Biography
2008 rang in as the year of bob.
For more than a decade, middle school mates Adam Smith and Matt Santoro have sung, strummed, banged and riffed through a plethora of sounds and styles before finally settling on an intense rock feel with edge and energy which has led to hundreds of fans at shows, support from Anheuser-Busch, and an album produced by a legendary rock veteran.
bob cohered into its current sound after years of guitarist Smith and frontman Santoro trying out different arrangements and potential bandmates, finally finding Drew Recny to sit behind the kit and Carl Schmieg to keep rhythm on bass. After a few years of developing a large D.C. area fan base, the band started spreading its live shows out across multiple states along the mid-eastern seaboard.
It was last fall, when on a whim, the band contacted renowned producer Garth Richardson who has worked with the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. Richardson liked what he heard and invited the guys up to Vancouver to spend December and January recording the band’s first full-length album in his studio.
“It was the best decision we ever made,” Adam says. “It was intimidating as hell to walk in Garth’s office and see all these platinum records around. What was really amazing was that Garth was able to take our sound and somehow make it even more bob. He got an amazing dynamic going between us.”
The band spent 12 to 15 hours a day for a month in the studio with Richardson, taking only a well-deserved half day on New Year’s Eve.
“It was a life-changing experience,” according to Matt. “Garth was unbelievable in the way he knew how to handle everybody and the best way to get everything out of me that I had and everything out of everyone else. It was a hell of an experience.”
The band was even fortunate enough to experience a drop-in by a buddy of Richardson’s, Dave “Rave” Ogilvie. The Skinny Puppy and Marilyn Manson producer liked the band so much, he decided to get in on the bob action and helped produce one of the album’s tracks, “Busted Dreams.”
As for the album itself, “bbbob” features 11 tracks of the unadulterated, unfiltered, raw energy that is bob.
“I think this album is kind of a throwback to what rock used to be,” Matt says. “I think rock should have an edge and aggressiveness to it, and I think the underlying theme in our music is basically thumbing your nose at authority or anything that tries to push you in any one direction. A lot of songs come back to being about doing what you want no matter what the fuck people want to say.”
Venues
16 Taps - Wilmington, NC
9:30 Club - Washington, DC
Alley Katz - Richmond, VA
Almost Home - Martinsburg, WV
Angel’s Rock Bar – Baltimore, MD
Arlene’s Grocery – New York, NY
Awful Arthur’s – Blacksburg and Roanoke, VA
Bedrock - Baltimore, MD
Badfish – Solomons, MD
Canal Club – Richmond, VA
Catamaran’s – Solomons, MD
CC/22 – Seaford, DE
Champs – Blacksburg, VA
Chubby's - Red Bank, NJ
Clarendon Grill – Arlington, VA
Colosseum Nightclub - Scranton, PA
Cookie’s – Martinsburg, WV
Crocodile Rock Cafe – Allentown, PA
D.B.G.B's - Winchester, VA
DIVEbar Raleigh - Raleigh, NC
Firestation 8 – Gaithersburg, MD
Fletcher’s – Baltimore, MD
Fuzion – California, MD
Grape Street – Philadelphia, PA
Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC
Guilifty’s Underground - Harrisburg, PA
Heil's Place - Scranton, PA
Hooligan's Music Hall - Jacksonville, NC
Hula's - California, MD
Jammin Java – Vienna, VA
Jaxx – Springfield, VA
Jester's Pub - Fayetteville, NC
Jewish Mother – Virginia Beach, VA
K.C.’s Music Alley – Fredericksburg, VA
LaPorte Civic Auditorium - LaPorte, IN
Lincoln Theatre - Raleigh, NC
Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Nation – Washington, DC
Ned Devine’s – Sterling, VA
NightCaps - Edwardsville, PA
Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Port City Pub – Wilmington, NC
Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Ram’s Head Roadhouse – Annapolis, MD
Rock N Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
Rocktown Grill - Harrisonburg, VA
Smalls – Harrisburg, PA
Snitch – New York, NY
Sonar – Baltimore, MD
Station 36 - Waretown, NJ
Steppin Out - Virginia Beach, VA
Sullivan Hall - New York City, NY
Sweet Caroline's - Winchester, VA
The 8x10 – Baltimore, MD
The Half Shell – Virginia Beach, VA
The Mix One 6 – Roanoke, VA
The Monkey Barrel – Salisbury, MD
The Pit - Kill Devil Hills, NC
The Rock Shop – Fayetteville, NC
The Saint - Asbury Park, NJ
The State Theatre – Falls Church, VA
TT Reynold’s – Fairfax, VA
Volume 11 Tavern – Raleigh, NC
Whiskey 1803 – Annapolis, MD
Zakk’s Coffehouse – Murfreesboro, NC
Festivals and Conferences
BlocktoberFest 2007 – Washington, DC
EarthFest 2008 – Fairfax, VA
Millenium Music Conference 2008 – Harrisburg, PA
SkateFest 2007 – Fairfax, VA
Throwdown Music Festival 2006, 2007 (Headliner) – Fairfax, VA
Nominations and Awards
717 Music Awards - “Best Regional Band” – 2008 (won)
WAMA – “Best Hard Rock Band” – 2007, 2008 (nominated)
Fairfax Times – “Best of Fairfax” – 2008 (runner up)
Radio Airplay and Interviews
98 Rock-Harrisonburg, VA
97.7 the Rocket – Southern, MD
98 Rock – Baltimore, MD
DC 101 – Washington, DC
96.3 WROV-Roanoke, VA
DistortionRadio.com – MD
WHFS 105.7 FM – Baltimore, MD
WRYR 97.5 FM – Churchton, MD
XtremeBitz.com – Broomfield, CO
Instrumentation
Matt Santoro (vocals)
Adam Smith (guitar)
Carl Schmieg (bass)
Drew Recney (drums)
Discography
2008 Release: "bbbob"
1. Bump in the Road
2. What We Do
3. Fuck Cali
4. Tip the Board
5. Busted Dreams
6. Trigger Man
7. Nancy
8. O Fortuna
9. Morning Star
10. (320)320-5532 0
11. Never Give Up
All Music:
Produced and Mixed by Ben Kaplan and GGGarth at The Farm Studios.
Programming and mix by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie for "Busted Dreams".
All Music (c) BOBBAND, LLC
2007 Release: Raised on Main Street
1. What We Do
2. Oh No
3. Model 30
4. Sleep Away
5. Haterade
All music recorded and mixed by:
Drew Recny at Time Machine Studios.
All Music (c) BOBBAND, LLC
2006 Release: bob
1. Shotwell
2. Morning Star
3. O' Fortuna
4. Idle
5. Lost
All music recorded, mixed, mastered by:
Scott Spelbring at Dragonfly Studios (East). Haymarket, VA.
All Music (c) BOBBAND, LLC
Links
| http://www.bobband.com |