Rock n Roll Soldiers

The Rock n Roll Soldiers are a rock band from Eugene, Oregon. Its members are: Marty Larson-Xu (vocals, guitar), Oliver Brown (drums), and Evan Sernoffsky (bass guitar). Their sound has been described as "skuzzy, sleazy punk tailored for drinking, fighting and tattooing" by MTV News reporter James Montgomery. Larson-Xu himself describes it as high energy old-school rock and roll with a "greater modern sensibility" (Rocket Net Webzine).

The Soldiers are known for their energetic live performances.

Band members

Current lineup

• Marty Larson-Xu (Vocals/Guitar)
• Oliver Brown (Drums)
• Evan Sernoffsky (Bass)
• Lucas Gunn (Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals)

Previous members

• Jeremy Briggs (Bass, parted ways to pursue other interests)
• Quinn Brown (lead Guitar, parted ways after passing out on stage at a concert.)
• Kevin Sciou (Replaced Lucas Gunn when he left the band after high school. Left to play in a country band with former Starrgunn bandmate Carter Falco. Replaced by Lucas Gunn.)

History

Childhood friends Marty, Oliver, Evan, and original guitarist Lucas Gunn (brother of Chris Gunn, guitarist for The Hunches) came together to form the band that would one day become the Soldiers. The four friends, just barely out of middle school, were only beginning to learn to play their instruments as the band started to take shape. The name of the band itself came from the name of a Radio Birdman tour. Larson-Xu explains to MTV.com:

"Our favorite band was Radio Birdman, so we got our name from them," frontman Marty Larson-Xu said. "One of their tours was named Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers, and we were like, 'Yes! That's it!'" (MTV.com)

Once their music began to become popular, the Soldiers began opening for bands like The Donnas and the New Bomb Turks.

Fresh out of high school, Lucas and the rest of the Soldiers parted ways, and the band picked up French guitarist Kevin Sciou, former guitarist of StarrGunn.

They continued touring the West coast, and recorded two EPs; "The High School Sessions EP," and "The Weak Blame the Strong EP." These two EPs were picked up by San Francisco label Gearhead Records, and released only on vinyl. With producer Scott Mathews at the helm, the Soldiers signed a deal with Atlantic Records, and Warner Music Group's subsidiary East West released the two EPs as a compilation CD, aptly titled, "The Two EPs". This CD served as their unofficial nationwide debut. As their influence spread, the Soldiers began touring the country, frequently making it out to the East coast. The Soldiers played a series of West coast shows in support of Shooter Jennings, they also toured supporting Kasabian, Less Than Jake, and KillRadio.

The Rock n Roll Soldiers' song "Funny Little Feeling" received national play, being featured in a Verizon wireless commercial, popular television shows such as One Tree Hill, Smallville, and Malcolm In The Middle and several video games including MVP Baseball 2005, L.A Rush, and Gran Turismo 4. Their song "Flag Song" is featured in several of Electronic Arts' 2006 video game titles. Their song "Guns Out" is featured in a Payless Shoes commercial. The Soldiers are also featured on the Drive-Thru Records compilation CD "Listen to Bob Dylan: A Tribute Album," in which they covered "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35".

They were featured on episodes of MTV's You Hear It First and True Life.

Their European tour spanned 48 shows in 53 days and went through Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark

Currently the band is on hiatus while the members pursue various side projects.

Discography

Albums

• So Many Musicians to Kill (RNRS Records/Beverly Martel, June 2006)

EPs

• The Weak Blame the Strong (Gearhead, 200?)(Vinyl only)
• High School Sessions (Gearhead, 200?)(Vinyl only)
• The Two EPs (Atlantic/East West, April 2005)

In a 2005 interview entitled 'Steve Perry: Mother, Father By Mitch Lafon', Mr. Perry was quoted as saying, “There's a band I like. I think they're fun and reckless called The Rock 'N Roll Soldiers. The lead singer is a talented kid called Marty... they're working on a record right now which I think is coming out on Atlantic. I like it – I believe in them.” <http://www.melodicrock.com/interviews/steveperry-mitchlafon.html>

External links

• Official Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers Street Team
• Official MySpace
• Outside video interview on The Brittany Equation Show

References

• Montgomery, J. MTV News article Retrieved Nov 5, 2005
• Inman, J. Las Vegas City Life Retrieved Nov 5, 2005
• Pure Volume Bio, Retrieved Nov 5, 2005
• Anne Carlini Interview, Retrieved Nov 5, 2005
• Rock Net Webzine interview, Retrieved Nov 5, 2005
• RnRTV #53, Retrieved June 3, 2007