A recent drive down the Las Vegas Strip was a defining moment for Mike Ruocco, founder and frontman of Baltimore?s Cinder Road.
Ruocco, who joined with neighbor and middle school contemporary Chris Shucosky in 1995 to form a band, had always wanted to see his band?s name on a casino marquee. Sure enough, on a recent gig at the Hard Rock Café with Puddle of Mud, Ruocco did just that.
“The first time I went there I just fell in love with the town and wanted that. It was amazing,” he said of the realized goal. “In the past year we have really gotten to do so much; it?s been a great year.”
There?s little doubt that Ruocco and his bandmates have paid their dues. Conventional rock wisdom says that a band should build inroads locally, then regionally and then beyond ? but few have the patience and tolerance to do that.
“Named after the street where they grew up, Cinder Road were sure to draw attention in their home of Lutherville, Maryland, but it didn?t take them long to earn an audience up and down the East Coast, thanks to intense live shows and constant touring,” wrote a critic for All Music Guide. “When the press started using terms like ?arena rock revival,? Union Entertainment Group ? home to Nickelback ? became interested. They brought the band to EMI, got them signed, and partnered them with producer Marti Frederiksen?”
The master producer who has worked with Aerosmith, Def Leppard and Ozzy Osborne, worked with Cinder Road to produce its 11-track debut CD “Superhuman” which is a mix of fist pumping rockers and tender ballads.
“We are definitely one of those groups that have a very, very intense chemistry,” Ruocco said. “I look at people that try to categorize music so much. We are the opposite of that; we are just a rock and roll band based on arena rock and over the top energy.”
But despite the early buzz, Ruocco said he and his bandmates are still committed to hard work, minimal partying, and plenty of fan chat to keep growing the band?s base.
“People think we are a very accessible band,” said Ruocco. “We want that. Without them, there is no us.”
IF YOU GO
Cinder Road Fifth Annual Christmas Show with Fourth Element, Bad Apples and Eleven:54 JMANN 12/20/07 [[ok]]
» Venue: Recher Theatre, 512 York Road, Towson
» When: 7 p.m. Sunday
» Tickets: $10; 410-547-SEAT
