Self-Portrait: Rose City Band

Artwork by Mickey Miles

For our Self-Portrait series, we invite our favorite musicians to create an audio depiction of themselves through songs from the past and present.

Across four outstanding records, Rose City Band have reliably delivered the kind of free-spirited country rocking twang that floats and grooves uninterruptedly from one grass-stained jam to the next. The band share a taste of their eclectic listening diet of private press folk records, dusty country cuts, and longform trip-outs on their Self-Portrait.

I took this assignment somewhat literally and thought about artists and songs that impacted me deeply in my formative years, and are also all present, in some way, in my current music. This is not quite, but almost, chronological, starting with my first love, The Rolling Stones, and the album Tattoo You, which I encountered in 4th grade. There is my skateboarding, SST-loving years, the classic rock and psychedelic explorations of high school, obscurities of varying degrees from my time living near Amoeba in San Francisco, etc..., and beyond. It was a challenge to keep it at a reasonable length, so I hope it is at least a good listen.