Skip to content
Spotlight

The Rosewood Thieves

Who? Restless spirit and gifted songwriter Erick Jordan (vocals/guitar) is the hub of New York’s Rosewood Thieves, a throwback roots-rock outfit rounded out by Mackenzie Vernacchio (organ/keys), Paul Jenkins (guitar/bass) and Mark Bordenet (drums). Formed in 2004, the quartet released the critically acclaimed EP From the Decker House — featuring the Entourage-fueled hit “Los Angeles” — last year on the now-defunct V2 label. Decker House was recently re-released with three bonus tracks and the band will drop the fresh-to-tape Lonesome EP in November.

What’s the Deal? The “melancholy” descriptor might never apply more suitably to a band than it does to Jordan’s group and its swaying compositions, but the tunes on Lonesome and Decker House also manage the tough trick of sounding hopeful even as they lament the wrongdoings of opportunists. Women bare the brunt of Jordan’s lyrical vitriol throughout, such as on “Murder Ballad in G Minor” — “Tied him up in ropes around his arms / She poured a bucket of gasoline / And she tossed her cigarette and ran, waiting for the fire alarm.” With a high vocal delivery and rollicking backing combo, the Thieves call to mind the Band fronted by ex-Mice lead singer Bill Fox, an apt lineage since Decker House was named after the out state New York farmhouse where it was recorded, a la the Band’s classic debut, Music From Big Pink.

Fun Fact: Furthering the Rosewood Thieves’ connection to the Band, Jordan and Co. launched into songs from Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles Music Sessions when the clock struck midnight at this month’s “Concert For Peace” at NYC nightspot Pianos.�

Now Hear This:The Rosewood Thieves – “Murder Ballad in G Minor” DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:The Rosewood Thieves at MySpace therosewoodthieves.com

Talk: Can the Rosewood Thieves sustain their magic on a full-length album?

Get a Free Digital Sampler from SPIN.com and Insound! When you spend $25 at Insound.com, you can download a free sampler featuring tracks from Bright Eyes, Dungen, Dinosaur Jr., and many more! FIND OUT HOW >>