A few weeks ago I stopped by a local music store to get some strings for a campfire gig. The manager of the store and I go way back so it’s a good excuse to catch up on the latest local music gossip. At some point I always ask him about his brother, one of the most talented heavy-metal guitar players I’ve ever seen.

“He gave it up,” Joe said plainly. A short burst of laughter escaped my lips before I realized he was serious. “Yup, he sold every bit of his gear and took up computers. He said he was tired of having his heart broke by the (music) business.”

I was stunned and didn’t know how to respond. Joe’s brother had been “living the life” for as long as I’d known him, sacrificing everything else to chase that elusive rock & roll dream. I’d always admired him and his band mates for their focus, determination and commitment. But it had been nearly twenty years since their rock odyssey had begun and ultimately, when measured in cold, practical terms, they had little to show for it.

That’s how the music business breaks your heart - slowly, over decades, until one day you realize you’re forty and you have to start your life over because you’ve neglected such basic needs as health insurance and a retirement plan. At some point you have to stop searching for the end of that rainbow and plan for your inevitable death. Welcome back to reality, bandhead.

Context & Conscience

So it was in that context of surrender (right or wrong) that I first listened to Robb Roy’s latest CD, “Days of Pride & Hunger” which, perhaps tellingly, opens with a song titled, “Goodbye.”

‘That was a valiant effort / you hung in there for years
tore a hole in the center of your heart / but she didn’t care / You withstood the compromise / you didn't mind the bleedin / gave of yourself completely / til you almost disappeared / Goodbye, Goodbye/ So long, farewell, you left the best behind’

In its entirety, the lyrics read like the emotional debris of a failed relationship (which it very well may be), but after reading singer Graham Strachan’s last web-diary entry, I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t, in part, a veiled capitulation to the soulless music biz (the anthropomorphized “she”), a final “Adieu!” to a heartless mistress and her empty promise. I wondered, could this be the end of Robb Roy?

Strachan’s online diary reads: ‘‘We are a victim of our own history. A band with all the promise of the "next thing to break" syndrome. We have been that band many times. We have dealt with that expectation ...(and) have, for what ever reason, not jumped to the promise land of rock and roll. Nearly every place we play someone walks up and asks, "What the hell are you guys doing here?", or "Why haven't I heard you guys on the radio?" It's a compliment. But after a while it eats at you...’

The result of those gnawing expectations seem to have found their way into the lyrics of this release which Strachan says is, “...very autobiographical and sum(s) up our journey so far”. The title track, “Days of Pride & Hunger”, asks what every regionally successful indie band must ask itself when considering its future on a cost/benefit ratio - emotionally and fiscally; ‘Can you tell me how we’ll take this loss and make it stop? and ‘Can you show me how we’ll keep from going under?’

Track 9, “Scrapin’ By”, piques at self-doubt and forces an emotional inventory with the heartfelt query, ‘Are you the man you hoped to be? / Or are you just scrapin’ by?’

And on Track 13 we find our protagonist “On Solid Ground”- but probably not where’d he’d hope to land. ‘I want to tell you a story / ‘bout a boy who was bound for glory / chased a dream and it beat him badly / Now he’s home where he belongs.’

Each song on its own tells a unique story of a painful struggle and personal growth, but overall, the lyrics belie the conscience of an artist(s) who’se given up much to “succeed” and is, quite sanely, wondering why.

Of Daylight & Dark Nights

Light at the end of a long tunnel (as pictured)

By this point I’ve probably got you thinking “Days of Pride & Hunger” is all darkness and melancholy. It’s not. In fact, its best moments rise in contrast to the enveloping darkness - where a glimmer of hope defeats mounting despair and a moment of grace trumps a bad experience. On track #3, "As I Am", Strachan finds grace and acceptance - not from a woman, but the female personification of music herself: 'She don't give a damn / she takes me as I am / she makes no demands / she makes me a better man.'

There's even a few moments of humor on this disc. On track #1 a slight pause and a “squeeky nub” prompt an unexpected guffaw. On track #10, after the lyric 'cest la vie', we hear an officious voice in the background proclaim, "That's French!" Finally, the chorus from Blondie's "One Way or Another" provides some lightness as a musical quote on track 12.

And you can always depend on Robb Roy to deliver a few top-notch, M.O.R. rockers too; “I Don’t Want You”, “Battlelines” and “Serial K” do the job with typical style and efficiency thanks to drummer Duane Huff and guitarist Michael Kudreiko who make the beats kick and the hooks stick. The return of “Happy” producer and friend Jason Keuhn (Vanessa Williams, Chris McCall, Pas/Cal) assures proper handling and a good mix - but if you still want more for bang for your buck, you can check out Director Kevin Carrico’s video for “What If” on your computer (best of all, it's Mac compatible too- Thanks, Mike).

Hummer Bummer

The high point of this CD is still the polished truck jingle, "Roll On" (track 8). There are few things sweeter than hearing Jill Jack’s vibrant voice gelling perfectly with Strachan’s while Dearborn's own Pat Brennan provides a lush bed of organ-ic keys. This is Robb Roy at their very best.

Though this rare gem has been licensed by General Motors for the Hummer 2 (that off-the-curb Tonka-Toy™ for overcompensating suburban metro-sexuals), I have yet to witness the song’s defilement on national television. Not that I’d deny our boys a well-deserved royalty check, I just don’t think it’s a very good match; the song’s about contemplating life changes while admiring the beauty of the American countryside - it’s not about searching for contentment in conspicuous consumption while tearing-up that landscape in your quasi-military SUV (which will require several stops at the gas pump if you want to actually travel from Virginia to the Carolinas, as per the lyrics).

If it were up to me, I’d pitch “Roll On” to Greyhound whose large-capacity diesel busses are more environmentally friendly to our as-yet undeveloped natural resources and much better suited to the lofty contemplations of day-dreaming songwriters (Hey, Eminem wrote lyrics on the bus - at least he did in the movie). Imagine, millions of indie music fans across the country, inspired by Greyhound’s “Roll On” ad campaign to purchase a “ Super Friendly Fare” and make a yearly pilgrimage to their favorite music festival. I like it - somebody get on the phone, quick.

And in the end....

“Days of Pride & Hunger” is rich with sincere expressions of vulnerability, poignant illustrations of regret and an undercurrent of reflective melancholy that gives this record a emotional depth greater than any of Robb Roy’s previous releases. The songs live and bleed with personal revelations in which aching passions are tempered by mature acceptance and resignation evolves into knowing self-realization. This CD is what happens when indie-rock grows up - beyond the dream.

According to Graham Strachan, finishing this record nearly broke up the band. The stress of going further into debt coupled with the intense personal dramas surrounding the members nearly caused a musical meltdown. But it's the heat of such friction in which passionate music is created. The struggle is not an impediment to success, it's the meat of life that makes us who we are. It’s divine mercy that allows us to let go of unhealthy attachments. Like Strachan sings in “Days of Pride & Hunger”, ‘Don’t lose yourself in the past / Cherish the road and don’t look back.’

- Mitch Phillips

1. Goodbye
2. Hole (in my heart)
3. As I Am
4. Days of Pride & Hunger
5. We
6. I Don't Want You
7. Careful
8. Roll On
9. Scrapin' By
10. Battlelines
11. Hamtramck
12. Serial K
13. Solid Ground
14. I Sleep