Roosevelt Dime

"Pensive banjo and tender trumpet stroll alongside warm gospel harmonies."
Elmore Magazine (March/April 2011, Issue #43) - Elmore Magazine

"Pensive banjo and tender trumpet stroll alongside warm gospel harmonies."
Elmore Magazine (March/April 2011, Issue #43) - Elmore Magazine

ONE TO RECORD FOR 2011: ROOSEVELT DIME

Before AMP's & 808's reveals our 'One To Record' for 2011, first a little back story. It was early evening on an even earlier November in midtown Manhattan. I was just an English tourist heading to the Penn St subway, disappointed that the Knick game I booked tickets for was 'rained off'. This was the first time this has happened in the NBA in 14 years and the one time this basketball mad, British boy would have a chance to see the mecca of basketball. Still everything happens for a reason. Winding through the underground staircases and mazes of commuters, I heard one of my favourite songs ring out from the first line as if it was meant to be, "If you ever change your mind/about leaving, leaving me behind". It was Sam Cooke's, 'Bring It On Home To Me', an epic, classic soul record. A song I've loved ever since I heard the iconic 'Harlem Square Club' live version portrayed on the opening montage of the Will Smith, classic movie, 'Ali'. The sound I was following was different to David Elliott's portrayal however... and better. Trying to catch a glance through the crowds of people filming on their phones or memory banks, I saw five guys dressed to the nines, playing every instrument imaginable (and anything that can be used as bass). Then my attention shifted to the cool logo on the drum set and and even better name,'Roosevelt Dime'.

If you've seen the talent that lines New York subways from The Bronx to Staten Island, then be prepared, because you aint seen nothing like this Brooklyn act. This group are so talented and gifted taking you from Mississippi right back to Harlem Square. If you've heard you will have checked them out by now, but if your listening, you should really tune in. With some great records available for sale ('Wishing Well EP', 'Crooked Roots' and 'Live At The Kings County Opry' (where Sam can be found)) and more coming soon ('Steamboat Soul'), billboards or your best offer this band already have great music out there. Awaking the classic, look and feel of every note from bluegrass to folk, to country and Motown, this band really are the roots of great music. Their presidential sound couldn't be more distinctly American. I mean real America, and remember I'm just a tourist. You should take a journey two, from the beautiful banjo of 'East Virginia Blues' to the out of this world, timeless qualities of 'Man On The Moon' and every port of call in between. One way or another this band are going to make it. Their songs are unimaginably original and definite. They may be playing a few stops from Times Square right now, but soon their name's will be in similair lights. You can bet your last dime on that. TIM DAVID HARVEY. - AMP's & 808's

ONE TO RECORD FOR 2011: ROOSEVELT DIME

Before AMP's & 808's reveals our 'One To Record' for 2011, first a little back story. It was early evening on an even earlier November in midtown Manhattan. I was just an English tourist heading to the Penn St subway, disappointed that the Knick game I booked tickets for was 'rained off'. This was the first time this has happened in the NBA in 14 years and the one time this basketball mad, British boy would have a chance to see the mecca of basketball. Still everything happens for a reason. Winding through the underground staircases and mazes of commuters, I heard one of my favourite songs ring out from the first line as if it was meant to be, "If you ever change your mind/about leaving, leaving me behind". It was Sam Cooke's, 'Bring It On Home To Me', an epic, classic soul record. A song I've loved ever since I heard the iconic 'Harlem Square Club' live version portrayed on the opening montage of the Will Smith, classic movie, 'Ali'. The sound I was following was different to David Elliott's portrayal however... and better. Trying to catch a glance through the crowds of people filming on their phones or memory banks, I saw five guys dressed to the nines, playing every instrument imaginable (and anything that can be used as bass). Then my attention shifted to the cool logo on the drum set and and even better name,'Roosevelt Dime'.

If you've seen the talent that lines New York subways from The Bronx to Staten Island, then be prepared, because you aint seen nothing like this Brooklyn act. This group are so talented and gifted taking you from Mississippi right back to Harlem Square. If you've heard you will have checked them out by now, but if your listening, you should really tune in. With some great records available for sale ('Wishing Well EP', 'Crooked Roots' and 'Live At The Kings County Opry' (where Sam can be found)) and more coming soon ('Steamboat Soul'), billboards or your best offer this band already have great music out there. Awaking the classic, look and feel of every note from bluegrass to folk, to country and Motown, this band really are the roots of great music. Their presidential sound couldn't be more distinctly American. I mean real America, and remember I'm just a tourist. You should take a journey two, from the beautiful banjo of 'East Virginia Blues' to the out of this world, timeless qualities of 'Man On The Moon' and every port of call in between. One way or another this band are going to make it. Their songs are unimaginably original and definite. They may be playing a few stops from Times Square right now, but soon their name's will be in similair lights. You can bet your last dime on that. TIM DAVID HARVEY. - AMP's & 808's

How’s this for a fresh, fun, and highly delightful betcha-never-heard-nuthin’-like-this-before handy dandy musical combo: a five piece Brooklyn, New York band that deftly blend lively and tasty elements of jubilant acoustic jugband blues, funky Motown soul, and hip modern alternative country into a breezy and soothing sonic brew that’s both thrilling and flavorsome in equal measure. You just gotta love how the drawling vocals are neatly countered by groovy blurting horns and a homey pluckin’ banjo. The exuberant melodies richly evoke the merry ol’ days of Dixieland swing and steamboats lazily coasting down the Mississippi river on a fine bright summer day. The songs are supremely bluesy and countryish, with sweet lyrics and harmonic arrangements keeping things pleasant and engaging throughout. An absolute treat. - Jersey Beat

Everyone’s a critic. Especially when you’re a band trying to figure out your sound and make a living at the same time, and you’re playing on street corners and in parks in New York City. When someone on their morning commute or trying to make the train on time passes you buy, you’d better be playing something they can dig — or else they will let you know that they do not like you.

Fortunately for the band Roosevelt Dime, playing on the street proved the best training ground possible, as the New York five-piece combined their diverse musical backgrounds and outgoing personalities into one unique, imaginative sound and performance style.

Dubbing themselves “steamboat soul,” Roosevelt Dime plays a little bluegrass, a little Dixieland jazz, a little swing, a little old school soul music, and a little folk-pop — but sound like nobody but themselves. The band will play at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Harvest Hootenanny at the Camden Snowbowl, along with a number of other groups.

“It wasn’t a concerted effort to play the kind of music we do, like we’d take some of this and some of that. Each of us added something to the table,” said Andrew Green, banjo player. “I’m into bluegrass. Eben [Pariser] has a really strong background in it as well. Tony [Montalbano], our drummer, played jazz, and he loves old soul music. And our horns often get the Dixieland swing thing all the time. So it was the right combo of people. It was an organic process.”

Green, bass player Pariser (who grew up in Lincolnville), drummer Montalbano, woodwind player Seth Paris and trumpeter Hardin Butcher have been playing together since early 2008. Green and Pariser were college friends, and met Montalbano, Paris and Butcher while playing music out and about in their adopted home of Brooklyn. Over the summer of 2008, the five haunted Union Square in Manhattan and street corners around the boroughs, playing wherever anyone would listen.

“The feedback we got from crowds was so enormously informative,” said Pariser. “The trick of it all, I think, was putting it together in a way that would catch everyone’s attention. We’d have bikers and bums and kids and grandmas. Everyone. Young, old, black, white. People really got into it. And we took the time to really hone our sound.”

Playing on the street has its drawbacks — depending on their mood, cops would either let Roosevelt Dime play to their hearts content, or would tell them to stop. The band now has their city-issued license to play in the Sub-way, and their reputation is such that they have more fans than foes.

Last year, the group transitioned from being an almost entirely street-only band to touring around the country, playing clubs and festivals. In a structured setting, the band utilizes electric instruments and a tighter sound — though they can transition out of that into a looser street setting with great ease, nowadays.

“We can go back and forth between the two really easily,” said Green. “We can start with a really lose New Or-leans swing, and end up doing more electric Chicago blues. We’ve reached that point where we can flow in be-tween the two.”

They’re also getting ready to release a new album, the aptly titled “Steamboat Soul,” which is available right now only at their live shows, but will be available online in the coming weeks. At the moment, you can download an EP titled “Wishing Well” from their web site, www.rooseveltdimemusic.com.

Regardless of whether they’re playing a concert or playing in a crowded Subway, there’s a kind of relaxed charm to the music Roosevelt Dime makes. It’s steeped in the music of pre-war America, from New Orleans, Chicago and St. Louis. But it’s also a totally 21st century blend of genres — the kind of no-holds-barred cross-pollination of genres that is accessible to all kinds of people. That fact that they’re excellent musicians and very nice guys is just icing on the cake.

The Harvest Hootenanny, set for 12-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Camden Snowbowl, will feature the music of the Mallet Brothers Band, Gypsy Tailwind, Wyatt MacLean, Lisa Redfern, the Breezemere Bottom Boys, and Roosevelt Dime, who will take the stage at 4 p.m. Admission to the event is $9. For information, call 236-9800. - Bangor Daily News

I must need to have my ears cleaned. Seems like every time I pick up an album with influences from the past, I hear something no one else seems to hear. I figure there has to be a ball of wax the size of a softball on each side because by the time the music gets to the eardrum, it isn't what other people say. Oh, a little bit, maybe, but not really all that close. Roosevelt's biography says the band is often compared to The Band and Old Crow Medicine Show. Yeah, I suppose so, but only in bits and pieces and, truth be told, there are other comparisons out there which would be closer. Well, to me anyway.

I get the reference to Old Crow. I would toss in Hogwaller Ramblers, Hackensaw Boys and Yonder Mountain, too, but I have this attachment to Charlottesville and Colorado which warps my sense of reality, so take that for what it's worth. There is that sense of old-timey and mountain music which is undeniable. There is also the constant nod to early 20th Century "street music", be it New Orleans jazz or St. Louis blues or any of the other many styles which carried us from Stephen Foster to the forties and fifties. Thing is, Roosevelt Dime is so good at working old styles into theirs, those influences are plain hard to separate. If that is a backhanded way of saying that these guys are good, I can live with that. They are good. In places, they are damn good.

The thing that I really love about them is their penchant toward the sixties and early seventies San Francisco sound. No, not the psychedelic jam or free form rock side, but the side not necessarily even attached to the SF era, though there they were. I'm talking Dan Hicks' Charlatans, very early Clover (before their move to the UK) and Sopwith Camel. Granted, these bands looked back while looking forward and they did have that old-timey aura about them, but I found (and find) that appealing.

The cool thing about those bands and Roosevelt Dime is that they do what they do so well that eventually you stop listening to the instrumentation and listen to the song. Banjo? Bass? Drums? Brass? It doesn't matter when you get to a certain point, I suppose. I listened numerous times, trying to dissect the New Orleans and St. Louis influences, debating over the horns (parts are out of pre-Stax Memphis and parts are straight off the streets of N.O.—all arranged aptly by RD's Eben Pariser, if we can trust the liner notes, struggling to hear influences which may or may not be there. Finally I lay back out of pure frustration, closed my eyes and let the music roll and suddenly found myself really enjoying Crooked Roots. Man On the Moon and Good Man Do in my mind began morphing toward Sopwith Camel (Their The Miraculous Hump Returns From the Moon still gets regular airplay at my house), Crooked Roots and Be This Way and Down the Line toward Clover (pre-Huey Lewis), with the smallest hint of the old Charlatans sound livening things up here and there. And you know that old R&R/Gospel/Hillbilly style Elvis would throw out every once in awhile? If Elvis had recorded Still So Blue, no one would have batted an eye. Even the lyrics are straight out of the late fifties and early sixties.

I wish I could come up with a comparison to Black & Gold as well, but for some reason, my mind won't allow it. It's a backwoods roots-rocker with uillean pipes offsetting the banjo and pedal steel—a dancing tune if ever there was one. Play this at the pub and the whole crowd will be clogging.

I owe the band an apology somewhere and it might as well be here. I sat on this album for a few months while working my way through the damnedest white sheet syndrome I've ever experienced. I should have posted this long ago. The bad news and good news is that this is not the latest Roosevelt Dime album. While I was beating my head against the wall they slipped another release onto the streets called Steamboat Soul and not only do I find myself playing catch-up, the guilt weighs heavily on me. It doesn't affect my judgment, though, and you can bet I will get caught up (or die trying). Suffice it to say that I am totally behind Crooked Roots (stop by their MySpace page and give it a listen) and am really looking forward to hearing a little Steamboat Soul.

Hey, you really want to know what kind of music this is? I would have a cup of coffee with any lady who gets what these guys do. There is something about this music which attracts the best people. I have no idea why. - Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

Although they reside in Brooklyn, New York...after hearing their music you'd swear the guys in Roosevelt Dime were residents of New Orleans. Modern Music For Old Souls is a jolt from another time zone. Instead of playing the latest cool style of modern slop, the guys in this band play ragtime pop that has a great deal in common with artists from the 1930s and 1940s. The songs feature bouncy rhythms, banjo, and horns...and plenty of great singalong vocals. Nothing but upbeat feelgood tracks here. We'd be willing to bet that these guys are a total crowd pleaser in concert... - babysue

Although they reside in Brooklyn, New York...after hearing their music you'd swear the guys in Roosevelt Dime were residents of New Orleans. Modern Music For Old Souls is a jolt from another time zone. Instead of playing the latest cool style of modern slop, the guys in this band play ragtime pop that has a great deal in common with artists from the 1930s and 1940s. The songs feature bouncy rhythms, banjo, and horns...and plenty of great singalong vocals. Nothing but upbeat feelgood tracks here. We'd be willing to bet that these guys are a total crowd pleaser in concert... - babysue

Like a breath of fresh air Roosevelt Dime's new album STEAMBOAT SOUL comes at a time when we could all do with a little bit of New Orleans spark and glow. Following their impressive debut CROOKED ROOTS (2009) this new album evokes the spirit of New Orleans and the Mississippi River, incorporating the less than expected instrumentation of banjo, bass, drums and a variety of brass and woodwind, together with five fine voices. Subtitled Modern Music for Old Souls, which could just as easily have been Old Music for New Souls, the album comes across as a sort of cross between Dixieland jazz and bluegrass, with an immediately accessible sense of melody, possibly from the additional influence of the jugband tradition crossed with Motown dance music.

The Dada-inspired artwork reflects what might have been happening artistically in contemporary Zürich during the 1920s but the music is very much centred around the Deep South at roughly the same time. Then there's the distinctive relationship to the music of The Band, the late 1960s undisputed giants of the yet to be coined Americana, which all possibly goes toward making the music of Roosevelt Dime feel quite unique.

For a New York-based outfit, Roosevelt Dime, named after the coin produced shortly after the death of America's 32nd President, evokes the spirit of New Orleans and the Mississippi River remarkably well for a group of musicians from Brooklyn. With Hardin Butcher on trumpet and cornet, Eben Pariser on bass, Seth Paris on clarinet and saxophone, Andrew Green on banjo and Tony Montalbano on drums, Roosevelt Dime have all the ingredients to shake up any party.

Opening with the jaunty Simple Man, the album meanders along the Mississippi taking in all the music from the riverboats, the basement jazz bars, the bourbon-soaked street corners of the French Quarter, resplendent in their wrought iron Creole magnificence and streetcar charm and all this from a band who turned Radiohead's High and Dry into a late night Honky Tonk smooch classic on their debut album.

Whilst Wishing Well quite rightly deserves to be the single from this album, with its feelgood groove, incorporating everything that made good the collaboration between Van Morrison and The Band way back in the Last Waltz days, You Have to Pay ventures more into the spirit of Charlie Mingus, with its less constrained freer jazz approach.

The Dixieland aspect manifests itself frequently but it has a vibrancy that is not immediately recognisable in straight trad jazz. Watta Shame sound like it was recorded live whilst the audience tucks into jambalaya and catfish; that sort of immediacy. The slower more sensitive songs are handled with equal respect, with a soulful feel such as the tenderly orchestrated Long Long Time.

The band have been causing quite a stir by playing shows up and down the U.S. East Coast, including headlining slots at the Oberlin Folk Festival in Ohio and the Delmarva Folk Festival in Delaware. In a perfect world, Roosevelt Dime should have already broken through to the mainstream with their debut album. With a second album of such high standard of musicianship and credibility, together with a considerable fanbase, most of whom contributed to the making of this album via Kickstarter.com, it might not be long before Roosevelt Dime finally make their mark, and not before time.

Allan Wilkinson
Northern Sky - Northern Sky

Like a breath of fresh air Roosevelt Dime's new album STEAMBOAT SOUL comes at a time when we could all do with a little bit of New Orleans spark and glow. Following their impressive debut CROOKED ROOTS (2009) this new album evokes the spirit of New Orleans and the Mississippi River, incorporating the less than expected instrumentation of banjo, bass, drums and a variety of brass and woodwind, together with five fine voices. Subtitled Modern Music for Old Souls, which could just as easily have been Old Music for New Souls, the album comes across as a sort of cross between Dixieland jazz and bluegrass, with an immediately accessible sense of melody, possibly from the additional influence of the jugband tradition crossed with Motown dance music.

The Dada-inspired artwork reflects what might have been happening artistically in contemporary Zürich during the 1920s but the music is very much centred around the Deep South at roughly the same time. Then there's the distinctive relationship to the music of The Band, the late 1960s undisputed giants of the yet to be coined Americana, which all possibly goes toward making the music of Roosevelt Dime feel quite unique.

For a New York-based outfit, Roosevelt Dime, named after the coin produced shortly after the death of America's 32nd President, evokes the spirit of New Orleans and the Mississippi River remarkably well for a group of musicians from Brooklyn. With Hardin Butcher on trumpet and cornet, Eben Pariser on bass, Seth Paris on clarinet and saxophone, Andrew Green on banjo and Tony Montalbano on drums, Roosevelt Dime have all the ingredients to shake up any party.

Opening with the jaunty Simple Man, the album meanders along the Mississippi taking in all the music from the riverboats, the basement jazz bars, the bourbon-soaked street corners of the French Quarter, resplendent in their wrought iron Creole magnificence and streetcar charm and all this from a band who turned Radiohead's High and Dry into a late night Honky Tonk smooch classic on their debut album.

Whilst Wishing Well quite rightly deserves to be the single from this album, with its feelgood groove, incorporating everything that made good the collaboration between Van Morrison and The Band way back in the Last Waltz days, You Have to Pay ventures more into the spirit of Charlie Mingus, with its less constrained freer jazz approach.

The Dixieland aspect manifests itself frequently but it has a vibrancy that is not immediately recognisable in straight trad jazz. Watta Shame sound like it was recorded live whilst the audience tucks into jambalaya and catfish; that sort of immediacy. The slower more sensitive songs are handled with equal respect, with a soulful feel such as the tenderly orchestrated Long Long Time.

The band have been causing quite a stir by playing shows up and down the U.S. East Coast, including headlining slots at the Oberlin Folk Festival in Ohio and the Delmarva Folk Festival in Delaware. In a perfect world, Roosevelt Dime should have already broken through to the mainstream with their debut album. With a second album of such high standard of musicianship and credibility, together with a considerable fanbase, most of whom contributed to the making of this album via Kickstarter.com, it might not be long before Roosevelt Dime finally make their mark, and not before time.

Allan Wilkinson
Northern Sky - Northern Sky

Take some time with Roosevelt Dime. You’ll be glad you did. They deliver good-time, soul-touching music that makes you feel alive. Their first full album ‘Steamboat Soul’ breaks out this Autumn (Fall if you’re from across The Pond) and showcases their eclectic mix of styles, blend of instruments and collective musical energies that create a highly-infectious mix.

They call their music ‘’King’s County Steamboat Soul’ – fair enough; there’s a powerful touch of soul and more than a nod in the direction of a Mississippi steamboat band. There’s also a concoction of folk and acoustic, a touch of jug-band bounce and some truly mournful blues. And it’s all wrapped in an up-to-date take that fits perfectly with its heritage. The five-piece, Brooklyn-based Roosevelt Dime are Andrew Green (banjo, vocals) Eben Pariser (bass, vocals) Tony Montalbano (drums, percussion, vocals) Seth Paris (clarinet, saxophone, vocals) and Hardin Butcher (trumpet, cornet, vocals).

The tracks on Steamboat Soul take you on a journey through ‘deeply moving, soulful longings’ to ‘high-energy foot-stamping drive’. From the opening thump of ‘Simple Man’ through the gently soothing ‘Wishing Well’ and the yearning ‘Helpless’ to the feverish energy of ‘Diggin’ Song’ this is a journey of discovery. Stick with them on the journey you’ll find their unique sound powers through your ears and refuses to fade away.

This is music that alternates between being smooth as premier bourbon and abrasive as blacktop chippings. You have the mood - they have music to match. Buy this album and you’ll soon catch the Roosevelt Dime bug and you’ll be pleased that you have. - FolkWords

Imagine yourself relaxing on a steamboat as it lazily floats down the Mississippi River all the way to The Big Easy. Suddenly, the band strikes up a tune, music fills the air and everyone is on their feet, clapping, dancing and singing along.

And so we welcome you to the world of Roosevelt Dime, a five-piece, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based band that blends elements of acoustic jug-band blues, classic Motown soul and modern alt-country to create an original sound best described as King’s County Steamboat Soul. The band’s non traditional lineup — consisting of banjo, electric or washtub bass, percussion, trumpet/cornet and woodwinds — gives them a pretty unique and engrossing sound.

New album, Steamboat Soul, is due in the fall (or more correctly, the autumn). Try a couple of tracks and see what you think.

Visit their MySpace here.

Download Roosevelt Dime – Wishing Well mp3 (from Steamboat Soul)

Download Roosevelt Dime – Temperance mp3 (from Steamboat Soul) - The Mad Mackerel

Imagine a classic boat with a large paddlewheel, enjoying a delicious drink as you steam quietly down the river towards New Orleans. Suddenly a band starts up that makes you shuffle your feet. Welcome to the world of Roosevelt Dime, a band you’re as likely to find on a steamer, in a park, or on the street corner. The band has an instrumental variable occupation of clarinet, trumpet, cornet, banjo, saxophone, upright bass, and drums. The group of five experienced musicians gives the listener a refreshing perspective on the American heritage of Dixie Swing, Jug, Memphis soul, Country, and Blues. The CD, "Steamboat Soul", came about after many generous donations from music lovers and fans of Roosevelt Dime. The stated goal of $ 5,000 was largely exceeded. This sequel to their debut album, "Crooked Roots", is irresistible.

From the first sounds of ‘Simple Man’, “Steamboat Soul” drags you into its enthusiastic and infectious rhythms. The band plays acoustic, energetic, and exciting music. The gentlemen on this album sound so disarming, it is not immediately noticeable how virtuosic these guys are. The band is at their best when the accelerator is down (Slow Your Roll and Whatta Shame) in songs where the trumpet, banjo and clarinet fight for priority. Even the more subdued songs like Helpless and Long Long Time know they have it without trying to overpower. The sparkling, strong and solid group interplay of New York based Roosevelt Dime’s "Steamboat Soul" is again proof that great music is alive and immortal. - altcountryforum.nl (translated by Willem Fadrhonc)

[Steamboat Soul] is a great body of work. And it's hard to classify because it's soulful, it's funky, it's New Orleans jazz, it's vaudevillian, it's humorous and it's deep all at the same time. - Chris Darling, WMPG radio in Portland, ME

Voodoo Dixie Country Soul, that's how a Belle Harbor native describes his band and their unique sound.

Roosevelt Dime is based in Brooklyn, but their lead singer, Andrew green, has deep Rockaway roots.

The band's sound is heavily influenced by the basics of bluegrass, but it incorporates aspects of folk, blues, rock and some country. Mix that in a blender and you have Roosevelt Dime's distinctive sound. With Green on banjo, Eben Pariser playing bass and Tony Montalbano on drums, their music combines the sounds of old Americana with modern pop and alternative country.

When originally formed in 2006, the trio decided to take a chance on making rock inspired banjo music. Green admits it was an odd setup at first, but once they started creating music and playing shows, their sound quickly began to take shape. In March 2008, they decided it was time to put together an album to showcase their unique brand of music.

The album "Crooked Roots," was recently released independently. An album release party will be held on March 19 at Grasslands in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "The first wave of feedback is so positive, inspiring and extremely exciting," Green said. "There was so much effort and love and it's great that people are appreciating our music."

Green, who began playing guitar at the age of 13 while living in Belle Harbor, says music was always a part of his family. "I would listen to my parents playing mostly Beatles music. They got it all going for me," he said. "Everyone in my family was involved in music."

Although he currently lives in Brooklyn, Green still calls Rockaway home.

"In Rockaway, the beach is the first thing that comes to mind, because growing up here, there was never too much of a music scene," he said. "But as far as Rockaway goes, it will always come down to the summers on the beach. People can't believe how nice it is when they see it. I always push people to take advantage of what I think is the crown jewel of New York City."

Green thinks the outlook for Roosevelt Dime is bright; they are already talking about ideas for their second album. However, he remains realistic about their chances of success in the always competitive New York City music scene, where Green says, on any given night you can walk into a club and hear great music of any genre.

"I know we won't go to top of charts with this type of music, but in the city there is a strong interest for it. Therefore, we hope to one day bring it to a nationwide and maybe even a worldwide audience," Green said. "We do have a unique enough sound and are thinking about staying in this for the long haul and will continue to make our music." Roosevelt Dime plans on playing more shows throughout the city to support the new album and stand out among the other countless acts in New York City.

"It is tough doing gigs in the city and competing so much," he said. "But I believe we have really solid product to stand behind which will help us bring our music to a wider audience."

Information about Roosevelt Dime and upcoming shows and can be found on their Myspace page at myspace. com/rooseveltdimemusic. - The Wave

Most bands have to land gigs before they can perform for an audience, but Fort Greene’s Roosevelt Dime takes matters into their own hands. They regularly play on the street and perform in public places around the city, from the Brooklyn Flea to Union Square.

A perpetual crowd-pleaser, Roosevelt Dime often has commuters soulfully stomping their feet in the subway and passersby lindy-hopping in the park. The band’s style is an amalgam of American folk, blue grass and Memphis soul — a unique musical style fostered by feedback from their audiences and fans.

In addition to festival appearances around the country this summer, these Brooklynites will be playing a brunch show at Madiba on June 13. Check out their calendar and Facebook page for other local performances. The band’s newest album, Steamboat Soul, comes out later this summer. See above for a video performance exclusive to The Local.

Q. How would you define your style?

Eben Pariser: We call us “Kings County Steamboat Soul.” Our music is like a steamboat ride from Appalachia all the way down to the Big Easy and the Gulf of Mexico.

Hardin Butcher: There are a lot of freight train references in American folk music, but we have a different, lazier feel.

Q. How does living and working in Brooklyn shape your music?

EP: Stylistically we draw from everywhere, but ultimately our music is a Brooklyn thing. It’s infected with the energy, urgency and attitude of the city, and also the diversity of this borough.

Seth Paris: The great thing about being Brooklyn-based professional musicians is that we are each involved in playing music for other groups, and these experiences inform what we do creatively.

Q. What other types of bands do you play for?

HB: Outside of Roosevelt Dime, the five of us play Broadway, big-band, southern rock, African-inspired music, and even a Grateful Dead cover band.

Q. Where do you perform?

SP: This last year, we really cut our teeth playing American folk music on the street. We began busking [performing in public spaces] at the Brooklyn Flea last year, and since then we’ve played in Union Square, Washington Square Park, Central Park and tons of other places.

Andrew Green: We were also just awarded a MUNY permit to play in the NYC Subways.

Q. Some of your music has a Depression-era feel. Can you talk about this stylistic choice?

AG: We have our eye toward that style, but we’re not preservationists or traditionalists. We capture elements of these older styles and filter them through our own lens.

HB: the Prohibition-era style speaks to a time when nobody had jobs, and that’s kind of how it is for musicians these days. A different way that bands get heard is by taking the reins in their own hands and doing whatever they want and need. We do just fine playing at Union Square. - The New York Times

Speaking of NYC, the recent trend towards upbeat, earnest neo-applachian roots music from Brooklyn continues with the strong debut of Roosevelt Dime, who released Crooked Roots just last week. They call it “rock-inspired banjo music”, and I suppose there is something of a slightly less confessional Avett Brothers sound buried in there somewhere, but there’s also a lot more diversity, from the funky acoustic beat and fuzzed, old-timey vocals of web-only track NuNu (Sweet Love) to the jazzpop rhythms of Rants & Raves to the electrictrified banjo jam of Good Man Do.

And then there’s this wonderfully delicate, just-ragged-enough newgrass ballad of a Radiohead cover, which sold me immediately. - Cover Lay Down

Sporting an unconventional core line-up of banjo, electric bass and drums that wanders down the line marked both traditional and modern come this Brooklyn-ite trio. With the welcome inclusion of horns, slide guitar, rich harmonies and an ear for a classic Band-alike groove and melody throughout this debut, Roosevelt Dime sound like they’re from somewhere far more open, lush, green and mountainous than downtown Brooklyn.

The rootsy acoustic arrangements and instrument choices give an authentic spacious sound, but added to that is a definite alt-country/indie sensibility. Hinted at on the soft smoulder and self-regarding, humorous angst of ‘Rants & Raves’, and rather hammered home on a superfluous, if curious, countrified romp through Radiohead’s ‘High & Dry’.

Their own songs are strong on melody and good humour, and delivered with a diversity and skill perhaps best displayed on the fantastically buoyant title-track that suddenly shifts up and down gears from a country soul swagger The Band would be perfectly content with, before swaying into a 70s-Kinks style showtime chorus.

Quietly unconventional but utilising the reassuringly familiar, they seem completely at home mixing these styles up naturally and coming out the other end with something that’s quite their own. - Americana UK

The bluegrass rhythms and playful horns of Brooklyn-based band Roosevelt Dime made for an entertaining Sunday night at the Bullfrog Brewery, 229 W. Fourth St. And when Eben Pariser began playing a washtub bass, the fun factor went through the roof.

Besides the joyride, what made the experience memorable was the potent vocals provided - at different times through the night - by each member of the band.

The ensemble vocals keep you on your toes. When a song begins, the first few seconds are spent scanning the faces of the members to see who's singing - a fact that momentarily disorients the listener before he or she can settle into the song.

But once the listener settles, he or she is in for a good time.

Whether it's Pariser, banjoist Andrew Green, trumpeter-coronetist Hardin Butcher, saxophonist-clarinetist Seth Paris or drummer Tony Montalbano singing, the vocals always sit well in or behind the music with just the right touch of emotional gravity.

And isn't that usually the mark of good bands and musicians? Think of Neil Young - even when his compositions feel too slight and his ideas too loose - the innate gravity of his voice and the sincerity of his delivery keep you captivated.

Well, Roosevelt's tunes certainly aren't feeble - and even though compositional nuance is something that's difficult to assess at a live show, the sheer muscle of the band's sound won't leave you looking for cracks. It puts your inner critic to sleep, allowing you to just enjoy the music.

One thing that does come through, however, is the patience and precision of the band members. During one tune, I watched Paris hold his clarinet against his brilliant, orange sweater, waiting for his moment to wail.

To see a musician standing so still and listening so closely amidst the clamoring of his bandmates is a revelatory experience. Then, when his cue finally came, he let it rip and jammed his sound up against Butcher's trumpet, creating a sonic blast. - The Williamsport Sun-Gazette