Tucked away behind the bar at 9th Street Espresso on Manhattan's lower East Side, you will find Rob Overby: dispenser of coffee, admitted Britney and Christina fan and the lead guitarist for underground New York-based band Marwood. While you are most assuredly familiar with coffee, Britney and Christina, Marwood may be unfamiliar territory.
Marwood is a good old rock 'n' roll band, drawing on influences as diverse as Kiss, Marvin Gaye, Simon & Garfunkel, Elton John and Little Feet. However, the diversity of influences should come as no surprise as it reflects the diversity in background and experience of Marwood's members.
Lead singer-songwriter Benji Rogers hails from London and has traveled the United States from coast to coast, with significant stays in Los Angeles and upstate New York, before settling in the East Village of New York City. Overby is originally from Tennessee, though he moved around for most of his childhood and also spent time in upstate New York where he and Rogers met. The newest member, bassist Brett Conti, is also from Nashville, Tenn., where he and Overby first met. A chance meeting brought them back together in Manhattan last year and Overby has been with the band ever since. Drummer John O'Reilly rounds out the Marwood line up.
Marwood's sound has been described as "Counting Crows in their prime," with the "guitar-driven edge of the Black Crows" and a sound reminiscent of Squeeze. But Overby disagrees.
"I don't really hear specific bands in our sound," Overby said. "I just think we sound like ourselves."
Rogers has high aspirations for his songwriting, especially in terms of what effect he would like it to have on his listeners.
"I would love to write a song that made me feel the way I did the first time I heard 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel," Rogers said. "[That's] a song that is bigger than the sum of its parts. I want people to connect with the music."
As Conti sees it, "entertaining people for a living is its own reward."
Overby, Rogers and he all agree that the goals for Marwood are focused on getting as many people to hear their music as possible and hopefully bring enjoyment to those people with their music, without any plans for world domination.
"I just want to be able to make a living off of music, go on tour for a few hundred days a year, be in the studio making music and make all the hardships and craziness worthwhile," Rogers said.
Conti agreed. "Once you start aiming for another prize, that's when the trouble happens," he said.
Overby described the dynamic of the band as "second nature," particularly between himself and Rogers, as they have been collaborating for 10 years. Conti also emphasized that they have "great things going on musically" between the four of them. Rogers characterizes the band as still expanding its dynamic and said that "the band is a democracy, but I'm the emperor."
That kind of cheeky sense of humor is part of what makes Marwood so entertaining. Their intelligence and wit permeate their music. With songs that are radio-friendly like "Souless," which has already been receiving radio play in college towns like Albany, N.Y., and "Get Busy," Marwood seems poised for new levels of success.
Marwood has been chosen as one of only a select few American bands to take part in a concert co-sponsored by the Canadian and Egyptian governments. The concert, which will take place on April 28, is a benefit to raise money for the largest children's vaccination center in Africa and a celebration of 40 years of friendly relations between the two governments. A DVD capturing the performances may be made available sometime this summer.
After their return from Egypt, the Marwood boys head up to Canada for a series of shows throughout May and will return to New York in June. The band has tentative plans to independently release an album of new material sometime within the next few months.
With their extensive touring and possible album release, Marwood may be headed in the direction of some of those artists they so admire. Roger's deeply personal lyrics, combined with the eclectic mix of sounds provided by Conti, Overby and O'Reilly, have broad range and appeal. But don't count on seeing the guys of Marwood on "Cribs" anytime soon.
"We're just a band doing the music we like and we hope other people like it as well," Overby said.
Marwood will be playing a show at The Vault in Baltimore this Friday. For more information on Marwood, visit www.Marwoodband.com.
