Roosevelt Radio

This week’s featured Bay Area band is Roosevelt Radio.

Formed in Berkeley, Calif. in early 2010, Roosevelt Radio’s cheeky mix of vintage and contemporary rock riffs is gaining them a rapidly-growing global fan base. This local favorite has played some of the biggest music venues in the SF Bay Area, from Slim’s to Café du Nord. In February 2011, the band traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the Ford Motors Gimme the Gig competition at the Whisky A Go Go, as one of seven finalists in a televised nationwide competition.

Their pop-rock infused debut EP combines the brash fun of The Strokes, with gorgeous, epic melodies reminiscent of Arcade Fire and The Decemberists. The San Jose Examiner praises their “wonderfully punchy and melodic pop-rock gems that demand you sing / hum / tap / strum and/or shuffle along,” calling them a “seriously impressive act.”

Less than a year after recording their first album, Roosevelt Radio shows a growing maturity and depth in their sound with multiple new singles, including the epic battle anthem “The Siege,” now available on iTunes.

Roosevelt Radio’s new self titled album is available now at all Rasputin Music locations. - Rasputin Music

By Andriana Trang '12

Published Aug 25, 2011 12:00 AM


"We all trickled in through Craigslist," explains indie band Roosevelt Radio's backup vocalist and keyboardist Sarah Morgan '09 with a laugh. "It's kind of normal up here in Berkeley to form bands that way."

From those humble beginnings in early 2010, Roosevelt Radio's "sparkling synth rock" has splashed across the San Francisco indie scene with regular performances at some of San Francisco's biggest venues like Slim's and Café du Nord. Its "wonderfully punchy and melodic pop-rock gems" (San Jose Examiner) invites comparisons to indie-to-mainstream bands The Decemberists and Phoenix.


As a finalist in Ford's Gimme the Gig competition in February, the band performed at the legendary Whisky A Go Go on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, vying for the chance to work with Grammy Award-winning producer Don Was. There, the band earned TV exposure, "which was a huge leap from local shows," says Morgan, along with the "eye opening opportunity to chat and hang out with Don Was and meet a lot of new fans and other bands."

"Arcade Fire, Postal Service, Passion Pit, Coldplay and The Strokes influence the band's sound, adds lead vocalist Ben Ross. Like those bands, Roosevelt Radio — with Morgan and Ross, in addition to Adrian McCullough (bass), Joel Line (lead guitar), and Philip Coffin (drums) — is on a "quest to make indie rock both meaningful and fun."

"We want to be easy to find and accessible," concludes Morgan, "not that 'one cool band no one knows'. So I think it's important that our style is catchy and easy to dance to. Our goal is to have everyone like it, not just a select group of fans." - UCLA Magazine

"Roosevelt Radio is already making waves on the indie music scene. Barely a year old, the five-member band has already produced its first album, was named “Artist of the Month” by SF Deli, and has graduated from rehearsing in a crammed living room in South Berkeley to performing at some of San Francisco’s biggest venues, including Slim’s and Café du Nord." - Berkeleyside

"Sweet synth rock" band Roosevelt Radio will be playing at the Red Devil Lounge in their hometown, San Francisco, this Wednesday, March 2." - KALW

"The six songs on this EP are fine works of yearning, melodic, emo-boy rock, complete with piano vamps and guitar distortion. Roosevelt Radio has potential." - East Bay Express, Local Licks

"Roosevelt Radio’s sound is what I call “cerebral” indie-rock-lite driven by the soothing and passionate vocals of Ben Ross, laden with the squealing guitar melodies of Joel Line, and “indie-fied” by the touching keyboard moments and heartfelt back-up vocals of Sarah Morgan. The bass and drums are polished and pure, complements of Adrian McCullough and Philip Coffin, respectively." - The Review Chimp

"[Roosevelt Radio shows] a knack for wonderfully punchy and melodic pop-rock gems that demand you sing / hum / tap / strum and/or shuffle along to their infectiously melodious guy(s)-supported-by-girl vocals. A seriously impressive act..."

-Steve Wolpern, Examiner.com - Examiner.com

With over 500 fan votes, Roosevelt Radio is named October Artist of the Month for San Francisco on The Deli's website! - The Deli Magazine

2011 Look Book for LA fashion label FrockLA - FrockLA

The band inches up the local charts to hit #9 on The Deli's most popular San Francisco bands. Roosevelt Radio is also #1 on the Indie Rock charts! - The Deli Magazine

"The members of Roosevelt Radio, a next-big-thing band in its infancy, wear their influences shamelessly on their vintage suit jacket sleeves. And while many bands today are taking pages out of the Arcade Fire playbook, Roosevelt Radio takes their well worn crayons to them and colours in the spaces between the lines. The end results are carefully crafted hooks, peak and valley dynamics, and an overall pop sensibility that is easily accessible on the first listen but rewards further attention. Not bad for a band that’s been together less than a year..."
. - Moonvstheworld.com

Check out San Francisco Bay Area's Roosevelt Radio. The pop-rock band officially became a band earlier this year in Berkeley, California. "Antique Heart" and "Midnight", a jam that we're going to post tomorrow, are from their debut self-titled EP. The music sounds dope the first time and I hope you enjoy it too.

Read more: http://www.zillasays.com/2010/08/music-roosevelt-radio-antique-heart.html#ixzz0xeAmkl2k

- Zillasays.com