West of Rome is a band of original songwriting and musicianship -- industrial-strength folk for people who still secretly believe (despite distressing evidence) that music can change civilizations. "West of Rome seems to embody the soulfulness of Pearl Jam with the pomp and circumstance of Queen...all with that certain Midwest direct sensibility" Joseph Richard Brewer, Music Critic West of Rome's sound is prairie-wind howling harnessed and ground through blues-rock machinery. Songs on the Elkhorn, Wisconsin quintet's four-song release, Flat Iron Road, contain clear-eyed statements on the aftermath of traumas - an innocent's witness to a mental collapse (Annihilomind) and a regret-filled plea for love's rebirth (So Much Water, So Close to Home). West of Rome's music recreates the vanishing stillness of rural life (Rural Route Crossing) but rejects easy condemnations of modernity (Here Comes Tomorrow). The release has generated so much buzz that it attracted the attention of Chicago based Whak'a'doo Records. Whak'a'doo released West of Rome's first full length CD in March of 2001. This music is not for the naive. West of Rome is Andy Beaumont on drums, Tom Cox on bass, Marc Alberts on keyboards and vocals and Chris DeMay on guitars, harp and vocals. The band sprang from typically mundane Midwestern beginnings. Former Trout Farmer DeMay and Newspaper beat writer Alberts joined mutual friend and romance-fiction writer Cox to form West of Rome in late 1997. All three were survivors of an earlier Midwest college indie-music scene. Beaumont, working for a Janesville newspaper, joined the band just over a year later. Former member, Dan Kennedy, contributed lead guitar and vocals for the CD. During this time of change and growth, West of Rome has played shows from Chicago to Milwaukee and Madison, finding receptive audiences, especially at favorite haunts such as Elbo Room and Murray's in Chicago and Linneman's in Milwaukee. Staying true to their roots, West of Rome also performs frequently in roadhouses throughout southern Wisconsin. "(West of Rome's) singing is heart felt and the music has punch, but you can swing to it." Maximum Ink Magazine. With a stage show that lives up to the passion and professionalism of their recorded work, West of Rome has become the antidote for people numbed by contemporary music's Factory of Cool.