The Rocky Fortune
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The Rocky Fortune

| INDIE

| INDIE
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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"The Rocky Fortune Press Quotes"



“…the Rocky Fortune’s debut release “Sway” seems to explode through the speakers right from the get-go.”

-Murtle McFarland, The Gauntlet, March 2005


“They seem tighter than ever as a 3-piece, honouring (and often besting) their recorded material…”

-Matt Home, Beatroute, January, 2005


“…conjures up familiar sounds of Neil Young and the Fab Four…”

-Fritz Francois, See Magazine, April 2005


“…their new album shows a mountain of potential and ample promising material.”

-Aubrey Mcinnis, FFWD Magazine, March 2005


“…a band that gives true music aficionados a reason to find faith in the music industry…”

-Chad Utke, The Gauntlet, March 2005


“…they prove that you can still be creative with three guys, instruments and passion.”

-Greg Doram, Beatroute, April 2005
- multiple publishers


Discography

The Rocky Fortune - Back of the Beeside (2007)
The Rocky Fortune - Sway (2005)

Back of the Beeside made it to number 1 on the CJSW (Calgary) radio charts.

Photos

Bio

It was a very good year for the Rocky Fortune.

Following the release of their independent debut LP “Sway” the band spent the better part of 2006 playing every sweaty club and all ages hall they could fit into.
Their record was moving briskly and charting at local indie record stores while word of their cerebral live shows seeped into the ears of those who would care to know.

The Rocky Fortune were opening bills for The International Noise Conspiracy, C’mon, Tricky Woo and Cuff the Duke, all the while selling out their local shows. The band was featured on MuchMusic’s “Going Coastal” and they took 1st place in the Calgary Folk Festival songwriting competition-a prize which included a short main-stage opening slot for Ani Difranco at the 2006 Folk-Fest.

It was hard to see how things could be better. The trio, consisting of members: Todd Gesshe (vocals, bass), Craig Florence-(drums), and Tyler Toews (guitar and banjo) lived together, jammed religiously and were getting tighter by the week.

Eventually the band grew more selective with their performances, choosing instead to shift their focus to the plethora of unfinished songs, riffs, and beats that had been piling up behind them for over a year now. It was time to make another record. To help with the task at hand, the band added two new members to the line-up; C. Rudolph Van Berkel on bass and virtuosic organist, Steve Fletcher.

They were particular in their approach. They wanted to track and mix analog (tape tracks) and keep it live. Encouraged by a small grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Rocky Fortune entered Calgary’s MCC studios with engineer RJ Gwilliam in the spring of 2007 for what was to become the band’s sophomore release

For mixing and final tracking the band traveled to the famed Pedernales studios in Austin TX-one of the few studios with enough old school gear still kickin’ around to mix an all-analog record. Jacob Sciba (Grady, Butthole Surfers, Government Mule) was the main mixer and proved once again that noone, under any circumstance, should ever mess with Texas.

Proving to be a formidable demonstration of playfulness and electicism, “Back of the Beeside” is the Rocky Fortune’s most expressive work to date. Impressive in its chameleonic range, from the opening, hyper-literate, synth-drenched “She-Soviet,” the album veers onto folkier roads, bringing in upright bass, banjo, acoustic guitar, and mandolin. Each song is treated to its own unique sonic texture and the performances are truly black belt. In fact, the title track was a first taker for drummer Craig Florence.

The band has played only 3 shows in support of this record and at the time of this writing (October, 2007) it was perched at #1 on Calgary’s college radio charts. The core members of the band are currently in the midst of replenishing mind and spirit: Todd is immersed in the study of trees, Craig is flying helicopters, and Tyler can be found somewhere in Peru.

A new record is in the works.