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History
Rooney is a rock band which formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1999. The band consists of Robert Schwartzman (vocals, guitar), Louie Stephens (keyboards), Taylor Locke (guitar, vocals), Brandon Schwartzel (bass) and Ned Brower (drums). Schwartzman is the brother of actor and musician Jason Schwartzman. The band has released three albums - "Rooney" (2003), "Calling the World" (2007) and "Eureka" (2010) - and is named after Dean of Students Ed Rooney, from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Rooney first formed as Ed Rooney back in 1999. The original line up consisted of Teddy Briggs on drums and Matt Star on guitar. Ned Brower replaced Briggs as drummer, Matt Star left, and Louie Stephens was added as keyboardist. They released a series of independent EPs called Deli Meats (2000), Plug It In (2001), and Mastedonia (2002).[1] Somehow, they accomplished all of this without ever signing to an Independent Label. The band played multiple shows a month around LA and Anaheim and built up a strong following. Schwartzman moved to NYC to attend the Eugene Lang College at the New School. Instead of writing papers, he spent his dorm room nights writing new Rooney songs. Schwartzman sent his latest material to his band mates in LA and flew home every month to perform. They recorded another demo cd with producers Keith Forsey and Brian Reeves. It consisted of the songs Popstars, If It Were Up To Me, and Losing All Control. The demo cd made its way around LA and created some buzz for the band at the major labels and management companies. Schwartzman decided to leave school and pursue the band full time. Rooney played a show at the Roxy in early 2002 packed with Rooney fans and A & R guys. Immediately after the show, the president of Geffen records approached the band. After meeting all interested parties, the band went to Interscope to meet with Jimmy Iovine. Jimmy loved the demo cd and said he would produce a couple of tracks himself if they signed with them. Based on their roster, Rooney signed the deal with Geffen/Interscope in 2002.
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