Rose Hill Drive

The guys at Rose Hill Drive are the best band you never heard of. Before I visited Colorado last summer, I never even knew they existed until the Joker took me to a a street fair in Louisville, CO.

Here's what I wrote about them on the Tao of Pauly on 8.19.05:

We also found out that there was a cool band paying in a small town just outside of Boulder called Louisville (pronounced Lewis-ville). The Joker ate breakfast frequently at The Buff which was owned by this hot woman. She had two sons who were in a band called Rose Hill Drive that kicked ass. One fan described them as a power trio. Just a drummer, guitar player, and bass player, who was the lead singer.

The Joker said they looked like a rock and roll band. All the members were long hairs and had stage presence. They sounded a little bit like Led Zeppelin and had a grooving G'ovt Mule vibe to them. The lead singer's voice was commanding and the guitar player displayed serious chops. They were all under 21 years old. Damn, they could fucking play.

Anyway Rose Hill Drive played an outdoor show for the Louisville Main Street festival. Inside the tent were tons of local high school girls. All I could think about was that line from Dazed and Confused... "That's what I like about highschool girls. I get older and they stay the same age."

I felt like Wooderson. The band impressed me and the local talent in the crowd was even more impressive.

Yeah, that was my initial thoughts about Rose Hill Drive. They are made up of two brothers, Jake and Daniel Sproul. Jake plays bass and Daniel plays guitar and lead vocals. The were formed when they were still in Junior High and have been picking up buzz in Colorado over the past few years. The bands name pays homage to the street where the Sproul brothers grew up. They might be hitting the road for some epic tour dates, but they'll never forget their roots. They have also jammed with Warren Haynes, who added them to his Mountain Jam Festival in upstate NY.

I downloaded a few of their shows and I'm still impressed. According to Jambase.com, they are releasing their first studio album on June 6 that is self-titled.

If you have a chance to see Rose Hill Drive this summer... don't miss out. These kids kick ass and there are hordes of hot young women at their shows! They are playing CBGBs in NYC next week, in addition to performing at Wakrusa in Kansas. Rose Hill Drive is also going to Europe playing dates in England and Spain before they return to the States to play shows in Texas and California.

Here are the Rose Hill Drive summer tour dates:

5.20 High Dive @ Denver, CO
5.26 Summer Camp Festival @ Chillicothe, IL
5.28 The Beat Kitchen @ Chicago, IL
5.29 Birdy's @ Indianapolis, IN
5.31 Milestone's Music Room @ Rochester, NY
6.01 Town Ballroom @ Buffalo, NY
6.02 CBGB's @ New York, NY
6.03 Warren Haynes' Mountain Jam Festival (7 p.m. show) @ Hunter, NY
6.09 Wakarusa Festival @ Lawrence, KS
6.10 Wakarusa Festival (4 p.m. show) @ Lawrence, KS
6.16 Rock Bottom @ Denver, CO
6.25 Wireless Festival @ Leeds, UK
7.02 Hyde Park Calling Festival @ London, UK
7.05 Apollo @ Barcelona, SPAIN
7.06 TBA
7.07 Azkena Club @ Bilbao, SPAIN
7.12 Walter's On Washington @ Houston, TX
7.13 Sundance Square at 8.0 Bar @ Fort Worth, TX
7.14 Gypsy Tea Room @ Dallas, TX
7.15 Stubb's @ Austin, TX
7.17 Martini Ranch @ Scottsdale, AZ
7.18 Troubadour @ Hollywood, CA
7.19 Cafe Du Nord @ San Francisco, CA