Mountain Road Ramblers

Student band on campus - Alicia Baldino, Franklin Pierce Exchange

Battle of the Bands was held Thursday, April 14 at 8:00 pm in a packed Pierce Hall with roughly 200 students and faculty.

Mountain Road Ramblers, Through New Eyes, The Will Kindler Trio, Tow Words, Wise Harry, Harbor Hill, Pat Flood, and Bri Bell were the selected musicians to play songs of their choice in front of the judges to then choose which band/musician was the best. The winning band was the Mountain Road Ramblers. The members 0f the band include Derek Sensale, Anthony Marovelli, and Joe Mizell.
The event was a two round competition. All of the bands played a few songs of their choice for the first round, then the top three bands were announced and they all played one more song for the judges. At the end, everyone in attendance had a chance to vote on who they thought was the best.

“I went to support my friends in the Mountain Road Ramblers but I did enjoy every other band that performed. We have a lot of talented people at Franklin Pierce,” said Chloe Rodriguez, a freshman who attended Battle of the Bands.



A lot of hard work paid off for Amy Carpentier, the manager of Battle of the Bands. Before the winning band was announced, the committee members who consisted of David Dziewit, Amanda Lianos, Anthony Marovelli, Alyssa Hoffman, Miranda Mantello and Steve Jeune, presented her with flowers and sweet words.

“My last year at FPU is next year and I plan on doing it again. Bigger and better,” said Carpentier. For more information on this year’s battle or the battles to come, contact Amy Carpentier, at carpentiera@franklinpierce.edu. - Emily Nixon, Franklin Pierce Exchange

The Mountain Road Ramblers, a campus band whose popularity has grown over the past year, will be releasing their newest EP this weekend following a Spring Weekend concert at Lakeview.

The group consists of guitarist Anthony Marovelli, drummer Joe Mizell, and lead vocalist Derek Sensale.

The band recorded their CD at Studio B in Boston using money they made opening for MIMS during this year’s Spring Concert. Studio B is “ideal for bands that are just starting out” said Mizell in an email interview.

“We’re still going over a few things with each other,” Marovelli said via email when asked about details of the CD cover art and title.

This weekend’s concert will also feature another Franklin Pierce band, Wise Harry, who competed in the recent Battle of the Bands and tied for first place, losing to Harbor Hill in a tie-breaker audience “cheer-off.”

The Ramblers have played the past three Spring Weekends, and have a handful of new cover songs to surprise the audience with for this year. Following their performance on the Lakeview lawns, the band will be performing at the Class of 2013’s annual Movie Night on the softball field Sunday afternoon.

“I think any time the Mountain Road Ramblers play on-campus people flock to them. Their music is high energy and they sound great. It is great to have talented musicians like the Ramblers here,” said Chris Johnson, Residential Life Experience Director, in an email interview.

“They’re a great band, especially for a campus band,” says junior Will Hayward. “They have this blues/rock/R&B/soul vibe. I’m a fan.”

The concert will happen around 11 a.m. between Lakeview 4 and 5, then the band will play again later that night. - Eric Riley, Frankin Pierce Exchange

New Hampshire is home to Adam Sandler, Godsmack, Brian Wilson and now the Mountain Road Ramblers (MRR). When you think New Hampshire, you don’t immediately think talent, then again you probably haven’t heard of the MRR.

The group is a folk-jam band based out of the state’s small town of Rindge. When picturing Rindge, think of the setting of the movie, The Hills Have Eyes, except the people have a lot more radiation in them and a little more insestual history. So, what else is there to do for a couple of talented out-of-town college kids except to make the town’s biggest act in history?

The group, made up of Anthony Marovelli, (lead guitar), Derek Sensale, (lead vocals/guitar), and Joe Mizell (drums), has been together for the past three years, and released their first EP, Lady Killer, this past month.

Combining rock and roll styles of Led Zeppelin, bluegrass routes of Old Crow Medicine Show, folk characteristics of CCR, and a little splash of college aged punk-rock, you get the always fluid jam session of MRR.

Most of the EP consists of heavy guitar riffs and a constant fluid beat that will have you off your feet whether your at a party with a bunch of friends, or alone with your music blasting in your bedroom.

The five track EP, lasts just just over 25 minutes – just long enough to pop the CD in for a quick drive out of town or for a great jam session while throwing some food on the grill.

The EP’s top tracks are “Turn it Up,” “Oh, Brother,” and “MRR,” three songs that embody the hard playing, rock and roll party music that are the Mountain Road Ramblers.

“Turn it Up” is a song meant to get people out onto the dance floor, off their feet and having a good time.

“Oh, Brother,” while still a song that will get people moving, has more background and history to it. “Oh, Brother has more of a specific meaning to the lyrics. It was actually written with a particular person in mind and it is essentially about confronting your demons and throwing them out the door, it’s a ‘cheer you up song,’”said Marovelli.

Hey What you say to me when all your lovin’ fades away
And what you gonna’ do when nothing seems to go your way my friend
It’s you that makes your day
You call me on your telephone and only you complain
Put down a fifth today and tell me it’s the only way my friend
There’s more to life than that
-Oh, Brother, Mountain Road Ramblers

The EP leaves listeners with a feeling of wanting a full length album from the band.

The Mountain Road Ramblers have a cult-like following coming out of the town of Rindge’s local university. The name of their band comes from the name of a road by Franklin Pierce University. With more exposure, that cult-like following will rapidly grow.

Their music can be heard on Pure Volume. “Like” their official Mountain Road Ramblers Facebook page to get band updates. - Nicholas Vitukevich, Project-Landmine