes out sounding like Little Feat or something like that it’s because—at the heart of it—we’re drawing from some of the same inspiration as a band like that but through the lens of coming up through hip-hop and hard rock and stuff, so that it has a little bit of a modern edge to it. Q: Another thing I noticed was that there was a lot of warmth and heart present in what you guys do—that can sometimes be missing nowadays. PARISER: Well, it’s gratifying to hear you say that because in a lot of ways that’s kind of our strong suit as a group. Everybody in the group brings something different to the table—it’s not contrived at all—and somehow it all manages to coexist in our sound; so “heart” would be a great way to describe it.

Q: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard it before? PARISER: We came up with our own name for it: Steamboat Soul because it’s a pure blending of traditional American folk and blues with some pretty serious bluegrass—especially with the banjo—and then with traditional New Orleans jazz and some Motown and rock. It really is a big melting pot of stuff. On this new album, too, we’ve added an electric guitar and Andrew—who plays banjo—tuned it like a banjo giving it that kind of Keith Richards’ guitar sound. We’re definitely going to continually evolve here! Q: Is there anything, Eben, that you’d like to have passed on to the readers of this “What’s Happening” article? PARISER: Well, it’s always a special pleasure for me to come back to Maine and play, and it’s exciting to see more and more people coming out to the shows. It’s also special because Maine is a small State so sometimes I recognize people from my childhood and stuff—that part is really, really nice: to reconnect with those folks. I should also say that Mainers are some of the most fantastic music appreciators I’ve ever seen—I don’t know why that is, maybe it’s the long winters or the relative isolation, but they take their music seriously and they often have amazing record collections and the independent radio in Maine is often really great. So it’s a pleasure to play for people that seem to take music so seriously, you know? More about the new CD: The first thing you notice is the ‘sound’ of their music…a milky, back-of-the-barn vibe that’s a breath of fresh air in a world of harsh, digital sleight of hand. Indeed, most of the album was recorded live to analog tape, and the dust, sweat and moonshine are palpable. Next thing that hits you is the intelligence, wit and musicianship of the band (a quartet at its core, but featuring many special guest artists,). Then the songs jump into your ears, one after another – these are Americana/folk/roots rockers that feel like ‘hits’ -- from New Orleans’ horns in “I Want Mo!”, to the dual vocals on “Down on Your Luck,” to the infectious “Crazy Bout You” – easily a centerpiece of the album. Creating foot-stomping, distinctive music is not an easy thing to pull off, and Roosevelt Dime does it repeatedly. ROOSEVELT DIME is: Andrew Green: banjo, guitar, lead vox; Eben Pariser: bass, bucket bass, lead vox; Tony Montalbano: drums, backup vox; Seth Paris: clarinet, saxophones, backup vox.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE – EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE FOR ‘CRAZY BOUT YOU’ 2/2014 By Benjamin Ricci http://performermag.com/exclusive-video-premiere-for-roosevelt-dime-crazy-bout-you/

CMT EDGE – EXCLUSIVE Q&A and ALBUM PREMIERE – ‘OH TO BE’ 1/13/2014 By Craig Shelburne http://www.cmtedge.com/2014/01/13/roosevelt-dime-turn-on-oh-to-be/

The Alternate Root - Top Ten Songs of the Week, CD Review By Danny McCloskey http://thealternateroot.com/from-the-vaults/196-our-record-collection/1945-alt-root-top-ten-songs-of-the-week-01-29-14 CD review: http://www.thealternateroot.com/rack-3/1985-rd-

fhos?Itemidindex_php?option=com_content

BLOGCRITICS – CD review http://blogcritics.org/music-review-roosevelt-dime-full-head-of-steam/ BY JACK GOODSTEIN 1/9/14 Syndicated via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and elsewhere http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/M

usic-­‐Review-­‐Roosevelt-­‐Dime-­‐Full-­‐Head-­‐of-­‐5127883.php  

SOMETHINGELSEREVIEWS – Album Preview - By Nick

DeRiso, 1/1/14 http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/01/01/roosevelt-dime-full-head-of-steam-2014/

The Record-Journal in Meriden, CT By Jim Pasinski JANUARY 5, 2014 – CD REVIEW http://jpsmusicblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/cd-review-roosevelt-dime-come-at-you.html

Upcoming Tour Dates: Saturday, April 12, 2014 Nashua, NH Simple Gifts Coffeehouse @ Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua Saturday, April 19, 2014 Wellsville, NY Roosevelt Dime CD Release @ Wellsville Creative Arts Center Saturday, April 26, 2014 Hastings-on-hudson, NY Roosevelt Dime CD Release @ Common Ground Coffeehouse Sunday, April 27, 2014 Philadelphia, PA Philly Folk Society Presents Roosevelt Dime @ Yards Brewing Company

Friday, May 2, 2014 Lancaster, PA Roosevelt Dime CD Release @ Tellus360 Saturday, May 10, 2014 Crozet, VA Claudius Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival @ Claudius Crozet Park Tour updates, here: http://rooseveltdimemusic.com/tour/ About the Band: To listen to the music of Roosevelt Dime is to take a journey through American roots music. Inspired by Appalachian string bands, Memphis soul, New Orleans dixieland, and the musical melting pot of Brooklyn which they call home, the band has forged a sound they’ve come to call Steamboat Soul. After years of thrilling audiences at festivals and venues across the country, the band has fully captured the energy and musicianship of their live performance on Full Head of Steam (2014). Andrew Green (banjo, guitar) and Eben Pariser (electric bass, gutbucket bass) met at Oberlin College and continued their musical collaboration after settling in NYC. Tony Montalbano brought his distinctive drumming to the band shortly after, and Seth Paris (clarinet, saxophone) added his background in big band and west African brass music to fill out the diverse sound. The band developed by busking in the streets and subways, where they learned what it takes to stop someone in their tracks, turn them from a stranger into a listener, from a listener into a sidewalk lindy-hopper. The community of musicians who have contributed / taken part in Roosevelt Dime over the years is an interesting part of the story. Chris Eldridge, guest guitarist on "Down on Your Luck" and "Oh To Be" is a member of the prominent folk-group Punch Brothers, and has recently been featured on T-Bone Burnett and Coen Bros' Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack. Bruce Harris, who has toured and played with the band full time for nearly 2 years is now performing in After Midnight, the Broadway musical with a big-band put together by Wynton Marsalis. Harris also regularly performs at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Guest vocals on "Down on Your Luck" feature Molly Venter and her group Red Molly, which has grown to be one of the top folk acts in the country.    It’s the writing that takes center stage and sets Roosevelt Dime apart though. With Green and Pariser penning the tunes and sharing lead vocal duties, they can conjure The Band and Dr. Dog on “Calvary” as seamlessly as Professor Longhair and Jackie Wilson on “I Want Mo!” not to mention bringing new life to the traditional songbook with a wailing version of “St. James Infirmary” and their clave-propelled “Cocaine Habit Blues.” Roosevelt Dime has been featured in The Philadelphia Folk Fest, Musikfest, No Depression, On Your Radar with WFUV’s John Platt, and official showcases at the International Folk Alliance in Memphis 2011, and Toronto 2013. Individual Band Member Bios here (worth a read!): http://www.rooseveltdimemusic.com/downloads/RooseveltDimebios.pdf

The New Haven Register recently ran a tour preview feature: http://www.nhregister.com/arts-and-entertainment/20131205/ct-folk-welcomes-roosevelt-dime-to-first-presbyterian-church-friday

Visit: http://rooseveltdimemusic.com/

For more information about Roosevelt Dime, or for a review copy of their new cd, contact sethcohenpr@earthlink.net. www.sethcohenpr.com