INSTRUMENTATION Bill Birck plays the bass Mark Brookstein sings and plays the drums Beverly Burmeister plays the organ and sings Matt Sanders plays the guitar BIOGRAPHY Longevity has never been a hallmark of the typical independent rock and roll band and it's just one of the ways in which The Rolls stand apart from the crowd. A span of nearly twenty years begins with an ambitious trio of teenagers in a Northbrook, IL basement and continues with a quartet of seasoned thirty-somethings continually balancing and coming to grips with the duality of having families and making a living while pursuing the creation of new and unique music for music's sake. From Chicago to Chicago via a five year stint in New York City in the mid-90's, The Rolls have left their mark in such rooms as Metro, Avalon, Brownie's, Luna Lounge, Nightingale's, Underground Lounge, US Beer Company, Bottom Lounge, Subterranean, Nevin's Live, Lyon's Den, Gunther Murphy's, Beat Kitchen, Elbo Room, Schuba's, Martyr's and Double Door. Airwaves crackle with Rolls music emanating from such venerated stations as WLUW, WXRT and Q101. Shows have been played in support of everyone from Shawn Mullins to The Smoking Popes. Records have been recorded with the likes of Kramer and Steve Albini. Accolades have been received from The Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Herald and CMJ. In an era when alternative and even independent rock bands are becoming increasingly homogenized, The Rolls remain the oddball kid in the class. The drummer sings lead. The organist is more likely to quote Beethoven than Booker T. The songs are dramatic and dynamic almost as if they were written to be played on Broadway or in a film score rather than a gritty rock club. Yet the rough edges remain, evoking the sexual immediacy of the best rock and roll while slyly suggesting something just a little more grand. "turning tail to leave is such a cop-out yes indeed the more the merrier what will happen wait and see the etchings on my tombstone will read 'so long sucker'" DISCOGRAPHY Trading Punches with Allah (CD - 2003) Incommunicado (CD - 2001) Moj's Breakdown (CD - 1998) Spain (CD - 1997) No Place I'd Rather Be (CD - 1995) Epsilon (Cassette - 1994) Girls and Dead Philosophers (Cassette - 1994) Twenty-Six Rolls' Fans Might Be Wrong (Cassette - 1992)