On their later album Gravity Well, the fiercely independent young quintet known as Rose's Pawn Shop deliver a rousing, honest set that demonstrates exactly why this multi-talented, multi-instrumental L.A.-based fivesome has quickly risen from humble D.I.Y.
The 12 new tunes that comprise Gravity Well—produced by Ted Hutt, renowned for his work with the likes of the Dropkick Murphys, Gaslight Anthem and the Old Crow Medicine Show—make it clear why Rose's Pawn Shop has earned such a fervent following.
The band's catchy, anthemic songcraft channels the raw emotional power of America's folk, country and bluegrass traditions and puts them through a modern filter, creating timelessly resonant music.
Frontman Paul Givant's heartfelt, engaging songwriting surveys such time-honored subjects as heartache, loss, regret and redemption, echoing centuries of musical tradition while still sounding wholly contemporary.
Meanwhile, gentler numbers like "Go Get Gone", "Stay All Night" and the cinematic title track explore more introspective territory, and a memorable reading of the Dock Boggs standard "Country Blues" affirms the group's instinctive understanding of its vintage influences.
Rose's Pawn Shop's lineup solidified and began touring intensively in time to support Dancing on the Gallows, accumulating such landmarks as month-long residencies at New York's Parkside Lounge and L.A.'s Redwood Bar, busking in New Orleans' fabled Jackson Square, live radio sessions on such prestigious stations as KEXP in Seattle and WMBR in Boston, well-received appearances at various prestigious music festivals, and a slot opening for Jack White's Raconteurs, at White's invitation, at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.
Dancing on the Gallows spent several weeks on CMJ's influential album chart, while receiving extensive national and international airplay on college, AAA, country and alternative radio formats.
Formed in August 2005, Rose's Pawn Shop is a five-piece band consisting of: Former members: They have also recorded and performed with: "Soda"- banjo, guitars and vocals, Jimmy Stelling of The Hackensaw Boys, Wayne Hancock, Junior Brown, Flogging Molly, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Scotch Greens, Jack White and The Raconteurs, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Ghostland Observatory, Blues Traveler, DeVotchka, Old Crow Medicine Show, Levon Helm, Blue Rodeo, Conor Oberst and the Mystic River Band, Railroad Earth, The Sadies, and The Duhks, and many others.