Redwater RoJo finds appreciative audience

By John Benson

The band’s latest album, ‘The Wait,’ is a departure from its debut effort.

Having just played a gig at Cedars last month, Redwater RoJo members — Jason Meyers (vocals and guitar), Joe Wheelock (bass), Joseph Romito (guitar) and Derek Desko (drums) — are looking forward to returning to their newfound Youngstown audience with a Friday show at Barley’s.

“We really like playing in Youngstown; the crowd is great,” Wheelock said. “It seems to me that there’s a really nice music scene and that the people who live in Youngstown like to go see live rock ’n’ roll. You can’t argue with that. It’s like Detroit — when they see a good band they respond to it. That is always something you want to have in a city you’re going to play.

“We’ve been finding ways to get our music on the radio there. We’ve been played on 93.3 [WNCD-FM], and we’re starting to build a fan base. So it can only get better. We’re talking about a working-class band from Cleveland that’s going to play for working-class people in Youngstown. We just happened to be finding success not that far away from home.”

Any success or current momentum of the band is tied directly to its latest effort, “The Wait,” which found the group working with producer John Guggenheim. The album results paint the quartet in a different light from its 2007 self-titled debut.

“Guggenheim really helped take what we were already doing and shape it into something that was more focused,” Wheelock said. “We’re not talking about a change in sound, we’re talking about a refinement of what we had. I think you’ve got a tighter approach on all of the material. Before we met Guggenheim, we were the same band playing the same songs. He said to us, ‘What can we do to take these songs and make them the best they can be and to continue to build upon what you guys have going for you?’”

Wheelock said that on “The Wait” the band maintains its pop sensibilities yet has taken on a harder edge, featuring an aggressive rhythm section and a distorted guitar sound.

“There’s a little bit more dissonance in the music,” Wheelock said. “It’s not your typical three-chord song. It’s definitely moving more toward a modern sound. You could say we’re incorporating influences from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and bands like Muse, where if you looked at our last album, you might say Lynyrd Skynyrd and Mott the Hoople. Where we have our influences, and out of those we’re building something new.”

If the band is focused on its new album, the bassist said the ante has definitely been upped with the outfit’s live show. At a recent CD release show for “The Wait,” Wheelock said the power of the new and improved Redwater RoJo was apparent from the crowd’s reaction.

“I had people tell us they liked it better live than they did on the record, and that they loved the record,” Wheelock said. “So the level of intuitiveness and communication musically through the songs we’re playing is really at a peak. I don’t think we’ve been better live ever.”