Genre: Rock
From: Elmira, NY
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1. You guys have been together since 2009, what are some of your accomplishments since your inception? Who thought of the name “Romando” and does it have any meaning?
Since forming in 2009 Romando has prided itself on playing any type of venue, anywhere. One of our biggest accomplishments has been playing the First Arena in Elmira NY for the Art of Combat MMA promotion this past September. This year we also received our first international radio play on the “What's Real? 607” internet radio station. Back in January of 2010 Romando was also able to win the first round of a Battle of the Bands held in Corning NY at our very first live show ever. Romando has also played numerous benefit shows on the way to helping raise over $25,000 for various charitable causes. The name Romando came from a nickname given to our guitarist Ross when a man named Romando Ross was convicted of manslaughter in the city of Elmira (Ross is not the guy who was accused of said shooting).
2. How would you describe your music to the average listener?
Infectious Rock music you can dance to.
3. What can people expect from your live show?
Romando prides itself on making our live experience extremely energetic and crowd involved. We aim to make everyone who sees us as excited about seeing us as we are about playing for them.
4. What’s the music scene like there both locally and state wide in NY?
The music scene in the local area tends to be more Hardcore/Heavy Metal although there is a very wide range of styles and musical experiences throughout the Upstate NY area. On most any given Friday and Saturday you can find any number of bands playing out at local bars and cafes, although our local area lacks some good, music minded venues to play at.
5. What’s your favorite track to perform live? Favorite crowd track?
Our favorite track to perform is a song called “Dancefloor”. We get a very good reaction to the song “Untitled” ever since we began playing it.
6. What’s your thoughts on the current state of rock music?
Rock music seems to have withdrawn from the main music scene in the last few years. While some say that this is a bad thing we believe that many bands have evolved and that new interesting sounds in rock can be heard now that may have been hard to achieve if rock music had been subjected to the cookie cutter nature of Top 40 radio. While you may have to look a little harder to find it, good rock music is still very much alive and well.
7. How’s the upcoming EP coming along and is there a confirmed release date/title?
The upcoming as yet untitled Romando EP is aiming for a full release sometime in March-April. The official EP has been a long time coming and we can't wait to release our music to the people.
8. What’s your stance on illegal/legal music downloading?
The reality of music downloading is that if you feature your content online, someone somewhere will probably “illegally” download it. If you are good enough as a band you will create a crowd of people who will be willing to pay money for your songs as well as come to shows to see you play out. While it may effect the bottom dollar of million dollar corporations trying to sell the music, as a band if you are good enough a few people hearing and sharing your music for free should not effect you that much and may even help you spread the word faster about your band.
9. What are you currently listening to?
Lots of Led Zeppelin, Queen, Big Star, The Raspberries, Van Halen, Robert Johnson and other blues artists as well. You can never move forward until you understand where your predecessors have been.
10. What’s next for Romando?
With the release of our EP we hope to be able to tour the East Coast this year and bring our music to the masses personally. We have also been hard at work at creating a live show that goes beyond a normal rock show. 2013 and beyond holds a ton of promise for us.
11. Any shoutouts?
Our awesome supportive families, Mr. and Mrs. Soprano for putting up with our noise pollution for years, Casey Latimer,“What's Real 607?” Radio, The Redeyes, the people who come see us, The “WOO” guys, Valhalla, John Moss, Patrick Milano, Andy Weaver, John Gosney
