The Beau Roland Band

(member from) 2004 – 2007

Left to right: RTP, Phil, Jeremy & Rick
Photo by: Jimmey Leblanc

In 2004, After the break-up of Trustus and the failure of Sleepy Turbine, Phillip Ouellette began to work more on his country sounding tunes. It was decided that an album would be planned and recorded prior to assembling a band that would perform. Phil, new drummer Jeremy Eagle and I prepped the songs and once again returned to Basement 247 Studios with “Master of magic”, Jack Younger. “The Road To Wichita” was recorded over a few months with additional help from upright bassist Jake Leckie and violinist Betty Widerski. The live band included Phil, Jeremy, Widerski, new guitarist Josh Buckley and I. This version of the band performed often over the next year.

The Beau Roland Band – Version 2 – Buckley moved on to pursue his own music, while Widerski sort of fell out of place with the new songs. While in transition, we took an invite to play a Willie Nelson Tribute night at The Abbey Lounge in Somerville. We recruited guitarist Kelly Sprouse (Starhick/Archer City) and pianist Ethan Kreitzer (The Lincoln Conspiracy) to perform Willie’s classic album “The Red Headed Stranger” in its’ entirety. We also performed the album a 2^nd time at The Toad and then decided to document our efforts on record with Jack @ Basement 247 Studios.

Enter Rick Dillon on guitar and vocals. Rick was a huge breath of fresh air for the band and really put us back on track. We slowly phased out much of the “Wichita” material and developed a more traditional country/honky tonk approach. This was a huge musical change for me and it ushered in plenty of research and guidance from Phil and Rick. Not only were we writing great music, but we were really soaking ourselves in the music of all the country masters. I had never given country music a fair shake up until that point. Phil, Rick and I were also spending a great deal of time on 3 part harmony. The band was not doing the typical city folk approach to country via Alt-Country, we were really trying to be respectful to the masters while challenging ourselves to bring a modern update to the genre. In 2007, the band returned to Basement 247 Studios to record “Northern Hospitality”. “Northern Hospitality” captured a high energy unit full of warmth, humanity and color. The album was a triumph for Phillip’s writing and the band’s ability to help communicate his perspective. We really cooked as a live band and even played a weekly 2 hour gig at Redbone’s in Davis Square for several months. However, I was now playing in two bands. My week nights became quite full and due to a very demanding rehearsal and performing schedule, I decided to depart from the band to focus on my other band, Silent Service. Bass duties were passed on to one of my local bass heroes, Scott Kremer. The Beau Roland Band recorded the luscious “Out Of This Fog” in 2008.